#16. Research Methods - Unit Planner, Blended Lesson and Data

We are rapidly approaching the midterm of the semester and just wrapped up the research methods unit.  When I began teaching AP Psychology, I dreaded teaching research.  It seemed so dry and boring.  Over time, I have grown to love this unit because it sets the stage for the rest of the year.  It emphasizes that psychology is a science and provides the empirical lens to critically analyze the  content for the remainder of the class.  I did not find that this unit lent itself to blending the curriculum as easily as other units.  I think this is due to the limited amount of time that we spend on the unit and the type of material covered.  However, I could easily see an in-depth research project fitting the blended model perfectly!  The flex days would provide ample opportunity to meet with students to discuss their research designs and findings. I have struggled with implementing this type of project due to the time constraints of covering all of the material by May.  


Unit Plan
For this unit, my lessons mirrored each other in my blended and traditional classes. However, the flex days allowed me to work one-on-one with a few students needed additional assistance due to extended absences and provide additional support to students who need assistance with reading strategies and more complex concepts like statistics.  Unlike many other AP courses at my school, AP Psychology does not have any pre-requisites. Therefore, I have a pretty academically-diverse group of kids (at least as far as AP classes go) and I have come to value the flexibility that flex days have provided me to meet with struggling students individually.  It has allowed all of the students to progress more at their own pace by allowing the students who "get it" to move on and allowing those who don't time to master it.

Blended AP Psychology Unit Overview

Traditional AP Psychology Unit Overview

Lesson Design
There has been a great deal of teacher interest in the blended model at my school. When I am asked about it, I emphasize that many of us are already using "blended" lessons in which we utilize technology to inform and assess instruction within the classroom walls.  In fact, I designed an activity for this unit which was used in both my blended and traditional classroom.  The following assignment was designed to provide the students the opportunity to practice their research skills using descriptive methods.  They researched case studies, participated in a naturalistic observation and wrote survey questions.  A copy of the assignment  is available here.  I had the students complete the assignment electronically and submit it via Canvas.  This would work virtually the same way using Google assignments. I loved that this assignment allowed them to experience the methods that we had previously learned. I plan to make it even more meaningful next year by having them share pieces of the assignment using a platform like Padlet.  

Data and Reflections
In regards to the effectiveness of the blended model versus the traditional model, my results were similar to the first summative assessment.  The mean score the blended class fell in between the traditional classes.

Class	Mean	Grade of A (%)	Grade of B (%)	Grade of C (%)	D or Lower (%)
Blended	89.2%	52	36	12	0
Traditional 1	84.3%	54	31	13	2
Traditional 2	90.1%	69	22	9	0

Unit exams are one of the data points that I will be using to measure the efficacy of this model.  I am also very interested to see if this model effects level of student satisfaction, scores on cumulative exams, course grades, overall GPA and scores on the AP exam.  As a district, we are currently in the process of developing our student and parent surveys and developing ways to collect data on overall academic growth.

Keep an eye out for my future posts! I'll be discussing the biological basis of behavior and student/parent surveys.  As always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.  

Cori