The AP® Psychology course introduces students to the systematic and scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. While considering the psychologists and studies that have shaped the field, students explore and apply psychological theories, key concepts, and phenomena.
Students study these topics that are associated with biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, learning and cognition, motivation, developmental psychology, testing and individual differences, treatments of psychological disorders, and social psychology.
Throughout the course, students employ psychological research methods, including ethical considerations, as they use the scientific method, evaluate claims and evidence, and effectively communicate ideas.
SPEAKER
MARK MINICK
Aloha From Mr. Mark Minnick!
Welcome to the Second Annual Hawai‘i Advanced Placement® Summer Institute (APSI).
Mark Minnick has been teaching for 32 years and has been privileged to teach AP Psychology for the past 21. 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 17 years, Mark has participated in the AP Psychology Reading as a Reader, Table Leader, and Early Table Leader for the College Board. 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 presented at multiple workshops, including APSI’s, College Board workshops, and Mandy Rice’s web series. He has also written content for Albert.io, including both multiple-choice and free-response questions, and is part of the realignment of the Albert.io content for the new CED. 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 is married and has two children - Jack, who is a senior at the University of Arkansas double majoring in music performance and mechanical engineering, and Jess, who is a pre-school teacher in Fort Smith. 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 you will come away with activities and materials that you could immediately put in practice into your course and see positive results for your students.
Mark embraces the Aloha Spirit - compassion and kindness to all with whom we cross paths in our everyday lives.
Mahalo,
Mark