General Psychology Syllabus for 2015-2016
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Instructor Information

Course Information

Recording Policy

Disability Statement

Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact disAbility Services (Student Service Center room 119, phone 371-5436) as soon as possible.

Statement for Mental Health and Advocacy & Resource Center:

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Amarillo College offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the AC Counseling Center at 806-371-5900. The AC Counseling Center website is https://www.actx.edu/counseling/ . Also, if you are in need of social services (affordable housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, childcare, medical/dental/vision, legal), please call the AC Advocacy & Resource Center at 806-371-5439. The AC Advocacy & Resource Center website is https://www.actx.edu/arc

Amarillo College Tutoring for Success Policy:

Administrative Drop Policy

N/A

Student Withdrawal Procedures

N/A

Privacy Statement

The Amarillo College Privacy Policy is found at https://www.actx.edu/-amarillo-college-privacy-notice , and applies to all Amarillo College students.  If you have questions about this privacy statement or you believe that your personal information has been released without your consent, send email to humanresources@actx.edu .

Course

PSYC-2301-016 General Psychology

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: 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

On Campus Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

Exploring Psychology, 9^th Edition, David G. Myers

Supplies

Access to personal computer or AC Computer Lab

Student Performance

Upon successful completion of this course, students 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

Active attendance and participation is expected; it really is the best way to learn.  As far as cell phones go, I do understand the need to be available in the event of an emergency. I am on call for area mental health crises and am part of the interagency Panhandle disaster team. I get it. Please let me know if you are on call for any form of emergency services. Otherwise, please silence your phone for the duration of the class and take the call after class is dismissed. Being available for your BFF who is having a really bad date is NOT “emergency services.” Please, no texting during class; if you’re focused on the texting, you’ll miss out on the class interaction. You do not multitask as well as you think you do, I promise. 

If you do miss class, it is up to you to get the notes from your peers. Trust me, you do not want my notes; they are largely in a mix of several languages and mean nothing to anyone but me. If you miss an assignment, it’s also up to you to make arrangements to get that information as well.

The tests are generally planned to be open-book as I am anticipating that they will be online. However, you will be expected to do your own test for yourself. Cheating will not be tolerated. There will be one essay written during this semester; no plagiarism is allowed. Cheating is considered academic fraud, and Amarillo College takes it very seriously.

In your academic journey, you will meet, and indeed, learn from many different people who have a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives. You do not have to agree with everyone, but I do expect everyone to be respectful of each others’ positions even when they differ. It is possible for vigorous debate to remain civil, despite what we see in the political arena.

Grading Criteria

Grades will be derived from the average of your highest 4 grades on 5 quizzes, plus a mandatory quiz on Critical Thinking and one service project to be detailed separately. Attendance will also count as part of your class participation grade.

Attendance

I’ve tried this several ways, and what I’ve learned is that when I DO have an active attendance policy, students make more of an effort to show every time, and the grades for that semester are always remarkably higher. Therefore, I have concluded that it is in your best interest for me to count attendance as a part of your class performance. Science; it’s good stuff.

Calendar

Additional Information

Social Responsibility: Service Learning Assignment

What is social responsibility? Social responsibility is an ethical structure which suggests that an individual has an obligation to act for the benefit of society as a whole. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the community and the individuals who live in them. For this assignment you will be required to serve 4 hours of community service at an agency of your choosing. You will be responsible for gathering the required documentation to prove that you did serve your required hours at the specific location. After completing the service you will be required to turn in the documentation and reflect on your service learning in a short answer essay exam online.  When answering these questions you must answer in complete thoughts and complete sentences.  Each question will be worth a certain amount of points totaling 100 points for this assignment.  Here is a small list of some possible places you could chose to volunteer. Please check with your professor if you have an idea of a place you would like to volunteer to make sure it will be applicable to this assignment.

Snack pack for kids

High plains food bank

Faith City mission

Kid’s café

City Church

Family Support Services

Evelyn Rivers

Dove Creek Equine Rescue

Hope and Healing place

Harrington Cancer Center (kids unit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the questions you will be required to answer in your essay exam.  Please be sure you pay attention to the specific questions and the required word length for each question.  Please study the rubrics for each question; this information will help you better answer the questions. You are allowed to use sources from your agency or online sources to help you answer these questions.

1. Describe some of the history of the agency where you selected to volunteer.  What is the name of the agency/organization? Where is it located? What does your agency/organization do? You are required to research online about your chosen organization.  This question must be a minimum of 100 words. (10 points)

Criteria	Exceeds Expectation	Needs Improvement	Does not meet expectations
Knowledge	4 Points Contains clear, thorough responses to each of the parts of the question identified in the assignment.  It provides evidence that the student has diligently researched the history of the agency.	3 Points Does not address all of the parts of the questions in the assignment.  It provides minimal evidence that the student has diligently researched the history of the agency.	1 Points Minimally addresses the items in the assignment.  It does not provide evidence that the student researched the history of the agency.
Organization	3 Points Information is clearly organized.	2 Points Information is loosely organized.	1 Points Information is present, but very difficult to understand due to poor organization.
Mechanics	3 Points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question.	2 Points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question with major errors.	1 Points Very poor grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question.

 

 

 

 

2. What social problem is your agency working on and what specific intervention are they using?  This question must be a minimum of 100 words. (10 points)

Criteria	Exceeds Expectation	Needs Improvement	Does not meet expectations
Knowledge	4 Points Contains clear, thorough responses to the question identified in the assignment.  It provides evidence that the student has diligently identified the tasks and worked alongside the staff at the chosen agency.	3 Points Does not address the question in the assignment.  It provides minimal evidence that the student has diligently identified the tasks and worked alongside the staff at the chosen agency.	1 Points Minimally addresses the items in the assignment.  It does not provide evidence that the student has identified the tasks and worked alongside the staff at the chosen agency.
Organization	3 Points Information is clearly organized.	2 Points Information is loosely organized.	1 Points Information is present, but very difficult to understand due to poor organization.
Mechanics	3 Points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question.	2 Points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question with major errors.	1 Points Very poor grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question.

 

3. How does your time serving in the community influence your ideas and perceptions about the city/town and the people who live there?  This question must be a minimum of 100 words. (20 points)

Criteria	Exceeds Expectation	Needs Improvement	Does not meet expectations
Knowledge	8 Points Contains clear, thorough responses to the question identified in the assignment.  It provides evidence that the student has diligently reflected on experiences, prior knowledge and new knowledge learned.	6 Points Does not address the question in the assignment.  It provides minimal evidence that the student has diligently reflected on experiences, prior knowledge and new knowledge learned.	1 Points Minimally addresses the items in the assignment.  It does not provide evidence that the student has reflected on experiences, prior knowledge and new knowledge learned.
Organization	6 Points Information is clearly organized.	4 Points Information is loosely organized.	1 Points Information is present, but very difficult to understand due to poor organization.
Mechanics	6 Points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question.	4 Points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question with major errors.	1 Points Very poor grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question.

 

4. Relate what you have learned in the readings and class discussion to your experience in your agency.  Specifically, you must relate at least 2 specific concepts from your textbook in this class to your experience in your agency. You MUST reference in the body of your paper the sources that you used with the specific page number.  For example, if you used page 35 in the textbook Exploring Psychology by Myers, indicate in the body of your paper that you used this text and the page number: (Myers, 2014 p. 35).  This question must be a minimum of 200 words. (50 points)

 

	Exceeds Expectation	Needs Improvement	Does not meet expectations
Knowledge	30 Points Contains clear, thorough responses to each part of the question identified in the assignment.  It provides evidence that the student has diligently applied or related concepts from at least 2 specific concepts from their textbook to their experience in their agency.	20 Points Does not address all of the parts of question in the assignment.  It provides minimal evidence of the student’s reflective thought.  There is only minimal indication that the student applied or related 1 concept from their textbook in this class to their experience in their agency.	1 Points Minimally addresses the items in the assignment.  It does not provide evidence of the student’s reflective thought.  There is no indication that the student applied or related any concepts from their textbook in this class to their experience in their agency.
Organization	10 Points Information is clearly organized.	7 Points Information is loosely organized.	1 Points Information is present, but very difficult to understand due to poor organization.
Mechanics	10 Points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question.  And the student referenced the concepts they used in their paper with the specific page number from their text.	7 Points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question with major errors.  And the student referenced the concepts they used in their paper with the specific page number from their text.	1 Points Very poor grammar and spelling used through the answer to the question. The student did not reference the concepts they used in their paper with the specific page number from their text.

 

 

 

 

5. Will you continue to volunteer? What impact do you hope to have by continuing to volunteer at your selected agency?  If you choose not to volunteer at your selected agency, then describe and discuss in DETAIL, ONE ACTION STEP that you would be willing to do to apply some aspect of “social responsibility” that you learned in your volunteer work in your life.  This question must be a minimum of 100 words. (10 points)

Criteria	Exceeds Expectation	Needs Improvement	Does not meet expectations
Knowledge	4 Points Contains clear, thorough responses to the question identified in the assignment.  It provides evidence that the student has diligently described the impact he or she hopes to have by continuing to volunteer at their selected agency.  If the student chose not to volunteer at their selected agency, then he or she described in detail one action step that they would be willing to do to apply some aspect of “social responsibility” that they learned in their volunteer work in your life.	3 Points Does not address all of the parts of the questions in the assignment.  It provides minimal evidence that the student has diligently described the impact he or she hopes to have by continuing to volunteer at their selected agency.  If the student chose not to volunteer at their selected agency, then he or she described in detail one action step that they would be willing to do to apply some aspect of “social responsibility” that they learned in their volunteer work in your life.	1 Points Minimally addresses the items in the assignment.  It does not provide evidence that the student has described the impact he or she hopes to have by continuing to volunteer at their selected agency.  If the student chose not to volunteer at their selected agency, then he or she described in detail one action step that they would be willing to do to apply some aspect of “social responsibility” that they learned in their volunteer work in your life.
Organization	3 Points Information is clearly organized.	2 Points Information is loosely organized.	1 Points Information is present, but very difficult to understand due to poor organization.
Mechanics	3 Points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question.	2 Points Proper grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question with major errors.	1 Points Very poor grammar and spelling used throughout the answer to the question.