PSYCHOLOGY
Kristin Whitlock
khwhitlock2025@gmail.com
Kristin H. Whitlock has been teaching AP Psychology since 1992 and currently teaches at Davis High School in Kaysville and Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. She has been a part of the AP Psychology annual reading since 2001. She currently serves as Assistant Chief Reader and has served as an Exam Leader, Question Leader, Table Leader, and Reader. Kristin has also served as the College Board Advisor to the AP Psychology Test Development Committee. She co-authored Barron’s AP Q & A Psychology 600 Questions. She has also authored and edited many articles and teaching materials to support the psychology curriculum. Along with being a College Board Consultant, Kristin has presented at numerous teaching conferences and is the program director for the annual Utah-Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools Fall Conference. She currently serves as the Vice-President for Conference Programming for the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. Kristin has also served as a member of the Steering Committee of the APA’s Introductory Psychology Initiative and co-leader for the Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment working group. She also served on the Steering Committee for the National Summit on High School Psychology Education and co-leader of the Psychology is Science working group. Kristin also served as Chair of the Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) Committee. When not doing something related to psychology, Kristin loves to spend time with her three fabulous children and wonderfully supportive husband.
AP* Psychology
AP Seminars Silicon Valley 2022
Welcome! I am an AP Psychology teacher from Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah. I’ve taught AP Psychology since 1992. I’m excited to get to know you and talk about one of my favorite subjects! The content of the AP Psychology course is so applicable to our students. I enjoy the challenge of creating a course that both prepares students to pass the AP Psychology exam and think more deeply about how these concepts impact their daily lives.
We will work together at the beginning of the workshop to set goals for our time together. As you look at the schedule I’ve prepared, you will notice that most of each day is pre-scheduled with a Big CED (Course and Exam Description) Topic, but during part of each day we will talk about topics the group chooses (the Psychology Content section of the day). Thus, the syllabus below outlines a general outline for our time together, but we may modify it based on what the group decides is most important and the time we have available. One of my goals is to make sure that you leave this workshop with the resources you need most for next year. I’ll provide copies of the materials we use/discuss so you’ll have a handy “toolkit” of activities, demonstrations, and resources to draw from as you plan your curriculum.
What to bring:
● Please bring the text (or texts) that you use (or plan to use) with your AP class. I’m most familiar with the Myers text, but I’ve used other books as well. Some of our discussions will involve how we can best use our texts to help students and features to look for in a good AP book. We may also need our textbooks as we discuss and practice writing FRQ’s.
● Make sure you have a copy of the College Board AP Psychology CED (either the physical binder or the digital).
● I will be using Google slides and documents that will be shared with you in my Google Drive. I will provide a link to my Google drive as we get closer to our workshop. It’s helpful to use your gmail account (or sign up for a gmail account) when registering for the conference as it makes sharing of Google files so much easier.
● Bring a laptop/tablet and a power cord (and possibly an extension cord if you have one available. It may be helpful in case finding an outlet in our classroom is a challenge).
We will work together at the beginning of the workshop to set goals for our time together. As you look at the schedule I’ve prepared, you will notice that most of each day is pre-scheduled with a Big CED (Course and Exam Description) Topic, but during part of each day we will talk about topics the group chooses (the Psychology Content section of the day). Thus, the syllabus below outlines a general outline for our time together, but we may modify it based on what the group decides is most important and the time we have available. One of my goals is to make sure that you leave this workshop with the resources you need most for next year. I’ll provide copies of the materials we use/discuss so you’ll have a handy “toolkit” of activities, demonstrations, and resources to draw from as you plan your curriculum.
What to bring:
● Please bring the text (or texts) that you use (or plan to use) with your AP class. I’m most familiar with the Myers text, but I’ve used other books as well. Some of our discussions will involve how we can best use our texts to help students and features to look for in a good AP book. We may also need our textbooks as we discuss and practice writing FRQ’s.
● Make sure you have a copy of the College Board AP Psychology CED (either the physical binder or the digital).
● I will be using Google slides and documents that will be shared with you in my Google Drive. I will provide a link to my Google drive as we get closer to our workshop. It’s helpful to use your gmail account (or sign up for a gmail account) when registering for the conference as it makes sharing of Google files so much easier.
● Bring a laptop/tablet and a power cord (and possibly an extension cord if you have one available. It may be helpful in case finding an outlet in our classroom is a challenge).
Day 1: Welcome!
● Introductions - What resources do you LOVE and can’t live without?
● Goal setting: What topics/concerns do we want to make sure we discuss?
Big CED topic: What is AP Psychology?
● Goal setting: What topics/concerns do we want to make sure we discuss?
Big CED topic: What is AP Psychology?
● Goals & Benefits of taking AP in general, & AP Psych in particular
● Structuring your AP Psychology Course. Tour of the CED & planning sheets.
● Sharing our organization systems, discussing advantages and disadvantages of different examples
● Choosing a textbook
● AP Course Audit
● First day activities
● Structuring your AP Psychology Course. Tour of the CED & planning sheets.
● Sharing our organization systems, discussing advantages and disadvantages of different examples
● Choosing a textbook
● AP Course Audit
● First day activities
Psychology Content: Scientific Foundations of Psychology
● Discussion of terms, concepts, activities, teaching methods, and student projects.
Day 2:
Revisit Day 1 - Questions?
Big CED Topic: The AP Psychology Exam - the Multiple Choice
Big CED Topic: The AP Psychology Exam - the Multiple Choice
● 2022 Exam performance
● How is the AP exam designed?
● What are the skills my students should learn in AP Psychology?
● Writing or selecting multiple choice questions for your exams
● Strategies for taking the multiple choice & reviewing for the AP Exam
● How do you design exams in your class?
● Helping kids master the material: test recapture
● How is the AP exam designed?
● What are the skills my students should learn in AP Psychology?
● Writing or selecting multiple choice questions for your exams
● Strategies for taking the multiple choice & reviewing for the AP Exam
● How do you design exams in your class?
● Helping kids master the material: test recapture
Psychology Content: Scientific Foundations of Psychology (Research methods)
● Discussion of terms, concepts, activities, teaching methods, and student projects.
Day 3:
Revisit Day 2 - Questions?
● Big CED Topic: The Free Response Questions
● Purpose of the free-response questions
● History of the free-response questions, and what we might expect in the future
● AP Reading Simulation
● Grading the free-response answers with a rubric
● How should we prepare our students to answer free-response questions?
● Purpose of the free-response questions
● History of the free-response questions, and what we might expect in the future
● AP Reading Simulation
● Grading the free-response answers with a rubric
● How should we prepare our students to answer free-response questions?
Psychology Content: Biological Bases of Behavior, Sensation & Perception
● Discussion of terms, concepts, activities, teaching methods, and student projects.
Day 4:
Revisit Day 3 - Questions?
Big CED Topic: AP Classroom - What is it, and how can we use it?
Equity & Access in AP courses
Psychology Content: Learning & Cognition
Big CED Topic: AP Classroom - What is it, and how can we use it?
Equity & Access in AP courses
Psychology Content: Learning & Cognition
● Discussion of terms, concepts, activities, teaching methods, and student projects.
The exam is over…now what?
Goodbyes! Final questions, tearful farewells!
Goodbyes! Final questions, tearful farewells!
