Starting this year, a new elective is being offered that has caught everyone’s interest. Former anatomy and AP Biology teacher, Ms. Mooney, was able to convince administration to let her teach an AP Psychology class. After three years of trying to convince other teachers to teach the class, she finally decided to look at the criteria for the class and thought This is great, who wouldn’t want to teach this?

Expecting, at most, enough interest to fill two classes, almost two-hundred students signed up. Most have been rather excited to dive right in and start learning, regardless of the challenges of the AP class, although, since it is not an experimental science, it cannot be counted as a science credit and can only be offered as an elective.

Even students who have never taken an AP class signed up because of the high curiosity in psychology. Senior Tyler Becenti took the class as her first AP class and says, “It’s a bit of a challenge, but I’m very excited to start learning about how the mind works and why people behave the way they do.”

The purpose of the class is to introduce students to the behavior and mental processes of human and animals. It will provide students with critical overview of the study of psychology, focusing on the theories and research methods used in psychology science and practice. Since psychology is such a fascinating course, it is possible to explore the field using a variety of methods. Classes will consist of short lectures, videos, discussions, class activities, and projects.
Don’t let the AP of the class discourage you though.  The course is originally a semester long class in colleges, but Ms. Mooney’s class is being stretched out the whole year, which allows for the material to be gone over at a slower pace.

However, students should be cautious of how much work you are willing to do for an elective, because although it is one of the easier AP courses, it is still an AP course nonetheless. You will be expected to have a workload similar to that of a college level course. AP Psych students will have the opportunity to take the College Board Exam in psychology in May.  Students who pass with a 3 or higher can earn a college credit at most colleges and universities.