Preparing for the AP Psychology Exam

I was first exposed to psychology in high school when I took the AP course. I was immediately hooked! Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes. I went on to major in psychology at the University of Michigan. I connected with my professors, the content, and my peers. Not only did I learn as much as I could about units like human development and psychological disorders, I absorbed it and experienced it in a way I hadn't with other academic subjects.

Years later as a certified teacher, I took an exam to get endorsed to teach psychology. Since 2013, I have taught psychology to high school students, and it's been rewarding and fun. It's a subject where kids easily see the connection to their real lives. They light up when they see explanations to things that have happened to them.

Coming up next week is the AP Psychology exam. In my work with students over the years preparing to take the exam, I have helped kids develop important study strategies for the dense and encompassing content. There are hundreds of terms that students not only need to memorize and understand, but they also need to recognize and explain applications for. For many students, this is their first time being required to process such a wide range of college-level information.

Here are some of the ways I coach students to succeed on this test:

• Visual organizers

• Recreating the information

• Practice exams

• Straightforward, simple writing for the free response questions

• Verbal mediation

• Test taking strategies

Reach out and ask me more about the course and how to prepare for exams!