Psychology II

Andover High School

Mr. Koch

Hello and welcome to my Psychology II website. Let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Dan Koch and I have been teaching Social Studies at Andover High School since 2016. Prior to that I taught for 10 years at Forest Lake High School one year at Farmington High School. I have a strong passion for psychology as it was one of my majors at the University of Wisconsin - Madison (an excellent school for psychology if any students are interested) and have had the opportunity to teach it at four different schools: James Madison Memorial High (Madison, WI), Farmington, Forest Lake, and now Andover.

This website is primarily designed to be a resource for students currently registered for the Psychology II course (the school also offers an AP Psychology course for those who might be interested). However, parents may also find it useful as a way to help keep track of what is happening in class. Students that are considering registering for Psychology II may also wish to look around to get an idea of what the course is about. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to contact me using the information at the bottom of the page.

What is Psychology?

Have you ever wondered why people do the things that they do?... How could atrocities like the Holocaust happen? Why do teens form cliques?Why are some people shy and other people the "life of the party"? Why do I sometimes get that deja vu feeling? Why do people develop mental disorders and how can they be helped? Can seeing violence on television and in video games make children violent?... These are just a few examples of the many different types of questions that psychologists try to answer. Basically psychology is about trying to understand why people do what they do. It's about understanding human behavior. For this reason, students often find that psychology has strong applications to the "real world." By studying psychology, we can better understand ourselves, other people and organisms, and their interaction with the world.