Monitor on Psychology - January 2012 - (Page 66)

psychology teachers to do is give students a sense of how psychological science works and a sampling of the diversity of the field.” Ensuring high standards Sometimes it seems that psychology doesn’t get the same respect many other disciplines enjoy, says James E. Freeman, PhD, a member of the National Standards Working Group and a psychology professor at the University of Virginia. “You would never have someone teach physics who didn’t Content domains of the new standards APA’s newly revised National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula includes seven content domains, each with standard area outlining what students should know after finishing the unit: • Domain: Scientific inquiry Standard: Perspectives in psychological science Standard: research methods, measurement and statistics • Domain: Biopsychological Standard: Biological bases of behavior Standard: Sensation and perception Standard: Consciousness • Domain: Development and learning Standard: Life span development Standard: Learning Standard: Language development • Domain: Sociocultural context Standard: Social interactions Standard: Sociocultural diversity • Domain: Cognition Standard: Memory Standard: thinking Standard: Intelligence • Domain: individual variations Standard: Motivation Standard: emotion Standard: Personality Standard: Psychological disorders • Domain: Applications of psychological science Standard: treatment of psychological disorders Standard: Health Standard: vocational applications have a strong background in physics,” he points out, adding that high school psychology teachers often have little training in the subject. “We want to ensure that the psychology classes taught in high school have the same rigor and standards as many of the other courses do.” The standards aim to do just that. First released in 1999, the document encourages consistency across schools, outlines learning goals and helps teachers and local school districts develop psychology curricula. APA encourages all teachers to align their classes with the standards and all state education departments to adopt them. The revised document now opens with a set of overarching themes that provide a foundation for psychology courses, such as the importance of sociocultural diversity, psychology’s role as a scientific discipline and psychology’s interest in both human and animal behavior. “These things don’t fit neatly into a box; they’re just interwoven throughout psychology,” Fineburg says. The revised version also expands the number of content domains from five to seven (see sidebar). One new domain focuses on sociocultural context, while the other focuses on real-world applications of psychological science, such as health, the treatment of psychological disorders and careers in and related to psychology. The number of standard areas has also increased, from 15 to 20. The additions include new standard areas on perspectives in psychological science, social interactions and sociocultural diversity. The revision also heralds a shift to a new system for assessing student learning. Instead of including performance indicators in the document, the working group has created a new, online database where individuals can submit suggested indicators. Intended as suggestions rather than requirements, these indicators offer ways to assess what students have learned. To find out whether students can accurately describe perspectives used to understand behavior and mental processes, for example, teachers could ask students to analyze how various theoretical perspectives would explain such phenomena as aggression or altruism or describe the limitations of each perspective when it comes to assessing behavior and mental processes. APA encourages individuals, divisions and regional and state psychological associations to contribute suggestions for performance indicators, says Emily Leary, assistant director of the Office of Precollege and Undergraduate Programs in APA’s Education Directorate. Submissions will be reviewed by psychology educators, then posted online. n To learn more about the standards, visit www.apa.org/ education/k12/national-standards.aspx. To submit a suggested performance indicator, use the form at http:// apacustomout.apa.org/commentstandards/default.aspx. Rebecca A. Clay is a writer in Washington, D.C. 66 M o n i t o r o n p s y c h o l o g y • J a n u a ry 2 0 1 2 http://www.apa.org/education/k12/national-standards.aspx http://www.apa.org/education/k12/national-standards.aspx http://apacustomout.apa.org/commentstandards/default.aspx http://apacustomout.apa.org/commentstandards/default.aspx

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - January 2012

Monitor on Psychology - January 2012
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
Contents
From the CEO
Apa’s Statement on the Dsm-5 Development Process
Girl Scouts Badge Promotes Positive Psychology
Early Investments Pay Off for Poor Children, Study Finds
Apa Meets With Chinese Psychological Society to Further Interaction and Exchange
Unique Opportunity for Psychologists to Travel to Cuba
In Brief
Government Relations Update
On Your Behalf
Psychology’s Growing Library of Podcasts
Standing Up for Psychology
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Time Capsule
Questionnaire
Science Watch
Beyond Psychotherapy
Perspective on Practice
Yes, Recovery Is Possible
Inequity to Equity
Making E-Learning Work
New Standards for High School Psychology
A Trailblazer Moves On
Psychologist Profile
Plan Now for Psychology’s Regional Meetings
New Journal Editors
Apa News
Division Spotlight
American Psychological Foundation
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - January 2012