Essential Questions
for Psychology Today!
Debra Park
Clark University
July 2012
http://www.apa.org/education/k12/national-standards.aspx
Resources for Teachers
Resources for Teachers
Overarching Themes of Standards
Domains and Standards Areas
Scientific Inquiry Domain
Perspectives in Psychological Science
Research Methods, Measurement, and Statistics
Biopsychology Domain
Biological Bases of Behavior
Sensation and Perception
Consciousness
Development and Learning Domain
Life Span Development
Learning
Language Development
Sociocultural Context Domain
Social Interactions
Sociocultural Diversity
Domains and Standards Areas
Cognition Domain
Memory
Thinking
Intelligence
Individual Variations Domain
Motivation
Emotion
Personality
Psychological Disorders
Applications of Psychological Science Domain
Treatment of Psychological Disorders
Health
Vocational Applications
STANDARD AREA: Perspectives in Psychological Science
CONTENT STANDARDS
After concluding this unit, students understand:
1. Development of psychology as an empirical science
2. Major subfields within psychology
Performance Standards
CS 1: Development of psychology as an empirical science
Students are able to (performance standards):
1.1 Define psychology as a discipline and identify its goals as a science
1.2: Describe the emergence of psychology as a scientific discipline.
1.3 Describe perspectives employed to understand behavior and mental
processes
1.4 Explain how psychology evolved as a scientific discipline
What we would like YOU to help us with are the performance indicators
Examples:
PS 1.2 Describe the emergence of psychology as a scientific discipline.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
a. Explaining how Wilhelm Wundt’s research became the basis of
experimental psychology and influenced others to research human behavior.
PS 1.4 Explain how psychology evolved as a scientific discipline
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
a. Trace the accomplishments of psychological scientists of the 19th, 20th and 21st
centuries.
(BTW use PSYCH SIM – activity for this!)
STANDARD AREA: RESEARCH METHODS, MEASUREMENT, AND
STATISTICS
CONTENT STANDARDS
After concluding this unit, students :
1. Research methods and measurements used to study behavior and mental
processes
2. Ethical issues in research with human and non-human animals
3. Basic concepts of data analysis
CS 1
PS 1.1 Describe the scientific method and its role in psychology.
PS 1.2 Describe and compare a variety of quantitative (eg, surveys, correlations,
experiments) and qualitative (eg, interviews, narratives, focus groups) research
methods
What we would like YOU to help us with are the performance indicators
Examples:
PS1.2 Describe and compare a variety of quantitative (eg, surveys, correlations,
experiments) and qualitative (eg, interviews, narratives, focus groups) research
methods
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
Reviewing research studies and determining the appropriateness of the methods
used to conduct the research.
Developing a hypothesis and outlining the steps they will use to conduct a
research study on a topic/problem/questions of their choice.
Understanding by Design Unit Plan
Unit Title:
Intelligence
Grade/Subject: 11, 12 Psychology
Duration of Unit: 10 days
Big Ideas: Nature, Nurture, Growth, Assessment, Diversity, Fairness
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
APA HS Psychology Standards:
Standard Area: Intelligence
Content Standards
After concluding this unit, students understand:
1. Perspectives on intelligence
2. Assessment of intelligence
3. Issues in intelligence
NJCCS Social Studies
6.3 Active Citizenship in the 21st Century: All students will acquire the skills needed to be
active, informed citizens who value diversity and promote cultural understanding by working
collaboratively to address the challenges that are inherent in living in an interconnected world.
Stage One: Start with Standards
Identify EU’s and EQ’s
Enduring Understanding(s)
Students will understand that:
Psychological knowledge, like all
scientific knowledge, evolves rapidly as
new discoveries are made.
Psychological knowledge can be related
to everyday life
There are multiple perspectives by which
psychologists study and explain human
behavior.
Heredity and environment interact in the
development of an individual across the
lifespan.
Scientific evidence is used to explain all
findings in the field of psychology.
Intelligence is more than a score on a test.
A multi-cultural and global perspective
recognizes how diversity is important to
understanding intelligence.
Essential Question(s):
How is intelligence defined and
measured?
How did the uses and abuses of
Intelligence testing impact the lives of
people of color/other groups in our
society?
How should intelligence testing be used?
How can the results of various measures
of intelligence be applied in the real
world?
How can we define and measure
intelligence in such a way that the results
are valid and culturally fair?
How is our thinking/intelligence affected
by the information provided by our
culture and environment?
Can decision making skills be developed
to overcome poor judgment and problem
solving abilities?
Is intelligence more than being smart in
school?
Enduring Understanding(s)
Students will understand that:
Psychological knowledge, like all scientific knowledge, evolves
rapidly as new discoveries are made.
Psychological knowledge can be related to everyday life
There are multiple perspectives by which psychologists study and
explain human behavior.
Heredity and environment interact in the development of an
individual across the lifespan.
Scientific evidence is used to explain all findings in the field of
psychology.
Enduring Understanding(s)
Students will understand that:
Intelligence is more than a score on a test.
A multi-cultural and global perspective recognizes how diversity is
important to understanding intelligence.
Any other suggestions???
Essential Question(s):
How is intelligence defined and measured?
How did the uses and abuses of
Intelligence testing impact the lives of people of color/other groups in
our society?
How should intelligence testing be used?
How can the results of various measures of intelligence be applied in
the real world?
How can we define and measure intelligence in such a way that the
results are valid and culturally fair?
How is our thinking/intelligence affected by the information provided
by our culture and environment?
Essential Question(s):
Can decision making skills be developed to overcome poor judgment
and problem solving abilities?
Is intelligence more than being smart in school?
Any other suggestions???
Student Objectives/Learning Outcomes:
Students will:
Discuss the conceptualizations of intelligence.
Trace the history of intelligence testing and discuss its use
and misuse.
Identify current methods of assessing human abilities and
explain measures of reliability and validity.
Determine the biological, cultural and environmental
factors that influence intelligence.
Review the research that has been conducted on what is
known about intelligence and present a summary of this
research.
Discuss what areas of intelligence are still in question and
present their findings.
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance
Task(s):
Analyze the results of
an intelligence test
Assess the validity of
an intelligence test
Develop a test to
measure a specific
trait and disseminate/
score/ analyze results
and present to class
(groups of three)
Other Evidence:
Essays/ Compare and
Contrast theories
MC Test on unit
HW
Discussion
Article Review
Performance Assessment
Research and present what is known/unknown/still needs to be discovered about
intelligence (groups of three).
PPt/Visuals to accompany presentation
Use Article and Websites here:
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/05/intelligences.aspx
http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/apa96.shtml
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/iku.html
Stage 3 –Plan your learning activities and daily lessons
STAGE 3 – LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Learning Activities:
Day 1 Lecture with PowerPoint
Days 2-3 Discussions - large group and small group
Day 4 Reading / Article Reviews from APA and other resources on line (laptops/lab)
Days 5-6 Reading and discussion of the APA research
Days 7-9 Student Presentations***
Days 10 Test
***
Groups of 3 students working outside of class to prepare presentations
Extension Activity: Choice of
1. Test development and dissemination to students / analysis of results/ presentation
or
2. Research and Presentation on What is Known and Unknown about Intelligence
Materials and Resources:
Myers 8th Ed. Psychology PP/lecture notes/Activities
http://www.apa.org/education/k12/intelligence.aspx
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/research/Correlation/Intelligence.pdf
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/iku.html
Submit Performance Indicators
Individuals and groups are invited to submit suggested
Performance Indicators for the second revision of the National
Standards for High School Psychology Curricula.
Content Standard 1: Research methods and measurements
used to study behavior and mental processes
Students are able to (performance standards):
1.3 Define systematic procedures used to improve the validity
of research findings, such as external validity.
Students may indicate this by (performance
indicators):
a. Describing how test validity and reliability are established
and related
b. Determining which of two tests would be more useful for a
particular purpose when given relevant data about validity and
reliability
Content Standard 3: Issues in Intelligence
Students are able to (performance standards):
3.1 Discuss issues related to the consequences of intelligence
testing
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators)
a. Explaining the history of intelligence testing and identifying how
it have been used and misused.
b. Describing the link between intelligence testing and the eugenics
movement
Students are able to (performance standards):
3.2 Discuss the influences of biological, cultural, and environmental
factors on intelligence
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
a. Characterizing how studies of identical versus fraternal twins help
establish the role of heredity in determining individual differences in
intelligence
b. Explaining the role of cultural and group norms in establishing the
frames of reference we use in thinking about individual differences
http://apacustomout.apa.org/commentstandards/default.aspx
Contact Info:
debrapark@msn.com
UbD Powerpoint
More sample Unit Plans in UbD format
Essential Questions for US History
Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools
eleary@apa.org