Psychology: Teacher’s Toolkit

The Teacher’s Toolkit grew out of discussions and contributions on the old TES Psychology forum and while it’s been through a number of revisions this, I think, is probably the latest (2013) version.

In basic terms it’s a massive (100-odd page) compendium of teaching ideas and activities aimed at A-level Psychology and loosely arranged around categories like:

• Lesson Notes
• Starters and Plenaries
• Introductions and Simulations
• Studies and Theories
• Strategies (self-and peer assessment etc.).

The vast majority of the activities are simple and straightforward to grasp and put into practice (a typical activity is effectively explained in a short paragraph) and the range of the collective contributions from numerous teachers is truly impressive.

Sociologists?

While the Toolkit is aimed at Psychology teachers (the clue is in the title) and some of the activities are aimed specifically at teaching and learning explicitly psychological theories, concepts and studies, there’s still a great deal here that Sociology teachers can take from the Toolkit (albeit with the need for a bit of tinkering to orientate activities towards sociological interests and concerns).