AP Psychology is probably my favorite class. You learn everything from the structure of the brain to the development of your personality. Mrs. Schulken is an amazing teacher who teaches AP Psych, AP United States History, and U.S. 11. She studied psychology in college and found a passion for studying as she wrote her college thesis. She loves teaching the class which is something you can see every day. 

What exactly is the class? A great question and one that I found myself thinking about before I put it on my schedule. AP Psych is a college-level introductory course designed to introduce students to the study of the human brain, behavior, and the mental process. 

Course objectives:

1. The first thing, of course, is to prepare for AP Exam
2. Students study the major core concepts and theories of psychology. 
3. Students will learn the basics of psychological research. At the end of the year they will be able to interpret and generalize results and evaluate the validity of the research. 
4. Students will be able to apply psychological concepts to their own lives! 
5. Students will develop reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. 
6. And last but not least, students will learn about psychology as a profession, the diversity of careers in psychology, and educational requirements that must be met to pursue careers.

Course Assignments: 

1. Each unit is about 2-4 weeks long with an exam at the end. 
2. There’s reading guides with every chapter (sometimes there’s funny jokes in them).
3. There are fun projects (you get to adopt an imaginary child in one of them). 
4. There are a few essays and papers covering material. 
5. Grading:
   1. Tests/major papers: 50%
   2. Quizzes: 20%
   3. Homework/classwork: 20%
   4. Class Participation: 10%

Textbooks:
Myers, David G., Psychology for AP, 2nd edition

Course Topics:
Unit 1: Foundations of Psychology
Unit 2: Biological Bases of Behavior
Unit 3: Sensation and Perception
Unit 4: Learning
Unit 5: Cognitive Psychology
Unit 6: Developmental Psychology
Unit 7: Motivation, Emotion, and Personality (my favorite unit)
Unit 8: Clinical Psychology
Unit 9: Social Psychology

This course is an amazing introduction to psychology.

I wonder how many narcissists it would take to screw in a light bulb. In this class you’ll find out the answer is one. All they have to do is hold up their arm and the world will revolve around them.

Mrs. Schulken says “AP Psychology is such a fun class! You get to learn more about why people make the choices they do and also how to apply psychology to the real world. Psychology is very misunderstood and I love that I get to help people have a better understanding of what psych really is!” In the beginning of the school year, you’ll get to hear her stories about skater boys and her first psychology observational study. I hope everyone enjoys this class as much as I do! After all, once you start making Freud jokes, it’s one after a mother.