By Caitlin Kelly

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Records are made to be broken, and that was exactly the case with MHS’ 2010-2011 Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology class. Of the 136 students who took the course, 130d received at least a three on the AP exam, for a total of 96 percent of students with a passing score.

“Now I believe records can be broken because with this last one, (the) class made me a firm believer that it can be, because I never thought I’d ever see a 96 percent,” said AP Psychology teacher Judy Taparra. The closest that an AP Psychology class has ever come to that level was in 2005, where 95 percent of the 68 students enrolled received a passing score.

Achieving such a feat didn’t come easily, as students devoted their time to numerous assignments. “The work was never too hard, but it challenged us to think. Her assignments are not the ones you can complete five minutes before the bell rings, they do require some time and effort,” said 2010-2011 AP Psychology student Senior Emily Kelley.

Active participation through projects was also encouraged in hopes that it would be a more engaging way for students to retain information. A popular activity involved construction of the different lobes of the brain with Play-Doh. “I thought the brain project was really helpful because it helped me to remember where everything was and I know that on the exam it asked that,” said 2010-2011 AP Psychology student Senior Shayna Hokama. Junior Greg Watanabe, who is enrolled in the class this year, agreed, “Making the clay brain really helps because that showed me the different parts of the brain in a hands-on way.”

As a way to deepen the understanding of psychological concepts, classes this year are focusing on more intensive essay practice using the term, definition, application (TDA) method. “We have to know what the term is and define it, and then how it was used in the activity and the significance of that term. Overall it really helps you to get to know all the terms,” said Watanabe.

This method has been used in past years, but Taparra felt that students would benefit from more practice; she has assigned a TDA journal to be completed after every class activity. “I was thinking about focusing on the essays, because we hardly focused on that in the past except for the TDAs but it was never a homework assignment. So I thought if we could do that in a book maybe it would help,” she said.

Students this year are motivated to take on this challenge, despite the commitment it requires. “I think we can reach that 96 percent too because one of my friends last year said we should be able to do good if we study and try our best. So it makes me want to push and do good and get the college credit,” said Watanabe.

However, Taparra believes that a solid understanding of concepts is more important than any score. “Although we would like a whole bunch of people to do well on their exam because they deserve it, the end result I don’t think that should be the emphasis,” she said.

This year’s class will continue to put their best foot forward until the AP Psychology exam on May 7, 2012.