PSYC 001: General Psychology Online Version, Spring, 2008 Information in this syllabus is subject to change. This is Version 1; publication date, 13 Jan 2008. Some course information is only available on WebCT. Dr. Larry Rudiger John Dewey Hall, 205, By appointment Elyse Gambardella and Sarah Shackett, Undergraduate Teaching Fellows Course website: https://www.uvm.edu/webct/. Most of the course is conducted via WebCT. Blog: http://psych1.blog.uvm.edu/. This blog is a resource primarily for students enrolled in the on-campus version of PSYC 001. It is worth perusing as they are using the same textbook and covering the same material. Any blog postings that are subject to coverage on exams will be clearly marked and notification e-mails will be sent. Your WebCT ID and password are the same as your e-mail account. If you are not on the WebCT student list, e-mail the instructor at [email protected]. Contact Email: lrudiger within WebCT system. In most cases, you will get a reply within 1 business day as e-mail is checked frequently. If you cannot get into WebCT, send a message to [email protected]. Textbook: Joffe, J.M. & J. Krulewitz (2007) Investigating the mind, brain, and behavior: An introduction to psychology (3rd Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. ISBN 0-536-32862-5 Psyc 001: The gist Weekly routine (note that time estimates are VERY approximate and will vary) The course covers the same material as the on-campus version of Psyc 001, in a fashion that’s tailored for the online environment. It’s also designed to take about as much time as the in-person version, although the time is spent doing somewhat different things. Compared to the on-campus version, what you write – and how – is a bigger determinant of your grade than your performance on standardized (multiple-choice) exams. Each week, you can expect to spend about 1.5 hours reading from the text. Then, you will spend about another hour writing about it – the Writing Assignment (WA). WAs are submitted by 11:55 p.m. on their due date, which is usually Tuesday. Next, you’ll review some online material that may include video or other media and then respond to it in an online discussion forum. This takes a total of about 45 minutes per assignment, though there are 2 such assignments during most weeks. Complete them on the assignment’s discussion day -- by 11:55 p.m., which is typically Thursday (but you may choose to complete this right after working on the WA). The following day, you’ll get details on the next step: the assignment’s reflection. You will read what some of your colleagues wrote, and reply to it. This should be about 1 hour of work. Complete that by 11:55 p.m. on the following Tuesday. The schedule’s a bit different around exams, and there are a couple of other exceptions. You’ll also spend time preparing for and taking exams. They’re online and open-book (but timed). Think of that as being analogous to the time you’d spend studying and doing assignments. As a result of the schedule, the course is not self-paced. You may complete some of your work well ahead of deadlines. With careful time management (and by checking WebCT a few times during the week), you can fully participate in the course by doing the bulk of the work on weekends (except for the final exam); it would take most of one day. But the discussion, reflection, and exam components are to be done during specified periods of time and within deadlines. That’s the gist! Course Objective PSYC 001 introduces students to the ways psychologists try to understand behavior scientifically. It does this through intensive examination of representative research rather than by attempting a general survey of the entire field. The emphasis is on how questions are framed and evidence obtained to answer them, and how theories are developed and evaluated. By the end of the course, students should be able to think like psychologists and have the skills to be critical analysts of claims made about what we know and about the efficacy of solutions we offer. These skills should serve students well if they continue to work in the field, and make them better-informed consumers of psychological services whether they work in the field or not. This course involves reading, writing, and conference. The learning process is summed up in this adapted quote from Francis Bacon (1561-1626): “Reading maketh a full person, writing an exact person, and conference a ready person.” (Of Studies.) Reading Investigating the mind, brain, and behavior. The textbook has six sections. Each has an introductory chapter surveying the area, followed by two to five chapters summarizing specific research studies in that area. As indicated on the Schedule, in addition to the chapter assigned for online discussion (specific studies), read the introductory chapter for the section. This will increase your understanding of the research chapters and provide information of use in online discussion. Course blog (http://psych1.blog.uvm.edu/) In addition to the textbook, students may want to monitor and read the course blog. It will feature information related to the course content. Some of the blog postings may contain information that is central to the class and is subject to inclusion on exams. These postings will be clearly marked. Students are encouraged to learn how to subscribe to the blog so that they get notification of postings.Syllabus, PSYC 001, Online, UVM Spring, 2008, Version 1 Page 2 of 4 Writing about the textbook A writing assignment is due electronically as noted on the schedule. Early in the semester, as you’re familiarizing yourself with the system, allow plenty of time to complete the assignment before the deadline. Note also that, during most weeks of the course, there are 2 assignments. Format and criteria. Details are provided on WebCT. Grading. Assignments are checked for completeness and quality. You will get feedback on them. Full credit is awarded if they meet the criteria indicated. Points. The number of points awarded for each Writing Assignment varies from .5 (early in the semester) to 5 points (at the semester’s end). The more you do, the more each is potentially worth. If at least 17 (of the possible 20) assignments receive full credit you will get the full 50 points available. That is, you can submit late, or skip entirely, three of the assignments without penalty. However, you can earn up to 15 bonus points by submitting more than 17