Teaching High School Psychology: AP Psychology Exam

Showing posts with label AP Psychology Exam. Show all posts

Monday, April 9, 2012

AP Review Videos

I began creating some review videos for my own students and decided to make them available for anyone. I certainly hope they can be useful. I've made only five so far, but am on spring break and the AP Exam is only a few short weeks away and I intend to make quite a few more.

Here are a couple. I hope you like them are find them useful. The first two are taking the confusing pairs sheet shared by Kate Duggan and putting the ideas onto PPT slides and explaining them. The third is an overview of people in psych history AP students need to know and the basics about each.

My YouTube channel for AP Psych videos can be found here.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

AP Psych Post-Test Debriefing

As part of my ongoing effort to improve my preparation and teaching and also to assist my students in understanding the rigors of the course, I do a post-test debrief about a week past the AP Exam using a form that is relatively simple. The main issues are below. The document itself is linked here.

I've recieved some outstanding suggestions and have incorporated many. If you do use this idea, I hope it works for you. Please also add any ideas to supplement the debriefing process.
----------------------------------------------------------------

AP Psychology—Debriefing

The purpose of this form is to help me understand what went right and what can be improved as far as preparation for the AP exam. Please answer the questions honestly—I am just looking for ways to improve things for my future students.

How much total time (in hours) did you spend reviewing/studying for the AP Psychology exam?
1-5
6-10
11-20
20+

State your initial reactions to the Multiple Choice section of the exam. Explain why you think you had this reaction.

State your initial reactions to FRQ #1 section of the exam. What was it that you liked or did not like? Explain why.

State your initial reactions to FRQ #2 section of the exam. What was it that you liked or did not like? Explain why.

What score did you think you may be receiving? (circle one) Just guess.

1 2 3 4 5

What types of preparation did you do? This may include reviewing the following. Circle all that apply.

the text
your notes and papers from the year
the previous exams we took
Barron’s Review Book
Princeton Review Book
Princeton Review Cards
A different review book (if so, which)
Oral review with self or friends
Online review with non-class sources
Using the class review resources
In-school review
Review session(s) with the instructor
Other (please list below)

What type of review mentioned above was most helpful? Please explain.

What recommendations for change would you make for our preparation for the exam? I’m looking for constructive suggestions. Feel free to make suggestions about the course, the organization of the course, what we did and how we did it. Use bullet points.

What advice would you give to future students in AP Psychology so that they may be successful both in the class and on the AP exam? Use bullet points.

---------------------------------------------------

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Monday, April 25, 2011

AP Psychology Exam - Last Minute Items

With the AP Psychology Exam just one week away, many of us are reaching the end to a long journey that started last fall. Below are some of the "last minute" items I (Kent) tell my students. Note: This listing is basically the same as previous years, with the exception of the guessing adjustment.

General Information:

Monday May 02, 2011 in the afternoon
Bring pencils with erasers and blue or black pens
Bring a watch that does not beep
Do not wear any psychology related clothing
Do not bring anything else: books, papers, calculators, cell phones, etc.

Multiple Choice Section:

100 multiple choice questions
70 minutes
2/3 of the overall grade
A-E Answers
Names, charts, graphs, drawings are all possible
There is no 1/4 point adjustment for guessing, if you are not sure about a question, take your best educated guess after using process of elimination

Free Response Section:

2 required Free Response (essay) Questions
50 minutes
1/3 of the overall grade - 1/6 of grade for each question
Points are given for correct responses not taken away for incorrect material
Points can only be removed if one part of an answer contradicts another part
Read through both questions before doing anything else
Think through the answer before starting to write
Write an outline or notes in the test question booklet
Don’t be afraid to cross something out, if needed
Write in sentences - DO NOT OUTLINE OR BULLET YOUR ANSWER.
Be as complete as possible, but keep to the point.
Watch the time. Don’t get caught short on essay #2
Structure the answer following the structure of the question

Test Security:

Do not discuss the multiple-choice section with anyone
Do not discuss the free response questions for 48 hours. The general rule of thumb is wait until the questions have been posted on the College Board website
Do NOT post, text, email etc. anything about the exam on the Internet, especially on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks
Do not come and visit me between the multiple choice section and free response section

If you have any questions on the above items, please contact me at kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us. Please feel free to leave any other ideas in the comments section below. Best of luck to everyone.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Resources for the AP Psychology Exam

With the 2011 AP Psychology Exam just around the corner, I (Kent) thought it might be helpful to list some of the many resources available on AP Central. Best of luck to all on the 2011 AP Psychology Exam.

General Information on AP Psychology

AP Psychology Home Page

AP Psychology Course Description Book (Acorn Book)

AP Psychology Exam Information
This site includes basic information on the AP Psychology Exam and access to all the Free Response Questions, rubrics, sample responses, etc. since 1999.

Released AP Psychology Exams

Occasionally, the College Board releases the actual AP Psychology Exam students have taken. To date, the 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2007 AP Psychology exams have been released. The 1994 and 1999 released exams can be found on the AP Central website. The 2004 and 2007 released exams can be purchased at the College Board Store. Due to the changes in scoring for the multiple choice section starting in 2011 (see below), revised scoring worksheets have been published for all the released exams except for 1994.

1994 AP Psychology Released Exam

Please Note: There are no revised scoring worksheets for the 1999 AP Psychology Released Exam

1999 AP Psychology Released Exam

Revised Scoring Worksheet for the 1999 AP Psychology Released Exam

2004 AP Psychology Released Exam
The 2004 AP Psychology Released Exam can be purchased from the College Board Store

Revised Scoring Worksheet for the 2004 AP Psychology Released Exam

2007 AP Psychology Released Exam
The 2007 AP Psychology Released Exam can be purchased from the College Board Store

Revised Scoring Worksheet for the 2007 AP Psychology Released Exam

AP Psychology Practice Exam

In 2008, the College Board released an AP Psychology Practice Exam free to authorized teachers. The practice exam, which mirrors a typical AP Psychology Exam, is available only to AP Psychology teachers who have passed the AP Audit. A major difference between the practice exam and the released exams is that students have access to the released exams, but not the practice exam.

Before using the AP Psychology Practice Exam, please read through the "Usage Guidelines". The practice exam should NOT be published on a website or in any other electronic format. Many teachers give the practice exam to their students for a grade in their AP Psychology course. Please do not violate the confidentiality of the practice exam by posting it on a website where any enterprising student can find it.

Information and access to the AP Psychology Practice Exam can be found at
http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/practice_exams.html

Changes in Scoring for Advanced Placement Exams

Beginning in 2011, the scoring for the multiple choice section of AP exams will change. Below is a quote from the AP Central Website explaining the change.

"Beginning with the May 2011 AP Exam administration, there will be a change to the way AP Exams are scored. Total scores on the multiple-choice section will be based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points will no longer be deducted for incorrect answers and, as always, no points will be awarded for unanswered questions." (http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/212187.html)

Again, best of luck to all. Just think, on May 3rd we can start counting down to Monday May 7, 2012.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

AP Workshop Review from San Mateo, CA 2/5/2011

I was part of a great group of attendees, both new and experience who had the opportunity to learn from the expertise of Don Leach (George Washington HS, San Francisco, CA) today at Aragon High School in San Mateo, CA for a College Board AP Day-long Training Session. Our local host teacher was Carlo Corti who welcomed us and said some very nice words about our resources on the blog. Thanks Carlo :-)

Of course, since the training was sponsored by the College Board and was much about preparing for the AP exam, Don took us through some unique and innovative ways to both prepare our students for the exam as well as cover the content. I live much of my life in my head. Don demonstrated and involved the group in a series of activities that allow us to assist the students in learning using some great mnemonics and activities that I would never have thought of or used prior to today. Even after 24 years of teaching, there is still so much more to learn. Although he supplied all his information on a CD, I took about 8 pages of notes. Don's presentation was excellent and he will also be teaching three week-long summer workshops. If you can, attend one--you will be well instructed and have a fun time. Your students will be the better for it.

In the weeks to come, I'll be sharing a few of the very cool mnemonics and learning techniques that Don shared. Kudos to the man who has been teaching for over 40 years and still has a big grin on his face.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Thursday, September 9, 2010

News on AP Psychology

As with most years, there have been a number of changes in the AP Psychology Program. Below you should find a listing of some of the major items in no particular order.

This summer, for the first time, AP teachers were able to find their student's AP exam scores online. For the most part, the process worked extremely well and was, in my opinion (Kent), a hundred times better than waiting for the paper reports. Make sure to look over the Instructional Planning Report in addition to the scores. Go to https://scores.collegeboard.com for more information.

After maintaining the same fee structure for some time, the cost for an AP exam (2011) was increased to $87. For detailed information on the fee structure http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/exam/calendar/190165.html

For those of us in AP Psychology, many feel the biggest change this year has been the moving of the AP Psyc exam date from the second Tuesday to the first Monday of AP testing. Last year the AP Psychology exam was on May 11th. The 2011 exam is scheduled for May 2nd. Please be aware, if your school's spring break is based on Easter, May 2nd might be the Monday students come back from break. For a complete schedule of AP exams go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/exam/calendar/index.html

To download the new AP Psychology Course Description Book for Fall 2010 (Acorn Book) go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-psychology-course-description.pdf I have not had the opportunity to look for changes in this edition of the book. Please feel free to leave any changes you have found in the comments section of this posting.

No doubt the largest change for AP teachers and students as a whole, is the removal of the quarter point deduction for an incorrect answer. Starting in 2011, a student's score will be based only on how many questions they get correct. For more information on this change and revised worksheets for scoring the 2004 and 2007 released AP Psychology exams, go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/212187.html

AP Central now includes a link to PDF copies of the 1994 and 1999 AP Psychology Released Exams at http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/213057.html

Below is a listing of the currently scheduled College Board one-day workshops throughout the country for the 2010-2011 school year. Click on the workshop title for more information on that specific workshop. Click on the location for a link to Yahoo maps.

There is an Institutes and Workshop page at AP Central http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/Pageflows/InstitutesAndWorkshops/InstitutesAndWorkshopsController.jpf where you can search for a workshop by topic, date, and location.

AP Workshop - Psychology	10/09/2010	La Jolla HS (La Jolla, CA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/11/2010	Greenway Professional Development Center (Pittsburgh, PA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/12/2010	Niagara University (Niagara University, NY)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/15/2010	Valencia Community College - West Campus (Orlando, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/15/2010	South Hagerstown HS (Hagerstown, MD)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/15/2010	Viera HS (Viera, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/16/2010	Roosevelt HS (Seattle, WA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/19/2010	University of Nebraska - Omaha (Omaha, NE)
AP Workshop - Psychology - New Teachers	10/21/2010	Four Points by Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center (Norwood, MA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/22/2010	University Center of Lake County (Grayslake, IL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/23/2010	Perth Amboy HS (Perth Amboy, NJ)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/23/2010	Bingham HS (South Jordan, UT)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/25/2010	Edward H. White HS (Jacksonville, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/29/2010	Broward County Convention Center (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/29/2010	Heritage HS (Wake Forest, NC)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/02/2010	Norview HS (Norfolk, VA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/02/2010	Long Island City HS (Queens, NY)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/03/2010	Delsea Regional HS (Franklinville, NJ)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/06/2010	Cherry Creek HS (Greenwood Village, CO)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/10/2010	Eastern Michigan University - Livonia (Livonia, MI)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/13/2010	Abington Senior HS (Abington, PA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/20/2010	Glasgow HS (Newark, DE)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/23/2010	Butler University (Indianapolis, IN)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/30/2010	University of Wisconsin - Madison - Pyle Center (Madison, WI)
AP Workshop - Psychology	12/14/2010	University of Minnesota - Continuing Education and Conference Center (St. Paul, MN)
AP Workshop - Psychology	01/03/2011	Lincoln HS (Tallahassee, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	01/04/2011	Georgia Perimeter College (Dunwoody, GA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	01/21/2011	Renaissance Dallas Richardson Hotel (Richardson, TX)
AP Workshop - Psychology	02/05/2011	Aragon HS (San Mateo, CA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	02/12/2011	Roybal Learning Center (Los Angeles, CA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	03/05/2011	Sachem North HS (Lake Ronkonkoma, NY)
AP Workshop - Psychology - Experienced Teachers	03/10/2011	Four Points by Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center (Norwood, MA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	03/16/2011	Triton College (River Grove, IL)

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

AP Psychology Free Response Questions

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Best of Luck on the AP Psychology Exam

Here's wishing everyone, students and teachers, the best of luck on today's (05/11/10) AP Psychology Exam.

Teaching High School Psychology Blog Moderators

Thursday, May 6, 2010

AP Psychology Exam - Last Minute Items

With the AP Psychology Exam just one week away, many of us are reaching the end to a long journey that started last September. Below are some of the "last minute" items I tell my students. Note: This listing is basically the same as the last minute items I posted last year at this time.

General Information:

Tuesday May 11, 2010 in the afternoon
Bring pencils with erasers and blue or black pens
Bring a watch that does not beep
Do not wear any psychology related clothing
Do not bring anything else: books, papers, calculators, cell phones, etc.

Multiple Choice Section:

100 multiple choice questions
70 minutes
2/3 of the overall grade
A-E Answers
Names, charts, graphs, drawings are all possible
1/4 point adjustment for guessing

Free Response Section:

2 required Free Response (essay) Questions
50 minutes
1/3 of the overall grade - 1/6 of grade for each question
Points are given for correct responses not taken away for incorrect material
Points can only be removed if one part of an answer contradicts another part
Read through both questions before doing anything else
Think through the answer before starting to write
Write an outline or notes in the test question booklet
Don’t be afraid to cross something out, if needed
Write in sentences - DO NOT OUTLINE OR BULLET YOUR ANSWER.
Be as complete as possible, but keep to the point.
Watch the time. Don’t get caught short on essay #2
Structure the answer following the structure of the question

Test Security:

Do not discuss the multiple-choice section with anyone
Do not discuss the free response questions for 48 hours. The general rule of thumb is wait until the questions have been posted on the College Board website
Do NOT post, text, email etc. anything about the exam on the Internet, especially on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks
Do not come and visit me between the multiple choice section and free response section

If you have any questions on the above items, please contact me at kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us Please feel free to leave any other ideas in the comments section below. Best of luck to everyone.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

AP Psychology Exam Review Books

There are a host of products students can purchase to help them prepare for the AP Psychology Exam. Review books currently on the market include:

Barron's AP Psychology Barron's Book with CD ROM (Allison Weseley & Rob McEntarffer)
Cliffs AP Psychology(Lori Harris et. al.)
D&S Marketing AP Psychology (Michael Sullivan)
Holt McDougal Fast Track to a Five: Preparing for the AP Psychology Examination (William James & Michael McLane)
Kaplan AP Psychology (Chris Hakala)
McGraw-Hill 5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology (Laura Maitland & Pam Hannah)
Princeton Review Cracking the AP Psychology Exam (Princeton Review)
REA AP Psychology (Don Sharpstenn, Karen Brown & Tia Patrick)
Spark Notes AP Power Pack for AP Psychology (Spark Publishing)

For more information, simply click on the book's title. Please feel free to leave a comment regarding any of the above books. In April of 2009 this blog did a survey on the various review books. Go to http://teachinghighschoolpsychology.blogspot.com/2009/04/ap-psychology-exam-review-books_01.html to see that survey. Written by Kent Korek

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Guessing on the AP Psychology Exam

With the AP Psychology Exam just around the corner, my (Kent) thought was to conduct a quick survey about guessing strategies on the AP exam. With the quarter-point adjustment for incorrect answers, teachers/students have developed a variety of philosophies on when to and when not to guess on a multiple choice question. In the past, I have found this to be one of the more debatable topics regarding the exam.

The current results of the survey will be revealed once you have cast your vote. Thank you for your participation.

Online Surveys & Market Research

N=148 as of 01/27/12.

Thanks to all those who have participated. Please feel free to further explain your strategy in the comments section below.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

New Organizational Tool for the THSP Blog

First, I must apologize for the random emails for those of you who subscribe. I was in the process of adding and editing tags to all 300+ of our posts to make it more friendly and organized for those of us who teach Advanced Placement Psychology. I hit the wrong keys/clicked the wrong button a few times.

This new format will make it easy to search the blog for resources for a certain unit--one click and you can have access to all of them, regardless of the topic. The new format and list is in the left-hand column for ease of use.

Our new tabs look like this:
01 History and Approaches
02 Research Methods
03 Biological Bases of Behavior
04 Sensation and Perception
05 States of Consciousness
06 Learning
07 Cognition (includes memory)
08 Motivation and Emotion (includes health, stress, coping, and sexuality)
09 Developmental Psychology
10 Personality
11 Testing and Personality Differences (includes intelligence)
12 Abnormal Psychology
13 Treatment of Psychological Disorders
14 Social Psychology

You can still search the blog for specific topics, but this overall format should help streamline finding resources by topic. Please feel free to share any feedback about this or any other changes.