Psychology
Instructor: Donald Leach
Don Leach began teaching regular psychology in 1973 at George Washington High School in San Francisco. After starting a section of
AP Psychology in 1995, he taught two sections of AP and two sections of regular psychology until he retired in 2003. Every year since 1998 he has been an AP Psych reader
and College Board presenter, giving weekend workshops and summer institutes. Don received his BA and secondary credential from the University of San Francisco, where
he taught a section on Adolescence. San Francisco State University awarded him an MA in 1975 and the Golden Torch Award as Educator of the Year in 2003. Teaching
and learning has always been one of the greatest gifts and joys in Don’s life, second only to his family.
Don has never fully retired from teaching. From 2003 to 2006 he was the Tobacco Use Prevention Educator for Alameda County, setting up and presenting anti- tobacco
fairs in all their high schools. Since 1973, he has been doing smoking cessation classes for Kaiser. (See it pays to quit smoking!) Besides conducting College Board
weekend workshops, he has been mentoring Michelle Kyung, who took over his AP Psych classes. He has been going into her classroom every two or three weeks to
introduce each unit by demonstrating lessons, giving a list of tips and terms to help the students master the necessary content. Last year Michelle’s AP psych students
had a 100% pass rate! Don’s students never did quite that well so Don has found he has a lot more to learn about how to teach AP Psych. This makes workshops where
teachers share their best practices very exciting.
When Don is not teaching, he, with his wife of 44 years, enjoys helping their daughter-in-law raise their eight year old granddaughter, Gracie. They volunteer a day or two
each week at her school. His wife, Marcie, works as a substitute school nurse. When he aides in the primary school art classes, he enlightens and entertains the
students with stories he has collected over his many years as a professional storyteller. Every year Don and Marcie take a major trip. Last year they journeyed from
Buenos Aires around the Horn up to Machu Pichu. This October they toured Israel, Jordon and Egypt. Next year New Zealand, Australia and Bali are beckoning...
You can e-mail Don at doncleach@aol.com. Please bring one of your best practices for teaching psychology or teaching in general.
2010 General Session Outline
Goals & Objectives
1. To provide an overview of the AP psychology course, examining each area with emphasis on concepts and terms that provide the framework of the course so that
teachers can plan their AP Psychology course for the coming year.
2. To present and share activities that help increase understanding of concepts and terms as well as making the class more enjoyable and exciting for both the teacher
and students so that teachers can create activities to use in the upcoming year.
3. To identify resources available for teachers of psychology so they will know what organizations, texts, study/activity guides, videos might enrich/renew their teaching.
4. To provide strategies and skills necessary for passing the AP Psychology multiple choice test (100 questions 70 minutes) and the two Free Response Questions (50
minutes) so that teachers can coach and prepare practice tests similar to the AP exam.
Daily Agenda
We will examine and practice content, activities and materials that relate to the AP Psychology course outline. Participants will participate in sharing and creating materials
they can use next year. The following is a flexible guideline for the order in which we will cover topics. It will be adjusted during the week depending on the needs and
demands of the participants.
Monday
General overview of AP Psychology
• Review “Acorn” booklet and other college board materials
• Course outlines and objectives
• Resources available (Organizations, Internet, Publications, Texts)
Content and strategies for the AP examination
• The multiple choice section
• The Free Response section
Interactive teaching
• Philosophical basis
• Sample unit plan to teach memory
Tuesday
Scientific basis of psychology
• Historical background
• Research methods
• Statistical procedures
Biological processes
• Neuroanatomy
• Neural transmission
Biological & Cognitive & Social Processes
• Sensation/Perception
• Consciousness
• Emotion
• Motivation
Wednesday
Cognitive Processes
• Learning
• Intelligence
• Thinking and Language
Developmental Psychology
• Infancy/Childhood
• Adolescence
• Adulthood
Thursday
Individual Differences
• Personality Theories & Assessment
Social Psychology
• Social Thinking
• Social Influence
• Social Relations
Clinical Psychology
• Disorders
• Diagnosis
• Treatment
