Teacher: Mrs. Ugander
If you want a fun and interesting elective that could also be very important in real life, look no further because we interviewed Mrs. Ugander about Psychology class! With interesting details about psychology as a whole to the science of the brain, this class gives students important and insightful information about their brains that have real life applications and importance. We thank Mrs. Ugander for her time and thoughtful responses!
Share a little about yourself.
This is my 29th year as a teacher, I think I’ve taught high school and middle school equally over the years. The first 24 were in person and since the pandemic I’ve been virtual. I’m a mom and dog mom. My kids are grown and live across the country. My husband is from Sweden, we met in London. My fun fact is that I’ve been to all 50 states and so far 5 continents.
What does the class cover throughout the semester?
Psychology is divided into 7 units suggested by the American Psychological Association National Standards. What is psychology, methods, biology & behavior, sensation & perception, consciousness, learning & memory, and finally a smidge of developmental psychology.
What will students learn in the class?
I like to think that students receive a good overview of the broad study of psychology. You’ll learn about the beginnings of study of psychology, the modern perspectives, how research is conducted, and in my personal opinion learn practical information and skills such as mindfulness, stress reduction, teenage milestones, SLEEP!
What’s your favorite part of the class?
Without a doubt when we study chronotypes in the consciousness unit. Those are well documented categories of sleepers. Most commonly people fall into 2 of the 4 categories but term after term, JVA students most often fall into the OTHER two. Of course, I was shocked at first and thought there was something wrong with the test I was administering. Then it dawned on me, JVA students SHOULD fall outside the typical, expected sleep categories. They SHOULD be the night owls and the erratic sleepers. This demonstrates why brick and mortar school may have been a struggle, why we teachers receive SO MUCH WORK in the middle of the night. The feedback I get on the Padlet posts is always really validating for and from the students. They almost always have an “I knew it” sort of response.
What do you want others to know about the class?
I designed this class from scratch, and I did it specifically with JVA students in mind. I wanted you to learn practical “stuff” that you can use but you can have some fun with it and might even have something to talk about around the house!
