1. Welcome to AP Psychology!
Please choose a seat and get a Chromebook

2. Welcome to AP Psychology – the study of behavior and mental processes
Introductions
Meet the people sitting around you
Seats
Textbooks

5. Syllabus Highlights
Main Goal: To gain greater understanding and insight into human behavior, and utilize that knowledge to succeed on the AP Exam.

6. Course Information 36 weeks long (A/B Day) 1 quality point (5 points)
AP Exam: May 9, 2019 Ardrey Kell

7. Materials 3-ring binder
Blue/black pen, pencil, highlighter, lined paper
Composition notebook for vocabulary
Textbook: Myers’ Psychology for AP (take home and do not bring back until after AP exam)

8. Assessments
Vocabulary quizzes – 30 fill-in-the-blank questions in 16 minutes taken from all the words in the unit; word bank given (30 formal points)
Unit tests – 100 multiple choice questions in 70 minutes OR 70 multiple choice questions in 52 minutes and a 25 minutes Free Response Question (FRQ); has a study guide
May fall on “non-testing days”

9. Assessments Cont’d
Unit Vocabulary Notebook – turned on test day; Word – Definition – Real-life Example; 10 informal points
Extra Credit – there will be EC offered each unit; the amount of pts will be based on quality of work
Formal – 70%; Informal – 30%
Final Grade – 50% 1st semester, 50% second semester (no final exam)

10. Assessments Cont’d
Test/Quiz Make-Up – please tell me in advance if you know that you are going to be absent, and you may take the test/quiz early
Make-Up exams are short answer
Make-Up quizzes are verbal with words picked randomly
Test Retakes – there are no test retakes
Academic Integrity – zero + Honor Code violation

11. Computer Use Absences Only during specified activities
Don’t be absent – you will miss a huge amount of information (units are only about 6 days long)
Your responsibility to get the info that you missed
Computer Use
Only during specified activities
During PPTs, notes must be handwritten/PPT printed off

12. Tips for studying psychology
Distribute your study time: rather than trying to read an entire unit in a single setting, read just one main section and then turn to something else.
Learn to think critically: whether you’re reading or in class, note people’s assumptions and values. What perspective or bias underlines an argument. Evaluate evidence. Assess evidence. Are there alternative explanations?
Overlearn: psychology tells us that overlearning improves retention. We are prone to overestimating how much we know. Devote extra study time to testing yourself and reviewing what you think you know, you will retain your new knowledge long into the future.
Be a smart test-taker: read essay and organize thoughts; on the back page, pencil in a list of points you’d like to make. Before writing put aside the essay and work through the M.C. – more information to come throughout the year!