Holy Done.

Time for us to rock some review. As with many of you, I am looking forward to breathing a little. I'm proud of all of you as you've worked so hard to get to this point. This point in the year is always pretty bittersweet for me. I am happy to be done with the intense instruction that you've been used to, but I am also a little sad because it wraps up the end of the year. Over the course of the semester, I grow especially fond of my AP classes and I know that things are pretty much over at this point. A few projects and TED talks and SoulPancake videos and that's it. Then you all leave. That part is inevitable, but it still is a little sad because I end up missing a lot of you until next AP season. I really don't think it's because you're AP kids so much as that I RARELY get to spend an entire semester with a group of kids anymore.

 Enough sappy stuff. I'm going home to get one of my guitars today. I get to play it now that I get a breather here and there. I look forward to that every day. If you haven't noticed, I really enjoy music. Pretty much anything, and like anyone, I have guilty pleasures when it comes to music. KC hit a nerve when I read her last blog with her JT barbershop video. Yup. Guilty pleasure. Maybe even dancing (don't ask, it's not good, and no I won't). Here's another good one. If it doesn't get you moving, you don't have feelings.

Tell me this isn't awesome:


But it makes me want this:

Just Fifteen Days

Instructionally, we're done in a mere fifteen days, which gives us a solid five days for review/practice tests.  You can do anything for fifteen days, and I PROMISE, I'll let you do some slacking from May 6th through May 9th.  You've earned it.  We've started personality, and should wrap up with that in the next two days, which then leads into the very interesting topic of psychological disorders and treatment.

I'm concerned with the next unit because last year students didn't score well on it for the AP exam.  This year, I've dedicated more time to this unit so that we may cover more topics in depth and gain a better understanding of these disorders and how they are treated.  My one gripe with the AP exam is that I don't get a full item analysis to be able to tell where students really went wrong or where I have failed them as a teacher so that I may not make the same mistake twice.  So for now, I'll just add more time and see if that works.  Seems legit right?  It is a very interesting unit, so perhaps the extended time will allow for all of you to better question the material and allow for good application of information.

This is fun:

Not Naming Names...

The fact that someone has called me out on not blogging for a while is a little unsettling to me.  Absurd that a guy like me can't keep up the way that I'd like to, but I thought that some of you would appreciate me taking the time to keep up with the grade book instead.  These past few weeks have flown by oh so quickly I know that some of you have felt lost in psychology wonderland.  It's crazy to think that in four weeks, we've covered Thinking, Language, Memory, Testing and a host of other topics that have been fun interesting and kind of enjoyable.  Also, it should be nice to know that there are really only four real units left which are Emotions, Personality,  the great Abnormal Psychology and finally Social Psychology.  Now that's something that you should be able to look forward to.

Again, sorry for not blogging, I'll keep up with it better for second term, I promise.  I'll leave you with this nugget of a video since I'll be going to see them tonight at the Meyer Theatre tonight:




And if you didn't catch it, the student's name who called me out on not blogging is hidden somewhere in this post.

Thanks for playing!

I'm Sorry.

Today I handed out another FRQ.  I normally don't feel about about doing so, but a lot of you have struggled with these.  I feel like I'm torturing you, but you all must know that I am doing it for you.  I want EXPECT you to do well, but I know that I have to help you with that and in my opinion, you need the FRQ time.

Moreover, I think we all need a break.  Not like a weekend break, but an actual day off.  It has been a long, cold, dull, (expletive deleted), winter.  We're supposed to be coming out of the thick of winter, but today we set a record for most days below zero in Wisconsin.  Good thing I plan on staying right here for spring break to get away to someplace warmer.  Luckily, I don't suffer from SAD, a type of depression that is partially affected by the amount of daylight one sees.  I know people who do suffer, and it can get pretty bleak.  I doubt this winter has done them any favors.  This is something that we'll be learning more about in the future and spending some time on-psychological disorders.  It would seem for a variety of reasons students haven't fared well on this portion of the test.  Perhaps I don't spend enough time on it.  Perhaps by that time students feel out of gas and start to really drag on their reading.  Perhaps it's a combination of a number of factors.

HANG IN THERE!  There is truly only about seven weeks of class time left.  Stay strong.  YOU can do ANYTHING for seven weeks, heck basic training is only nine or ten.  I'll leave you with this, it's a nugget that a certain student dropped on me earlier this year.  Great song, fun video, RIDICULOUS CHOPS (seriously how did Mungo not make this list?).  If it doesn't make you feel like summer, nothing will.  Here goes:



Ch, ch ch.  Ch, ch ch.

Also, at least I didn't link to THIS.

Jack White Is Probably a Critical Thinker.

This song came on my Pandora station this morning:


I thought while I was getting ready, "Wow, Jack REALLY knows about the scientific method.  I wonder if he was conscious of this while writing this song."

Interestingly enough, I was just talking to a student yesterday who wondered how to apply psychology to daily life without sounding heartless.  It was a little tough to answer, until I realized that it really came down to what Jack is talking about.  You really CAN'T take the effect and make it the cause.  It's illogical, not to mention that it is full of hindsight bias.  I bet Jack is a pretty smart guy.

So how do you apply psychology to a situation without sounding like a tool?  My standard line is "That sounds like an interesting topic.  I'd like to know more about it, where did you read that?"  If they didn't read it, can't cite a source, or claim 'it's just true', it opens the door for the old critical thinking skills to strike.  "REALLY, you don't know?, I'm skeptical about that.  I think it would make an interesting study.  I recently read otherwise, believe it or not..." and so forth.

It might not make me sound like the most pleasant guy to hang around, but when I do hang around, life is full of interesting conversation, and that might be the best part of critical thinking.

Running Out of Time

I had a conversation with a student today about running out of time.  I feel like right now we are running out of time for class.  Things have gone by pretty fast, I think students are understanding all of the material, I have tried to hold off on giving a quiz the last week and a half, and now I feel like I'm not sure if you all "get it" or if you are feeling lost and afraid.

Based on reading some blogs, you feel like this:



I get it.  That's how I feel too...well, without all of the singing.  I'm ready to settle in and feel more comfortable and I think it is going to start soon.  I think the quiz on Friday and exam on Tuesday will slow things down a bit and allow us all to reflect on how far we've come as a class of learners.

Sorry I left you with such a bad video.  Here's a video that has a nicer feel, a great message, and is from an excellent band.



Enjoy.

You Gotta Read to Lead...

I'm on the Internet.  A lot.  It's where I do most of my reading, whether it is on Zite, articles from Twitter, some of my favorite websites, or something that gets emailed to me, the reading I do online is the reading that is relevant to my profession, especially when looking for articles for my classes.  Today, I came across this gem:



As a guy that could stand to lose a couple of pounds, it is interesting and intriguing.  I know that later you'll read about set points, settling points, and how hunger works in the brain, and I think this is a great application of how it all ties together.

What bothers me about it is that it takes a while for your stomach to tell your brain that it is full.  I'm currently reading Gulp by Mary Roach, and I find it really interesting how our body works in conjunction with our brains and the entire process of digestion.  I continually am finding things in that book that I can use in class, and eventually I know that I'll sound like either a big nerd or a really really smart guy.  Either way, I'll take it.  By now, I hope you've started to click on these external links that I've been sharing.  You might have found that they are useful and or relevant to what I am writing/explaining.  Since this blog is at least partially about food, I'll leave you with this.

First Impressions

It's been three days of AP Psychology and though it's been quite a hectic and busy start to the year, I'm truly enjoying the way class is going.  Every single year I feel like I am going too fast, forgetting something, skipping important information, not modeling correctly, or not checking in enough.  By the end of next week, we'll be in full swing and we'll ALL have a good handle on class and the pacing.

The quiz results from Monday are what I was expecting, but I also expect to see improved results from the test on Friday.  As classes, my first impressions are that the students of this years AP Psych class are much more in tune to their own needs as learners.  This excites me.  A lot.  I think I have a great group of students who are ready to be the first class to achieve a 100% pass rate on the AP exam in May.  That's the challenge.  100%.  Big things in store if we make it there.  Huge.

That said, I like to end blogs by sharing something with readers that I find endearing, touching, funny, educational, or just plain ole fun.  So here goes:

This is a great song to listen to when you're stressed or down.  It always makes me smile.