James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

School Year 2015 – 2016

Name of Course: AP Psychology I and AP Psychology II

Teacher Contact Information: Mrs. Lisa SbragiaRoom: 14C

Email: Sbragial@knights.k12.hi.us Website: mrssbragia.weebly.com

Phone: 305-0757 Box: 70

Required Classroom Supplies due by: MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015Course Materials:

Three-ring binder to keep outline of notes from textbook & other assignments (to be collected at the end of each grading period for assessment).

Dividers with tabs (15) Folder Paper Writing instruments: Pens (blue or black, red), Pencil (#2 lead or darker), Highlighters

(at least 5 colors) Composition Notebook (2)

Requested Classroom Supplies: ONGOING Tissues Paper Towels Hand Sanitizer Clorox Wipes

Course Objectives for the YearPurpose: The AP 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.

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Relationships by being Respectful, Responsible, Resourceful and Resilient.

Character, Competence and Commitment

James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

Course Goals: Students will learn the various psychological perspectives and the key researchers and

Psychologists associated with each approach. Students will think critically about Psychological claims and studies. Students will discover how Psychology is used in society.

Skill Building: Students will learn how to read the assigned textbook and extract important information by working on outlines for each chapter. They will gain insight into the skills needed for the AP exam by taking the practice, end of unit/chapter tests. Students will learn how to produce a well-written essay (Free Response Question), which will be included in their AP exam. They will sharpen their analytical and critical thinking skills, which is important to comprehend concepts and theories in Psychology.

Classroom ExpectationsClassroom Rules:

1) Be prepared by reviewing assignments, having homework completed, and necessary materials ready.

2) Be on time by being punctual, ready for class, and eager to participate.

3) Be respectful by showing consideration for others, school property, appreciating peers and teachers, and being honorable.

4) Be responsible by giving your best, making positive decisions, accepting accountability for both academics and behavior, and being a dependable person.

Classroom Procedures:

1) Attendance: I will check attendance at the beginning of each class. Upon entering the classroom, take your seats, get out your classroom materials, and attend to the task presented on the board (quick start, critical thinking, journal writing).

2) Students are expected to be in their seats upon the ringing of the tardy bell. If they are not, students will be required to get a tardy slip.

3) Leaving the classroom requires permission from the teacher and a pass for the appropriate action. When I am giving whole group instruction, a student will be permitted to leave only in an emergency.

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Relationships by being Respectful, Responsible, Resourceful and Resilient.

Character, Competence and Commitment

James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

4) Students will turn in assignments in blue or black ink or pencil as per assignment instructions. Unless the use of other colors is specified, the assignment will not be accepted.

5) Cheating will not be tolerated!

6) Seatwork and Group work: The class will be allowed and encouraged to talk quietly about certain assignments to obtain collaborative help from peers. However, no talking will occur during the administration of tests or quizzes or while I am speaking directly to the class. Students are expected to raise their hand to speak or obtain help during these times of instruction.

7) At the end of class, students will be given enough time to put materials and personal items away. The class will always be dismissed by the teacher, never the bell.

GRADING POLICY:

The Caste High School Grading Policy will be followed in this class. The Policy is as follows:

Jupiter GradesJupiter Grades is the school’s on-line grade calculating and reporting program. I will update grades by 3 p.m. every Monday.

5-Point Grading ScaleAlthough Castle High School is currently not a standards-based grading school, we are working toward standards based grading. Therefore, all assignments and assessments will be based on a 5-point grading scale. Some grades may reflect half credit increments. For example, a student may receive a grade of 2.5 for an assignment. I have the discretion to assign a weight to larger assessments, with the maximum weight being three.

Furthermore, extra credit will not be offered.Quarter, Semester, Year Grades

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Grade for the Assignment or

Assessment

Letter Grade for the Assignment or

Assessment5 A

4 B

3 C

2 D

1 F

James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

Quarter grades will be based on this formula: All graded assignments – 15% of total gradeAll graded assessments – 85% of total grade

Semester grades will be based on the average of the two quarter grades.

Year grades will be based on the average of both semesters, except for courses with End of Course (EOC) exams. EOC exams will account for 15% of the student’s year grade.

RetakesStudents need to conference with me and request a re-take. It is at my discretion to allow a student to re-take an assessment. If a re-take occurs, I will take the higher grade. Re-takes are not provided for unexcused absences and firm deadline assessments.

Firm DeadlinesFirm deadlines for large projects and finals can be established if communicated at the start of the project or quarter and reiterated often.

Late WorkStudents need to conference with me to request turning in late work for credit. If accepted, students may have up to but no longer than two weeks after the due date to submit work. Maximum grade for late work is a 4.

Unexcused AbsenceWork will be given to students and students will have the opportunity to turn in the work for a grade. Students may have up to but no longer than two weeks after the due date to submit work. Maximum grade for an unexcused absence is a 4. No re-takes allowed for work turned in from an unexcused absence.

Finals WeekA final exam will be given at the end of each semester. A final exam schedule will be distributed early in the semester. Students should take every opportunity (A-period tutoring, re-takes, etc) to keep up with academic work throughout the semester to be prepared for each course’s final exam. Taking children out of school during finals week may be detrimental to their overall grades.

Scope and Sequence for the Year (subject to change)

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Character, Competence and Commitment

James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

AP Psych Course Topics and Outline: I. Introduction: history and various perspectives/approaches (1 week)

Psychology’s roots: Wilhelm Wundt (Structuralism) vs. William James (Functionalism) Nature vs. Nurture Psychology’s current perspectives: Neuroscience, Evolutionary, Behavior genetics,

Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Cognitive, Social-cultural

Assessment: Exam Summer Homework

II. Research & Statistics (2 weeks) Scientific Inquiry: scientific attitude & method Source of bias & error (hindsight bias, overconfidence) Research methods: descriptive (case study, survey, naturalistic observation), correlation,

experiments Ethical guidelines for experiments Statistical reasoning: describing data, measures of central tendency, measures of

variation, statistical significance

Assessment: Exam Group project: students will build a spaghetti and marshmallow tower to apply their

knowledge of the scientific method. This will encourage a more scientific approach to the field of psychology.

III. Memory (2 weeks) Information processing: encoding, storage, retrieval Encoding: visual, acoustic, & semantic encoding, autonomic & effortful processing Storage: short-term & long-term memory, iconic & echoic memory Retrieval cues Forgetting & memory construction: amnesia, repressed memories Loftus and Schacter

Assessment:

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James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

Exam Introductory Socratic Seminar Groups will create and present various mnemonic devices to memorize key concepts and

vocabulary. This will provide students with the skills needed to learn how to memorize vocabulary for future units.

IV. Neurobiology (2 weeks) Neurons: neuron transmission, role & influence of neurotransmitters, role of drugs

altering neurotransmitters Nervous system: the peripheral & central nervous system—its structure & function Brain: tools used to study the brain, brain stem, limbic system, neo-cortex, language,

hemispheric difference Endocrine system: structure & function of adrenal & pituitary gland

Assessment: Exam Nature vs Nurture Socratic Seminar Group project: Students will create a visual poster to present to the class. Each group

will be assigned a part of the brain, neurons, nervous system or endocrine system to present. This will build on their oral presentation skills.

V. Developmental Psychology (2 weeks) Prenatal development Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood Various theories: Cognitive Development (Piaget), Social Development (Erikson),

Attachment (Ainsworth), Moral Development (Kohlberg)

Assessment: Exam Group Project: Child Observation—each group will choose a child between the age of

two and seven to observe. They will take notes of the child’s behavior and mental processes and relate it to Piaget, Kohlberg, Ainsworth, and Erikson. A final paper will be due on their observation.

VI. Sensation & Perception (2 weeks) Sensation: how we receive stimuli energy through our sense detectors, thresholds, various

sensory organs—vision, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, vestibular systemKnight PrideDemonstrating

Relationships by being Respectful, Responsible, Resourceful and Resilient.

Character, Competence and Commitment

James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

Perception: how we interpret and make meaningful information from our sense detectors, perceptual organization (form, depth, and motion perception, perceptual constancy), perceptual adaptation, perceptual set

ESP

Assessment: Exam Sensation and Perception Stations

VII. Consciousness (2 weeks) Different states of consciousness: how they occur and affect behavior State of Consciousness: waking, daydreams and fantasies, sleep and dreams (sleep stages

and disorders), hypnosis, drugs, near-death experiences

Assessment: Exam Socratic Seminar: States of Consciousness Students will keep a sleep journal for seven days recording their sleep patterns and

dreams.

VIII. Cognition and Language (2 weeks) Cognition: solving problems and heuristics Language: language structure and development, theorists Skinner and Chomsky

Assessment: Exam

IX. Intelligence (1 week) How we assess different levels and types of intelligent behavior Tests/assessment: Stanford-Binet, aptitude tests, achievement tests, Wechsler Adult

Intelligence Scale (WAIS) Definition of intelligence, factor analysis, general intelligence Multiple intelligence, emotional intelligence Neurological, genetic and environmental influences on intelligence

Assessment: Exam Socratic Seminar

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Relationships by being Respectful, Responsible, Resourceful and Resilient.

Character, Competence and Commitment

James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

CUMULATIVE MIDTERM EXAM: 100 MCT and 2 FRQ

X. Learning (2weeks) Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning, Skinner’s Operant Conditioning, Social and

Observational Learning

Assessment: Exam Individual Project: Behavior Modification—students will choose a behavior that they

would like to change and use classical and operant conditioning as well as observational learning to modify that particular behavior. There will be a presentation and paper containing the process and results.

XI. Motivation (1.5 weeks) Different theories to explain our hunger, sex and achievement drives: instinct and

evolutionary psychology, drives and incentives, optimal arousal, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Hunger: eating disorder Sex: sexual response cycle, hormones and sexual behavior, sexual disorders, sexual

orientation Achievement: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, leadership style, McClelland and the

TAT

Assessment: Exam

XII. Emotion (1.5 weeks) Theories of emotion: James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory Physiology of emotion: autonomic nervous system, arousal Gender and nonverbal communication, facial expressions Experiencing fear, anger, happiness

Assessment: Exam Students will keep a mood journal for five days recording their emotions in terms of what

event triggered that particular emotion and why.

XIII. Stress and Health (1 week)

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Relationships by being Respectful, Responsible, Resourceful and Resilient.

Character, Competence and Commitment

James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

How stress response affects our health and ways to respond Selys’s General Adaptation Syndrome

Assessment: Exam

XIV. Personality (2 weeks) Theories of how we develop and assess our characteristic traits of behavior Psychodynamic Perspective: Freud, Adler, Horney, Jung Trait Perspective: Sheldon, factor analysis, “big five” personality factor model, Myers-

Briggs, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Humanistic Perspective: Maslow and Rogers Social Cognitive Perspective: Bandura, Seligmann, locus of control

Assessment: Exam

XV. Social Psychology (2 weeks) How social factors influence the behavior or individual Attitude and Behavior: Fundamental Attribution Error, foot-in-the-door phenomenon,

effect of role play, cognitive dissonance theory Social Influence: conformity (Asch) and obedience (Milgram) Group Influence: Social Facilitation, Social Loafing, Deindividuation, group polarization

and group think Social Relations: role of prejudice and scapegoating

Assessment: Exam Socratic Seminar Group Project: Breaking Social Norm—students will find a social norm that they would

like to break in public and observe how other people react to their behavior. They will write a paper of the process and results and complete a video project. There will also be a presentation after the completion of their project.

XVI. Abnormal Psychology (Psychological Disorders and Therapies) (2.5 weeks) Major disorders, treatments and expected outcomes Definition of Psychological Disorders, medical model, bio-psycho-social perspective Classifying Psychological Disorders: DSM-IV-TR Major Disorders: Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorders, Schizophrenia, Personality

Disorders, Dissociative DisordersKnight PrideDemonstrating

Relationships by being Respectful, Responsible, Resourceful and Resilient.

Character, Competence and Commitment

James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

Psychological Therapies: Psychoanalysis, Humanistic, Behavior, Cognitive, Group and Family, Biomedical Therapies

Effectiveness of Psychotherapy: Client’s perception and Consumer Report, Eysenck

Assessment: Exam Socratic Seminar Group Presentation: students will be given a particular disorder and their assignment is to

create a treatment plan using role-playing or skits. OR Students will evaluate and diagnose a fictional character from T.V., film, or print and

present their findings through a written report.

CUMULATIVE FINAL EXAM: 100 MCT and 2 FRQ

*Note: Course goals, topics, and outline are aligned with the American Psychological Association’s National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula, General Learner Outcomes, and Common Core Standards.

Controversial Issues in AP Psychology:

During the course of the year, we may deal with some sensitive issues of a personal nature (self-esteem, attraction, disability) or controversial issues of a more general nature (sexism, racism, classism).  These topic discussions are vital to the learning of psychology and understanding of relevant research.  Everyone must remember to listen to others respectfully, even if you disagree,

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Relationships by being Respectful, Responsible, Resourceful and Resilient.

Character, Competence and Commitment

James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

and behave maturely. There are many topics in the field of psychology that may be considered controversial.  For example, sexuality is discussed in conjunction with Freud, motivation and human development.  All material covered in the course is aligned with the AP Psychology curriculum.  I have used my professional judgment in selecting appropriate material to be used in teaching these topics.  By signing below, parent/guardian gives permission for their student to read, view or participate in assignments that Mrs. Sbraiga deems appropriate.  If you have any individual concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Other:

If you break anything that belongs to the school or to the teacher, you must pay for the damages and/or the replacement of the item(s). THINK before you do anything. Remember, you are responsible for your own actions and inactions.

REMINDER: The student must take the Advanced Placement course exam given on May 2, 2016 at his/her expense. Last year the cost of the exam was $90.00 (or $15.00 if qualified for free or reduced lunch).

Dear AP Psychology Students,

It is my intention to teach you and guide you through AP Psychology in an inquisitive, intriguing, and very student involved manner. I ask you to be willing to try new things and be prepared to be challenged daily. If at any time you feel overwhelmed or have questions, do not hesitate to let me know prior to or after class. I can only help you if you allow me to do so – my door is always open. Get ready for an exciting year, and welcome to AP Psychology!

~Mrs. Sbragia

Student Name: _____________________Period: ____________________

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James B. Castle High SchoolVision: A learning and caring community that works together for the benefit of its

students and where all are committed to excellence. Mission: We are dedicated to foster a connection between living and learning.

Please sign and turn in by ____________

I have read and understood the attached syllabus for AP Psychology I & II.

________________________ _______________________(Parent/Guardian Print Name) (Parent/Guardian email or

phone number)

________________________ ______________________(Parent/Guardian Signature) (Date)

I have read and understood the attached syllabus for AP Psychology I & II.

__________________________(Student email or phone number)

_______________________ ______________________(Student Signature) (Date)

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