AP Psych Evaluation

Dear Ms. Halfen,

Thank you for a wonderful year as both my economics and psychology teacher. They were both some of the best classes I've taken in highschool do to your amazing curriculum, organization, and knowledge. Seriously- you rock!

I really enjoyed your incorporation of video clips and pop culture references in to your powerpoints, it definitely kept everything engaging. I also really loved getting to watch Inside Out. We also got to watch lots of interesting documentaries and features which I'm a fan of. If I could make one suggestion, it would maybe be to include more documentary style shows rather than What Would You Do, but that may just be because I have major second hand embarrassment so WWYD always makes me cringe.

Other super cool things we did were the different personality or intelligence tests. And having play-doh out during exam weeks was really a touch of genius.

My least favorite activity and really my only complaint for the semester was the disorders unit. In that unit we were supposed to design a fact sheet and teach it to our classmates. Between people's scribbled handwriting and rushing to get the sheets filled in I don't think I learned much of anything in that unit. Especially since disorders often come on the AP, I think it would be better if you taught that unit personally.

I did very much like the structure of the class. Having quizzes instead of tests definitely takes the pressure off, and I like how we know what to expect. Doubling the quiz grade if you don't do vocab is really smart I liked that.

If you want to keep Crash Course in the curriculum I would suggest either making in extra credit or reminding us more. The videos were interesting but I always forgot to watch them by the deadline, as it was never on the board or on remind.

To students taking AP Psych in the future- I suggest 1) doing your vocab and 2) really enjoying the class! Of course there are grades and those matter, but this is a class where the focus should really be about having fun and learning more about your mind and self then you will in any other course.

Finally, I just want to say I appreciate your honesty and frankness in discussing topics like sexuality Ms. Halfen. It really makes your students feel respected. It was a grade class.

- Allison