Psychology

Inspiring 

Students are inspired to generate their own questions in Psychology, and therefore learn about the diverse methods of inquiry through their personal experience.  By fostering curiosity in this way, students learn first-hand the tools that enable them to interpret and evaluate established research.  

Knowledgeable 

Students learn the contribution that biological, cognitive and sociocultural influences make to their own and others’ behaviour, and having studied these three approaches, are then able to apply their knowledge to specific areas, including abnormal psychology and the psychology of human relationships. 

Some of the broad themes covered in the course are as follow: 

Biological approach: The Brain and Behaviour; Hormones; Genetics 

Cognitive approach: Cognitive Processing; Reliability of Cognition 

Sociocultural approach: The Individual and the Group; Culture, Behaviour and Cognition 

Abnormal Psychology: Diagnosis; Aetiology of Disorders; Treatment 

Human Relationships: Interpersonal Relationships; Social Responsibility; Group Dynamics 

Enquiring and caring global citizens 

Historical and current issues regarding the ethical treatment of humans and non-human animals in psychological research is extensively discussed.  Classroom discussion and debate is a central component of our teaching methodology and encourages students to listen and understand those of differing viewpoints.  As an outcome, students, both theoretically and in practice, become cognisant of the influences of culture on behaviour, and are considerate of their own potential sources of bias when expressing their opinions.   

Excellence in education 

Very high expectations are placed upon the students with respect to their precise use of language, both in classroom discussion and in their written work.  Students are expected to concisely describe established research, but beyond that, an emphasis is placed upon higher level thinking skills, including critical analysis and evaluation, and students are expected to frame their arguments in flowing, accurate written responses. 

Lifelong Learning 

Students are encouraged to form generalised schemes into which they make sense of new information, with this information coming from both psychological texts, as well as popular culture and current affairs.   A holistic approach ensures that as students experience the world, they recognise the concepts covered in class in their real-world context, and are thereby provided with the resources necessary to refine their ideas throughout their lives. 

Concept-Based Student-led Inquiry 

Students carry out their own psychological research projects, and develop a sense of how new knowledge is generated in resolving these problems.  As teachers, we support the students in their progress through active questioning, which enables students to develop and then transfer these critical thinking skills to other aspects of their education.  Students develop a profound sense of personal agency in the process of their intellectual development.  

Approaches to Learning   

Under differentiation, students have opportunities to design their own research projects. This will involve thinking processes and decision making, as well as the need to work socially and communicate effectively within their groups and with their teacher. The research projects will improve their self-management skills. 

Approaches to Teaching  

Teaching strategy is focused upon inquiry, and informed by formative and summative assessment.  Project work encourages student collaboration and enables the students to develop at their own pace.   

Interdisciplinary Connection 

There are overlaps in content between the biological approach and Biology.  For the Internal Assessment students must demonstrate some proficiency in statistics, connected to their learning in Mathematics.  An emphasis is placed upon their written work which transcends disciplines, and there are distinct links to TOK, with discussions about epistemology and the creation of new knowledge.   

Literacy  

Writing concisely and with precision is a key element of assessment, and students have opportunities to develop these skills throughout the course.  Being able to read and summarise primary sources supports and develops the students’ reading comprehension. 

Numeracy 

Students gain first-hand experience of collecting, processing and interpreting their own data using a range of statistical techniques.  They are also expected to understand the limitations of data interpretation, and the factors that may lead validity to be compromised owing to the how data has been collected and processed. 

Purpose: How does the curriculum support a holistic approach to education that goes beyond academic development? 

A focus upon international-mindedness is established through the examination of research in a range of cultural contexts, through the encouragement of students contributing their personal experiences to topic discussion, leading to an understanding of intercultural difference.   Students are challenged to achieve in their literacy and numeracy and provided with primary-source material that is transferrable across English, Mathematics and Scientific disciplines.  Epistemological discussions support an understanding of how new knowledge can be created an the limitations to our ways of knowing.     

Environment: How is the curriculum adjusted to ensure all students can succeed? 

Students are praised for any previous knowledge about the topics being covered and are encouraged to acquire new knowledge in groups by designing their own quantitative and qualitative research projects. This enables them to learn at their own pace and learn from peer support and teacher support. The research design process will scaffold their learning of new concepts and research methods, and make the process of learning established research easier given the students’ first-hand experience of these exercises.  Research projects are self-managed and therefore enable students to extend their own learning with teacher encouragement and questioning to stretch the more able to go further in their reading and understanding. When working on examination questions, we start with basic answers and move on to how to achieve grade 7 with model answers discussed. Students will write their responses to examination questions and after feedback, will improve upon their responses. 

Learning: How is feedback written into the curriculum to ensure that all students are set challenging goals? 

The knowledge and skills of students is shown through class discussion, class activities, and student presentations as the course progresses. Individual question and answer sessions help to determine the requirements of students and enable additional support to be provided where necessary.  High performing students are given challenging tasks to complete, including regular reference to primary sources. 

Students are assessed on Paper 1, 2 and 3 questions in class and examinations to obtain information about their performance with respect to external examinations. 

Year 12 Curriculum Map

The students will be involved in designing research which has potential benefits to the student population and wider society. I will encourage them to share their research findings on topics such as exercise, diet, sleep and technology, for example, through presentations to their form groups or assemblies in school. They could also become involved in charities that seek to promote such issues. They could also set up a CAS activity in school to follow up their research with health promotion awareness schemes.  

This could lead to setting up exercise classes for student well-being.