Course Title and Number: PSY 150 General
Psychology, Section 51
Course Meeting Days/Times: Online
Lecture Hours: 3
Lab Hours: 0
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites:
None
Course Description:
This course provides an overview of the scientific study of human behavior. Topics include history, methodology, biopsychology,
sensation, perception, learning, motivation, cognition, abnormal behavior, personality
theory, social psychology, and other relevant topics.
Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate a basic knowledge of
the science of psychology. This course has been approved to satisfy the
Comprehensive Articulation Agreement general education core requirement in
social/behavioral sciences. This course is
also available through the Virtual Learning Community (VLC).
Instructor Name:Steve Withrow, M.Ed.
Office location:Off Campus Instructor (Students may contact Distance Learning
Dept., located in the Library of the
Phone number: 336 334-4822 ext2866(I am physically at this number 9-10AM on M W F)
Or,(since it is long distance,) you may email your phone number and I will call you back.
Email address:withrows@gmail.com
Online Office hours:
9-10AM on M W F and, I check my email numerous times throughout the day.
Textbook:
Kagan's and Segal's Psychology:
An Introduction, 9th, Edition, by Don Baucum and Carolyn Smith, ISBN:
0155081144 Wadsworth/Thomson Learning
Student Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of the course, the student will:
Course Methodology:
Course Assignments and
Evaluation:
Chapter Notes:
Each week you’ll be asked to read a chapter, and produce 2 page of notes for each
chapter read. Students who read the book actually understand the material better and
learn more about psychology. When taking notes
you should not copy from the book or summary. Paraphrase! Put it into your own words. Outline form with
use of key words is the best method. Research
indicates that this method improves retention over just reading the material. You may submit the notes as a Word or RTF file
attachment, or as a scanned jpeg file, or you may fax a copy of your notes at Fax # 336 841-4350. (15 chapters x 10 points = 150 points)
Periodic Assignments:
Almost every week you will be asked to do an assignment, such as; go to a particular
website and complete an exercise or process, attend an Alcoholic’s Anonymous meeting,
or research a particular problem. Specific and
clear instruction will be given at the time of the assignment. Consult the assignment page for specific dates. You may submit the periodic assignment as a Word or
RTF file attachment, or as a scanned jpeg file, or you may fax a copy of your assignment
at Fax # 336
841-4350, or, you may be asked to submit your assignment on the discussion board. (10 periodic assignments x 15 points = 150 points)
Complete a 3 page research paper (plus reference
page). Your research paper must be
3 pages minimum, plus reference page, typed, double-spaced (approx. 250 words per page for
a total of 750, plus reference page) on a psychological topic of interest to you, that must be approved
by your instructor. A 3 page paper is
small, so the topic needs to be very narrowly focused.
A minimum of 5 references (published within the last 10 years), all coming
from professional journals (authored and referenced sources), must be used and properly
cited APA style in the paper and on the reference page.
All newspapers, encyclopedias, books, and magazines (except professional journals) are
unacceptable as sources. Specific instructions
will be given, closer to the time of the assignment. See
this website for information on APA style:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. (Research paper = 300
points)
Chapter Quizzes: Each week a chapter quiz will be posted on Black
Board. The quiz will consist of 10 questions
randomly drawn from a test question pool. You
will have 10 minutes to complete the test. You
may retake the test as many times as you like to get the highest grade you desire. But, each time you retake the test, a new set of
questions will be randomly drawn from the question pool.
If you retake the test repeatedly, you will eventually be exposed to all of
the questions in the pool. The last score you
receive is the score that will be recorded. (15 quizzes x 10 points = 150 points).
Final Exam: The final Exam will be posted
on Black Board at the end of the semester. The
exam will consist of 50 questions drawn from the exact question pools used to create the
chapter quizzes. You will have 50 minutes to
complete the exam. You may only take the exam
one time. (Final Exam = 250 points)
Chapter Notes |
150 points |
Periodic Assignments |
150 points |
Research Paper |
300 points |
Chapter Quizzes |
150 points |
Final Exam |
250 points |
Total Possible Points |
1000 points |
Grading Scale:
A |
900 – 1000 points |
B |
800 – 899 points |
C |
700 – 799 points |
D |
600 – 699 points |
F |
0
– 599 points |
Periodic Assignments
Attendance Policy: For courses that meet in a traditional
classroom setting, success is often determined by attendance. Or, as Woody Allen said, “Eighty percent of
life is showing up.” Students often take
an online course because they have trouble showing up, or think this will be easier. In actuality, online courses are often harder that
traditional classroom courses. You still have
to show up (online), but you can’t sit there passively listening to an instructor. A course like this would normally meet for 48 hours
in a classroom setting, plus any homework and reading that are assigned outside of class. In an online class, those 48 hours of contact time
are made up by additional assignments designed to help you learn the subject. It is extremely important that you “show up”
often by taking responsibility for your learning experience.
Read the book, do the assignments, participate fully with the intent of
learning as much as you can about psychology. Failing
to “show up,” falling behind and procrastination are the harbingers of failure.
Special
Needs: If you have a physical,
psychiatric/emotional, medical, or learning disability that may impact your ability to
carry out assigned course work, I urge you to contact Melvin Felton, Special Needs Advisor
in Student Support Services, located in the
Tutoring:
Everyone has subjects that you find easy and some that you find more
difficult. If you think you might need additional assistance outside of class to have a
full understanding of the material being covered, please contact me. Tutoring is available and I can assist you with
deciding if tutoring might help you with your course work.
If you need assistance, the earlier you ask for it, the more successful you
will be in the class.
Cheating
Policy: Cheating
is not tolerated. Cheating includes using unauthorized notes during exams, copying
students' homework, class work, or tests and handing it in as one's own, and plagiarism on
themes and term papers. If a student cheats, he/she will fail that exam or assignment. If
the student cheats the second time, whether it is in the same course or a different
course, he/she will fail the course, even if the student asks to be withdrawn. All cheating incidents will be documented and the
documentation kept on file in the office of the Dean of Student Services. Repeated
offenses of cheating may result in the student being suspended by the Dean of Student
Services.
WITHDRAWAL/DROP POLICY:
At anytime during the semester, the instructor may
withdraw a student from class because of inappropriate academic behavior such as, but not
limited to cheating or plagiarism. However, one
should not assume that they will automatically be dropped from the course if they stop
communicating. If a student can no longer participate, or for any reason must drop the
course, it is his/her responsibility to officially withdraw. Failure to withdraw
without completing the required paperwork will result in an "F".
