WASHINGTON — Jeanne Turner, MA, a psychology teacher at Linn-Mar High School in Marion, Iowa, has been named a winner of the 2018 APA TOPSS Charles T. Blair-Broeker Excellence in Teaching Award by the American Psychological Association’s Committee of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools.
“Jeanne puts all of her energy into her students’ success,” said Maria Vita, chair of APA’s TOPSS Committee. “Their academic growth and personal lives are most important to her.”
Turner goes above and beyond in her commitment to student success, according to Vita. She tutors students for the Advanced Placement exam before and after school, meticulously prepares lesson plans and provides regular feedback to students on their academic progress.
She stands out as a leader at Iowa’s fifth largest school with approximately 2000 students and more than 100 teachers. Among her professional achievements, Turner was selected “Teacher of the Year” by the West Rotary of Cedar Rapids in 2017, served as a national reader of the AP psychology exam from 2013-17 and was Linn County’s “Educator of the Year” in 2003. Her colleagues have labeled Turner an instructional "technician" for her ability to relate to any student.
“Jeanne is able to adapt any teaching method with the highest degree of success for individual students,” said Jeffrey M. Gustason, PhD, principal of Linn-Mar High School. “She constantly evaluates her teaching strategies and learns about each of her students to create the best educational opportunities for them.”
Turner says her greatest professional accomplishment is the number of students she has taught and what they have done after leaving high school.
“Some students have gone on to major in psychology — some have even become psychologists. But I hope all have left with an assurance that someone cared about them as a person and a learner,” said Turner.
Throughout her career, Turner has been a leader to her colleagues. She started the AP Psychology program in Linn County and was one of the initial steering committee members who started Iowa Teachers of Psychology in 2000.
Turner will receive a framed certificate, an engraved award, $500 and a complimentary TOPSS membership renewal for 2019. Additionally, Worth Publishers is providing her with a $500 credit to Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers and a copy of the High School Psychology Video Anthology DVD.
The award is named for retired psychology teacher Charles T. Blair-Broeker, MAT, who taught for 39 years at Cedar Falls High School in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
In 2017-18, TOPSS marks its 25th anniversary as 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 more than 300,000 students taking the AP psychology exam in 2017, an increase of more than 9,000 over the previous year. In 2017 there were also more than 20,000 students worldwide who took the International Baccalaureate 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 online and on its Facebookopens in new window page.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes nearly 115,700 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.