About the APS-TL Taskforce

The public and policy makers recognize that teachers employ psychology every day when making instructional, assessment and classroom management decisions.  Building on APA’s commitment to high quality instruction at the Pre-K-12 level, the Board of Educational Affairs sponsored a task force designed to explore the applications of psychological science to teaching and learning by tapping the expertise of psychologists from several sub-disciplines including: motivation, development, assessment, behavior management, social psychology, and learning and instruction, to work collaboratively on translating psychological literature associated with evidence based teaching strategies. The focus of the work is to integrate developmental and contextual concerns with research on instruction. 

Members of the Task Force include: Chair, Mary Brabeck, Carol Dwyer, Sandra Graham, Joan Lucariello, Barbara McCombs, Thomas Kratochwill, Sara Rimm-Kaufman and Margaret Semrud-Clikeman.

Our work
The focus of our work is to integrate developmental and contextual concerns with research on instruction.

The following teaching strategies were selected by the Task Force for development:

• How Do My Students Think: Diagnosing Student Thinking
• How Do I Get My Students Over Their Alternative Conceptions (Misconceptions)?
• Practice for Knowledge Acquisition (Not Drill and Kill)
• Using classroom data to give systematic feedback to students in order to improve learning.
• Improving Students’ Relationships with Teachers to Provide Essential Supports for Learning
• Classroom Management
• Bullying in School
• Using praise to enhance student resilience and learning outcomes
• Developing Responsible and Autonomous Learners: A Key to Motivating Students
• Research in Brain Function and Learning

Each teaching strategy will provide information on:

• Why the topic is important
• Recommendations for teachers
• Why and how these teaching strategies work
• FAQs
• Where teachers can get more information
• References

Current Status

The Task Force plans to complete its work by the end of 2008. Currently, the Task Force is making revisions to the website before obtaining wider review, however, you can play an important role in helping the Task Force review the website’s content and design before it is officially launched. If you are interested in helping the Task Force obtain the help of teachers for review of the teaching strategies please contact Maya Bassford.

Contact Us:
For more information about the Task Force, please contact Rena Subotnik, Maya Bassford, JD, or Mary Brabeck

Updated 05.09.08