Mr. C's students: everything here is free — ask me for the password in class or by email.

AP PSYCH →CIVICS →IB HOTA →
APPAP Psychology
← CourseUnit 2 →
UNIT1

Research Methods & Statistical Analysis

A shareable 15-day teaching sequence for 90-minute blocks.

Scientific Foundations of Psychology · 10–14% of the AP ExamAssigned reading: Chapter 2, pp. 17–40, AP Psychology (Blue Book)15 lessons87 materials

Adapted from Taylor Cummings' Fall 2026 unit plans.

About this unit

The through-line

The temptation in a research methods unit is to teach it as vocabulary. It isn't. The unit has one job: get students to the point where they can look at any claim about human behavior and ask, "how would you know that?" Three moves carry the whole unit: the sentence frame ("They're testing the effect of ______ on ______"), the recurring flawed study (the Legless Rats, returned to as new vocabulary arrives), and the opening deception (Day 1's psychic demo, debriefed with "how would you test whether I really have this?").

Pacing

Written as 15 class meetings. If you only have 12, the master plan's "12-day compression" names exactly what to cut and why.

How to use the lesson pages

  • This is the one-path version: every slot has exactly one recommended move. The originals carried two or three options per slot — a strength when you wrote them, a burden when you didn't.
  • Nothing was deleted. Alternates live in Appendix A (by day) and Appendix D (legacy versions), not inside the daily plans.
  • Bold items are the non-negotiables. If you're behind — and you will be — cut everything that isn't bold before you cut anything that is.
  • Times are guides, not gospel: they show the intended shape of a block and what you're sacrificing when something runs long.
  • Every link points at real materials. Student and teacher copies are labeled; a few items (the unit test) are access-restricted until after they're given.
The unit at a glance

15 lessons · open one for the full plan

Lesson 1 — What is psychology? The scientific attitude
Anchor move
  • Psychic demos → "How would you test this?"
SWBAT / I can
  • Define psychology more accurately than intuition allows, and articulate why claims about behavior require evidence rather than common sense.
Prep
  • Confederate needed — arrange the day before
  • Newspaper prep — cut and re-taped in advance
Homework
  • Reading — Chapter 1. Open-notes quiz, date TBD.
  • Begin the Graphic Organizer — Ch. 1, Research Methods.
  • Student survey — assign as a form; it will not fit in class on a block.
Lesson 2 — Experimental design I: IV & DV
Anchor move
  • Legless Rats demo
SWBAT / I can
  • Identify the hypothesis, independent variable, dependent variable, control group, and experimental group in a described experiment.
Prep
  • Collect the Data Survey — Days 8 and 12 need it
Homework
  • Practice in Identifying Variables (2026).
  • Register via College Board.
  • Reading — Chapter 1, pp. 1–20.
  • Graphic Organizer notes.
Lesson 3 — Experimental design II: control, confounds, blinding
Anchor move
  • Belsomra commercial teardown
SWBAT / I can
  • Identify control and experimental groups, placebo conditions, operational definitions, and possible confounding variables; explain why double-blind design matters.
Prep
  • Legless Rats returns — confounds get named today
Homework
  • Finish Experimental Practice #1–#6.
  • Reading — Chapter 1, pp. 1–20.
  • Graphic organizer — Ch. 1, Research Methods.
Lesson 4 — Experimental design III → bridge to ethicsS&R #6C assigned
Anchor move
  • Experimental Practice #1–6 debrief
SWBAT / I can
  • Apply the full experimental vocabulary to six novel scenarios; identify APA ethical guidelines and the role of the IRB.
Prep
  • Print first — APA ethical guidelines
  • Legless Rats, third visit — resolve it today
Homework
  • S&R #6C — Designing an Experiment. Due Day 6.
  • Register via College Board if not done.
  • Reading — Chapter 1.
  • Graphic Organizer notes.
Lesson 5 — Research ethics & the infamous studies
Anchor move
  • Milgram / Zimbardo / Tuskegee
SWBAT / I can
  • Describe the legacies of Little Albert, Milgram, Zimbardo, and Tuskegee — and explain which APA guideline or IRB requirement each one produced.
Prep
  • Print first — Infamous Studies reading + chart
Homework
  • S&R #6C — Designing an Experiment. Due Day 6.
  • Reading — Chapter 1, pp. 1–20. Open-notes quiz Friday.
  • Graphic Organizer — Ch. 1, Research Methods & Stats.
  • Register via College Board if not done.
Lesson 6 — Ethics wrap + quiz prepS&R #6C due
Anchor move
  • Unethical studies chart
SWBAT / I can
  • Assess the pros and cons of each research method — experiment, correlational study, survey, naturalistic observation, and case study — and state exactly what claim each one can and cannot support.
Prep
  • S&R #6C due today — collect at the door
  • Quiz announced today — Experimental Design, next class
  • Two observers recruited — at the end of Day 5
Homework
  • Finish SIR #10B — Operational Definitions if it did not finish in class.
  • Study for the Experimental Design quiz — next class. Study guide distributed today.
  • Reading — Ch. 2, pp. 24–29: correlational research through case studies.
  • Graphic organizer — Research Methods & Stats.
  • Register via College Board if not done.
Lesson 7 — Quiz + surveys & naturalistic observationQuiz: Experimental Design
Anchor move
  • Survey demo (framing, social desirability)
SWBAT / I can
  • Assess the pros and cons of various research methods — experiments, correlational studies, surveys, naturalistic observation, and case studies — and explain why a correlation can never establish cause.
Prep
  • Quiz today — Scientific Foundations & Experiments
  • Run the survey early — it is the data for the demo
Homework
  • Operational Definitions — finish if it did not finish in class.
  • Reading and graphic organizer — Research Methods & Stats.
  • Register via College Board if not done.
Lesson 8 — Correlational research
Anchor move
  • Correlation demo/activity
SWBAT / I can
  • Read a correlational finding in the wild — a headline — and state its direction, the causal claim it invites, and at least one third variable that could account for both.
Prep
  • Pick up at slide 59 — Deck #3
  • MCQ practice — deferred twice, run it today
Homework
  • Read the illusory correlation section on the back of the activator handout.
  • Finish the correlational research classwork if it is still open.
  • Selfie posting activity or Diagnose Like a Clinician, if assigned today.
  • Graphic organizer — Research Methods & Stats.
Lesson 9 — Correlation applied; cross-sectional vs. longitudinal
Anchor move
  • Selfie Posting activity
SWBAT / I can
  • Explain what a case study can and cannot establish; take a famous case and name both the phenomenon it suggested and the experiment that actually tested it; and choose a method for a research question and defend it against a specific alternative.
Prep
  • Unit 1 test Friday, Sept 11
  • New Bedford needs an advisory — read the panel first
Homework
  • Unit 1 test is Friday, September 11. Start reviewing.
  • Practice questions — back of the chapter, pp. 22–26.
  • Graphic organizer — Research Methods & Stats, complete for the test.
Lesson 10 — Case studiesCognitive Bias reading assigned
Anchor move
  • Kitty Genovese / Big Dan's / Jonestown
SWBAT / I can
  • Apply measures of central tendency and variability to research data, interpret a score's position on the normal curve, and explain how outliers and skew distort each measure.
Prep
  • Print the methods grid — blank copy, one per student
  • Bring the class data — Days 1 and 2 promised it here
  • Unit 1 test Friday, Sept 11
Homework
  • Reading — Ch. 2, pp. 24–40.
  • Cognitive Bias FRQ (2026) — assign once the bias reading is complete.
  • Finish the Statistics Worksheet if it did not finish in class.
  • Unit 1 test is Friday, September 11. Graphic organizer should be complete.
Lesson 11 — Methods comparison + FRQ practice
Anchor move
  • Group FRQ Practice #1
SWBAT / I can
  • Work with percentages and percentile rank on a normal curve; identify positive and negative skew and say what each does to the mean and median; and explain what statistical significance and a p-value do and do not license you to claim.
Prep
  • Statistical significance is new today — never actually taught
  • Test tomorrow — Day 12
Homework
  • Study for the Unit 1 test — tomorrow. 50 MCQs, no free response.
  • New study guide: work the self-test page and list what you could not answer.
  • Finish the three significance prompts in §6 if they did not finish in class.
  • Graphic organizer complete for the test.
Lesson 12 — Descriptive statistics
Anchor move
  • Central tendency & standard deviation
SWBAT / I can
  • Demonstrate mastery of research methodology, ethics, and statistical reasoning on a 50-item assessment — and identify honestly how my preparation worked before the next unit begins.
Prep
  • Restrict the test doc until every section has sat it
Homework
  • Reading — Chapter 3, pp. 47–74 (Blue Book). Unit 2: The Biological Basis of Behavior.
  • Unit 2 graphic organizer — start it as you read.
Lesson 13 — Inferential stats & the normal curve2012 FRQ assigned
Anchor move
  • Dice and the Bell Curve

This lesson's dashboard hasn't been migrated yet — the focus, anchor move, and due dates above come from the unit master plan.

Lesson 14 — Review
Anchor move
  • Kahoot + partner term review

This lesson's dashboard hasn't been migrated yet — the focus, anchor move, and due dates above come from the unit master plan.

Lesson 15 — TestUnit Test
Anchor move
  • 50 MCQs

This lesson's dashboard hasn't been migrated yet — the focus, anchor move, and due dates above come from the unit master plan.

The three decks (the unit runs on these)
Student-facing anchors (distribute early, use all unit)
Assessments (know where these land before you start)
Materialsevery link in the unit, deduplicated by URL
Standards covered
  • Science Practice 2 · Research Methods & DesignLesson 1, 6
  • Science Practice 2.B · Research Methods & DesignLesson 2, 3
  • Science Practice 2.B and 2.D · Research Methods & DesignLesson 4
  • Science Practice 2.D · Research Methods & DesignLesson 5
  • Science Practice 2.C · Non-experimental methodologyLesson 7, 9
  • Science Practice 2.C and 3 · Non-experimental design & data interpretationLesson 8
  • Science Practice 3.B · Data InterpretationLesson 10
  • Science Practice 3.B and 3.C · Data interpretation · CED Topic 1.5Lesson 11
  • Science Practices 1, 2 and 3 · Concept application, research design, data interpretationLesson 12

TC Social Studies

← AP Psychology course page