AP Psychology Course Syllabus 2020 - 2021 Teacher: Mrs
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AP Psychology Course Syllabus 2020 - 2021 Teacher: Mrs. Tobii Mason Email Address: [email protected] Room: 2100 (Pd. 1 & 4) MyMCPS Classroom: Has Zoom meeting times & links Course Description: The Advanced Placement Psychology course is designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Students are exposed to the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. They also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice. The Advanced Placement Psychology course will offer students the opportunities to learn about the explorations and discoveries made by psychologists over the past century. Students will get the chance to assess some of the differing approaches adopted by psychologists, including biological, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, and sociocultural perspectives. Students will also learn the basic skills of psychology research and develop critical thinking skills. The Advanced Placement Psychology course aims to provide students with a learning experience equivalent to that of most college introductory psychology courses. This course will prepare students to successfully conquer the AP Psychology Exam. Textbook: Myers, David G. Myers’ Psychology for AP, 2nd Edition, New York, Worth, 2014 Textbooks will be assigned during the first month of school. Reading assignments in the textbook will be given out weekly. Suggested Additional Resources: nd ● Strive for 5: Preparing for the AP Psychology Examination, 2 Edition, Worth, 2014 (ISBN-10: 1464156050) ● Free and Open Resources on the Online textbook website, accessed through http://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/studentresources/MyersAP2e ● Any AP Psychology Exam Prep / Review Book My Distance Learning Expectations: 1. Follow the Mason 5 Be’s 2. Commit to this class and effectively prepare for the AP Psychology Exam on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. 3. You must login to our Zoom class meetings on time. Class starts on time and ends on time. If you are late or need to get organized, don’t be dramatic about it. Be quiet and respectful when you are admitted to the Zoom meeting.. 4. Email me if you are having problems. I am on your side. I want to help you. If you don’t know what to do, have a question, need help getting organized, or anything else, please email me BEFORE it is too late. We are on the same team. I am here to help you be successful. Don’t forget that!!! 5. All work you submit must be YOUR OWN! Plagiarism will NOT be tolerated. I will be checking to ensure that any work you submit is your own and not copied from another student’s work. If it’s not your own work, you will earn an automatic zero & I will report your academic dishonesty to the Administration. 6. Use of MCPS Chromebooks & MyMCPS Classroom will be regulated by MCPS technology policies. 7. All Wheaton High School and MCPS procedures and policies are in effect. Absences: The MCPS / Wheaton High School Attendance Policy will be followed. If you know you will be absent ahead of time, or for a considerable amount of time, please let me as soon as you know so we can discuss what you will be missing. Attendance & participation is especially important in an Advanced Placement class. Excessive absences will have a negative effect on your grade and your success on the AP Psychology Exam. Makeup Work Policy: MyMCPS Classroom is a valuable resource in finding out what you missed if you are absent from our Zoom Meetings. All assignments & assessments will be posted in our MyMCPS Classroom organized by Modules. Email me if you have any questions or concerns regarding late work & reassessment of any quizzes. Remember, making up any late work is your responsibility! Late Work Policy: This is an AP College level course. This means that I expect you to turn in assignments on time! It is a disservice to your learning and education when you turn in work late. The deadline for ALL assignments will be one week following the Due Date, unless otherwise noted. For all work turned in past the due date, as per the MCPS grading policy, the assignment will automatically be reduced 10%. Please note: I do accept assignments turned in via our MyMCPS Classroom, NEVER VIA EMAIL. Please make sure you submit your assignment under the correct assignment and your completed work is attached / linked. Grading Policy: Grades are based on the following scale and follow all MCPS regulations regarding grading and reporting: A = 100 - 90% B = 89 – 80% C = 79 - 70% D = 69 - 60% E = 59% and below In this class, assignments are broken down in the following two categories: ● Tasks & Assessments (exams and formative activities) = 90% ● Practice (vocabulary and reading notes) = 10% Materials and Supplies ~ It is highly recommended that you have the following for our class & during Zoom class meetings: ● Composition Book and/or Spiral Notebook ● Pencils and blue / black pens ● Highlighters & Colored Pens (optional – for taking notes) Assessment Practices: ● Unit Exams - These exams are modeled after the AP Exam, with timed 30+ multiple-choice questions (answer choices A-E) and one FRQ to be completed in MyMCPS Classroom. Unit exams will be cumulative, with a focus on the current unit of content. Unit Exams will be counted as summative assessments and are not able to be reassessed. ● Application Projects / Presentations – Students can expect to be assigned projects and presentations (group and individual) during this course. These summative projects and presentations will be assessed through rubrics for content, grammar, organization, structure, and creativity. ● Reading Quizzes - These are scheduled at least once a week and use the AP Exam timed multiple-choice format. These will be counted as formative assessments and will be completed in MyMCPS classroom. You are able to reassess the quiz once at least one day following your original assessment. ● Unit Work ~ Students will have the choice to complete at least one of the following unit work assignments: o Unit Vocabulary - Each unit will have a set of vocabulary words and Hall of Fame. Students are expected to define these vocabulary concepts in their own words using the AP Psychology Vocabulary Template. The unit vocabulary will be due the Sunday by 11:59pm before the Unit Quest/Exam. o Unit Reading Notes – Students will be expected to complete reading notes for each unit’s modules per the class guidelines. These reading notes are crucial to learning the content in order to be successful on the AP Psychology exam and in this class. Students will also have the option of completing guided reading questions in lieu of taking their own notes. Reading Notes will be due the Sunday by 11:59pm before the Unit Quest/Exam. Mrs. Mason AP Psychology Syllabus 2020-2021 Course Outline: * Please note that all dates in the syllabus are tentative and are subject to change. Semester Unit Title Percentage of AP Exam Unit 1: Scientific Foundations of Psychology 10 – 14% Unit 2: Biological Bases of Behavior 8 – 10% Fall Unit 3: Sensation & Perception 6 - 8% Unit 4: Learning 7 – 9% Unit 5: Cognitive Psychology 13 - 17% Unit 6: Developmental Psychology 7 – 9% Unit 7: Motivation, Emotion, & Personality 11 – 15% Unit 8: Clinical Psychology 12 – 16% Spring Unit 9: Social Psychology 8 – 10% Review for AP Psychology Exam AP Psychology Final Project Underclassmen Project / Movie Analysis Project The AP Psychology Exam is Tuesday, May 11, 2021 Noon, Afternoon Session * Multiple Choice Section: 100 questions, 70 minutes * Free Response Section: 2 essay questions, 50 minutes total Exam Grades: 5 = Extremely well qualified 4 = Well qualified 3 = Qualified -------------------------------------- 2 = Possibly qualified 1 = No recommendation Review for AP Exam We will review for the AP Exam using a selected number of activities: various collaborative review activities, outside of class review sessions, using posted review materials on the MyMCPS classroom page, using released AP Psychology practice tests (both multiple choice and FRQ), and working in small groups to complete various review activities. I am very excited to be sharing this learning experience with you. Please remember that I am here to support you and teach you to be the best students you can be. I am available during my posted Zoom office hours, check the MyMCPS Classroom for login information. You can also email me at [email protected] or message me via our MyMCPS Classroom. Let’s make this an amazing school year and GET READY TO LEARN!!! Mrs. Mason AP Psychology Syllabus 2020-2021 AP Psychology Course Outline Fall Semester: * Please note that all dates in the syllabus are tentative and are subject to change. Unit 1: Scientific Foundations of Psychology (10 - 14%) Textbook Modules: 1 – 8 2 weeks Introducing Psychology 1.1 Research Methods in Psychology 1.2 The Experimental Method 1.3 Selecting a Research Method 1.4 Statistical Analysis in Psychology 1.5 Ethical Guidelines in Psychology Learning Targets: ● Identify the research contributions of major historical figures in psychology. ● Describe and compare different theoretical approaches in explaining behavior. ● Distinguish the different domains of psychology. ● Differentiate types of research with regard to purpose, strengths, and weaknesses. ● Identify independent, dependent, confounding, and control variables in experimental designs. ● Describe how research design drives the reasonable conclusions that can be drawn. ● Distinguish between random assignment of participants to conditions in experiments and random selection of participants, primarily in correlational studies and surveys. ● Predict the validity of behavioral explanations based on the quality of research design. ● Apply basic descriptive statistical concepts, including interpreting and constructing graphs and calculating simple descriptive statistics. ● Distinguish the purposes of descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. ● Identify how ethical issues inform and constrain research practices.