It's that time of year again, when Mr. Nelson unleashes teams of enthusiastic teens on some poor, unsuspecting elementary school children. AP Psychology take some interesting twists and turns during the course of a year, but this has to be one of the highlights. Taking advantage of our homegrown test subjects, students in the Game Project test theories they have developed in their developmental psychology unit.
The unit is designed to apply theoretical ideas to the real world, encourage creative thinking, and promote community-building. In Mr. Nelson's own words, "the students are asked to focus on Piaget's theory of cognitive development and Erikson's theory of social development, and to use these theories to help them design an original and developmentally appropriate game for an elementary class. After the kids have played the game my students then reflect on the experience and assess the challenges and successes they achieved, and on how their game could have been improved."
So, if you see some unusual activities going on around the building, or you find yourself wondering how teachers appear to be getting younger and younger, then you'll know it's just some of Mr. Nelson's students putting theory into practice. This is the kind of testing that really pays off!