|
NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE
COURSE SYLLABUS
|
|
|
Course Title: General Psychology
|
|
|
Course Prefix & Number: PSYC2301
|
Section Number: 310/311
|
Semester:Summer I 2017
|
|
|
Semester Credit Hours: 3
|
Lecture Hours: 3
|
Lab Hours: 0
|
|
|
Course Description (NCTC Catalog):
General Psychology is a survey of the major psychological topics, theories and approaches to the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
|
|
|
Course Prerequisite(s):
|
|
|
Required Course Materials:
Access/Connect Code only – The Science of Psychology by Laura A. King, 3rd edition, McGraw Hill; 9781259973925
|
|
|
Office Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday – 9am-12pm
Monday & Wednesday – By appointment
|
|
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
|
Name of Instructor:
|
Leslie Kelley
|
|
Campus/Office Location:
|
Corinth Campus, Room 337
|
|
Telephone Number:
|
940-498-6424 (Email preferred)
|
|
E-mail Address:
|
Lkelley@nctc.edu
|
GRADING CRITERIA
|
# of Graded Course Elements
|
Graded Course Elements
|
Percentage or Point Values
|
|
1
|
Introductory Discussion Board (#1)
|
5 points
|
|
2
|
Article Review Discussion Boards (#2 & #3) & Replies (2 x 15pts each)
|
30 points
|
|
10
|
LEARNSMART Assignments (10 x 2pts each)
|
20 points
|
|
5
|
Quizzes (5 x 3pts each)
|
15 points
|
|
4
|
Exams (3 x 10pts each – lowest of 4 grades dropped)
|
30 points
|
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
|
|
At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
|
|
1.
|
Identify various research methods and their characteristics used in the scientific study of psychology.
|
|
2.
|
Describe the historical influences and early schools of thought that shaped the field of psychology.
|
|
3.
|
Describe some of the prominent perspectives and approaches used in the study of psychology.
|
|
4.
|
Use terminology unique to the study of psychology.
|
|
5.
|
Describe accepted approaches and standards in psychological assessment and evaluation.
|
|
6.
|
Identify factors in physiological and psychological processes involved in human behavior.
|
ATTENDANCE POLICY
You are expected to keep within the on-going discussion typically the nature of a psychology class by logging in and completing your assignments in canvas each week, and perhaps most importantly, by maintaining ongoing communication with your professor and fellow classmates over the course of the entire semester. Failing to log in regularly will result in failure to finish assignments on time. All assignments have strict deadlines and cannot be made up late. Therefore, failing to log in, will likely result in a low or failing grade. If you choose to drop this class, it is your responsibility to do so. Remember that the last day to drop is June 28th, 2017.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
|
Topic & Due Date
|
General Description of Subject Matter; *Assignments Due*
|
|
Thursday, June 8th
|
Official Date of Record
|
|
6/5 – 6/10: Chapters
|
Introduction to Psychology; Brain and Behavior
*Discussion Board #1 Due 6/10*
*LEARNSMART Ch. 1 Assignment Due 6/10*
*LEARNSMART Ch. 2 Assignment Due 6/10*
Begin working on next week’s assignments
|
|
6/12 – 6/17: Modules 12-26
|
Brain and Behavior; Human Development; Sensation, Perception, & Consciousness
*Quiz #1 & #2 Due 6/14*;
*Discussion Board #2 Due 6/17*
*LEARNSMART Ch. 3 Assignment Due 6/17*
*LEARNSMART Ch. 4 Assignment Due 6/17*
*Exam #1 (Chapters 1-5 & 9) open 6/16-6/17*
|
|
6/19-6/24: Modules 27-45
|
Conditioning, Learning, & Memory; Intelligence; Emotion
*Discussion Board #2 Replies Due 6/20*
*Quiz #3 & #4 Due 6/22*
*LEARNSMART Ch. 6 Assignment Due 6/24*
*LEARNSMART Ch. 7 Assignment Due 6/24*
*LEARNSMART Ch. 10 Assignment Due 6/24*
*Exam #2 (Chapters 6-8 & 10) open 6/23-6/24*
|
|
Wednesday, June 28th
|
Last day to Withdrawal from Class
|
|
6/26-7/1: Chapters 11-16
|
Human Sexuality; Personality; Psyc. Disorders & Therapies; Social Psychology
*Quiz #5 Due 6/29*
*Discussion Board #3 Due 7/1*
*Exam #3 (Chapters 11-16) open 6/30-7/1*
*LEARNSMART Ch. 13 Assignment Due 7/1*
|
|
7/4
|
Fourth of July – College Closed
|
|
7/3-7/6
7/5: Final Exam:
Review All Chapters
|
*Discussion Board #3 Replies Due 7/5*
*LEARNSMART Ch. 15 Assignment Due 7/5*
*LEARNSMART Ch. 16 Assignment Due 7/5*
*Cumulative Final Exam (All Chapters) open 7/5-7/6*
|
|
Tues., July 5th – Thurs., July 6th
|
Final Exam: open from 6:00am (7/5) to 11:59pm (7/6)
|
LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW
Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is Wednesday, June 28, 2017.
ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
LEARNSMART Assignments (10 x 2 points each = 20 points): This assignment requires access to McGraw-Hill Connect, which you can purchase in the bookstore, or directly from the Connect link on Canvas. Please note that everyone will receive a free trial for 2 weeks, in case you cannot immediately purchase the access code for Connect, such that there is no reason for not completing the first 4-5 of these assignments in the first two weeks. Also, please note that purchasing an access code will provide you access to an e-book for the duration of the course. For this assignment, you must complete the 10 LEARNSMART activities assigned for this class (see calendar above). To do so, you must access the LEARNSMART links on the modules page, which correspond to the topics you will be studying each week, and continue working on the assignment until you have completed it. Please note that there is a link for Connect support if you experience difficulties with this software. Each LEARNSMART activity may take 30 minutes to an hour or more to complete, depending on how well you know the material. As with other assignments, this assignment will be available for 12 days, beginning the Monday of the week prior to the due date, and ending at 11:59pm on the Friday of the week the assignment is due. Please note that these assignments are worth 20% of your overall grade, and without completing them you will receive a C or lower in this course.
Quizzes (5 X 3 points each = 15 points): You will have 5 quizzes over the course of the semester. Each quiz has approximately 10 multiple choice questions, on any topic from the reading/lecture materials for the current or a previous week. These quizzes cannot be accessed before 6:00am on Monday of the week before they are due, and must be submitted no later than 11:59pm on the due date (see calendar above). Your grade for this assignment will be based on a total of 5 quizzes. Three points (3 percent) of your overall grade in the class will be deducted for every quiz which is not completed. Late quiz submissions may not be accepted. Please note that these assignments are worth 15% of your overall grade, and without completing it you will likely receive a C or lower in this course.
Exams (10 points each = 30 points total): You will have three exams, which will consist of approximately 30-50 multiple choice/matching/true-false questions each. Additionally, you will have a cumulative final exam consisting of approximately 60-70 multiple choice/matching/true-false questions. Your lowest grade on these four test grades will be dropped. So, if you study well and are satisfied with your grades on the first three exams, you may choose not to take the cumulative final exam. You will have 40-50 minutes to complete the first three exams, depending on test length, and 60 minutes to complete the cumulative final exam. You must take these exams in one sitting, i.e., you cannot stop and resume at a later time. These exams cannot be accessed before 6:00am the day before they are due, and must be submitted no later than 11:59pm on the day they are due (see calendar above). You will only have two days to complete each exam. Your overall exam grade will be based on your three highest exam grades. Questions will be taken directly from PowerPoint slides, lectures, and other assigned materials, as well as your assigned readings / Learnsmart, so take good notes and read your text thoroughly. Late exam submissions will not be accepted, so be sure to allow yourself enough time to complete the exam. There will be NO make-up exams, as answers to the exam questions become available as soon as the exam time expires. If you miss the deadline for an exam, that exam will count as your dropped grade, and the other three will make up your overall exam grade. If you miss more than one exam, you will have a 0 as an exam grade, which will lower your grade by one full letter grade.
Discussion Board #1 (5 points): You will write an introductory discussion post of 200-words followed by three 100-word replies to other students, introducing yourself to the class and presenting your thoughts on a video called The Magician’s Twin. At least half of your work for this assignment should be directly related to the video. Always keep in mind that civility is a requirement, e.g., name-calling, such as you might see on some blog sites, is not true academic, intellectual discourse.
Article Review Discussion Boards #2 & #3 (15 points each = 30 points total): SHOULD BE RESEARCH-BASED! Not opinion-based! If you merely write your opinion on the topic of discussion, you will receive a 0 for this assignment. Consider this assignment to be a formal research paper presented in the form of a discussion. You should write in 3rd person focusing on what the researchers reported in the articles (e.g., “Coleman et al. (2011) conducted a study on…”), and not in 1st person (“I think that…”).
For each of these discussion boards, you will write a 600-word discussion post and three 200-word replies to other students, on a topic related to the reading assignment or other materials for the assigned week. For this assignment, you will need to answer the discussion board question for the assigned week, relying upon and thoroughly describing research from at least 3 of the articles provided for the assignment. Be sure to include a description of the methods of each study, as well as the outcomes of each study.
These discussion board posts should be cited in APA format, and should include references below your posts and replies. Your reference list is not considered part of your 600-word or 200-word limit. Please do NOT attempt to create an abstract or cover page for this assignment. You may use additional resources, but must at least provide a coherent and thorough review of at least 3 of the provided articles for each discussion. You should be sure to cite (throughout your paper) any reference materials used, including the articles you are reviewing and any outside sources you use. Any significant issues with plagiarism will result in a grade of 0, and will be reported to NCTC, which could potentially result in further academic consequences. These discussions are expected to be equal in quality to formal papers, and should be written as such! This assignment aims at demonstrating that you can clearly communicate the topics you have learned in the class to a general audience, and your work will be reviewed by your fellow classmates.
Failing to meet the minimum requirements of 1200 words, failing to use 3 of the provided articles, failing to reply to three fellow students, or failing to adequately demonstrate a respectable attempt to come to a clear and thorough understanding of the various perspectives of the topic, will result in a significant grade reduction. For more info on how to cite in APA format, google the following: OWL Purdue APA formatting. PLEASE DO NOT USE LONG QUOTES FOR THIS PROJECT! I am assessing your understanding of the research, which requires that you put the information into your own words.
Discussion board topics can be accessed at 6:00am on Monday of the week before they are due. Discussion board posts and replies must be submitted no later than 11:59pm on the day they are due (see calendar above). 15 points (15 %) of your overall grade in the class will be deducted for each discussion board that is not completed, including discussions & replies less than 1200 total words. No extra credit will be given for writing more than the required minimums, or replying to more than three posts, though you are highly encouraged to reply to more than three posts, and especially to reply to other students’ replies to your posts to create ongoing dialogue. Late discussions and reply submissions may not be accepted. Be sure to back-up your writing with the research. You will be required to complete the paper a second time, if you “lose” your research, but will only be able to do so before the deadline.
Article Review Replies: Article review replies will be due on the Tuesday after the discussion board is due. This is considered approximately 50% of the assignment, and is worth 50% of the grade. You will write a 200-word reply for 3 other students’ posts, for a total of 600 words. You will utilize the research that you have studied to formulate a coherent, research-based response to other students, demonstrating that you are able to utilize the information that you have learned to dialogue with other students about social science research. Like your original post, your replies need to be equally formal and equally research-based. Always keep in mind that civility is a requirement, e.g., name-calling, such as you might see on some blog sites, is not true academic, intellectual discourse. We are all human persons, equal in dignity, and should treat each other as such.
DISABILITY SERVICES (OSD)
The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides accommodations for students who have a documented disability. On the Corinth Campus, go to room 170 or call 940-498-6207. On the Gainesville Campus, go to room 110 or call 940-668-4209. Students on the Bowie, Graham, Flower Mound, and online campuses should call 940-668-4209.
North Central Texas College is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, ADA Amendments Act of 2009, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112). http://www.nctc.edu/StudentServices/SupportServices/Disabilityservices.aspx
CORE CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREA______________________________
o Communication
o Mathematics
o Life and Physical Science
o Language, Philosophy & Culture
o Creative Arts
o American History
o Government/Political Science
x Social and Behavioral Sciences
o Component Area Option
REQUIRED CORE OBJECTIVES
x Critical Thinking
x Communication
x Empirical and Quantitative
o Teamwork
o Personal Responsibility
x Social Responsibility
COURSE TYPE
o Academic General Education Course (from ACGM but not in NCTC Core)
x Academic NCTC Core Curriculum Course
o WECM Course
STUDENT HANDBOOK
Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the student handbook. http://nctc.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2014-2015/Catalog/North-Central-Texas-College-Student-Handbook
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR DEPARTMENT CHAIR
|
Name of Chair/Coordinator:
|
Dr. Leslie Kelley
|
|
Office Location:
|
Corinth Campus, Room 336
|
|
Telephone Number:
|
940-498-6424 (Email preferred)
|
|
E-mail Address:
|
lkelley@nctc.edu
|