AP Psychology Study Skills Ideas for a successful AP Psychology Experience 1. The most essential element to success in AP Psychology is completion of assigned readings. Past students have continuously stressed, ?If I could do it over again I wish I would have read more closely and kept on track with readings!? You will need to devote outside class time to reading and studying. 2. Your level of motivation is much more important than your ability level. 3. If you want to succeed in this course, and are willing to put forth the necessary effort, YOU WILL SUCCEED! 4. Don?t procrastinate; get your readings and assignments done on time. 5. Don?t just study your notes, study the whole chapter. 6. Keep up with your reading. Review information on the chapter a little each night, to keep up with all the ideas. 7. Be an active member of the class: active listeners ask questions, that will help this course be more relevant to you. Be prepared each day to learn, by doing your assignments, your bi-weekly articles, your vocab. cards, etc. 8. Ask for help if you don?t understand a concept: ask a classmate, ask me. 9. Do your vocabulary learning cards for each chapter. Read over the highlighted areas, the graphs, the small captions in your book. These make the information easier to read and more about real life situations for you. 10. Do all your homework and projects and hand them in on time. 11. Remember the AP Psychology EXAM is cumulative. At the end of each chapter organize your material for later review. Attitude, study skills, determination, and discipline are the keys to success in AP Psychology. BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR AP EXPERIENCE! What can you do to help yourself? 1. Make it to class and be an active learner. Your goal should be to make it relevant to you. 2. Ask for help if you don?t understand something. Ask a classmate or see your teacher. 3. Keep up!!! Don?t fall behind! Set a schedule and be disciplined with sticking to it. Have your readings done on time and be prepared for class each day. Remember to review each week. 4. Take complete, dated class notes. Put them in your own words and make sure you understand everything you are writing, or ask for more clarification. Leave some blank areas to add examples. There are many ways to take notes. Ask your teacher for examples. 5. Learn to read more effectively. Read actively and make the material relate. a. When approaching a chapter preview and review frequently. Remember to summarize the material mentally before moving on. b. Chapters are split into sections for a reason. It is not wise to save the reading until the night before it needs to be completed. Follow the schedule provided. c. Keep in mind pictures, diagrams, tables, and sidebars. They can make the material more interesting and understandable. d. Take notes as you read. If you can condense a 30-page chapter into a few pages of good notes, it will be easier to review. e. If you are having trouble understanding the Myers textbook, you might want to borrow a different introductory psychology text for a different explanation of a concept. 6. Form a study group or have a study buddy. Life happens. Find another member of class who will help you when you?re not in class or have questions at night. This is a great way to help one another and have a good time. 7. Utilize materials from websites a. Additional materials from your book can be found at the book?s website: http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/myers8e/ b. The outline of the AP Exam can be found at www.collegeboard.com c. An online flashcard system for our class can be found at www.quizlet.com 8. This course presents a lot of new vocabulary, identifications, theories, and concepts. Make use of your flashcards. They will be helpful for the following reasons: a. The process of making the cards, if you think about what you are doing, can help you learn the vocabulary. b. You can separate terms you know from those you need to work on more. This makes for efficient studying. c. They?re reversible! You can look at the terms and practice the definitions, or you can look at the definitions and practice the terms. d. Having a set of flashcards for each chapter provides an excellent means of review. Think of how nice it will be to have them prepared for the semester finals and AP Exam. 9. Use mnemonics! You will find it very helpful to create acronyms or narratives to keep psychology terms/concepts at the forefront of your mind. As a class we will try to present several easy ways to recall information. It is also helpful to personalize all materials. Showing relatedness helps create associations. Be creative! 10. The AP Exam is cumulative. At the end of each unit organize the material for later review. What can parents/guardians do? Parents/guardians can provide a quiet atmosphere that is conducive to studying. Discussing daily activities, offering help when needed, and having contact with the teacher (check ParentCONNECT for updated grades and assignments) are all tools to help provide a successful high school education.