PBL and AP Psych

This summer, I’m working with a few AP Psych teachers to produce a blog post that’s to be entitled Ten Project-Based Learning Opportunities for the AP Psych course. Also hoping to include a few TOPSS teachers.

Below, six “authentic projects” that we might mention in our blog post.

1. A Digital Magazine entitled Teens Exploring Psychology (articles by teens for teens and possibly modeled after something like this).
2. A Digital Primer entitled Unlocking the Teen Brain (with this primer to build on the work described in a 2017 Edutopia article entitled Learning by Doing: Students Write a Guide to Teen Psychology.)
3. A Digital Museum Wall Exhibit designed for either the APA’s Virtual Psychology Museum or the National Museum of Psychology
4. A High School Teacher Training (with this teacher training to build on what appears here.)
5. An Internal Memo addressed to the Governing Board at iCivics and that recommends either the development of a new product or a new feature.
6. A Resemblance Video (a three-to-ten minute, bite-sized bit of knowledge that corresponds in appearance or qualities to a youtube video produced by an esteemed educator and that proves of great viewing value to students enrolled in most high school Psychology courses.)

Want to join the team? Offer feedback and/or other project suggestions? If so, I can be reached at ppaccone@smusd.us.

Sidenote

Since publishing the above, I’ve received one more “authentic (PBL) project suggestion,” with this one calling upon the students to assume that they have been hired by a local newspaper to write a story relating to the subject of Psychology with the title of the article inspired by the list of research topics found here, here, and below.

• What is meant by “team chemistry?”
• Break-up coping strategies
• School yard bullying — does it include sarcasm, eye-rolling, and gossip?
• How do violent video games affect children and their brain development?
• How does divorce affect the emotional development of a child?
• How to deal with pregame jitters?
• How important is it to have a “good breakfast?”
• What is the attention span, and how to measure it?
• Grieving the loss of a friend.
• Is social media threatening teens’ mental health?
• Required summer work — good or bad for teens?
• How teens today are different from teens of past generations.
• Sleep? How much do you need?
• How has the disruption to school patterns caused by the Covid pandemic affected teens’ mental health?
• Can you really listen to music and study at the same time?
• What is helicopter parenting?
• Tiger mothers
• The gender spectrum?
• FOMO
• How to break the procrastination cycle
• 10 skills of successful students
• Virtual Learning — a blessing or a curse for students?
• How do teens demonstrate resiliency?
• Why do New Year’s Resolutions often fail?
• How can you be a good friend to someone who is dealing with loss?
• What is empathy?
• Other people may try to drain your energy. Here’s how to stop them in their place?
• What does it mean to be a teenager?
• What does it mean to be mature?
• How to prevent mid school year burnout