Activities to Enrich Psychology Credits

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
June 1, 2021 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Activities to Enrich Psychology Credits.

Activities to Enrich Psychology Credits

Activities to Enrich Psychology Credits

We want homeschool high schoolers to LIKE PSYCH! That’s why Kym and Vicki are talking about engaging activities to enrich Psychology credits in this episode! When you take an engaging text and add some engaging activities you can liven up (and level up) the Psychology credit. This makes the course more memorable and inspiring for teens.

We would like teens to like Psychology if they go into the field (Vicki is always praying for more young people to go into the mental health field- there simply are not enough counselors out there). We would like teens to like Psychology if they do not go into the field. (A good Psychology text can give teens helpful life skills- and lots of interesting information to talk about.)

Vicki originally wrote 7SistersHomeschool’s Introduction to Psychology from a Christian Perspective decades ago when her oldest teens were homeschooling high school. She wanted them to have a Psychology text, but at that time, there were none. She also wanted a Psychology text that would be informed by Christian worldview but NOT preachy. SO she had to create it herself based on her training and work as a licensed professional counselor.

Since that time both Vicki and Kym have taught the course in homeschool co-ops and group classes at their local homeschool umbrella school. They added additional lesson plans based on the chapter topics in the text (with help from fellow homeschool mom and counselor, Gretchen Mahoney). They also added a freebie suggested syllabus that can be adapted for various homeschooling needs.

That’s not to mention all the stuff that Kym does with her umbrella school classes. (She is too busy having fun to write those down!)

So, they decided to share these engaging activities to enrich Psychology credits in this week’s Homeschool Highschool Podcast episode!

Here are some ideas for doing cool things to help teens LIKE PSYCH!

Idea #1: Teach in any order you please, in any way you please

Engaging activities help teens like Psych!

Ideas for learning about the brain

  • Make a model of the brain using homemade dough (using guidelines in the text)
  • Watch a video of a dissection of the human brain (Kym likes it but only offers this to students with a strong constitutin)
  • Watch an interactive brain video or download an interactive brain app.

Ideas for perception

  • Do the optical illusions and look more up online
  • If you are in the Philadelphia region, go to the Franklin Institute exhibits about the brain and perceptions OR if you are not in the area, check out their teaching resources
  • Discuss branding in advertisements
  • Spend a while experiencing different odors and note emotional reactions

Ideas for genetics

  • Discuss nature versus nurture in your own family
  • Make some fun Punnet squares based on family traits (think: Does ADHD run in the family? Does anxiety run in the family? Does color blindness run in the family?
  • Look up the work of seeing eye dogs (visit one if you can)

Ideas for learning

  • Discuss how the concept of Pavlov’s dogs have been integrated into American culture
  • Watch clips of classic television shows where classic conditioning occurs
    • Here’s a link to Kym’s favorite YouTube clips from Big Bang Theory https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=social+learning+theory+big+bang+theory+

Ideas of the history of Psychology

  • Have students create a short presentation on a topic from those chapters
  • Discuss which of Freud’s concepts are in the common vocabulary

Ideas for communication

  • Discuss non-verbals (and how reading non-verbals are affected by Covid-related mask wearing)
  • Play games where you act out emotions with non-verbals and have others guess which emotions
  • Practice saying sentences with the emphasis on different words and note the difference of connotation

Ideas for needs and motivation

  • Draw your own Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
  • Discuss how the pandemic affected where various people groups experienced the Hierarchy of Needs
  • Discuss how being low on the hierarchy might affect school success
  • Write a paper about what you would take if you were going to be stranded alone on an island
  • Watch the movie: Castaway

Ideas for personality

Ideas for sleep

  • Keep a sleep log for a week (what they did before they went to bed, what were they doing and thinking about as they went to sleep, the quality and length of sleep)
  • Watch videos on how sleep deprivation affects reaction time in driving or test taking (see the Lesson Plans)
  • Discuss how sleep apnea affects quality of sleep

Ideas for abnormal psych

  • Remind students not to diagnose themselves or anything else and to NOT stress about this chapter
  • Discuss abnormal psych in a way that is not judgmental or fear-mongering
  • Don’t dwell here but tell teens we want to concentrate on the good things we can do

Ideas for psychological health and helping others/crisis intervention

Ideas for psychological testing

  • Discuss which tests teens have experienced and which ones they might experience soon (like SAT or ACT)
  • Discuss reliability and validity of tests

Ideas for Christian counseling and careers in counseling

Ideas for understanding research and statistics

Kym quoted her father (who worked for FBI): Figures don’t lie but liars figure!

  • Discuss critical thinking and validity of information. Find examples of poor and good research and statistics use

What would you add to our list? Add your ideas in the comments and join Kym and Vicki for this discussion on engaging activities to enrich psychology credits!

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HSHSP Ep 175: How Teens Can Explore Psychology as College Major

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
August 27, 2019 by Leave a Comment

This week on HSHSP Ep 175: How Teens Can Explore Psychology as College Major.

HSHSP Ep 175: How Teens Can Explore Psychology as College Major. How to create career exploration credits in Psychology for homeschool high schoolers who want to explore whether it would be a good career choice. #HomeschoolHighSchoolPodcast #HomeschoolCareerExploration #CollegeMajorChoices #PsychologyAsCareerForHomeschoolers

HSHSP Ep 175: How Teens Can Explore Psychology as College Major

Is your homeschool high schooler wrestling with college major choices?

Can I make a suggestion? We need more homeschool high schoolers to choose psychology as a college major. The United States is woefully short on mental health professionals and there is such a great need! Christians are especially needed in the field.

Many parents these days discourage teens from considering psychology as a career. It is one of those professions that usually needs a graduate degree and the pay is never as competitive as the STEM-related careers. US News and World Report reports that mental health counselors achieve an average salary compared to other US careers (median salary of $43,000 whereas in much of the US, the median income is $50,000). However, there are some careers teens can choose, not to become wealthy but because they feel called.

Psychology careers are truly a calling. (Of course, you can say that all careers are a calling. This career, unfortunately, is a career that is often overlooked these days.)

Vicki loves her career as a mental health counselor. She got her degree through Liberty University and has been on staff at Pike Creek Psychological Center for over twenty years. She also serves there as a life and career coach.

How can teens tell if they are called into a career in psychology?

Career Exploration: Psychology. Help your teen who wants to explore psychology as a college major by knowing themselves.

In case your homeschool high schooler would like to explore psychology as a college major, here are some ways to give them some experience that can help them decide (while building a transcript with Career Exploration sparkle).

There are a number of ways to explore psychology as a college major and career choice. Vicki recommends developing career pathways credits in psychology for the homeschool transcript. Here’s a Homeschool Highschool Podcast episode that explains the concept of Career Pathways. 

Take courses in the field of psychology

  • Psychology
    • 7Sisters has a popular etext: Introduction to Psychology from a Christian Perspective. Using our popular no-busywork, level-able format, we cover the basics of psychology that teens will see again in college. This is a fun introduction that teens actually like (compared to many high school psychology textbooks that are long, dull and boring).
  • Human Development
    • Human Development is the study of the way people grow and change from womb to old age. It is a foundation to the study of psychology. 7Sisters etext Human Development from a Christian Worldview, like our Psychology etext, is no-busywork, level-able and fun.
  • Career Exploration
    • Career Exploration is an important branch of psychology. 7Sisters has a comprehensive Career Exploration that gives teens a hands-on look.

Career Pathway activities for logging hours

  • Volunteer work
    • While teens can’t sit in on therapy sessions due to privacy laws, they can help needy people. Volunteer where people need help: Nursing homes, community outreach centers. Seeing people in their ups and downs helps give a feel for the compassion needed to be counselor. Volunteering well requires being with hurting or needy people in a non-judgemental, non-biased way.
    • One of our favorite local volunteer opportunities is Urban Promise.

Go through counseling themselves

  • Many teens experience times of anxiety or sadness. Give them a few sessions of counseling just to see what it is like. It will help!

Experience Life or Career Coaching

  • Gives a close feel to counseling but geared toward goal-setting and achievement. Counseling is about healing. Coaching is about fulfilling. However the the presence and compassion of the life coach is the same as a counselor.

Read books

Check out Vicki’s coaching website

There are so many posts related to emotional intelligence (a topic in psychology). Plus there are freebie downloads such as Personal Discovery Links. SO much fun!

Read about different areas of psychology careers. Check out CareerOneStop.org to read more about these careers:

  • Mental Health Counselor: Masters Degree needed. Counselors are general practitioners. Degrees for counselors include: Masters in Counseling, Community Mental Health, Marriage and Family Therapy.
  • Psychologist: PhD needed. Two common types of psychologists are Counseling Psychologist and Clinical Psychologist.
  • Human Resources: Human Services, Human Resources, start at Bachelors level in agencies or government.
  • Experimental Psychology: Work to help discover best practices in psychology, conduct research.
  • Marketing Experimental Psychology: Works on marketing research.
  • Forensic Psychology: usually at least an MA needed
  • Sports Psychology: at least MA needed. Help athletes achieve peak performance.
  • Organizational Psychology: Work with organizations to make workplace happy and healthy
  • School Counselors (MA), School Psychologist (usually PhD):  Help with practical student needs such as fixing schedules, developing or overseeing IEPs, crisis management
  • Educational Psychologist: PhD needed. Experts testing and evaluations
  • Psychiatrist: MD with Psychology emphasis, dispenses medications.
  • Social Work: MSW. Similar to counseling more community slant in training. In private practices we do the same work.
  • Neuropsychology: MA PhD. Research on the workings of the brain.

For more information on Career Pathways credits in Psychology, check out this post.

If you have a teen who has question about Psychology as a career, have them send them to me. I’d be happy to answer. Vicki@7SistersHomeschool.com

Create a Great Career Pathways Credit for Teens Interested in Psychology

HSHSP Ep 175: How Teens Can Explore Psychology as College Major

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Depression and the Homeschooling Mom – HIRL Episode 60

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
July 20, 2015 by 4 Comments

Free podcast dealing with the issue of depression and homeschooling momsAs homeschooling moms, some subjects are very difficult to talk about, especially if we are feeling pressure to put on a facade that our lives are polished and life at home is picture-perfect. Struggling with depression in the homeschooling community can very quickly lead to shame and loneliness. Let’s face it folks, the pressure to have everything all together can make the struggle that much more difficult and the Christian homeschooling world does not always create a safe environment to be real and transparent.

On this episode of HomeschoolingIRL, we dive into another difficult discussion about depression among homeschooling moms. Joining us is Dr. Melanie Wilson, a Christian psychologist and homeschooling mom of 6. Together we discuss the signs of depression, how to find help for yourself and how you can minister to other struggling moms.

This is another tough topic and another chance for you as a listener to let us have the conversation first. But please, don’t let it stop there, if you are a mom (or dad) struggling with depression, please reach out and let us point you in the direction to find some help for you.

Timeline
2:47– Introduction
11:48 – Interview with Dr. Melanie Wilson, Part One
29:43 – Interview with Dr. Melanie Wilson, Part Two

Show Notes

host of The Homeschool Sanity ShowOur Guest on this episode: Dr. Melanie Wilson, Christian Psychologist.
Melanie has a podcast called The Homeschool Sanity Show.
She also blogs at www.psychowith6.com

 

 

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The Art of Manliness Blog – Leashing the Black Dog – A series about male depression

Music clips used on this show:

“Sound of Silence” Simon and Garfunkel (Buy It Here On iTunes)

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Join Fletch (from theMangoTimes) and Kendra (from Preschoolers and Peace and KendraFletcher.com) for the HomeschoolingIRL podcast every week as they interview guests and talk through some of the goofiness they have experienced in nearly two decades of Homeschooling In Real Life.

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