Does your school or department provide funds for classroom resources? Are you wondering what items you should request as part of a Donor's Choose project? Or are you just looking to add some resources to your classroom before the school year starts or before beginning a new unit?
Here's a list of supplies and materials that can be helpful and add some fun to your psychology classroom!
Fun with Freud
No psychology class is complete without a little Freud. Yes, it's important to understand the nuance of Freudian theories and how far we've come as a field and to elevate diverse voices in psychology. We can do all of that AND recognize that Freud and his theories are still fascinating today and made an enormous impact on psychology.
Show him off with this adorable Freud plushie or pick up these Freudian slippers and see if your students get the joke -- I wear mine for pajama day! A student gave me these Freudian slips sticky notes and they're both fun and functional.
These items and more are all from The Unemployed Philosopher's Guild.
Supplies for Activities
Okay, we had our fun with dolls and sticky notes. Let's talk about some things that you can use to engage your students in activities and experiments that will make the content stick!
Biological Basis of Behavior Unit
A model of the brain is REALLY helpful when exploring the biological bases of behavior unit. If you have significant funding, this brain model and this brain model both contain multiple pieces and are labeled with a lot of detail. However, if you're on a tighter budget, this soft foam brain model is a great deal. It separates into the two hemispheres with only one side labeled, so students can quiz each other.
If you love cute and plushie mixed with nerdy, you have to get this neuron plush and brain plush! They're both cute, but I can make a stronger educational case for getting the neuron -- its detailed enough that it can be used to point out some of the basic features we want our students to know. And, I mean, come on, it just looks so happy!
Sensation & Perception Unit
The sensation and perception unit is another one in which models and hands-on activities make all the difference! This multi-part detailed eye model and this simpler (and cheaper) soft foam eye model both make great visuals for students. This 3D ear model helps students visualize the parts of the inner ear. This multi-piece inner ear model is also helpful for an in-depth understanding of hearing.
You can also use a fake arm* to explore phantom limb syndrome, special googles or the UpsideDownChallenge Game to alter visual perception, and Super Taster test kits or Miracle Berry Tablets to explore taste.
*This only comes in one skin tone (as, unfortunately, many things do). I recommend buying multiple and painting them a variety of skin tones to make this activity inclusive and effective. If you find other versions that come in multiple skin tones, please let me know!
Learning Unit
In the learning unit, you can introduce observational learning with a 46" Bobo/Bozo doll! Or just pick up a small foam version to hang out with your plushie Freud.
Disorders & Treatment Unit
Students love to flip through my DSM (even when I only had the DSM IV from when I was in college, they were still interested). If you didn't study psychology in college or didn't hang on to your copy and you have the funds, pick up a DSM-5. The newest version is the DSM-5-TR (text revision) Students love to get their hands on something from the "real world" of psychology. Make sure you're buying the authentic one from APA -- there are fakes out there.
Also helpful is a DSM-5 overview, which covers some key information and is MUCH more reasonably priced for something to use in the classroom.
Stress & Health Unit
To explore stress, have students play the game Perfection to increase the pressure and then debrief their experience!
Materials for the Whole Year
Ever had to take a last minute sub day? Or had to sit in on an IEP meeting with no notice? We all know things come up and sometimes there just isn't time to prepare an elaborate substitute plan or there's just no way for your planned lesson to be done without you guiding your students.
There are 8 seasons of Brain Games episodes and there's bound to be one that relates to what your students are currently learning. The episodes are fast-paced and engaging, and students love them! Do yourself a favor and buy the complete collection on DVD (season 8 is available separately), so when something unexpected comes up, you have a plan (and you don't have to worry if the sub knows how to log into a streaming service).
There are TONS of books that can support a psychology classroom, but a short list would have to include 40 Studies that Changed Psychology by Roger R. Hock and Psych Experiments: From Pavlov's dogs to Rorschach's inkblots, put psychology's most fascinating studies to the test by Michael A. Britt.
What have been your most loved or most useful purchases for your psychology classroom? Share in the comments.
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