WASHINGTON — Jill Compher, a psychology teacher at Colleyville Heritage High School in Colleyville, Texas, 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.
“Jill’s creativity, innovation and willingness to share ideas with colleagues make her an excellent teacher,” said Maria Vita, chair of APA’s TOPSS Committee.
Compher shows her passion for teaching by taking normal classroom activities and demonstrations to the next level, according to Vita. For example, in a lesson on biological bases of behavior, she instructed the class to dissect a sheep’s brain to learn about its subdivisions and functions.
“Mrs. Compher has a way of taking a concept that can be dense and overly scientific and making it relatable and humorous through clever examples, memorable stories and in-class experiments,” said former student Ashley White.
While teaching is her priority, Compher constantly learns as part of her professional growth. She has become more technologically savvy through joining the Div. 2 (Society for the Teaching of Psychology) Facebook group and has engaged in Twitter using the #psychat hashtag. While connecting with colleagues at AP Reading and College Board trainings, she participates in “Psych Sprints” where teachers share their favorite teaching activities.
Compher’s teaching has affected students professionally years after leaving her classroom.
“I still find myself reflecting back to Mrs. Compher’s class where I originally learned about theorists and theories that I now read about at the graduate level and implement in the field of Child Life,” said Melanie Yeisley, a former student pursuing a master’s degree in Child Life. “Little did I know that taking a class that sounded cool almost ten years ago would lead me where I am today.”
Compher also promotes psychology education throughout Texas. In 2016, she founded and is chair of the Texas Teachers of Psychology, a grassroots network of local psychology teachers.
Compher 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.