Introduction to Psychology
Summer 2012
Internet Course
Welcome
Welcome to my online Introductory Psychology class! Whether your are a non-traditional student with a full time job and family responsibilities, or an on-campus student who is looking for a convenient way to fit another class into your schedule, I am confident that you can succeed in this course. The online format may be different for some of you, but you'll find that it can be a rewarding experience. This course is designed to strengthen your critical thinking skills and develop a connection with other students in the class as part of a learning community.
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes, which most people should find interesting and valuable. By the end of this course, you will have a greater understanding of why we do the things we do. I hope you enjoy the journey!
| Instructor: | Jeffrey R. Stowell |
| Room: | 1055 Physical Sciences |
| Office Phone: | 217-581-2279 (Office) |
| Home Phone: | 217-348-6286 (Home) or 217-512-0521 (Cell) |
| E-mail: | jrstowell@eiu.edu |
| Textbook Web Site: | Textbook web site |
| Office Hours: | Monday 11-1 pm. I check my email daily, except for Sundays. If you email me during the week, expect a reply within 24-48 hours. Feel free to call me at home if needed. After June 6, I will not be on campus and you should try to reach me at my home or at my cell phone number. |
Are you prepared to take an internet class? I strongly suggest you take a survey to help you decide. If you need help with something please ask!
Teaching Philosophy
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled" --PlutarchCourse Material
Required textbook: Psychology: Concepts and Applications, Third Edition (2009), by Jeffrey A. Nevid
The textbook web site contains tutorials, critical thinking exercises, and practice quizzes. The publisher's content with a padlock icon is not accessible to you.
If you are near campus, pick up your book from Textbook Rental. If you live off campus, your textbook should be mailed to you. If you have not received your course materials, please contact Textbook Rental Services.Catalog Description
An integrated overview of the basic methods and principles of psychology including natural and social science contributions to the understanding of behavior and cognitive processes.Guidelines for Studying and Test Taking
- Please read these guidelines to improve your chances for success in this course (and others).
- I strongly recommend viewing Dr. Stephen Chew's video series on "How to get the most out of studying"
Learning Goals and Outcomes
Adapted from the American Psychological Association. (2007). APA guidelines for the undergraduate psychology major.
- Demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in psychology.
- Explain why psychology is a science
- Understand and apply basic research methods in psychology, including research design, data analysis, and interpretation.
- Explain different research methods used by psychologists.
- Respect and use critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry, and, when possible, the scientific approach to solve problems related to behavior and mental processes.
- Use reasoning to recognize, develop, defend, and criticize arguments and other persuasive appeals.
- Understand and apply psychological principles to personal, social, and organizational issues.
- Apply psychological concepts, theories, and research findings as these relate to everyday life.
- Be able to weigh evidence, tolerate ambiguity, act ethically, and reflect other values that are the underpinnings of psychology as a discipline.
- Demonstrate reasonable skepticism and intellectual curiosity by asking questions about causes of behavior.
- Communicate effectively in a variety of formats.
- Complete writing assignments analyzing, synthesizing, and applying principles and concepts covered in course readings and class lectures.
- Recognize, understand, and respect the complexity of sociocultural and international diversity.
- Interact effectively and sensitively with people of diverse abilities, backgrounds, and cultural perspectives.
- Develop insight into your own and others' behavior and mental processes.
- Demonstrate insightful awareness of their feelings, emotions, motives, and attitudes based on psychological principles
- Have fun learning about psychology!
Announcements
Announcements to the class are posted in WebCT under the link "Announcements." A green asterisk next to the link means there is an announcement that you have not read yet.
Assessments
- For each chapter, there is an online quiz ("Assessment" in WebCT terminology) that will have 20 questions. Each question is worth 1 point. These questions correspond closely to the chapter objectives. Questions on the quiz are multiple choice and are randomly selected from a set of questions. Thus, you may end up with 2 questions that appear very similar on your quiz and you will probably not have the exact same quiz as another student. Across all quizzes the average difficulty for everyone in the class will be very similar. The questions are primarily concept based, meaning that you must understand the concept rather than just memorizing definitions.
- If you have problems while taking a quiz, such as the network going down or your computer crashing, please complete the quiz at the next possible time. You may have a warning that your time has expired, but it will still save your answers. Then, send me an e-mail explaining why your time went over. WebCT records all the quiz times.
- Your web browser must be java-enabled to take the quizzes. Before you take the first quiz, you should test your web browser from the link on the WebCT login page. Also be aware that pop-up ad killer software may also "kill" your pop up WebCT quiz.
- If you don't see more than 10 quizzes listed on the assessment page, you need to click on the drop down box at the bottom right of the page (see below) to go to the 2nd page of assessments. Or, click the icon at the bottom right of the page and change the settings to display more than 10 items per page.
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- After the quiz has been graded, you can view your results by going to the quiz page and clicking on the action menu icon to the right of the quiz name. Select "View Submission", then click on the attempt number link to see your graded quiz. Watch a brief video on how to do it.
- You may use your book, notes, and any other resource except for other people when taking your quizzes.
- You have 2 attempts at each quiz and exam. I record your highest of the 2 scores. It is likely that you'll get some of the same questions each time, so it is helpful to view your quiz results to see which ones you got wrong. Students take various approaches to this opportunity. For example, you might take the quiz after you've read the chapter and think you have a pretty good grasp of the information. Then, after you find out which ones you missed, study those topics until you've mastered them and then retake the quiz. It's up to you how to best use the opportunity. Research on testing suggests that by simply asking students to retrieve information (as in testing), they are more likely to remember it.
- Make up quizzes will be allowed for approved absences.
Midterm Exam: The midterm will be comprised of 50 questions (10 questions per chapter). You may see some of the same questions that you had on previous quizzes (because of the random selection of midterm questions from the same pool used for the quizzes).
Final Exam: The final will be comprised of 50 questions (5 questions from each of the 10 chapters). You may see some of the same questions that you had on previous quizzes.
Discussions
Chapter discussions (and assignments) have the same due date as the quiz. You can complete them anytime before or after your quiz, but before the due date. Most chapters will have a topic that we will discuss as a class on the WebCT discussion board. Here you will have the opportunity to share your own opinion about the topics we cover. It is expected that you will write at least 3-4 full paragraphs in response to each question. I will grade you on how well you support your opinion and your ability to communicate effectively (grammar and clarity of writing). There is no right or wrong answer to these questions, but I want you to demonstrate that you've thought about your responses. Each posting is worth up to 15 points, according to the following grading scale:
- Grammar/spelling. Please use proper capitalization and punctuation. (5 points)
- Demonstration of original critical thinking with 3 or more supporting statements or ideas (5 points)
- Appropriate length, which is 3-4 full paragraphs (about 250 words) (5 points)
If you use other sources to support your ideas, then please properly cite them. How to avoid plagiarism (or another site about plagiarism)
Discussions are usually graded a day or two after the due date. If you complete a unit early, it may not be graded until after the regular due date.
Please note the following discussion topics that are also available.
- Questions for fellow students. This is where you can ask/provide help to other students.
- Questions for instructor. If you have NON-URGENT questions, you may post them here and I will reply to them so other class members can see. Please do not post private messages here, such as requests about your grade. If you need urgent help, please e-mail me directly at jrstowell@eiu.edu or call me.
Class Participation. To encourage class participation, 50 points (10%) of your final grade will come from interaction that you have with other students in the class. For each quality reply to another student's discussion message, you will earn 5 points. Thus, to earn the full participation points, you will need to make a total of 10 replies throughout the course to other students' discussion postings, before the last day of class. You are welcome to comment on more than 10 postings and I encourage you to do so. Your replies should be several sentences long, be stated in a supportive manner, and can contain questions for further clarification, alternative viewpoints, and your own personal interpretations of the topic. These 10 participation posts should be spread out over at least 3 different discussion topics.
Appropriate network etiquette should be followed at all times. Messages that are deemed inappropriate may be deleted.
Assignments
Chapters 1, 3, 5 and 12 have exercises that are completed in place of the chapter discussions. Instructions for each assignment are found under the "Assignments" link on the course menu. For chapter assignments that require you to submit your assignment through the "Assignments" link, you can either 1) upload your document as an attachment or 2) copy and paste your text into the submission box. It's easier for me if you use option 2. If you use option 1 and your uploaded attachment ends with .lnk, you have only uploaded a link on your computer to the file and not the actual file itself. Make sure you browse to the actual file location to upload it. (If this doesn't make sense to you, you're probably ok. I will tell you if I have a problem opening your submitted assignment).
Learning Modules
These are the PowerPoint lectures to supplement your textbook reading. They are not a replacement for the textbook, but they will have helpful information. There are two formats of each PowerPoint presentation
- Original PowerPoint 2010 file (.pptx), which requires you to have PowerPoint 2007 (or later) or the free PowerPoint Viewer installed on the computer you are using. PowerPoint 2003 will also work if you have installed the office compatibility pack to be able to open newer file formats. Most files are about 2 MB or less in size. This format preserves the animation in the presentation. I recommend you view the file in presentation mode, as some videos (embedded Flash video) will only be visible in this mode. Occasional audio and video clips can be obtained by clicking on the audio or movie icon when visible on the PowerPoint slide. There are other text links in the PowerPoint lectures that will take you to other web sites as well.
Audio Clips
Video Clips- Adobe PDF file, which requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (most people already have this installed). These files are typically smaller than the PowerPoint files. Text hyperlinks on the slides will work and will open the linked web page in a new web browser window, but they do not have the animation and do not preserve the links from the audio and video icons to their respective media files. You may download a text file containing all the links to the audio and video files.
- In the Learning Modules (i.e., the PowerPoint files), periodically you will find multiple choice questions that I show in my face-to-face class in which I have students indicate their answer with a keypad (with the results showing up on the screen, like "Who wants to be a millionaire"). The choices may have a "0%" or other % next to them. Ignore the percentages. You will find the correct answer in the PowerPoint version of the file, just below the slide in the "Notes" panel. (See the screen shot at: /stowell/psy1879i/units/TPAnswer.png). However, try to resist looking at the answer until you've answered the question.
If you find a broken link, please let me know which presentation and slide number.
After you login, if there is new e-mail for you, a small envelope icon will be displayed next to the course name. Feel free to e-mail other students in the class. They are private messages (I don't have access to what students email each other).
My Grades
You can view your grades at anytime by clicking on the "My Grades" link on the course menu. To view your graded quiz, go to the assessments page, click on the action menu icon (down arrow) to the right of the quiz name, select "View Submission", then click on the attempt number (1) to see your graded quiz.
| Requirement | Points |
|---|---|
| Assessments (10 chapter quizzes x 20 points) | 200 |
| Discussion postings (6 x 15 pts) | 90 |
| Assignments: Online exercises (4 x 15 pts) | 60 |
| Midterm Exam | 50 |
| Final Exam | 50 |
| Class participation | 50 |
| Total | 500 |
- A (90%) 450-500 points
- B (80%) 400-449 points
- C (70%) 350-399 points
- D (60%) 300-349 points
- Note: If you fall on the border of two grades, I may round up to the higher grade.
Reading Schedule, Important Dates
Please note this schedule is subject to change. Due dates are listed as the last possible date, but you can work ahead! Late discussion postings may be penalized by 20% of the total points, except for excused situations. At the beginning of the course, I will be more flexible on due dates.
Because some students schedules prevent them from completing mid-week assignments, I have set most deadlines to be on Monday. However, note that there may be two chapters due on the same date. This arrangement gives students the needed flexibility to work on assignments over the weekend, but if you can, I would recommend completing one of the two chapters early (mid-week). This is an 8-week class so it moves quickly!
| Lecture Topic | Due Date |
|---|---|
| Overview Chapter 1: What is Psychology |
May 21 |
| Chapter 2: Biological Foundations | May 28 |
| Chapter 3: Sensation & Perception Chapter 4: States of Consciousness |
June 4 |
| Chapter 5: Learning Midterm Exam |
June 11 |
| Chapter 6: Memory Chapter 9: Human Development |
June 18 |
| Chapter 12: Psychology and Health Chapter 14: Abnormal Psychology |
June 25 |
| Chapter 16: Social Psychology | July 3 |
| Final Exam | July 6 |
If you have a documented disability and wish to receive available accommodations, please contact the coordinator of the Office of Disability Services (581-6583) as soon as possible.
Academic misconduct
Cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic misconduct will not be tolerated. As a student, you have a personal responsibility to maintain high standards of academic conduct to preserve academic integrity. Academic misconduct will result in appropriate disciplinary action according to university guidelines.