One of the biggest questions I hear from fellow high school psychology teachers is how to end the year in a meaningful way and how to get other students excited about psychology. One of the options I provide my students at the end of the year has proven to do both. We take psychology on the road. Our Psychology Roadshow is an opportunity for high school students to bring a psychology demonstration to our local elementary feeder school. Students work in small groups to choose a content area of interest and plan a short interactive demonstration that they can do with elementary age children. One of the key elements of the road show is that the high school students need to be able to explain the key concepts to the children in a way that they can understand. Their goals are to teach psychology and to get young students excited about psychology.
If you are interested in starting your own Psychology Roadshow, I have a few suggestions to get you started. First, look into the different rules in your school and district regarding travel and field trips, etc. I would also check in with the elementary school or schools you are considering to work out a plan with them as well. Each school and district will have unique rules and regulations and you want to make sure that you have followed all of the protocols. If your school environment and regulations make this step impossible, the roadshow could also work as an evening community event for children in the area to come to your school. Once you have done the first step then you get to do the fun part. I give my students free range on topics and demonstrations but offer up many options that they can sign up for if they do not have a unique idea.
For our Roadshow, my students generally plan a 5-10 minute interactive demonstration. This allows us to go in a classroom and put students into small groups so that they can rotate around in stations. We usually try to have about 2-3 elementary students paired with 2-3 high school students doing a station. So, if we travel classroom to classroom, we generally have about 4 groups per classroom. Prior to going to the classroom my students write up a short step by step guide to their demonstration, an explanation of the concepts it shows, 3-4 questions to ask the young students to get them thinking about the topic, and a way to explain it to the students that is age appropriate. Some of the most popular stations throughout the years have been a bean bag bucket throw using visual distortion goggles, a blindfolded Starburst taste interaction test, a game of telephone to demonstrate memory, and so many more.
Part of our Roadshow has always been a debrief with my students after the event takes place. They enjoy sharing what students did and did not understand and what they would do the same or differently next time. If you have any questions about starting a Roadshow at your school, feel free to email me.
Dana Melone has been teaching a variety of psychology courses for the past 20 years. She has a BA in psychology and education as well as an MA in teaching and will be graduating with an MA in psychology in 2023. She is the past chair of TOPSS and current high school psychology teacher at Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School. Dana has also been an AP Psychology Exam reader, Table Leader and Early Table Leader as well as playing a role in the planning and implementation of the Iowa Regional Network Teachers of Psychology Meeting each year. 
