Term:
Syllabus-Fall 2004
Class:
Psy 311U, Developmental Psychology
Time:
Thursday Night
Place:
Instructor: L. McCabe
Office: Cramer Hall 365
Telephone:
(503) 701-7924
Email:
auto110346@yahoo.com
[Email is preferred]
Web: http://psych34.tripod.com
Office
Hours: After Class or By Appointment
Course
Overview
This course addresses issues related Human Lifespan Development.
This is an overview of the major theories and issues involved in understanding
human development and how it relates to thinking and behaving.
Personal
Teaching Philosophy
My
personal teaching philosophy may be different than what you as a student might
expect, or have experienced. I think that what occurs in the classroom should
be a learning experience that is based upon the foundation of what you learn
within the text. For that reason I may choose to only cover part of a chapter
as presented within the text, and augment your learning experience with in
class activities or other lecture items.
In
addition, I feel that learning doesn’t stop when you leave the classroom.
Modern technology allows us to explore this aspect of learning with greater
depth. This is why I heavily emphasize the World Wide Web as a mean for
exploring topics, and as a means of communication with the instructor (myself)
as well as your fellow students.
Thus
my philosophy can be summarized in the following sentences.
1.
The classroom is more than a venue for lectures.
2.
Learning does not end when one is out of the classroom.
University
Policies
By enrolling in this class you agree to abide by
Given these University policies, and the level of the course, I
work under the following assumptions:
1. Every student in this
course understands what constitutes plagiarism and/or cheating ( for more information on what constitutes plagiarism,
please see course webpage).
A. Use quotation marks or other formatting to
show the reader that your writing is quoted.
B. Cite the quotation and/or idea, including
both date and author.
C. Only use quotations to explain a point or
provide an example.
2. Every student
understands classroom etiquette.
A. Be attentive to those who are speaking, both
the instructor and fellow classmates.
B. Limit private conversation. While a couple of people whispering may not
be that disruptive, whispering tends to spread to other groups.
C. Be on time, or quietly enter the room if one
is late.
3. That the classroom
environment is one of respect towards the diversity of beliefs that exist.
A. Realize that you won’t agree with everything
I present in this course.
B. Realize that you won’t agree with what others
say in this course.
C. Realize that while I may not agree with you,
I respect your individual experience and value it in the classroom dynamic.
As
college students, these assumptions can be seen at the very least as redundant
with other classroom experiences.
However, some of the issues we discuss in this course are quite
sensitive and/or controversial in nature.
Individuals may get upset with either the course material, or with
fellow student’s beliefs. In rare
instances I, as the instructor, must enforce University policies.
These
policies can be found at http://www.ess.pdx.edu/osa/policies-codes.htm . If a student is found to be in violation of
these policies, I am authorized by the university to take certain courses of
action based upon any given behavior.
Plagiarism
is completely unacceptable. If an
individual is caught plagiarizing their final project they will receive a score
of a ‘zero’.
Course
Policies
Read
your syllabus carefully as it constitutes an agreement between you (the
student) and myself (the instructor). Occasionally, I have students that make
comments about certain aspects of this course that were well described within
the syllabus.
1. If you are here, but arrive too late to
engage in a group activity or if you leave early, this counts the same as not
attending class.
2. All papers must be typed and double-spaced.
3. Your name should be placed on the very back
of the last page of any assignment /paper you turn in. This helps eliminate bias in grading.
4. It is common, especially with a long format
course, for students to come talk to me with a variety of concerns during the
break. Sometimes, I will personally ask
you to hold your questions until I myself take a short break. I have had students take this personally,
when I have asked them to wait. Just
like you, I too sometimes need to “collect” myself before engaging in another
hour or so of teaching.
5. If you have to miss class, it is unnecessary
for you to call me. Call a member of
your group to see what you missed. If you are going to miss an exam, please
call me prior to the class meeting of the following week.
Required
Materials
Development :
Through the Lifespan (3rd Edition), By Laura E. Berk
Human Development in Multicultural Contexts: A Book of
Odin Account, and Access to WebCT
Points
Possible
4 Jigsaw Pieces 60
4 Article Presentations 40
Exam 1 50
Exam 2 50
Final Exam 100
Total
300 points
Extra Credit
In
addition to the total points offered in this class I will count an addition 10
points worth of extra credit. Usually I offer many ways for you to earn this
"extra credit", but all extra credit opportunities will ONLY be
posted on the course web page or mentioned in class.
However,
if you do not like one of your test grades, you may choose to drop it in favor
of an additional 10-page term paper/project.
The Exams/Midterms
Photocopying
of exams is one of the largest consumptions of paper by the Psychology
Department. In an effort to reduce the amount of paper used, and to take advantage
of the technology offered by PSU, I have decided to move the midterm exams to WebCT. There will be
two multiple-choice midterms, comprising 50 questions. You will have 1 hour to complete the exam
online.
As
this is a WebCt based exam, it means that you as a
student are responsible for getting an Odin account and learning how to use WebCt. This will
also help you to communicate with your group on the group e-boards. While for
the few of you that do not have Odin accounts, this may be a hassle, there are several benefits to doing exams this way.
1. Less paper
2. You can take
the midterm during a "period of time" rather than in the classroom.
This means that will be able to schedule the exam that is most convenient for
you during the period it is offered.
Because
the exam will be offered for a period of 4 days (Thursday-Sunday Noon), there
will be no make up exams. In all cases, the missed exam must have some form of
documentation (doctor's note etc.).
Final Exam
The
final exam is during finals week. It is a 100-item exam comprised of half
comprehensive questions and half questions covering the material presented
since the final exam. You will be
allowed 2 hours to complete this exam, and it will be presented online.
|
Thursday, December 9 |
|
Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces
Four weeks that we do not meet, you will have an assignment due. This assignment is based upon a teaching
method called the "Jigsaw Classroom", where each individual within a
group is responsible for teaching the group their own section of the
picture. In our case, this will happen
in an online format. Each group will
have their own discussion board. Upon
the assigned due date, you are responsible for posting fairly in depth reading
notes from your associated chapter.
Each assignment is worth 15 points, 10 for the notes and 5 for the
subsequent questions that you ask of your fellow students. To receive full credit you must post a
chapter's worth of notes, and 1 in depth question from
another's chapter. While you do not
receive credit for answering the other person's question, please be helpful to
your other students. You are the
'expert' of your chapter, and these questions will help you on your exams. Each section is graded on a pass/fail basis.
Article
Presentations
During four weeks that we do meet, you will have a small group
presentation due. Now these
presentations are informal, limited to 5-key points and a summary of an
assigned article. Each presentation should take 3 minutes or less, allowing for
a short period of group discussion. This
article will be assigned out of Human Development in Multi-Cultural Contexts. The presentations are graded on a pass/fail
basis, based upon handouts that you will fill out and turn in during class.
|
Week 1: September 30 |
Course Introduction |
|
Week 2: October 7 |
Class does not meet: Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6 |
|
Week 3: October 14 |
Class Meets: Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6 [Lecture] |
|
Week 4: October 21 |
Class does not meet: Exam 1 & Chapters 7,8,9,10 |
|
Week 5: October 28 |
Class Meets: Chapters 7,8,9,10 |
|
Week 6: November 4 |
Class does not meet: Chapters 11,12,13,14 |
|
Week 7: November 11 |
Class Meets: Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14 [Lecture] |
|
Week 8: November 18 |
Class does not meet: Exam 2 |
|
Week 9: November 25
[Thanksgiving] |
Class does not meet: Chapters 15, 16, 17, 18 |
|
Week 10: December 2 |
Class Meets: Chapters 15, 16, 17, 18 [Lecture] |
|
Week 11: December 9 |
Final Exam: ONLINE |