General Psychology Syllabus for 2019-2020
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Disability Statement

If you have a disability (learning, mental, physical) that affects your ability to participate effectively and have access to any program or service at Amarillo College please contact Disability Services at (806) 345-5639 . Our offices are located in the Student Service Center office 112. More information may be found at www.actx.edu/disability.
Disability Services facilitates access to all programs and services according to the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as well as other federal and state laws.

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Amarillo College is committed to providing equal access to all programs and services, including all working, learning, and service environments that affect equal access for persons with disabilities. This commitment to provide equal access and opportunity for persons with disabilities is in compliance with federal and state law. Amarillo College also strives to provide Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) that are accessible to all authorized users.

If you find you are unable to access material in an accessible format please contact the Disability Services Office at (806) 345-5639 . This office will work in conjunction with other campus resources to address and accommodate your issue in a timely manner.

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:

The Tutoring for Success policy applies to any student whose grade or performance in the course falls below a departmentally determined minimum threshold. In either of those cases, the instructor will direct the student to the appropriate tutoring service, which may be faculty-led, discipline-specific, and/or general. Under this policy, the instructor will follow specific departmental guidelines governing the use, duration, and grade component of the tutoring need.

Administrative Drop Policy

Students who do not attend class on or prior to the census date will be administratively dropped. Effective Fall, 2016

Student Withdrawal Procedures

Students who wish to withdraw from a course must complete all steps indicated on the Academic Withdrawal Request form by the course withdrawal deadline.

NOTE: Students who are attending Texas institutions of higher education, for the first time fall 2007 and later, may not withdraw from more than six courses during their academic career. This withdrawal limitation does not include dual credit or developmental classes (Senate Bill 1231 Rule 4.10.) For more information on Drop and Withdrawal Policies, please visit the Registrar's Office Web site.

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-2301-015 General Psychology

Prerequisites

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 ResourcesStudent Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:

Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact:

Melodie Graves
Justice Involved Advocate
Student Service Center 117
mgraves24@actx.edu
806-371-5995
Make appointment at https://melodiegraves.youcanbook.me

You can also contact the Legal Clinic, or the faculty member in charge of the educational program that you seek to enroll in. The further information you will receive will include notification to you of your right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the licensing authority in order to clarify your particular situation.

Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

Hybrid

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

Exploring Psychology, 11th Edition, David G. Myers & C. Nathan DeWall

This book is typically cheapest if you purchase both the print loose-leaf version along with the access code to the digital information available through LaunchPad.  For this course, however, I will NOT be requiring any LaunchPad (digital) assignments.  You will just need access to the book.

If you are unable to get the 11th edition, do not use an edition older than the 10th, and please let me know that you are using a previous edition, so that I can make sure you also receive any updated information.

Supplies

Pencil, pens, spiral notebook, and access to a computer with Internet connection. If you do not have your own computer, you will need to use AC computers located on the 4^th floor of the Library.  Your exams will be given online, so you need to make sure you have a reliable computer AND Internet connection.

Student Performance

These are the MINIMUM competencies. After studying the material presented in this course, the student will be able to do the following as evaluated by the faculty in the department/program:

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

Reading your textbook and attending lectures will enable you to do well in this class.  Exam questions are pulled directly from the textbook, so you will need the book.  This year, the book is cheapest through many vendors if you purchase the full bundle, which includes the print version in a loose-leaf format as well as the digital version through LaunchPad.  I will NOT be requiring you to do anything using LaunchPad; however, there are helpful tools available through this digital platform that would likely help you improve your grade.  Just make sure that you get the 11^th edition of our book, in whatever format you can find/prefer.

While in class, please do not use electronic devices for purposes other than notetaking.  I encourage students to record my lectures, since some people think I talk fast, and sometimes, I only briefly mention content that could be on the exams.  If you are waiting on an important call and receive that call during class, you may step out of the room to answer.  If you have to leave early, that is fine, but I would prefer you not to continue leaving and reentering the room throughout the session, as that can be disruptive. 

All students are expected to be tolerant and respectful of other students and of me.  This includes refraining from talking with one another (about matters unrelated to our class) while I am lecturing – not only does this distract me, but it also distracts other students.  I will ask you to stop, and if it continues, I will ask you to leave the class.  Please do not come if you do not intend to pay attention.  There will be zero tolerance for any type of harassment.  AC also expects that each student will engage in academic honesty and refrain from cheating and/or plagiarism.  I require each student to complete his/her own work independently rather than copying assignments from classmates.  Exams should be completed independently, as should all other assignments for this class.  The one exception is each small group assignment, which can be done with the other members of your group (at least to a point; you will still receive a grade as an individual for your contribution alone).  Penalties for cheating as well as plagiarism are outlined in the Amarillo College Student Handbook. 

I expect all students to complete assignments in a timely manner.  No extensions of any due date will be provided.  Take advantage of the time you have and plan ahead.  You have all eight weeks to complete most assignments.  Even on exams, you will have at least six days to complete them.  If you would like to complete an exam before it opens, please contact me as soon as you can.  If you are unable to complete an assignment by deadline, you will receive a 0.  I do not accept late work.

Grading Criteria

You can check your grades in our course in Blackboard.  For your final overall course grade, I will round up at the standard .5 and above.  Grading will be on the scale:

100-89.5% = A
89.4-79.5% = B
79.4-69.5% = C
69.4-59.5% = D
59.4% and below = F

The points will be earned:

50% of overall grade – Exams (4); each Exam is worth 12.5% of your total grade
20% of overall grade – Social Responsibility Assignment
15% of overall grade – Reading Quizzes (14 total, but you can drop 2, so 12 will count toward this grade); each of the 12 Reading Quizzes is worth 1.25% of your total grade
15% of overall grade – Group Participation Assignments (5); each activity is worth 3% of your total grade

• Exams:  There will be four 50-question multiple-choice exams taken online in Blackboard.  (There will be an additional 5 to 10 bonus questions on each exam.)
  • I will drop your lowest exam grade.
  • The exam questions will be taken directly from the textbook.
    • Bonus questions will come directly from my in-class lectures.
  • Exams will open at 12:00 a.m. on the date indicated on the course calendar and will close when indicated, at least 6 days later, at 11:59 p.m. 
  • You must complete the exam in the allotted time of 90 minutes.
  • Please do not wait until the last minute, when you will not find anyone to assist you with technical problems.  I, and most all other AC staff, will be unavailable to answer questions after 8 p.m. each weeknight and on weekends. 
  • Do NOT take exams on a laptop connecting to the Internet wirelessly, a cell phone, or when using an unreliable connection.  Use an actual computer that has a dedicated cable for the Internet connection.
  • These exams are open-book/open-note, and you may take them at any location (from home, in an AC computer lab, at the public library, etc.).
  • You can access your full exams later, but not until after the due date has passed.  Then, you may access your answers by clicking on the particular Exam from “My Grades.”
• Social Responsibility Assignment:
  • You will be required to complete 4 hours of community service at a service agency (which you choose) in the community.
  • You must provide signed documentation verifying that you completed all of the hours.  
    • If you do not provide verification of all 4 hours completed, you will receive a 0 for your overall Social Responsibility Assignment. 
  • After you have completed your hours, you will then answer questions about your experience. 
    • You will complete the “Social Responsibility Assignment Template” and submit it through Blackboard as a Word document or Rich Text file. 
      • Do NOT create your own file – use the TEMPLATE, filling in your answers after each question.
      • Do NOT submit this assignment as a PDF.  Only Microsoft Word or Rich Text files are acceptable.
  • Each question has a rubric, which will be used for grading. The questions are worth different amounts of points.  You will be able to access the rubric within the assignment in Blackboard and in the Instructions document for this assignment.
  • While you can complete your volunteer hours with other classmates, you are required to complete the template on your own.  Submit your own independent work for a grade.
  • If you have done this same assignment for another class in a previous session, you must complete another 4 hours and submit a new template, tailored to THIS class.
    • For example, on the template, you are required to cite our textbook – use the textbook we are using in this class.
  • See additional information about this project in our Blackboard class, including the rubric by which you will be graded.
    • In our Blackboard class, I have also created a video on this assignment.  I encourage you to watch it, because students who do not comply with the requirements outlined here in the syllabus and in that video will have points deducted.
• Reading Quizzes:  These are study aids, both in terms of helping you learn the material and to be referred to as you take your exams.  While called “quizzes” they are actually more like notes that you complete while using your book.  (Like the exams, these are also open-book.)
  • Each quiz includes 10 open-ended questions (similar to essays, but I will NOT count off for spelling/grammatical/formatting errors – I simply must be able to understand your answers).
  • Reading Quizzes must be submitted online, through Blackboard.
  • Each quiz should be completed independently, NOT with anyone else.
  • Complete 1 Reading Quiz for each chapter (except NOT for Chapter 1, which will be a Group Participation Activity).
  • Reading Quizzes over the chapters to be covered on an exam are due at the same time as that exam.
    • For example, Exam 2 covers chapters 4-5 & 14-15.  These 4 Reading Quizzes (for chapters 4, 5, 14, and 15) will all be due at the same time as Exam 2.
  • The content on Reading Quizzes may ALSO appear as exam questions, but while taking exams, you may use your quizzes to search for answers.
  • We will NOT cover the content on the Reading Quizzes in class lectures, so these Reading Quizzes are in fact the only way you will learn information that you might see as exam questions.
  • I have created a simple rubric for these quizzes, which you can access through Blackboard.  My main requirements are that you use the textbook and that you adequately answer each question, providing enough detail to demonstrate that you fully understand each concept. 
  • There is no word limit or minimum requirement, but again, fully answer each question, providing detail.
  • You can access your full Reading Quizzes immediately after submitting them, and, again, you can refer to them while taking your exams.
  • You can completely skip or drop your lowest 2 of these Reading Quiz grades.  Or, if you score well on all 14 of the Reading Quizzes, I’ll apply 2 of these scores toward bonus points.  Only 12 of the total 14 Reading Quizzes will comprise this Reading Quiz portion of your overall grade.
• Group Participation Activities: 
  • This is NOT a big group project. 
  • A group consists of 4 people or more.  Depending on the overall class size, the number of members in groups will vary. 
  • You and your group will learn about an assigned topic and contribute to the class discussion when your topic is addressed.
  • ONE member of your group may elect NOT to participate in class discussion (even missing that class at no penalty) and instead create a handout that fully summarizes the topic.  This handout is essentially just notes – no specific format required.
    • No individual person may be the handout-creator more than TWO times.  This job should rotate among all members who wish to create the handout.
    • A handout is NOT required, however, so it is possible that groups will NOT submit any form of notes and instead simply discuss the topic in class.
    • If your group decides that a group member will create a handout, it will be due just before our class begins.  For a 2:00 class, you must submit it through Blackboard by 1:59 p.m. on that day OR give it to me (in hard-copy form) just before class begins.
  • There will 5 assigned group topics, due weekly for the first 5 weeks of our class.  In class, I will announce which specific class day that week (Tuesday or Thursday) that your group will need to be ready. 
  • Assigned topics will be small portions of what we will cover for a particular chapter.  For example, one group might be tasked with explaining how a neuron fires and another group will explain what Piaget proposed in his theory.
  • Members of your group who “present” your findings in class will do so very informally.  This isn’t a formal speech but simply in-class discussion.  Be prepared to answer my questions and to explain slides within my PowerPoint presentation that pertain to your topic.  I will present the majority of the lecture, but when I get to the slide introducing your group’s topic, I will let all of you take over the discussion.  As long as you personally speak up at least once and as long as the full topic is completely presented to the class, you will receive points.
  • The amount of work you have to do with your group is minimal, so this will NOT require out-of-class meetings.  As a group, you must simply communicate enough to decide on:
    • If your group will create a handout.
      • And if so, which specific person will be creating the handout.  Someone from your group must tell me before the deadline who that person is.  
    • If you choose to divide up your group’s topic, so that each person knows which specific component of your topic he/she will discuss in class.  That said, it is up to every individual member of a group to be fully prepared to answer questions and discuss the entire topic completely.  You will not receive points if you are unable to contribute to the complete discussion of your assigned topic.
    • When your group’s deadline is.  While I give you the week that each activity is due on our course calendar, the actual class day you will need to be prepared will depend on how quickly we move through material in each lecture, which varies across individual courses.  If you miss a class, you will need to contact your group members.  I will make every effort to post deadlines on the Announcements page in our Blackboard class as well as through Remind, but it is your responsibility to learn the specific due dates.
  • Although this is a group project in terms of your need to communicate at least somewhat and because you will share responsibility for learning about a topic with your fellow group members, you will receive a grade for this as an individual.  You will only receive points if you EITHER speak up in class OR submit your group’s handout as the designated handout-creator by deadline.
    • This means that I must either mark down that YOU have spoken in class OR I must see your individual name attached to the handout by the deadline.  (Remember, I need to know that you are the official handout-creator before that deadline.  And, you have to ensure that your group’s topic is fully covered in class.)
  • If you miss the class during which we discuss your group’s topic, were not previously designated as your group’s handout creator, or if as the previously designated handout-creator failed to submit to me the full handout by deadline, you will receive a 0 for the Group Participation Activity. 
• You will find additional information about all assignments in our class in Blackboard, including videos I have made for each of them.

Attendance

It’s college; I know you will want to skip, but if you show up, you will do better in this class. It’s an 8-week hybrid class, so if you miss, you will get behind very quickly. Traditional classes were twice as long (16 weeks).  “Hybrid” means that you meet half as often and do most of the work on your own, so an 8-week hybrid class moves FAST. 

I do not take a strict attendance grade, but I do require you to actually participate in at least some class discussions, as assigned through the Group Participation Activities.  By attending classes, you will also benefit from my explanations of information that could be on your exams, including bonus questions.  On each exam, I include at least 5 bonus questions over information only covered in class (not in the textbook or easily found elsewhere), so attendance will not only help you learn the material but will also give you the chance to earn some extra points on exams.   

Although I track attendance differently (by way of your group responsibilities), I will track attendance for each class for AC’s records.  You will be required to sign in (on a paper attendance sheet) each class session.  This will not count toward your grade in any way and is used only for informational purposes, but please do sign in – students have been dropped from the class roster for failing to sign in, which proves their attendance.

Calendar

Additional Information

I will hold office hours by appointment.  I am happy to schedule times that are convenient for you, even after-hours or on weekends.

The best way to reach me is by sending me an email (mseder@actx.edu) or a message using the Remind app.  I check both relatively frequently, almost every day.

You can also contact me on my office phone (806)345-5582, but that will only work when I am typically at work (my schedule is from 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on most Fridays).  If you do not reach me when calling, leave me a message.  I will check voicemail messages periodically throughout typical workdays.  If you do not leave a complete message, I may not be able to help you.  Please tell me your full name and which class you are attending (for example, “Sue Smith in General Psychology at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays/Thursdays”). 

I cannot guarantee that I will respond to any messages after 6:00 p.m.  I can guarantee that I will not respond to any messages left on my office number after 6:00 p.m. or to very many messages sent via email or Remind after 8:00 p.m.