Teaching & Learning Outcomes

APA is committed to enhancing the quality of teaching and learning outcomes at all levels of education and training. APA’s Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education added Chinese and Slovenian to the English and Spanish versions of the “Top 20 Principles for PreK-12 Teaching and Learning,” a resource used by practitioners to help students learn more effectively. Another enhancement included the Center for Psychology in Schools and Education’s “Creativity in the Classroom,” a practice-based video module to help teachers learn how to make creativity a part of their teaching and enhance academic outcomes.

The directorate helped address the silent national crisis of violence directed against K-12 teachers by creating a webpage and companion brochure. This resource helps define the problem of violence, spot warning signs and provide evidenced-based solutions for teachers and school administrators.

Resource for Teachers

Education in Psychology

The directorate contributes to a wide range of groups in a continued effort to represent psychology in the education and training community:

• As a Special Awards Organization, APA granted seven awards to projects representing psychological science at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
• In June the APA Committee on Associate and Baccalaureate Education sponsored the APA Summit on National Assessment of Psychology. The invitational summit brought together national experts in teaching and learning scholarship to provide assistance to faculty and departments facing accountability demands and to improve the learning experiences of their students.
• The 12th annual APA/Clark University Workshop for High School Teachers brought 25 high school psychology teachers together to learn from master psychology teachers and Clark University psychology professors.
• The directorate published Graduate Study in Psychology, a valuable resource on approximately 1,600 graduate programs (master’s and doctoral) in psychology in the United States and Canada.
• APA produced new career development resources for graduate students. These included an Individual Development Plan; a series of webinars focused on emerging careers across the discipline; and “How Did You Get That Job?” interviews with psychologists in the field.

Quality Assurance

Through its Commission on Accreditation (CoA) and Continuing Education Committee (CEC), APA continued its quality assurance role in the areas of professional education and training and continuing education:

• The new web-based CoA portal was fully implemented in 2016. This portal allows all parts of the review process to occur via a secure paperless system. Also new is the CE sponsor approval online application system (CESA OAS), which makes it easier for providers to apply to become APA-approved CE sponsors.

• 2016 marked the final year of the “Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation in Professional Psychology.” Beginning in 2017, the CoA will accredit programs under the new “Standards of Accreditation in Health Service Psychology,” which will provide greater clarity to the public and more opportunities for innovation in health service psychology education and training.

APA Supports Mental Health Reform

APA’s Education Government Relations Office (ED-GRO) provided advocacy training and scheduled more than 130 congressional meetings for APA members to advocate for increased funding for psychology education and training programs. Public policy successes in 2016 included:

• $8.9 million directed to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to fund 31 Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Program That’s a $1 million increase for the program, which supports the training of psychology graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to work in integrated care settings with underserved populations.

• A $3 million increase to the authorization for GPE and inclusion of health service psychology programs in a new $10 million demonstration program. This program provides mental and substance use disorder prevention and treatment in underserved communities.
• Expanded use of federal funds to support mental and behavioral health services at college counseling centers and increased funding for three new Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program grants.