Terry Wick, a psychology teacher at Hartford Union High School, in Hartford, Wisconsin, 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).
Wick has been teaching psychology for over 24 years. During his time at Hartford Union High School he helped to more than double enrollment in the AP psychology program and created an awareness of the connections between biology and psychology by teaching a bundled biology/psychology course with a biology teacher at his school.
“Terry thinks outside the box and creates unique experiences for his students,” said Jennifer Schlicht, MS, chair of APA’s TOPSS Committee. “Team teaching Advanced Placement (AP) psychology with an AP biology teacher provides brilliant opportunities for students to further enhance their understanding of both subjects.” Each unit in the course bundle includes at least one authentic assessment, and Wick and his colleague design many of their own labs. For example, in a unit on neuroscience, students analyze neurological disorders while learning about action potential.
Wick “is a very dedicated, hardworking teacher and is committed to his work and students. He is always ready to teach no matter what the circumstances are,” said former student Haley Hagen. “He has always been one to welcome his students with a big smile and a high-five when they enter his classroom, or even passing in the hallways. He shows his passion for psychology through the excitement of his teaching and his eagerness for all his students to learn... He is a distinguished teacher and always has his student’s best interest at heart.”
“The knowledge he shares with students and colleagues is matched by few and I am proud to say I get to work with him every day,” stated Kevin Martin, a colleague of Wick’s for more than 17 years.
Wick has contributed to the teaching of psychology, the integration of psychology with other fields and the production labs and activities. When describing a collaborative project Terry helped to design with AP psychology, AP biology and AP statistics students, where students design, implement, and present their own experimental research projects, Martin said: “The expectations of a meta-analysis through a review of the literature and statistical analysis of the student resulting in a final detailed write-up is something that most students will not see you until grad school. It is this kind of opportunity that makes [Wick] a popular teacher amongst Hartford high school students.”
Wick has been involved in writing questions for the Educational Testing Service and has been a reader for the AP psychology exam. He is currently a member of an APA working group that is revising APA’s "National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula." In addition to his academic courses, Wick is also the current coach for the boys volleyball team. Former student Hagen said, “He is not only a teacher, but also a coach, and is supportive of students both in the classroom as well as on the court.”
“Terry has been a long-time leader in his school building as well as in the psychology community, and we could not be more thrilled to present him with this award,” stated Schlicht.
Wick 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 of the winning teachers.
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.
