AP Psychology Syllabus

AP Psychology Course Syllabus

I. Instructor: averages: 1^st 9 weeks: _____

Donald Witsell 2^nd 9 weeks: _____

cell: 279-4844 work:670-5000

email: donald.witsell@bcsemail.org

class website: http://www.buncombe.k12.nc.us/Domain/1839

Facebook friend: DC Witsell

Absences (write the date of your absence in the blank, but don’t actually have 10 absences):

1._____ 2._____ 3._____ 4._____ 5._____ 6._____ 7._____ 8._____ 9._____ 10._____

II. Course purpose:

The purpose of the AP course in Psychology is to introduce the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Included is a consideration of the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. Students also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice. The aim of this course is to provide a learning experience equivalent to that obtained in most college introductory psychology courses.

III. The AP Psychology Exam:

Our exam is Monday, May 1st, 2017 at 12 noon. All students registered for this class must take the exam. There is an $87 fee to take the exam (waived this year?). The AP psychology exam consists of a 70 minute multiple choice section with 100 questions which constitutes two thirds of your grade and a 50 minute free response section with two questions which accounts for one third of your grade. It is graded on a 1-5 scale. A score of 3 or higher will, in many cases, earn students college credit in an introductory psychology course. However, some more competitive colleges require scores of 4 or 5 before awarding credit. All students enrolled in the class will be required to take the exam to receive AP credit.

IV. Interesting Statistic:

45% of students who have taken one AP course and 61% of students who have taken two or more AP courses complete there bachelor’s degree in four years or less. Whereas only 29% of students who have taken no AP courses complete their bachelor’s degree in four years or less.

V. Grades:

1^st 9 weeks – 37.5% A – 90-100

2^nd 9 weeks – 37.5 % B – 80-89

Final Exam – 25% C- 70-79

D – 60-69

F – 0 – 59

Grades will be posted anonymously at the front of the room. Tests will be given after every two chapters and will be worth 100 points. Projects will be worth 100 points. Lesser assignments (frequent reading quizzes, vocabulary quizzes, homefun, fun-sheets, etc.will be worth 10-50 points. In this manner we will accumulate points. In the average 9 weeks grading period, we will have 700-800 points possible. Thus we will accumulate 1,400 – 1,600 points possible. To determine your grade, simply convert your fraction to a decimal. For example, “Roland” has 589 points earned out of 652 points possible. (589/652 = 90.33%). Simple. Right?

VI. Textbook: Psychology – AP Edition, Zimbardo, Johnson, Weber, Gruber 2007. You are expected to have your textbook with you every day in class. You will also need to get a copy of Barron’s AP Psychology 6^th edition and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales. These books are mandatory for this class. You must have them no later than October 1^st.

VII. Course Outline: As relevant to each content area, the course will provide instruction in empirically supported psychological facts, research findings, terminology, and associated phenomena, perspectives, and major figures.

VIII. Homefun

Since learning and bettering oneself is fun, we don’t do homework; we do homefun. The majority of your homefun is simply to read and study. It is presumed that you will read every chapter that you are tested over. Tests will be written and class discussions will be held based on the assumption that you have read the material beforehand. Notice, this will require that you read 15-20 pages of the text a night. However, there will often be assignments in addition to the reading. Frequent, periodic reading quizzes will be given to hold you to this task.

IX. Attendance and Makeup Work

Since the workload and pacing of this class is advanced, if you miss a day of class, you will miss a lot. You are expected to be here everyday. All of the school rules regarding attendance and absence recovery apply in this class. So five absences is the maximum allowed to be able to earn class credit. All makeup work will be done before or after school. You will have ten school days upon your return to school to makeup missed work. After ten days transpire, your zero for the assignment is permanent.

X. Rules and Expectations

The class rules/expectations are posted at the back of the room. Note they are subtitled “How to Pass This Class”. This being an AP class, I expect more maturity and less lameness.

XI. Important dates:

*These dates are subject to change due to inclement weather.