Brad Wray, a psychology teacher at Pikesville High School in Baltimore, has been named a national winner of the 2020
APA TOPSS Charles T. Blair-Broeker Excellence in Teaching Award
by the American Psychological Association's Committee of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS).
TOPSS applauds Wray for his deep investment in the science of psychology and passing it on to his students and fellow teachers. “Brad seamlessly and uniquely meshes his passion for psychology with his love for computer science,” said Jennifer Schlicht, MS, chair of APA’s TOPSS Committee. “His talents are numerous and he widely shares his videos and websites with other teachers of psychology.”
Wray teaches both psychology and computer science classes. He helped to grow the psychology and computer science programs during his 11 years at Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland before moving to Pikesville High School in Baltimore in August 2019.
“His passion for teaching and having students get the most out of their education is evident in everything he does. From creating an entire website with thousands of pages to writing songs to help his students remember challenging material to pushing them to explore their own interests, [his] commitment to his job is undeniably evident,” former student Caroline Ball said of Wray.
His songs, videos and websites have contributed tremendously to the advancement of psychological education and have been featured in the Freakeconomics blogopens in new window and in Scientific Americanopens in new window. Wray combines highly organized classes and innovative teaching techniques such as songs, videos and other media to elevate his AP psychology courses. “I’m not sure there is a high school psychology teacher in the country who is aware of Brad’s videos and doesn’t use them in their own classes,” said Schlicht.
“His impact on his students can be seen in the staggering number of students who have chosen psychology as their field of studies in post-secondary schooling” his colleague Andrew Cizek of Arundel High School commented on Wray.
Wray has given and continues to give “the gift of psychology.” He strives to help students integrate psychology into their daily lives and understanding of the world. “More than anything, he is empowered by watching the growth of students who take what they learn in his class and become more meta-cognitive in their everyday lives; self-aware of the potential, the shortcomings, and the power of our thoughts, actions and emotions,” Cizek recounted.
“In every lesson that he plans, [Wray] isn’t just plotting a course for students to achieve on a test, he’s preparing a sequence that always leaves students challenged to be better people,” said Ms. Ball.
One example of his creativity and computer programming skills can be seen in his development of the Xamplropens in new window website, which he created and founded in 2017. The website had its beginnings in a wikispaces-based “Psycholpedia” website he created while at Arundel High School, which let students add their own definitions of psychology terms. When the wiki page was deleted, Wray was inspired to build the Xamplr web app, which allows students to read vocabulary examples, write their own examples and anonymously judge the examples of other students. The best examples are flagged and used in practice sessions with other students. The app currently has over 800 psychology vocab terms, each term with several hundred student-written examples.
“The web app has been an invaluable resource for many students and teachers of psychology,” said Schlicht. “His reach is wide, and his impact is immeasurable.”
Wray will receive a framed certificate, engraved award, cash prize of $500 and a complimentary TOPSS membership renewal for the 2021 membership year. Additionally, Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishersopens in new window is generously donating a $500 credit to Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers to each winning teacher.
Now in its 28th year, TOPSS is the voice of high school psychology teachers within APA. Through APA’s Education Directorate, TOPSS offers teaching materials, professional development, the Psychology Teacher Network quarterly newsletter and programs for high school psychology teachers and students. There are approximately 2,000 APA high school teacher affiliates in APA. Psychology continues to be a popular high school course, with just over 311,000 students taking the Advanced Placement (AP) psychology exam in 2019. In May 2019 there were just over 21,500 students worldwide who took the International Baccalaureate (IB) psychology exam. On-level and other psychology courses are also taught at the high school level.
TOPSS’s mission is to promote the highest standards in the teaching of psychology as a science and discipline; promote professional development and other means for lifelong learning for high school teachers of psychology; facilitate networking among teachers from all teaching levels of psychology; encourage recruitment and retention of students in the field of psychology; enhance the visibility and legitimacy of high school psychology; and recommend the appropriate advocacy, education policy and certification issues that impact the quality or visibility of teaching of high school psychology. Learn more about TOPSS on the APA Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools webpage and on its Facebookopens in new window page.
For more information, please contact Emily Leary Chesnes.
