Monitor on Psychology - November 2011 - (Page 65)

go on to pursue psychology as a career,” she says. “The results is to provide students with meaningful feedback on their are impressive in terms of how it motivates the students.” projects — something they don’t always receive at other science One such student is Ben Basile. At the Bozeman High School competitions — so the judges fill out comment sheets that the Psychology Fair 14 years ago, he played a clip from the movie presenters later get to read. “Goodfellas” as part of a demonstration on how exposure to At St. Paul’s School for Girls in Brooklandville, Md., violent movie scenes affect heart rate and pulse. “Hands-on, psychology teacher Jeanne Blakeslee has similar goals with her psychology convention. Most of all, she wants her students to apply what they’re learning in class to real-life problems. Seniors in her Advanced Placement (AP) psychology class and from five other local schools choose a topic related to the theme “How to Make the World a Better Place for Adolescents.” They do a literature review and make a 40-minute presentation on their research at the AP Psychology Convention, held each year in April. This year’s projects included ones on how to create a better atmosphere in schools and society for transgender teens and the impact of different parenting styles on adolescent behavior. “At the convention, these kids act like professional psychologists,” says Blakeslee, chair of APA’s Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools. In Bozeman, Mont., the annual AP psychology fair at Bozeman High School High school seniors Rabia Ahmad, Sina Gebre-ab and Kayla Alevizatos. is so popular that it attracts 1,500 guests. Like Blakeslee, AP psychology teacher Joyce interactive learning experiences like this inspired me to pursue a Hannula requires her students to enter a project in an annual career in psychology,” says Basile, now a doctoral student in the psychology fair. During the all-day event, her students set up neuroscience and animal behavior program in the psychology booths in the school’s gym. Guests who visit their booths are department at Emory University. given a hands-on activity that demonstrates a psychological Meghan Smith, who graduated from St. Paul’s School for concept, such as short-term memory, operant conditioning Girls five years ago, says she knew she wanted to continue or reaction time. studying psychology in college after she presented on “The projects are amazing — complex and very involving,” the history and neurobiological basis of shyness at the says Hannula. For example, some students who wanted to AP Psychology Convention. Later, while working on her demonstrate the concept of memory construction set up a undergraduate honors thesis at the University of Virginia, she maze. After visitors exited the maze, they were asked a series of appreciated that the convention prepared her to do collegequestions to determine whether items they believed they saw level research. Starting this fall, she’ll be applying those skills displayed along the walls were actually present. in the clinical child psychology doctoral program at Virginia Commonwealth University. A launching pad “The convention really opened my eyes to how exciting it is The psychology fair experience seems to pay off for students to dig into psychological concepts,” she says. n and the psychology field. When Weseley surveyed teachers at schools that participated in the Long Island High School Jen Uscher is a writer in Brooklyn, N.Y. Psychology Fair during the past three years, she found that more than two-thirds of the students who competed in the fair take psychology classes when they head to college. More than a Want to set up your own psychology science third are involved in psychology research. fair? For ideas, go to the APA’s Education Hannula says she has also seen how presenting in a Directorate’s Science Fairs page at www.apa.org/ psychology fair can make a lasting impression on a student. education/k12/science-fairs.aspx. “I’ve seen that it helps them understand what research really involves and they become excited about it. In some cases, they n ov e M b e r 2 0 1 1 • M o n i to r o n p s yc h o l o g y 65 http://www.apa.org/education/k12/science-fairs.aspx http://www.apa.org/education/k12/science-fairs.aspx

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