Martin Hyatt, MAT, named recipient of 2024 APA TOPSS Charles T. Blair-Broeker Excellence in Teaching Award

One word can sum it up—FUN. It is so simple to find a “hook” for any lesson related to psychology. So much of effective teaching is linked with the ability to engage one’s students; psychology is so easy to connect to behaviors and thoughts and events in our lives. As a result, I rarely—if ever—hear the question, “But why do we need to know this stuff?” Learning about why we think a certain way or why we (or other people) have such misguided or honorable behaviors is so easy to make relevant—and fun.

I will never consider myself as any sort of artist, and my knowledge of the arts is limited at best. However, when I go to a museum or hear new music and then learn the background of the artist and their method of expression, well, I typically become both more impressed and appreciative. The more one knows about the behind-the-scenes stories, the more one can grasp the intent of the art and grow to have a much deeper appreciation or even awe, which then makes one want to experience more. I think the study of psychology can be viewed the same way. The more one learns about psychology, the more one can see explanations for behaviors and decision-making, whether they are good, bad, or ambivalent. Psychology does not provide excuses for behaviors and thoughts, but it can provide explanations. The more one knows, the more one is likely to be mindful that everyone has a story—or more mindful of the “stuff” that we all deal with. Once we know about psychology, we can view others and ourselves through a clearer window to understand why we think the way we do and act in certain ways. After this introspective “viewing” begins to happen, we can all start to become better friends, spouses, employees, leaders, and the list goes on and on.

I think my favorite topic to teach relates to social psychology. I teach this unit after spring break, and maybe because I teach predominantly seniors who oftentimes exude the image that they have everything figured out, the lessons of conformity, obedience, and influences on our attitudes hit with impact. As any psychology teacher already realizes, there are multitudes of interactive projects and quasi-experiments that can be used with this unit that provide definitive experiences that illuminate how although we may claim we are all independent, all of us (even seniors who will be graduating in weeks) are still heavily influenced by others.

Whether it’s recreating the Asch line experiment with age of students serving as the independent variable, projects related to social norm violations, or stories shared about how friends altered their behavior and mindsets when given the title of captain of any group, all students can quickly see the power of our social surroundings.

I would tell any new teacher of AP Psychology teacher that they need to pause and give thanks to the people who asked them to teach it. The teaching slots for AP psychology are scarce for a reason. You will not find a more exciting class to teach. 

Whether you are teaching on-level or AP Psychology, I encourage new psychology teachers to join the AP Psychology Teachers Facebook group. You will find a gold mine of teaching advice on every topic imaginable. You don’t have to create plans from scratch. Rely on experts who have been doing this job for decades. Save yourself hours of preparation and borrow ideas from the best teachers across the country and adapt them to your own objectives. You may find yourself wanting to spend an inordinate amount of time on particular topics, but I strongly encourage you to thoughtfully consider your pacing well before beginning your year and stick to your plan. Always keep in mind that you are teaching an introductory course and cannot dig as deeply into all concepts as you may wish. However, you can still provide opportunities for students to do their own research into the wide array of topics linked to psychology.

I have been a coach before and while the long road trips and time spent with players during the summer are not something I yearn to do on a daily basis again, but the huge benefit one gets from coaching is the opportunity to build strong, positive relationships. You get to know your players deeply due to time spent with them, and some players become like family over the years. Of course, classroom teaching can be similar; however, teaching psychology provides many more opportunities to become much more than simply a facilitator of knowledge and research. The topics of the class itself create an environment where you will be providing guidance for students to really begin to understand themselves. Of course, we are not trained therapists, but you will have many chances to positively impact students because the lessons you will teach are going to require students to be reflective and ask probing questions that will expose parts of their biological, cognitive, and social influences you would normally lack access to. We don’t have all the answers to the myriad of issues students face, but you will find yourself more frequently being asked to listen, and oftentimes, that is all our students need—someone who truly cares enough to pause and listen attentively.  

Well, with no disrespect whatsoever to the selection committee, winning this award honestly makes me better appreciate imposter syndrome. I know for a fact that there are boat loads of superior teachers with tech skills, background content knowledge, and creativity that I cannot match. I also know I lean heavily on my teaching friends at Northside and another AP Psychology teacher at our other high school, so I see this award as a sort of group project grade, and my part of the grade was typing and explaining everything.

With all that said, I still have to admit that I am certainly proud to be selected as a recipient of a “Charlie” award. Anyone who met Charlie knew almost immediately that here was a guy whom others needed to model so it’s certainly an honor to be linked to such an incredible psychology teacher, writer, and leader in general. Maybe most importantly, being recognized by TOPSS gives serious credibility to the old adage—hard work works. While I may not have any extra special skills as a teacher, I do feel like I work hard to build relationships and am willing to go the extra mile for other students and fellow teachers. It’s nice to realize one can get recognized for working hard, which is basic but still meaningful. Good grief, that sounds like I am 80 years old extolling others to put in the time and work. Oh well, it's me.