Summer Workshop for High School Psychology Teachers

We are excited to partner with the Psychology department of James Madison University to offer an excellent professional development opportunity for high school Psychology teachers. Two sessions created specifically for high school teachers will be offered this year at The Eastern Conference on the Teaching of Psychology (ETOP). ETOP already offers a discounted rate of $55 for high school teachers, and this year, thanks to an APF outreach grant, teachers attending the high school sessions are eligible for a reimbursement of $40. This covers complete conference registration including keynote speakers and other conference sessions outside of the high school workshops.

See the flyer below for details: (click the picture for a pdf copy of the flyer)

Upcoming Conference and High School Workshop

The department of Psychology at James Madison University hosts an annual conference, the Eastern Conference on the Teaching of Psychology (ETOP). The conference features several keynote speakers (TBA) and breakout sessions. This year's conference will occur on Friday and Saturday, June 23 and 24 in Staunton, Virginia.

This year, I am working with a pair of professors from the University to offer a workshop for high school teachers at the conference. We are also pursuing grant funding to offset some of the conference cost.

We are hoping to get some feedback in the planning of the workshop in order to maximize its benefits to high school Psychology teachers in Virginia. If you are interested in attending this workshop, please take a minute to complete the survey below.

Eastern Conference on the Teaching of Psychology

The Department of Psychology at James Madison University is hosting a two-day conference for high school and college psychology teachers June 26-27 in Staunton, Virginia. This conference should provide excellent professional development and networking opportunities for teachers of Psychology in Virginia. The conference offers workshops, a poster session, participant idea exchange, and keynote addresses on issues related to the teaching of psychology.

Each of the keynote participants have an impressive resume and topic, but Dr. Stephen Chew has been a strong advocate of high school psychology through his past service to the APA Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools committee. Dr. Chew provides an excellent perspective on the application of Cognitive Principles in teaching and learning. His video series on "How to Study" is useful not only to students, but also in the high school psychology classroom as a tool for learning about memory and cognition. His most recent series addresses the application of Cognitive knowledge to our practice as teachers.

Conference organizers are hoping to increase participation in the conference from high school teachers and at $50.00, the registration cost is reasonable. More information on the conference as well as registration information can be found at the conference website: Eastern Conference on the Teaching of Psychology (ETOP) 

Fall Conference Agenda

We're just four days away from the VaTOPSS Fall Conference.  The registration deadline has passed, but there is plenty of physical space for anyone to come, and most likely there will be enough food for additional participants if you'd like to come.

If you have a laptop or tablet device, it would be useful to have for a few of our sessions. Also, if you're not on the agenda, I've built in time for teachers to share ideas and resources with each other, so if you have an activity or two you'd like to share please bring it in.

Please let me know if you have any questions between now and Monday. (sturner@k12albemarle.org).

Here's the agenda for the day.

VaTOPSS Fall Conference Monday, November 10, 2014 Monticello High School Charlottesville,VA
10:00-11:10	Dan Willingham: “What Every Educator and Student Should Know About Human Memory”
11:10-11:30	Break
11:30- 12:00	Introductions
12:00-1:00	Lunch and Table Talk
1:00-2:00	Kevin Denson: “Using Socrative in the Classroom” Lani Hoza: “Psychology Research and Applications”
2:10-2:50	Gail Marney: “Virtual Virginia: Psychology” Teresa Muse: “Brain Awareness Activities”
2:50-3:20	Open Sharing and Other Ideas
3:20-3:40	Closing Remarks and Next Steps

2014 Fall Conference Updates

The 2014 Fall VaTOPSS Conference is less than two weeks away! If you haven't registered yet, please be sure to do so by Friday, October 31. You are welcome to register after that date, but in order to receive lunch and other materials, you must be registered by the deadline.

A final agenda will be posted next week, but the conference will officially start at 10am, and our featured speaker Dan Willingham will be our first presentation of the day. The conference will run until about 3:45 in the afternoon.

Once again, the conference is at Monticello High School in Charlottesville, VA. Click the high school name for directions. Certificates of attendance will be provided which along with a copy of the days agenda should be sufficient if you wish to receive professional development credit from your district.

Several teachers plan to share ideas and lessons with us for the day, but we will also have some time built in for informal sharing with each other, so if you have a lesson or idea that others may benefit from, bring it with you. Also, bring a laptop or other device if you have it in order to fully participate in some of our presentations.

If you have any questions, email sturner@k12albemarle.org.