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MARK MINNICK
Mark is a recipient of the Yale University Educator Award for 2022 and the ArcBest Excellence Award for Teaching in 2021 |
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MARK MINNICK
Mark Minnick has been teaching for 30 years and has been privileged to teach AP Psychology for the past 19. His AP scores are consistently among the highest at his school and he usually has the highest number of 5’s of any subject. He currently teaches and chairs the Social Studies Department at Southside High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas, but has also taught in Oklahoma and Missouri. He holds a B.A.in History and Educational Studies from Washington University in St. Louis, a M.A.T. from Webster University and has done additional graduate work in Education and Psychology at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. In addition to a full-time teaching schedule, Mark has also coached basketball, robotics, mock trial, and sponsored the Psychology club.
For the past 15 years, Mark has participated in the AP Psychology Reading as a Reader, Table Leader, and Early Table Leader. During these years, he has been involved with scoring, sample selection, rubric creation, and training of how to use rubrics. In 2020 and 2021, Mark was honored to be asked to be part of the very first set of AP Daily videos. He created 16 videos for the Motivation, Emotion, Personality, and Stress Unit and the Clinical Psychology unit. These videos are available to all AP Psychology students and teachers on the AP Classroom website.
Mark has been a guest presenter at multiple workshops, including APSI’s and Mandy Rice’s web series. He has also written content for Albert.io, including both multiple choice and free response questions and is going to be part of the realignment of the Albert.io content for the new CED, when it officially takes effect. Mark is a member of APA, TOPSS, and NCSS - Psychology. He is also an organizer of the Arkansas-Oklahoma Teachers of Psychology and has facilitated workshops for that group.
Mark is a recipient of the Yale University Educator Award for 2022 and the ArcBest Excellence Award for Teaching in 2021.
Away from work, Mark has two children - Jack who is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas double majoring in music performance and mechanical engineering and Jess who is a senior in high school and is considering a degree in music therapy. His wife, Autumn is a 5th grade teacher and part-time geologist for an oil and gas company. They like to travel, hike, camp, and always seem to have a home improvement project going on.
Mark’s goal for this APSI is for everyone to come away with concrete ideas that they can use to improve their classes and their instruction. Whether you are teaching in-person or online, year-long or semester, mixed AP/IB/Concurrent credit, you should have activities and materials that you could immediately put in practice in your course and see positive results for your students.
Mark can be contacted at minnickmw.ap@gmail.com
Mark Minnick has been teaching for 30 years and has been privileged to teach AP Psychology for the past 19. His AP scores are consistently among the highest at his school and he usually has the highest number of 5’s of any subject. He currently teaches and chairs the Social Studies Department at Southside High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas, but has also taught in Oklahoma and Missouri. He holds a B.A.in History and Educational Studies from Washington University in St. Louis, a M.A.T. from Webster University and has done additional graduate work in Education and Psychology at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. In addition to a full-time teaching schedule, Mark has also coached basketball, robotics, mock trial, and sponsored the Psychology club.
For the past 15 years, Mark has participated in the AP Psychology Reading as a Reader, Table Leader, and Early Table Leader. During these years, he has been involved with scoring, sample selection, rubric creation, and training of how to use rubrics. In 2020 and 2021, Mark was honored to be asked to be part of the very first set of AP Daily videos. He created 16 videos for the Motivation, Emotion, Personality, and Stress Unit and the Clinical Psychology unit. These videos are available to all AP Psychology students and teachers on the AP Classroom website.
Mark has been a guest presenter at multiple workshops, including APSI’s and Mandy Rice’s web series. He has also written content for Albert.io, including both multiple choice and free response questions and is going to be part of the realignment of the Albert.io content for the new CED, when it officially takes effect. Mark is a member of APA, TOPSS, and NCSS - Psychology. He is also an organizer of the Arkansas-Oklahoma Teachers of Psychology and has facilitated workshops for that group.
Mark is a recipient of the Yale University Educator Award for 2022 and the ArcBest Excellence Award for Teaching in 2021.
Away from work, Mark has two children - Jack who is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas double majoring in music performance and mechanical engineering and Jess who is a senior in high school and is considering a degree in music therapy. His wife, Autumn is a 5th grade teacher and part-time geologist for an oil and gas company. They like to travel, hike, camp, and always seem to have a home improvement project going on.
Mark’s goal for this APSI is for everyone to come away with concrete ideas that they can use to improve their classes and their instruction. Whether you are teaching in-person or online, year-long or semester, mixed AP/IB/Concurrent credit, you should have activities and materials that you could immediately put in practice in your course and see positive results for your students.
Mark can be contacted at minnickmw.ap@gmail.com
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to help teachers build a successful AP Psychology program with motivated, engaged students. The course will include basic logistical considerations like exams and homework, preparing for the AP Exam in terms of multiple choice and free response questions, understanding the curriculum framework, pacing the course, and even a significant amount of content activities. We will also give some discussion to the upcoming changes to AP Psychology, with a new revised CED coming out soon and how to manage those changes. Whether someone is new to teaching AP Psychology or a veteran with years of experience, everyone should come away with something new and useful to put into practice in their classrooms right away.
AGENDA
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
This course is designed to help teachers build a successful AP Psychology program with motivated, engaged students. The course will include basic logistical considerations like exams and homework, preparing for the AP Exam in terms of multiple choice and free response questions, understanding the curriculum framework, pacing the course, and even a significant amount of content activities. We will also give some discussion to the upcoming changes to AP Psychology, with a new revised CED coming out soon and how to manage those changes. Whether someone is new to teaching AP Psychology or a veteran with years of experience, everyone should come away with something new and useful to put into practice in their classrooms right away.
AGENDA
Day 1
- Introductions and Ice Breakers
- Goals of APSI - mine and yours
- Need for Daily Reflections
- Course Content - Research Methods throughout the course
- Required Topics - Course and Exam Description and Course Planning
- Morning Break - Asynchronous Activity
- Course Content - Biological Bases of Behavior and Sensation
- Recommended activities and lessons
- Sympathetic nervous system demonstration
- Brain Models
- Thresholds
- Sympathetic nervous system demonstration
- Recommended activities and lessons
- Lunch Break
- FRQ Prep - how to start - writing and scoring
- Afternoon Break - Asynchronous Activity
- Time for Questions/Planning/Etc.
- Reflections and Feedback
Day 2
- Response to Feedback and Reflections
- Course Design
- Morning Break - Asynchronous Activity
- Course Content - Cognition and Perception
- Recommended activities and lessons
- Memory exercises
- Eyewitness testimony
- Divided Attention
- Memory exercises
- Recommended activities and lessons
- Lunch Break
- Required Topics - AP Classroom and AP Daily
- Afternoon Break - Asynchronous Activity
- FRQ Prep - how to train students to write more effectively
- Time for Questions/Planning/Etc.
- Reflections and Feedback
Day 3
- Response to Feedback and Reflections
- Required Topics - Assess and Reflect using AP Classroom and the Instructional Planning Reports
- Morning Break - Asynchronous Activity
- Content - Development and Learning
- Recommended activities and lessons
- Piaget and Vygotsky tasks
- Classical and Operant Conditioning demos
- Piaget and Vygotsky tasks
- Recommended activities and lessons
- Lunch Break
- Course Content - Social Psychology, Personality, Motivation, and Emotion
- Recommended activities and lessons
- Group dynamics exercise
- Social traps
- Music preferences and the Big 5 Personality Traits
- Facial Feedback Hypothesis
- Group dynamics exercise
- Recommended activities and lessons
- Afternoon Break - Asynchronous Activity
- Course Design
- Time for Questions/Planning/Etc.
- Reflections and Feedback
Day 4
- Response to Feedback and Reflections
- Class Assessment Procedures
- Morning Break - Asynchronous Activity
- Required Topics - Diversity and Inclusion & Equity and Access in AP
- Lunch Break
- Course Content - Mental and Physical Health
- Recommended activities and lessons
- Stress Scales
- Diathesis Stress model - PB
- Stress Scales
- Recommended activities and lessons
- Afternoon Break - Asynchronous Activity
- Review Strategies
- Become an AP Reader
- Time for Questions/Planning/Etc.
- Keeping Connected
- Evaluation and Comments
AP PSYCHOLOGY