Psych 001 General Psychology Section 64332 http instruct westvalley edu rocha Krista McClain Rocha M A kristaEmcclain gmail com Voice Mail 741 2045 x3548 Office Hour 6 00 6 30 in LHS 34 West Valley College Fall Semester 2008 Monday evenings 6 30PM 9 40PM Leigh High School Room 42 Required Materials These come as a bundle at the bookstore and will also be on sale at Leigh High School the first night of class September 8th 1 Exploring Psychology 7th edition David G Myers Worth 2008 2 Study Guide to accompany Exploring Psychology THIS IS A HIGH SCHOOL IF YOU MUST SMOKE YOU MUST DO SO OFF SCHOOL GROUNDS Safety first Since this is an evening course we will walk to our cars as a group after class Please park in front of the library near the corner of Leigh Ave Los Gatos Almaden Rd After class please wait to leave until everyone is packed up and heading out the door If you need to talk to me come to office hours before class or contact me via phone or email Rules of the road 1 You must have your book by the end of the first week of class 2 Bring your textbook to every class 3 Do your best to come to every class take every quiz and you must come to every exam 4 Stow all electronic devices cell phones iPods etc No texting games etc during class 5 No personal conversations during class It s distracting to the rest of the class 6 It is your responsibility to drop the class Please contact Admissions Records if you want to drop 7 Study You should spend twice the class time studying outside of class Therefore you should study approximately 6 hours per week sleeping on your book doesn t count 10 15 minute periods add up more than you think Find idle time and use it 8 Take notes You will turn in notes you take from the textbook Easy points I want to help you build good habits for YOUR SUCCESS so I m bribing you to get you started or rewarding you if you already take notes Although I don t require it you should also take lecture notes during each class If you take enough notes to follow the flow of the class you will find that you can re experience the class when reviewing your notes 9 Make an effort to get enough sleep exercise regularly walking counts and eat well it s more about what you should eat than what you shouldn t eat Sleep deprivation negatively affects your memory and your ability to concentrate Exercise will lower you stress and help you sleep better and work more efficiently Your brain needs energy food to function efficiently Never come to class hungry especially if we have an exam These are easy ways to improve your grades 10 Think and say positive things about yourself Negative self talk will inhibit your success You can do this With time and effort you can all get good grades I want you to succeed in this course and beyond Building strong habits now will lead to a long term positive educational experience for you Just for you Which of these are already strong areas for you Fill in the circle next to your strong points Choose one area where you need improvement and make a nice dark circle around it Commit to develop good habits in this area over the course of this semester This will improve your overall happiness and well being o Sleep at least 8 hours per night o Eat a well balanced diet with plenty of protein fruits and vegetables o Don t be hungry Carry healthy snacks and water with you at all times to fuel your brain o Lower your stress Take a meditation class and or a yoga class o Have a positive attitude If you say I can t do it you won t If you say I can do it you will o Manage your time On your computer your PDA or on paper create a weekly schedule MAKE TIME FOR YOU Time to study exercise eat sleep relax and have fun o We all tend to stay up too late on the computer Make a plan to turn it off at a given time and do it o Lower your stress Remember that small bouts of activity add up Walking for 10 minutes 3 times per day will meet the Surgeon General s recommendation for physical activity 30 min per day 7 days a week Exercise has been proven to lower overall stress and help with depression too o Have I mentioned that small bouts add up Studying 15 minutes three times a day will bring you pretty close to 6 hours per week Find your idle times and use them productively Course Description Introduction to a science that attempts to understand human and animal behavior You will gain a working knowledge of the major areas of psychology and an understanding of the application of psychological science to improving the quality of life Critical thinking will be emphasized as we explore the scientific methodologies employed in psychological research In addition this course affords opportunity for personal development including the opportunity to evaluate your study skills as we examine the scientific study of memory This has the potential to be your most valuable college course as each section is directly applicable to your everyday life Assignments Remember to budget your time to allow 6 hours per week to work on course material outside of class This is the standard recommendation for any course twice the number of class hours Remember that 15 30 minute intervals add up quickly You can do it 1 Text notes 55 points Thorough note taking is essential to success in college for more see How To Study in College by Pauk To motivate you to take notes on text material before class I am giving you points for it You will turn in 5 pages of notes for each chapter Each page is worth 1 point Although 5 pages of notes are required for each chapter this is the minimum number of pages of notes you should take when reading text material You may submit your notes by email If you email notes please cut and paste them into the text of your email do not send attachments 1 point will be deducted for each class session your notes are late remember you can email them or turn them in early Students who submit all notes complete and on time will receive 5 points of extra credit 2 Quizzes 200 points You will have a weekly quiz on each chapter Each quiz is worth 20 points The questions will come directly from your study guide focusing on lecture material If you need to take a make up quiz 2 points will be deducted for each class session your quiz is late Your lowest quiz score will be dropped 3 Exams 400 points Your knowledge of psychology will be assessed by 4 non cumulative examinations They will consist primarily of multiple choice …