NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Course Title:	General Psychology
Course Prefix & Number:		Psyc2301	Section Number:	408	Semester/Year:	Fall/2018 8 Week
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): None
Required Course Materials: King, Laura A. The Science of Psychology. 4th edition. McGraw Hill.  ISBN 9781260223545

 

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Name of Instructor:	Carolynn Pravatta
Campus/Office Location:	Corinth Campus  Room 216
Telephone Number:
E-mail Address:	cpravatta@nctc.edu  (Preferred method of contact)

 

OFFICE HOURS

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
N/A	8 AM-10:50 AM	N/A	8AM-10:50 AM	N/A

 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (From Academic Course Guide Manual/Workforce Education Course Manual/NCTC Catalog

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 process involved in human behavior.

 

GRADING CRITERIA

# of Graded Course Elements	Graded Course Elements	Percentage or Point Values
1	Syllabus Quiz	5%
1	Attendance & Participation	10%
4	Activities	15% each
1	Final APA Paper	25%

 

COURSE SUBJECT OUTLINE

 

Method of Evaluation:

• There will be FOUR activities. Each activity will be worth 15% of your grade.  
• Participation & Attendance will be worth 10% of your grade.  
• In-Class Day TWO activity will be worth 5% of your grade.
• There will be a final APA paper worth 25% of your grade. 

 

Grading Scale

Activities (4) 15% each                       =         60%                                         A – 90%-100%

In-Class day two activity 5%             =           5%                                           B – 80%-89%

Attendance & Participation 10%        =          10 %                                        C – 70%-79%

Final APA Paper 25%                         =          25%                                         D – 60%-69%                                                                        ___________                                                                                                   F – 0-59%

TOTAL                                                                                                                 100%              

                                                           

Week   Dates               Reading                                                                       Activities/Papers        

1	10-23-18 & 10-25-18	Intros… Syllabus… CHAPTER ONE: What is Psychology CHAPTER TWO: Scientific Method	Syllabus Quiz (In-class 25th)
2	10-30-18 & 11-1-18	CHAPTER THREE: Biological   CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Health CHAPTER SIX: Learning	Activity ONE Due
3	11-6-18 & 11-8-18	CHAPTER FIVE: States of Consciousness LAST DAY TO WITHDRAWAL FROM CLASS November 21st!
4	11-13-18 & 11-15-18	CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Disorders	Activity TWO Due (in-class)
5	11-20-18 & 11-22-18	CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Therapies NO CLASS THURSDAY 11-22-18
6	11-27-18 & 11-29-18	CHAPTER TEN: Motivation & Emotion	Activity THREE Due
7	12-4-18 12-6-18	CHAPTER ELEVEN: Gender, Sex, Sexuality CHAPTER TWELVE: Personality
8	12-11-18 12-13-18	CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Social Psychology & CHAPTER FOURTEEN: I/O December 13th FINAL DAY OF CLASS! CHAPTER SEVEN: Memory	FINAL PAPER DUE 11th Activity FOUR Due  (in-class) 13th

 

Extra Credit: Extra Credit is offered throughout the semester. Extra credit will be given to those who seek out assistance from the writing center on any/all writing assignments for this class. NOTE: Extra credit is to enhance your grade. NOT make up for missed assignments. Any questions please ASK! J

 

Electronics: NO use of electronic devices will be allowed in class. ALL phones, iPads, laptops, etc. MUST BE OFF.

 

 

Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered.  All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies as determined by the instructor.  It is the student responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval and judgement by the faculty member.  Approved college sponsored activities are the only absences for which a student should not be held liable and only when provided by a college official ahead of the absence.  Valid reasons for absence, however, do not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work.  Students will not be allowed to make up an examination missed due to absence unless they have reasons acceptable to the instructor.  A student who is compelled to be absent when a test is given should petition the instructor, in advance if possible, for permission to postpone the exam.  Student will be dropped from a class by the Registrar upon recommendation of the instructor who feels the student has been justifiably absent or tardy a sufficient number of times to preclude meeting the course’s objectives.    Persistent, unjustified absences from classes or laboratories will be considered sufficient cause for College officials to drop a student from the rolls of the College. From Board Policy FC (LOCAL)

Additional Instructor-specific Absence Policy: Attendance and participation are crucial to learning psychology and expanding your critical thinking. You will be expected to attend class AND participate. ABSENCES WILL EFFECT YOUR GRADE. SEE METHOD OF EVALUATION. ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION CONSIST OF 10% OF YOUR GRADE.

Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is November 21, 2018

 

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:

1. No electronics.
2. Please respect your peers. Opinions and different perspectives are an important part of leaning and expanding your mind. Respecting those whose opinions differ from yours will be expected.
3. Respecting your peers also includes disruptions…… interrupting others, having side conversations, leaving classroom & arriving late.

There are only TWO things that I will not sway on, both are to ensure you learn the material effectively.

 

FIRST: I DO NOT ACCEPT LATE WORK. My reason for this is simple….I do not like to decide which ‘reason’ or ‘excuse’ is valid and which is not. To keep it fair, no late work is accepted no matter the reason. I do not feel comfortable deciding who/what - reason/excuse is worthy of submitting late work, therefore, I do not accept ANY late work. However, you are given ample time to complete an activity and I offer extra credit. I state again… NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. Remember….only YOU are responsible for the grade you get.

 

SECOND: Plagiarism is NOT ACCEPTABLE IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. Because this class consists of writing and giving examples, it is tempting to do some simple, “copy and paste” work. DO NOT DO THIS. Really. If your assignments contain plagiarism, you will get a ZERO for that assignment. Furthermore, if it happens again, you will reported to the dean.

 

HOW TO SUCCEED IN THIS CLASS:

PARTICPATE!   PARTICPATE!   PARTICPATE!

COMPLETE THE ACTIVITIES AND PAPER WITH HONEST EFFORT AND THOUGHT!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Personal writing projects have been repeatedly proven to have lasting effects on students (Huffman & Sanderson, 2014). I would like this class to have a lasting effect on you, therefore, applying what you have learned to life experiences using critical and analytical thinking will be the goal for this class. With a little luck and a lot of applying what you are reading, the information you learn will hopefully have a lasting effect on your life!

So, in short, Bad News: you WILL be writing…Good News: NO TESTS!

It is your choice how you view this! J Perspective is EVERYTHING!

This is Psychology... most information you provide can be argued or critically explained or analyzed. Don't be concerned with being ‘right’...be more concerned with proving your point using EXAMPLES! It is difficult to mark someone 'wrong' if they actually proved their point with evidence, examples and/or theories! I want to know you UNDERSTAND what you have learned and more importantly that you can APPLY it to your life. Final thought……ASK QUESTIONS! If you are not sure, ask. I welcome ALL questions!

Huffman, K., & Sanderson, C. (2014). Real World Psychology, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons.

 

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides support services for students with disabilities, students enrolled in technical areas of study, and students who are classified as special populations (i.e. single parents).

Support services for students with disabilities might include appropriate and reasonable accommodations, or they may be in the form of personal counseling, academic counseling, career counseling, etc.  Furthermore, OSD Counselors work with students to encourage self-advocacy and promote empowerment. The Counselors also provides resource information, disability-related information, and adaptive technology for students who qualify.

For support, please contact the counselors at (940) 498-6207 or (940) 668-4321.  Alternatively, students may stop by Room 170 in Corinth or Room 110 in Gainesville.

 

CORE CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREA (For classes in the Core)_______     

X         Social and Behavioral Science

 

X             Critical Thinking

X              Communication

X              Empirical and Quantitative

X              Social Responsibility

COURSE TYPE

STUDENT HANDBOOK

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY