Teaching psychology online

During every professional development opportunity cyber (online) teachers attend, we spend a portion of it thinking, “How can I do this for my students? How can I adapt this for the cyber classroom?” Certainly during the pandemic, teachers all over the country were struggling to answer these same questions. This may have been particularly true for psychology teachers who frequently use innovative demonstrations to engage their students in the fascinating content that exists in an introductory psychology course. With the uncertainty of the last few years, many teachers who were typically in brick-and-mortar schools were in survival mode. Teachers are now in different phases of returning to live instruction. But many will continue to engage in online teaching—to supplement traditional classroom teaching, to provide continuity when there are weather or health-related shut-downs, or because they are working at a cyber school. Planning meaningful instruction for all students, no matter the delivery platform, is critical.

Having taught both online and in a brick-and-mortar classroom, I know it is challenging to convert content from in-person to online lessons. This is my sixth school year at a cyber school and I can assure you: It can be done. You can create engaging and rigorous synchronous and asynchronous psychology content for high school students. Real learning can be done online.

I have curated resources in my time teaching psychology online that have helped immensely. Below are some of the resources and lessons I have used in my experience teaching online.

• APA TOPSS
  TOPSS is an incredibly useful resource for high school psychology teachers. The TOPSS Canvas course template has many online resources that can be used in online and in-person settings. They also provide technology tools and tips for psychology teachers .
• The Noba Projectopens in new window
  The Noba Project is a free, open-source psychology resource. You can find articles on topics covering the entirety of an introductory psychology course and save them as PDFs. Creating a free account allows you access to PowerPoints, tests, quizzes and other useful materials. The author's credentials are always listed along with citations so you can be sure the information is scientifically sound.  There are also outside resources that include videos, websites, and other articles listed that can be helpful to supplement the readings.
• Crash Course Psychology and Crash Course Anatomy

• Crash Course Psychologyopens in new window covers topics quickly with illustrations. It includes topics that are typically included in an introductory psychology course. The videos are all around 10 minutes.
• Crash Course Anatomy and Physiologyopens in new window covers topics pertinent to psychology. It includes videos on the nervous system, the endocrine system, and sensation and perception. They are also all in the 10-minute range and can be helpful to review these topics.

• University of Wisconsin Green Bay Online Museumopens in new window
  The University of Wisconsin Green Bay virtual psychology museum has online resources in the form of podcasts, videos, articles, and more that cover the different subfields of psychology.
• Asynchronous lessons that tie together sound pedagogical practices of universal design for learning, differentiation, and rigor with using online tools are essential. Students could do these online or with a device in the classroom. Once they are set up, they are easy to distribute and complete. I use HyperDocs and interactive google slides to deliver content and require student participation. All these can be done either online or in-person.

• Violence HyperDocopens in new window
• Signature strengths/ positive psych HyperDocopens in new window (This is part two of the signature strengths project adapted from: this lessonopens in new window )
• Learning and Conditioning interactive Google Slidesopens in new window
• Metacognitive Learning HyperDocopens in new window

The most important part of being an effective teacher online and in-person is being able to build relationships. You can have the most spectacular resources and lesson plans but if you don’t have a connection with your students, you are not going to get the most out of them and they won’t get the most out of your class. A big part of success in cyber learning is forming personal relationships with students, which may be difficult if you do not have much experience teaching online.

Using a question of the day to get students talking about themselves and being reflective is a great way to create relationships. This can be done in a Google Form or a journal with writing prompts by asking questions like those listed on the Attendance questions docopens in new window.

My favorites: 

• What is something you wish I knew about you?
• What is your favorite thing about yourself?
• If you knew you couldn’t fail what would you do?
• Who is someone you look up to?
• Do you think they know you look up to them?

Finishing up a lesson with a quick wrap up can also foster these relationships. Ask students how they’re doing and how they think they did on today’s task. Self-assessment can improve their autonomy in online learning. In my wrap up Google Forms, I incorporate a retrieval question, self-reflection and self-assessment with either reteach or enrichment opportunities, depending on students’ assessment. The wrap up form has two sections that serve different functions. The first section is a retrieval practice. Students are asked to do a brain dump—or to type up anything they remember about the lesson. In the second section, students are asked to self-reflect on their class performance and their understanding of the material which encourages them to take control of their learning. Based on their response, students may be directed to a reteach page, if they are struggling to understand the material, or an enrichment page, if they are interested in more resources on the topic. Here is a breakdown of what I put on my wrap up formopens in new window and how to create your own.

Teaching in an engaging manner online can be a daunting task. Using the resources available can be the key to having success in online learning.  Focusing on quality content like those listed above, thoughtfully planning rigorous synchronous and asynchronous lessons, and intentionally building relationships with students are all great ways to bring your lessons to life.

Marisa Petraglia is a high school social studies teacher. She has a master's degree in educational psychology. Marisa currently teaches psychology, AP psychology and child development in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has been in her current position as a cyber teacher for six years and has experience in both the online and brick-and-mortar setting. Marisa presented “Using Technology to Foster Student Engagement” at the PA Charter School Student Engagement Symposium in 2017. Marisa participated in the American Psychological Association/American Psychological Foundation/Oregon State University Psychological Science Workshop for High School Teachers in 2019.  She is a scorer for the AP psychology exam and a Google level 2 certified educator.