Rockland High students demonstrate AP Psychology experiments; teacher credits grant support and higher AP scores

Kendra Donovan, AP Psychology teacher at Rockland High School, and two students presented classroom demonstrations and program outcomes to the Rockland School Committee during the meeting. Donovan said the school offers two AP Psychology sections serving 48 students and that the course uses hands-on demonstrations to teach sensation, perception, memory and social psychology.

The presentation showed demonstrations used in class — a selective-attention video, goggles that alter vision, tactile "what's in the box" tests, smell identification, and a human-to-human interface used for neuroscience demonstrations. Donovan said a career-pathways grant paid for new equipment that allowed students to apply biopsychology concepts in class; students described classroom activities that ranged from blindfolded navigation of the building to memory tasks and social psychology games.

Student presenters said the experiments are designed to make abstract concepts tangible and contribute to learning. The committee heard that the class uses in-class discussion and demonstration to increase engagement; Donovan and committee members noted that bringing content to life corresponded with improved AP Psychology results in 2024, which Donovan said were higher than Massachusetts and global averages across most units.

Committee members praised the course's accessibility and the number of students taking the exam. The committee noted Donovan’s outreach to secure grant money and called the program a model for bringing advanced coursework to more students.

The presentation concluded with the committee thanking the students and Donovan and wishing them luck on upcoming AP exams.