Psy100 Syllabus - Harrington

Daily 8 - 4:30. You're welcome anytime but appointments will insure I am available to meet with you. If I am out of the office the message board will give you an idea of when I will return. Please leave a message on the door or send me an email. Assignments, papers, etc. may be left in the drop box next to my door. If you don't see me please leave a note and I will get back to you. You may also talk with me anytime before or after class if it is more convenient for you. Click for contact information.

Required Text

	Myers, D. G. (2008). Exploring Psychology, Seventh Edition in Modules. New York: Worth. The ISBN of our textbook is 13: 978-1-4292-0589-4. You may use the ISBN to shop around for the best price if you prefer.

To enhance learning and communication the class will utilize a Blackboard online course. The Blackboard web site will house our course documents, quizzes, assignments, notes and links to additional content to help you with your study as well as communication tools to help with interaction with other students and myself. In order to use Blackboard you will need to use your UNET email account. Follow the instructions on this link to learn how to use your email and to activate your email account if you have not already done so. Click here for a quick tutorial on using BlackBoard.

Please visit Blackboard often for new announcements, lecture notes, discussions etc. In Blackboard you have many tools; a personal calendar called 'My Calendar' to keep track of your own schedule that only you will see, email to send email to class members, a gradebook, chat among other tools. Additionally, the discussion board feature as an excellent way to collaborate with others.

Please note that interactive content on the web site and on links to other sites require Shockwave to view. This would be the case on your own personal computer as well. However, if it is not already installed you may download the Macromedia Shockwave and Flash Plug-in for your own computer to view them. You can get the Adobe Acrobat Reader© at the link as well.

To assist you with understanding the concepts we discuss in class I have arranged for PsychSim® Online Interactive Graphic Simulations for Psychology to be available to you in the campus computer labs. This software will provide you with an opportunity to complete interactive exercises on concepts from the text's chapters. Important Note: Some of the modules use sounds with the interactive exercises. Be sure the computer has speakers or headphones jacks for this feature. On some lab computers you will notice a line through the speaker icon in the system tray. This means sound is set to mute. To activate it double click the icon and uncheck the mute button. Most modules will not require the use of sound. The program is for your general use as you choose, it is intended to compliment our text and some material may vary from the exact chapter topics and layout of our text but it is quite helpful and fun for learning psychology concepts in general.

I have a copy of sample research papers and books on reserve in the library that will help you with writing research papers and using APA style, the format we use in psychology for writing. You may check them out for library use. Give the librarian my name and the class when asking for them. You can check listings in URSUS as holdings may vary as I add or update books. A copy of our textbook will be on reserve as well.

Once you log into our Blackboard class you will find a folder called "Writing Research Papers - Help with APA Style" under the menu button labeled Course Documents. Here you will find many links to resources to help you with writing and style, not just for this class but for all your classes. You will also find a folder under the Course Documents to help you with designing your poster for your class project.

This class is intended to be a university level introduction to the study of psychology. No prerequisites other than PBS Reading are required for this class although completion of all PBS level requirements is recommended. Successful completion will satisfy the three-credit core requirement in the Social Sciences.The objectives of this class include exploration of the field of psychology and the study of human behavior. It will investigate the history of psychology and its transformation into a science. Additional objectives include the understanding of the scientific method and psychological principles as they apply to everyday behavior. To this end time will be devoted to biological, neurological, perceptual, cognitive, abnormal and social behavior. Following completion of the course students will be able to better understand the complexities of human behavior.An important goal of the course is that it is flexible enough to encourage student participation in the learning experience. Student feedback and participation throughout the course is encouraged. The course also serves to expose students to the varied career possibilities in the behavioral sciences.

Attendance is expected. If you are unable to make a class please notify me in advance or as soon as possible afterwards. Your participation is important to the class and of value to you in understanding the concepts. Since I value your attendance, good attendance, no more than four absences, will result in a mark up of the final grade. Extenuating circumstances will not count against you. Any anticipated absences should be discussed in advance so necessary make-up work can be discussed and/or other alternatives decided upon. It is your responsibility to follow up on anything you miss. Please note that extended absences without any contact from you will result in your removal from the class and a grade of "L" on your transcript.

If you require an accommodation in the classroom or for testing please notify me as soon as possible to discuss the necessary steps to grant the needed accommodations. Information and help with accommodations is available from Ms. Mary Kate Barbosa, Director of Student Support Services in South Hall.

Papers, tests and other assignments are due as indicated on the course calendar or as stated in class. Make ups will be made available for tests missed because of circumstances beyond the student's control if the student notifies the instructor of his or her inability to take the exam or meet the deadline. Make up work is your responsibility. Participation is encouraged and helpful in understanding new concepts. Your active involvement and shared comments are important. I enjoy teaching and do many in-class activities that depend on you helping me with the demonstration. Please volunteer to help, it will be a fun and interesting way to learn. Also, please ask questions at anytime. If at any time you find you do not understand material in the lecture or text or have suggestions for improving the course please share it in whatever way you are comfortable. I am willing to meet with you anytime to go over notes, quizzes, tests or to offer suggestions on study.

The nature of the class will be primarily interactive lecture with computer presentations. Group participation will be used to reinforce principles and improve understanding of the material. Students will be asked questions and also asked for comments. Guest speakers and demonstrations will be used as indicated on the syllabus or when made available to us. Lectures will follow assigned readings. Not all material in the lecture will be found in the book as it is presented to help clarify or enhance concepts. Conversely, I will not lecture on all material found in the assigned readings. You are responsible for reading this material and for discussing any questions you have. Bottom line -- both reading the text and attending class will be necessary for success. You will find annotated lecture notes on Blackboard to help with study and to clarify material. If you need extra help please see me and we can work together to go over the material. Please note that online notes are summary notes and do not include content from our discussions, student comments, class demonstrations or questions.

Your grade in the class will depend on total points accumulated during the semester. You will accumulate points from the required examinations, assignments, attendance and from any optional extra credit options you choose. The final grade is based on the total points you have earned. .

Point Values for Required Tests/Assignments:4 Examinations (open book online) @ 50 points = 200
12 Blackboard online quizzes (open book online) @ 10 points = 100
(I know it doesn't add up, I'll drop your lowest two quiz grades.)
Psychology Project - Poster Session and Research Paper = 100
____________
Total maximum points = 400

Examinations will consist of questions of varied format for example; multiple choice, short answer, matching, labeling or essay. The final exam will not be comprehensive. Due dates will be on the course calendar. You may submit your assignments in Blackboard, on paper or via e-mail with an attachment. Assignments should follow appropriate APA style. Please note that for all assignments you should a keep a copy of your assignments for yourself and please back up your work in two different places!

It is my hope that this class will help you to better understand human behavior. The information, concepts, and research discussed in class affect all of us every day in many ways. In this assignment you are to look into any psychological topic or concept that you and your team personally find interesting or relevant. You will develop a focused research question or thesis statement. You will research and write a paper to address the topic or statement. In addition to the paper you will summarize your findings on a poster for display and discussion in class during our poster session class period. In many professional circles poster sessions are becoming a more popular to visually present research findings. Designing a tri-fold poster can visually communicate important elements of your work, for example: the questions you researched, its significance, hypothesis or thesis statement, findings or results, summary and discussion. The poster is itself that, a poster that summarizes your findings - be creative! Samples will be shown in class and there are links in Blackboard to web sites that discuss how to create successful posters. Posters can be purchased locally. Staples® has a large supply and selection. You will work in a team for this project. I will arrange groups in Blackboard for your group to facilitate your work together. You may choose any topic that is related to psychology, most anything is in some way. Need more ideas, let's talk.

The paper will:

Be 7-12 pages and typed using APA style. It will be research based to address a thesis statement, research question or hypothesis. You will use evidence (research findings) to support your writing and to answer your research question. Include at least six (6) references in your Bibliography or List of References. These will include at least three professional journal articles (Primary Sources) from journals in Psychology. Include in-text citations for any information taken, quoted or paraphrased from reference sources. Use APA citation style in the body of your paper so I know where the information or statistic came from (like your text does). This is the (Author, date) you see in your text. It gives credit to original author's research and the reader can find that source in the list of references. Your work will be your own research and writing.
Deadlines for topic selection, outline, draft and final submission are stated on the course calendar. Late papers will receive a deduction of 10 points.

Please use the resources on Blackboard and at the library for help in starting, researching, writing and formatting your paper. We also have a Writing Center in South Hall (Free!) that will be happy to help you with the paper and will provide help with writing and style. If you want to discuss ideas or need more help I would be happy to talk further with you at anytime.

You must complete these by the due dates. You may elect one or all. On occasion special events of educational value will be available on campus and extra credit points will be offered for attendance or participation. These special event opportunities will be announced in class.

Will be determined according to the following scale. Points needed to obtain grade:

A = 372, A- = 360, B+ = 348, B = 336, B- = 320, C+ = 308, C = 296, C- = 280, D+ = 268, D = 256, D- = 240, F = <240

You will be able to check your progress and see all grades recorded for you at anytime using the grade book in Blackboard. After the final I will also post your final course grade to Blackboard. If at anytime I record an inaccurate grade let me know immediately.

It is expected that your work is your own. Using work from another source is to be cited appropriately in writing using the APA style. Plagiarism is not acceptable in written assignments regardless of source or intent. From the university web page:

“Any student who directly/indirectly, overtly/covertly, or singly/collectively claims another's work as their own, aids others in doing so, or does other's work is guilty of plagiarism. Any student found to have plagiarized will be subject minimally to professor determined sanctions which can range from assignment failure, course failure or referral to the university conduct code for further actions. The full university policy is available at http://www.umpi.maine.edu/stulife/stacintp.htm”

“as a member of the university, I pledge to pursue excellence, support open inquiry and civil expression, listen respectfully to the viewpoints of others, participate responsibly in the life of the campus, and conserve and enhance the beauty of the campus, and help members of the university realize their potential.”

Simply stated but worth thinking about. Please be considerate of others who want to learn. Please turn off cell phones. If it is necessary to leave it on please set to silent or vibrate. Please come to class on time and if you must leave early please let me know ahead of time and try to sit near the door to minimize distractions to others when you leave.

Welcome to Psychology 100

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