Psych 101 Full Term Syllabus

Welcome to Psychology 101!

This class will serve as an overview of the exciting field of psychology. You will learn that psychology is a broad-based science, not just therapists sitting around asking how you feel about your mother. We'll learn about the brain, drugs, how your senses work, how we think, what motivates us, development of cognitive and social abilities, gender, sexuality, emotions, and of course, psychological disorders. So, sit back, relax and let's get going!

Since this is the beginning of the course, I suspect you have a number of questions. Following are some of the more common questions along with answers!

About Your Instructor

My name is Rick Howe, and I'll be your facilitator for this class. I am a native Californian, having been born at Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills, CA and grew up in Northridge. Once my parents abandoned me (I was 24) to move to Arizona, I lived in Tarzana for a couple of years and then moved to Santa Clarita where I've been a resident for over 25 years.

I have a Master's degree in General/Experimental Psychology from California State University, Northridge which does not include the ability to conduct therapy, about which I know enough to be dangerous. I started in the psychology department at COC as an adjunct faculty member in 1993 and became a full-time faculty member in 2001. Since then I have taught Introductory Psychology (this course), Physiological Psychology (Psy 102), Behavioral Research Methods (103), Statistics for the Social Sciences (104), and Human Sexuality (230). I am currently teaching Psych 101, Psych 102, and Psych 104 as well.

What is the point of this class?

Here's what the catalog says about Psychology 101:

Introduces the scientific study of behavior through an exploration of major concepts, methods, and research findings. Topics include biological, physiological, and cognitive processes; learning and motivation; lifespan development; individual differences; behavioral disorders and therapies; social behavior; and applied psychology.

Contact Information

A top priority of mine is your success in this course, so I want you to know that I am available for you. The easiest way to contact me is by using the Canvas Inbox, but you can also get in touch via email and phone.

Name	Contact	Role
Professor Rick Howe	e-mail: rick.howe@canyons.edu Phone: (661) 362-5906	Overlord
COC Student Tech Support	(661) 362-3344, M-Th 9:00 am - 7:00 pm cvsupport@canyons.edu (24-hour turnaround)	Student Tech Support can help if you: Forgot your Login ID or username Need help navigating your Canvas account Don't know where to find your assignments or submit them An email will be replied to within 24 business hours. If your question relates to a specific course assignment, please contact your instructor.
24/7 Canvas Tech Support Chat	Chat with Canvas Support (Student)	Support for students
COC Online Learning Website	Online Learning Website	All things online learning at COC

It is important to note that this is not a “log in whenever you feel like it” type of course. There are set schedules for assignments and set due dates after which assignments either cannot be turned in or will be considered late and marked down. The course schedule will be posted at the beginning of the class so there should never be any surprises. Please plan accordingly.

Student Learning Outcomes

According to the official course outline, the Student Learning Outcome for this course is:

“Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to compare and contrast the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in psychology.”

I hope that clears things up.

What textbook are we going to use Mr. Howe?

Good news!! Your textbook and other materials for this class are available for free online! Your book, Psychology 2e from OpenStax, ISBN-13: 978-1-951693-23-7, is available in web view and PDF for free. You can use whichever format(s) you want, but OpenStax recommends the Web view. since the design works well on any device.

How to get the book:

Web View - Free
PDF Version - Free
Print version from Amazon - Full-color hardcover $38.50 Black and White Paperback $30.80

Hey, Howe, since this is an online class, what technology do we need?

You will need:

a reliable computer (PC, Mac, or Chromebook)
reliable internet access
the latest version of a good browser. I suggest using Google Chrome, primarily because we will be using proctoring software known as Proctorio and it only works with Chrome.

There is a Canvas app for mobile devices, BUT not all functions in the desktop version of Canvas work in the app. You may not be able to take exams using the mobile app.

In addition to the above, you should check your COC e-mail address and/or the Canvas Inbox on a daily basis.

Course Work

We love quizzes Mr. Howe! With how many will you bless us during this class?

A quiz will be given for each assigned topic, covering material that you should have read according to the schedule on the course calendar. Each quiz consists of up to 20 multiple-choice questions.

Quizzes will be posted and must be completed as listed on the course schedule. Since the quizzes are mostly designed to help you learn the material, there is no time limit. Obviously, it would be an excellent idea to read, study, absorb, and become one with each topic prior to attempting the quiz. Quizzes must be completed no later than 11:59 PM on the day they are due.

Occasionally, technical issues will crop up where your quiz score is not recorded properly. If this happens, you should be able to get back into your quiz to finish it if you log back in right away. Please take care to focus on just taking your quiz and not click onto other windows or buttons when taking the quizzes. If you do get locked out of a quiz, I will not reset your quiz for you to take again. In recognition of the possibility of technical issues, I drop the two lowest quiz scores at the end of the term.

Once the quiz is complete you will be able to view your score and whether or not you got each question correct. I will not provide the correct answers, however. You will be responsible for looking up and finding the correct answers to any questions you may have missed. If, after struggling mightily, you still cannot find the correct answer to a question, let me know and I will provide guidance toward finding the correct information.

Hey Mr. Howe, what about exams?

There will be 4 exams over the course of the class. Each exam will consist of up to 100 multiple-choice questions and probably some short-answer questions. Exams will be made available as scheduled and must be completed on the day indicated in the course schedule. If you have planned a vacation or other trip that overlaps with any of the exams, you will need to arrange for access to the course where you are traveling.

Exams will be delivered in Canvas much like the quizzes. What are the requirements for this you ask? Glad you want to know:

Chrome browser - You will need to use the Chrome web browser when taking your exams. If you don't already have Chrome, you can install it here. You will also need to use a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

A Good Internet connection - It is recommended that you have a connection speed of at least 1.5 Mbps. You will not have good success if you are on an unreliable network, such as borrowing your neighbor's wifi.

A plug for your laptop - I would strongly recommend that if you are using a laptop, plug the thing into an electrical outlet. Sometimes laptops go to sleep to conserve power, and that is not optimal while taking an exam.

A backup plan - It is a great idea to have a backup plan with regards to a computer you can use to take the exam. Sometimes bad stuff happens (hard drive failures, for instance) and you are expected to have a plan in such a case. What plan, you ask? How about being able to borrow a friend’s computer? Things like that. It’s best not to wait until the last minute to take the exam...just in case.

Exams will be timed in Canvas. A timer will appear at the right of the Canvas screen indicating the time remaining. Once you open the exam, the timer begins. Canvas will automatically submit your exam when time expires if you have not already completed it.

Exams will be made available as scheduled and must be completed no later than the due date. I will not accommodate any vacations or other trips you may have planned. If you have planned a vacation or other trip that overlaps with any of the exams, understand that you will need to be able to complete the exam by the deadline while on that vacation or trip

Discussion Boards

Discussion questions will be posted for each unit. Students are expected to create a new post in response to the initial question AND to reply to at least two (2) other students' posts. In this way, we can get a dialog going amongst all of the members of the class.

Each topic will be worth a total of 25 points, 10 points for your response to the initial question, 5 points for each of the two (at least) replies to other students' posts, and 5 points for correct spelling and grammar. All posts and replies must be posted no later than 11:59 PM according to the deadlines listed on the syllabus.

I would encourage you to read and post more than the minimum required and not wait until the last minute to post. Important Note: You must reply to the discussion question prior to being able to see threads posted by other students. Once you have posted your response in the forum, then you will be able to view posts made by other students. Important: If I see that you have created an empty post and then put your post after that, I will be suspicious that you did so such that you could view other responses prior to your own. This is not acceptable. I am looking for your work, not others' work. Should you have questions about the nature of the discussion question(s), let me know and I'll do my best to clarify.

With regards to quality: The discussion forums are an integral and important part of this course designed to allow students to delve more deeply into various issues in psychology and share their various perspectives. As such, simple postings, such as "I agree!," will not count as a legitimate posting. Further, I consider proper spelling and grammar to be essential components of writing, and therefore I will grade down for numerous misspelled words or poorly written responses.

I would also encourage you to compose your responses off-line in a text editor like Notepad (on a PC) or TextEdit (on a Mac) and then paste the text into Canvas. In that way, your work is protected in case your internet connection drops while posting to the board. I recommend text editors instead of word processors because some programs, especially Microsoft Word, include a lot of stray code that, when pasted into Canvas, can cause problems, and we don’t want any problems, do we?

Your initial posts should be at least 150 words, but more is always welcome. These assignments are worth a relatively large portion of your grade and should be considered less intimidating, but no less important, than short essays that you might submit in a face-to-face class. Make sure to answer each discussion question completely and correctly, using proper spelling and grammar, and citing references when applicable.

Replies should be at least 75 words in length. Please remember you are required to reply to at least two students during each discussion. This means that at least two of your replies should be a minimum of 75 words or more to be eligible for full credit. Any additional replies to students in a discussion can be shorter.
The length requirements, 150 words for initial posts, and 75 words for replies are mere minimums to be eligible for credit. I do not suggest that you use the word count function to say as little as possible.

With regards to online etiquette, please do not use the discussion boards as a forum for insulting or otherwise trashing each other or the instructor.

Acceptable--> "I disagree with your position and here are my reasons..."
Unacceptable--> "You are a big giant doody-head."

Assignments & Extra Credit

Assignments
There will be various other assignments throughout the class, although perhaps not for every chapter. Follow the posted instructions for these assignments.

Extra Credit?
I offer a limited amount of extra credit at the beginning of the class, including the syllabus quiz, the Getting Acquainted discussion board, and an assignment about study skills. Otherwise, I don't offer extra credit in this class. Extra credit can add up to a total of 2% to your grade.

Course Policies

The Dreaded Grading Policy

The grading system, which applies to the exams, discussion boards, quizzes and the final grade, is as follows:

A 90% and above
B 80 - 89%
C 70 - 79%
D 60 - 69%
F Below 60%

What it’s all worth:
Exams 50%
Quizzes 10%
Discussion Boards 20%
Assignments 20%
Extra Credit 2%

I do not drop any exams, discussions, or any other assignments from your grade. As noted above, however, I drop the two lowest quiz scores at the end of the term.

Do you have any sort of late policy?

Here it is: Once opened, most assignments, discussions, and quizzes are available for the remainder of the semester after the due date. If you submit any of these late, there will be a 1% per day deduction after the due date. This late policy does not apply to exams. All exams must be completed by the posted due dates.

What is your attendance policy?

Lucky for you this is an online class, so physical attendance is unnecessary. I do not require any minimum amount of online time, but you will probably find you will be online daily in order to complete your assignments. You should expect to spend around 10-15 hours per week, at least, completing the reading and coursework for this class. Further, federal guidelines for distance learning classes define attendance as not merely logging in to the course, but also completing assignments or otherwise engaging in an academically related activity. Therefore, if any student is not regularly completing assignments, including, but not limited to, discussion boards, chapter quizzes, and exams, they may be dropped for non-participation.

Am I allowed to cheat in your class, Mr. Howe?

Absolutely! - but only if you wish to receive a zero on that assignment, be reported to the administration, and possibly suspended from attending classes at COC. If this is not your wish, then here is my policy on cheating: DON'T!!! If you are caught cheating on an exam or discussion board, you will, at a minimum, receive a grade of 0 for that assignment. If you are not sure what constitutes cheating, ask me, I’ll be happy to go over it with you. You may also wish to review your rights and responsibilities as a student by reading the appropriate section in the schedule of classes.

Academic Accommodations and AAC

The college is committed to providing all students with equal access to learning opportunities. If you feel you may need accommodations based on the impact of a disability please contact the AAC office at dsps@canyons.edu. AAC is the official campus office that works to implement reasonable accommodations for students. If you have a documented disability and an accommodation letter from AAC please talk to me as soon as possible to allow adequate time for accommodations to be arranged.

Supporting Your Success

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