You don’t have to teach psychology alone

Whether you are new to teaching or an experienced teacher, APA's Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) has benefits for you. TOPSS is both a committee within APA that promotes excellence in the teaching of psychological science at the high school level and an APA membership group for all APA high school teacher affiliates. The TOPSS Committee’s goal is to create and support a strong community of high school teachers. APA is a large national organization that supports a wide range of researchers, educators, clinicians, and students in the field of psychology, including high school psychology teachers. For decades, APA has supported the teaching of high school psychology and has long appreciated high school teachers for the work they do each day to introduce students to psychological science and grow the pathway into the field.

You may be asking, "Why should I pay a $50 membership in TOPSS if most lesson plans are online for free?" In addition to free access to lesson plans, your membership supports TOPSS programs and member-exclusive resources. Consider these additional benefits:

1. Experienced psychology teachers at the high school and undergraduate levels vet and regularly update the lesson plans. As the field evolves, you can rely on high-quality, peer-reviewed lesson plans. 
2. The APA recently published revised National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula to help you guide your curriculum. TOPSS provides curriculum pacing guides for classes of various lengths and other unique, high-impact resources such as a resource vetting rubric, guide for new teachers, promotion video for future students (and parents).
3. Joining TOPSS enhances your professional identity by recognizing you as an affiliate member of APA and giving you access to a large community of professionals and valuable resources within the field of psychology. 
4.  TOPSS, through the American Psychological Foundation, offers travel grants so you can attend conferences and learn and network in person with other professionals. TOPSS members also get discounted registration rates for APA’s annual convention, a great professional development opportunity. 
5. TOPSS is developing new online professional development modules to help teachers learn about challenging topics such as research methods. Membership with TOPSS will give you exclusive access to these modules, helping you understand unfamiliar content regardless of your psychology background. 
6. Your membership fee gives you access to the Monitor on Psychology, an excellent resource for learning about new research in the field. This magazine highlights current research and topics that engage students in the classroom. Each month, Teaching Connections highlights discussion questions about the feature article that you can use in your class. The regular “In brief” section offers short research summaries that are great to share with students.  Furthermore, teachers can access the scholarly journal American Psychologist for more in-depth scientific inquiry. Translational Issues in Psychological Science is another publication available to TOPSS members with their membership.
7. Through the American Psychological Foundation, TOPSS provides grant funding and guidance to help you create and grow a regional network. Being a TOPSS member connects you to a community dedicated to supporting your teaching journey. 
8. TOPSS provides opportunities to honor outstanding high school teachers with the APA TOPSS Charles T. Blair-Broeker Excellence in Teaching Award, and to recognize outstanding psychology students through the annual TOPSS competition and members-only certificates to recognize academic achievement in psychology. 
9. TOPSS supports outstanding in-person teaching workshops and online webinars for teachers. 

There are additional benefits to joining TOPSS as well, such as discounts on APA books, journals, databases, and merchandise and monthly members-only emails from the TOPSS chair with news and announcements from APA and TOPSS.  You have access to high-impact APA resources such as the award-winning Speaking of Psychology podcast, APA’s Instagram, X, and Facebook accounts, and the APA YouTube channel.  By joining TOPSS, you are showing your support of psychology as a science and a profession and adding your voice in support of APA’s mission. We invite you to be a part of our community.  You can join TOPSS and access our resources through the TOPSS website.

The APA and TOPSS want psychology to be recognized as a science, and that starts with you. Our worldwide teacher network is here to help you connect, learn, and share your passion for psychological science. 

Emily Polacek, MEd, is a 24-year veteran teacher of Advanced Placement (AP) and on-level psychology at Hinsdale South High School in Darien, IL.  She served as an AP reader and table leader for approximately 10 years. Emily was elected and served as a TOPSS member-at-large from 2022 to 2024 during which time she helped judge the TOPSS National Video competition and encouraged high school teachers to follow the National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula (2022). In 2024, Emily helped the APA create the APA Style Research Article Activity (PDF, 102KB)opens in new window tool to help teach students how to find, read, and digest scientific journal articles. Emily was elected in 2025 to the position of chair-elect where she will help lead the TOPSS committee in recruiting new members, widening membership, growing local TOPSS chapters, and improving the resources available to teachers.