Thinking About Psychology (High School)

Charles Blair-Broeker happily taught psychology for over 40 years, mostly at Cedar Falls (Iowa) High School. He has been involved in several American Psychological Association (APA) initiatives, serving as a member of the task force that authored the first set of national standards for high school psychology, as the first elected chair of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS), and as coeditor of the fourth volume of the Activities Handbook for the Teaching of Psychology. Charlie served on the steering committee for three APA national conferences, including the 2017 Summit on High School Psychology, where he also delivered a keynote address. He taught Advanced Placement Psychology for over 20 years, beginning with the first year the exam was offered in 1992, and has been a test development committee member, question leader, rubric master, and table leader for AP Psychology. Charlie has written numerous articles about teaching high school psychology, has spoken at dozens of conferences and conducted over a hundred seminars across the nation. Among Charlie's teaching awards are the Grinnell College Outstanding Teacher Award, the University of Iowa Distinguished Teacher Award, and the APA Division 2 Teaching Excellence Award. In 2014, the APA-TOPSS Award for Excellence in Teaching was renamed the Charles T. Blair-Broeker Excellence in Teaching Award in his honor. Charlie has received an APA Presidential Citation for “exemplary efforts to promote high-quality instruction of and professionalism in teaching high school psychology.”

Charlie has been married to Lynn for almost 50 joyous years. They travel extensively and keep up with the adventures of their sons Carl (married to Liz) and Eric (married to Brittany and father of Marin and Louis). Charlie and Lynn do a lot of volunteer work and are mediocre but passionate pickleball players.

Randal Ernst has a B.A. in psychology, an M.A. in historical studies, and an Ed.D. in learning and teacher education, and has benefitted from the work of those who came before him his entire life. He taught his first high school psychology class in 1986, and has been part of the high school psychology scene ever since. At the first-ever APA Summit for High School Psychology Education (which Randy originally called for and helped lead), he was awarded a Presidential Citation by APA President Antonio Puente for "pioneering leadership of modern day pedagogy of psychology" which reflected several "firsts" Randy has been a part of. For example, Randy was a member of the committee that founded TOPSS (Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools), and was an elected member of the TOPSS Executive Board for its first five years. Randy was also a member of the first AP Psychology Test Development Committee, and was the first high school teacher to be either a Question Leader or an Exam Leader. Randy was the first high school teacher to have an article published in the American Psychologist, and has also had articles published in the Journal of Teaching of Psychology and the Oxford Review of Education. To honor Randy's efforts to help teachers and improve the teaching of high school psychology, the APA started the Randal M. Ernst Lecture, which is given annually at the APA Convention. A long-time advocate of improving one's sense of well-being, Randy coined the phrase "Positive Education" while preparing a presentation on infusing positive psychology concepts into pre K-12 curriculum with Marty Seligman for the Australian Department of Education. After being name the Lincoln Public Schools Multicultural Educator of the Year, Randy co-founded the Cultural Competence Center, which runs workshops for organizations seeking to increase cultural awareness in its employees and practices. Randy has received teaching-related awards from the APA, the Center for Civic Education, the NAACP, the University of Nebraska, and other organizations. Randy's mentors include Drs. Mary Kay Reed, Thomas Christie, Cliff Fawl, and Ludy Benjamin. Influential teachers include Don Davis an Avon Crawford. He is an Emeritus Professor of Education at Nebraska Wesleyan University, the husband of Teresa Wanser-Ernst, and the father of Emily, Meredith, and Jocelyn.