Monitor on Psychology - November 2011 - (Page 64)

Students participate in the science fair at St. Paul’s School for girls in Brooklandville, Md. Her project won second place and a $75,000 college scholarship in the national Intel Science Talent Search, an elite research competition for high school seniors. The competition also honed her public speaking skills and gave her experience with answering science questions off the cuff. The best part, she says, was meeting the seasoned scientists involved in the contest. “It’s like a glimpse into my own future,” says Hackman, who hopes to pursue a career as a research psychologist. Students have been entering psychology research projects in local, regional and national science fairs for years. But these days, high school psychology teachers throughout the country have started fairs and conventions exclusively for psychology research, in part because psychological science is so interesting to students and the public and also due to APA’s support of such fairs. APA sees science fairs as a way for the field to earn psychology more recognition as a core science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) discipline, says Robin Hailstorks, PhD, associate executive director of APA’s Education Directorate. “When students present scientifically sound psychology research projects at science fairs, it helps students, teachers and the public understand psychology as a science,” she says. Best practices To boost the number of psychology projects in traditional science fairs and competitions, APA’s Education Directorate published a manual for high school teachers to guide students who are conducting original psychological research to enter in science fairs (www.apa.org/education/k12/science-fairmanual.pdf). APA also provides judges to participate in the annual Intel 64 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and awards prizes to recognize seven psychology projects. In addition, APA sends an award that the judges can give for the top psychology project at each of the 443 local and regional science fairs affiliated with the Intel ISEF. “We have kids that are doing really great, rigorous psychological research, and we want to give them a venue to present their projects where that kind of work is the focus and the judges are experts in psychology,” says Allyson Weseley, EdD, who coordinates secondary research at Roslyn High School in Roslyn Heights, N.Y. She recognized that a lot of students in her local area take psychology classes and could use a forum to present their original research, so she teamed with three teachers from nearby schools to launch the Long Island High School Psychology Fair in 2009, held annually at Roslyn High School (www.longislandpsychologyfair.com). Any high school student on Long Island with a psychology research project can apply to compete in the event. Each participating student gives a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation to a panel of judges and an audience of competitors. Winning entries in this year’s fair covered such topics as the factors related to adolescent digital music piracy and the effect of student ethnicity on teacher perceptions and grades. Many students opt to enter their projects in other local or national competitions at the same time. Hackman, for example, received an honorable mention in this year’s fair for the study she entered in the Intel Science Talent Search. The judges for the competition are local psychology professors, high school psychology teachers and graduates of local high schools who are studying psychology in college or graduate school. Weseley says one of her goals for the fair M o n i to r o n p s yc h o l o g y • n ov e M b e r 2 0 1 1 http://www.longislandpsychologyfair.com http://www.apa.org/education/k12/science-fair-manual.pdf http://www.apa.org/education/k12/science-fair-manual.pdf

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - November 2011

Monitor on Psychology - November 2011
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
Guest Column
‘Grand Challenges’ offers blueprint for mental health research
Documentary seeks to reach parents of LGBT kids
Treating veterans will cost at least $5 billion by 2020
Selfless volunteering might lengthen your life
Combat and stress up among U.S. military in Afghanistan
South Africa to host international psychology conference
Study uncovers a reason behind sex differences in mental illness
Navy psychologist gives a voice to combat trauma
In Brief
Psychologist suicide
On Your Behalf
Journey back to Heart Mountain
Psychology is key to pain management, report finds
ACT goes international
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Time Capsule
Questionnaire
Science Watch
Behavior change in 15-minute sessions?
Health-care reform 2.0
Perspective on Practice
Giving a heads up on concussion
Practice Profile
Searching for meaning
Inspiring young researchers
Aging, with grace
Public Interest
Thank you!
APA News
Division Spotlight
American Psychological Foundation
The man who gave Head Start a start
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - November 2011