General Psychology Syllabus for 2013-2014
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Course

PSYC-2301-006 General Psychology

Prerequisites

RDNG 0331-minimum grade of C or a score on a state-approved test indicating college-level reading skills

Course Description

General Psychology is a survey of the major psychological topics, theories and approaches to the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Student Resources Student Resources Website

Department Expectations

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Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

Online Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

\ PSYCSMART, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill

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Supplies

\ Writing materials for  note taking; access to the internet via a computer with sufficient capacity and software to use AC Online - the college's delivery system for online instruction. 

Student Performance

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will:

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,

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

\ Every student is required to comply with the policies published in the Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook. This publication is made available electronically by clicking the link near the top of this page.

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\ It is especially important that students understand the section on Academic Dishonesty and that it includes collusion and giving or receiving assistance on an examination and the section on plagiarism.

Grading Criteria

Your grade is based on 5 grades with each counting 20%.

Exam 1                                              20%

Exam 2                                              20%

Exam 3                                              20%

Exam 4                                              20%

Participation in Discussions                 20%

Grading Scale:

90 - 100 =   A

80 - 89 =     B

70 - 79 =     C

60 - 69 =     D

Below 60 = F

 

EXAMINATIONS:

1. There will be four multiple choice EXAMS.  Each exam is scored on a 100 point scale.  

 2. You will primarily be tested on the assigned reading from each chapter. You will not be tested heavily on the videos we watch but there may be questions of a general nature about videos. The video lessons provide additional clarification and real-life examples of many of the concepts in the reading.

3. Students who miss an exam at the scheduled time may take a make-up exam near the end of the term. See the calendar for specific dates for make-ups.

4. Each exam will have from 75 to 80 questions.  The exams will turn off at 11:55 pm on the last day scheduled for the exam except for Exam 4 which turns off earlier because I have to turn in grades the next day.  Therefore, you will need to be sure to allow plenty of time to take the exam.  You need to allow an hour and a half to take an exam. You are allowed only one attempt at each exam.

  5. In order to check your grades, you need to go to the Reports tab.  Then, under Category, choose Grades.  Under Report, choose Student Grades. 

6. All exams will be taken online.  You are allowed to use your notes and textbook on the exams.  The exams are timed (approximately 1.5 minutes per test item) so you will not have much time to look up the answers.  In other words, you will need to know the information well before you take the online exams. However, you may not have another person with you at the time that you are taking one of the online exams.  If there is indication that you received help during an online exam, the penalty will be an F in the course and likely disciplinary action from the dean’s office.  

7. Please review the test dates in this course calendar.

 

Attendance

\ Attendance for an online class means time on task. Students will need to be working on this class almost everyday. Regular logins to check email, other communications, and discussion forums is a must.  Students must have submitted sufficient work by the census date to be counted as having participated in class. Failure to do so may have significant implications for continued  enrollment and financial aid eligibility.

Calendar

Additional Information

DISCUSSION POSTINGS

The discussion board will help you become more actively involved in the reading.  This greater activity improves learning.  By participating in discussions, the class will become more interesting and rewarding as more students actively share their ideas.  Discussions have two purposes: 1) to provide a way to participate online, and 2) to allow students to post comments, questions, or connections to the reading for each chapter and have other students and/or the instructor respond back.

Of course, if you have additional questions or comments, you may direct them to the instructor by email.
Furthermore, the discussion boards will be a safe place to share ideas. The rules of the group do not allow group members to put other persons down for their ideas. I will respect you and I expect you to respect me and the other group members. I also expect you to have carefully read the assigned chapter before you post.

Each discussion response should reflect how your own feelings, thoughts, and experiences relate SPECIFICALLY to a major concept from the chapter.You can also talk about how concepts (connections) from other readings (or web sites) relate to a concept in your assigned reading.

Discussions help students find meaning in what they read. The process of making connections to and asking questions about the main concepts in the reading helps with remembering the concepts. If you can remember a concept, you can then apply that knowledge in your life. I suggest that, as a way of studying, you make connections with the major concepts as you read. This is a more active way to learn and is very different from rote memorizing.

These discussion responses are not a summary of the reading. No credit is provided for a summary of the reading. You may want to ask yourself the following questions as a way to help you create a connection response:

1) How does this concept from the text help to enrich your life?

2) How does the concept relate to your community, your family, or your friends?

3) Is there something in the news (or online) or something a friend has experienced that directly relates to something in the reading?

4) How does the reading relate to other books, films, music, web sites, or articles you have read?

5) You may also take one side or another with an issue in the reading. If you choose to take one side or another, you must support your opinion or viewpoint with facts either from the textbook or from another reputable source. It is okay to relate your own experiences.

After you read other students’ discussion responses, you should reply to at least two other students’ responses. When you reply to another person' response, please do not just say "I agree." or "I couldn't have said it better." These replies are not really contributing to the discussion. Put some meat into your reply.

 

I would like for you to post any clarification questions you may have regarding the assigned reading in the appropriate chapter. This approach will allow us to keep all questions and connection responses contained to the specific chapter in which they pertain and allow classmates to respond and all benefit.

I recommend that you write your Discussion posts in Word and use spell check, grammar check, and then paste it into the course. This will also allow you to save a copy of your posts in case you experience technical difficulties.

Participation in these Discussions will count as 20% of your final grade. You will receive this grade for participation at the end of the semester. It is based on what you bring to the course with regard to your discussion questions, responses and your responses to other persons' responses. You should have a minimum of 35 posts to the discussions for the term. You will be able to determine the student who puts his or her heart into the discussion in contrast to the student who provides very little to the group. In addition, you will be able to see other students' connection responses which will help you to improve your own responses. You do not need to ask me how you are doing with regard to the connection responses; I will let you know if you are not doing them correctly. The maximum score for participation is 100. If you choose not to participate in the Connection Responses, your score for participation will be 0.

GROUND RULES FOR DISCUSSION:

The objective of establishing ground rules is to honor free speech and the dignity, respect, and worth of everyone in the class.

• In order to create a climate for open and honest dialog and to encourage the broadest range of viewpoints, it is important for class participants to treat each other with respect. Name calling, accusations, verbal attacks, sarcasm, and other negative exchanges are counterproductive to successful teaching and learning about topics.

• The purpose of class discussions is to generate greater understanding about different topics. The expression of the broadest range of ideas, including dissenting views, accomplishes this goal. However, in expressing viewpoints, students should try to raise questions and comments in a way that will promote learning, rather than defensiveness and conflict in other students. Thus, questions and comments should be asked or stated in such a way that will promote greater insight into and awareness of topics as opposed to anger and conflict.

Example of a question that may put students on the defensive:Why do you insist on calling yourself Hispanic? That's wrong. It seems to me that Latino is the correct term? Can you explain to me why you insist on using the term Hispanic?
Example of a non-defensive question:I don't understand. What is the difference between the terms Hispanic and Latino?
• Learning is both about sharing different views and actively listening to those with different views. Students in this class are expected to do both. Learning is maximized when many different viewpoints are expressed in the classroom.

• Keep the discussion and comments on the topic, not on the individual. Don't personalize the dialog. Rather than personalizing the dialog, please direct challenging comments or questions to the instructor or the entire class.

• Remember that it is OK to disagree with each other. Let's agree to disagree. The purpose of dialog and discussion is not to reach a consensus, nor to convince each other of different viewpoints. Rather, the purpose of dialog in the classroom is to reach higher levels of learning by examining different viewpoints and opinions.
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
If you experience a technical problem then you will need to contact the Call Center / Distance Education Helpdesk at 371-5000.