23
General Psychology
3416-PSYC&100.H3-Fall 2015
Please print and read this syllabus
Dr. Robert J. Atkins, Ph.D.
Phone: (206) 934-7011 (email is preferable and faster)
Office hours: 9:30-10:00 and 11:00-11:30 T, Th and Online 8:00 – 9:00 M, W, F.
Office: Rm. IB2327A
E-mail = Please send email for this class through the instructor’s campus email. I do not check the Canvas course website email.
Subject: Include the item # and class you are in (E.g.#9600 Psychology 100.D1)
Class website: https://canvas.northseattle.edu/login
Login material (Write your items in the space below)
User name: ______
Your entire student ID number
Password: ______
The sic (6) letters of your last name. (Repeat if less than six eg. Liuliu)
Psychology LaunchPad: Log In = http://www.macmillanhighered.com/launchpad/myers11e/1898814
Psychology LaunchPad
Technical support = 1-877-587-6534 or 1-800-936-6899 or (800) 936-6899
• through theonline form
• bychat
Also, there is a “Help” button in the upper right corner of the home page for a User Guide, email technical support, and chat with an agent.
Registering your i>Clicker+: https://www1.iclicker.com/register-clicker/
If you have difficulty, copy and paste this URL address into your browser address bar.
i>Clicker tech support = 1-866-209-5698
Course schedule:
The Course Calendar in the back of this syllabus gives you a schedule for the quarter.
Grading: Your class grade is based on the four non-cumulative multiple-choice midterms (50 points each), “Psychology Launchpad” (50 points), and participation (clickers) (50 points).
My Grades:
Exam #1 _____, Exam #2 _____, Exam #3 _____, Exam #4 _____,
Participation (clicker and activity) points = ______
Psychology LaunchPad (% divided by 2) = ______
Total = ______
(Finding this total on the Grading Scale in this syllabus will give you your final grade).
Required materials for the course:
1. Text and Access code:
Myers Psychology, 11th. Ed. with LaunchPad access code
ISBN: 9781319017057
Access code: May be purchased separately from the
Publishers at: http://www.macmillanhighered.com/launchpad/myers11e/1898814
2. “i>Clicker+”
The “i>Clicker+” student response system can be purchased from the NSC bookstore. Please bring this to class every day to participate. Use the dedicated i>Clicker remote.
ISBN: 9781498601641
3. Makeup exam materials:
Scan-tron answer sheets, correction fluid (white-out), #2 pencil
4. Computer:
Your computer needs to be a PC or Mac with a good internet connection, internet browser, ability to view Power Point, PDF, and MP4 video files. Most computers come with the ability to view these, if not, you can search for free player downloads for these items. Search for: “Microsoft Power Point Viewer”, “Adobe PDF reader”, Windows Media Player MP4” or “Apple QuickTime”.
Google Chrome netbook computers are not recommended.
Outcomes
This course will give you the knowledge to:
* Understand the nature of the individual, of human values and of the relationship between the self and the community.
What are the main objectives of the class?
The objectives are to give you the basic information you need in Psychology and to show you the wide scope, practical application, and current topics that personally interest you.
You will be actively involved in adjusting the course to your personal interests!
What is class time used for?
1. Discussing practical situations involving the topic for that day (with your individual clicker input). This gives you participation credit.
2. Small group and entire class discussion.
What is outside class time used for?
1. Listening to lectures with power points, diagrams, and study guides, which are the basis of the four mid-term exams. These multiple choice exams are taken online, and you may use all the supplements during the exam.
2. Listening to video examples and activities (in Psychology LaunchPad) related to the topics being discussed in lecture that week and taking the short quiz online.
Note: Often people have had traumatic experiences or have strong feelings on certain topics. If you feel any of the topics in the text or class will be emotionally damaging to you, or difficult to learn about or discuss, or would create a “hostile environment” for you - do not take this course.
Registering for Psychology LaunchPad
The LaunchPad activities will help you interact with the concepts, better understand what I talk about in lecture, do better on the exams, and add interest to the class.
Follow these steps to get started. If you need additional guidance, consult the studentGet Started guide, especially thesystem requirementswhich list the recommended browsers.
To register for the course go to:
http://www.macmillanhighered.com/launchpad/myers11e/1898814
Please bookmark the page to make it easy to return to.
You have three options to enroll in the course: you can purchase direct access, you can buy an access code, or you can get free 21 day access while deciding.Your registration options are explained here. If you use the temporary access, remember, your scores will not be available for a final grade until you actually purchase access. I recommend simply purchasing the access to begin with.
To navigate and start using LaunchPad please consult theGet Started guide
If you have problems registering, purchasing, or logging in, please contact Customer Support. You can reach a representative 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
• through theonline form
• bychat
Or from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. EST, 7 days a week:
• by phone at (800) 936-6899
The website has two types of activities:
1. Video Activities, in which you watch a short video and answer a few multiple choice questions. While taking the quiz, you can listen to the video, or read the script until you find the answer.
2. Concept practice, in which you do activities to reinforce the topics we are discussing. You may also check your answers and repeat the activity.
For a video on how to register for LaunchPad, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2crYAsqb7P0&feature=youtu.be
Additional registration questions with step-by-step answers can be found at:
http://cmg.screenstepslive.com/s/MacmillanMedia_StudentHelp/m/LaunchPadSM/c/49348
For a video on using LaunchPad, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znnje6RFbUc&feature=youtu.be
If you have difficulty with any of these links, simply copy and paste it into your browser.
Overview of “LaunchPad”
There are two types of activities, which will generate credit toward your grade in the course.
Videos – These videos discuss items in the lecture. In this activity, you simply watch the video and take a quiz at the end. You may also watch the video again while taking the quiz, however, I suggest taking notes because you can only take the exam once. I expect everyone will get 100% on these.
Concept activities – These walk you through a series of paragraphs to read, activities to do, and questions to answer, helping you understand the concepts which could be on exams.
All these graded LaunchPad activities are located on the date in the calendar that everything closes at the end of the quarter as shown in the Course Calendar at the back of this syllabus. When doing these activities, I suggest you simply go to the calendar on the left-hand side of the LaunchPad home page and scroll down to all the activities. These will all be in the same order as they are in the syllabus.
Getting to the activities:
1. Login with your email and password
2. Assignment Calendar:
A. Click the title “Assignment Calendar” on the left hand side of the page
B. Find the one day listing all the activities. This will be indicated in the course calendar near the end of the quarter.
C. Click on the activity you want, and click “Open”.
D. Complete the activity
Your LaunchPad quiz grades:
Click on “Gradebook” on the left hand side to see your grades.
Scoring for the Psychology LaunchPad quizzes
The average percentage correct (divided by 2) on the video quizzes equals the points received (out of 50) on this portion of the course. For example, if you average a score of 80% on all the video quizzes you have 40 points on this part of the course.
LaunchPad e-book and other resources:
There is an e-book and many other resources in LaunchPad to help you; which I suggest you take advantage of. However, the activities in the calendar are the only items that go into the grade book.
How to register and insure your i>clicker is working properly:
(To be done before the second meeting of the quarter.)
How to register your i>Clicker:
Go to http://www1.iclicker.com/register-clicker/
> click on “Register” then “Register an i>clicker” from the dropdown menu > for “Does you school use a Learning Management System, click “No” > put in your first name, last name, student ID (your NSC student ID number), the remote ID, copy the image code letters, and click “Register”. Finally, print out the registration information after you click register.
How to tell if everything is registered and working properly:
When you click on a button to respond, the light to the left of that button will turn green for an instant. This indicates your reply has been recorded, and a return signal has been sent back from the control box. If you get a red light, it means your reply has not been recorded, or your instructor has not started polling. If you have new batteries (and removed the protective battery tab) and have registered your clicker properly, you probably need to reset the frequency as described below.
Setting the correct frequency:
We will be on frequency “AA”. New clickers will be set on that frequency automatically. To change to frequency “AA” do the following: 1. Press and hold the Power button until the Power light flashes green (about one second). Press the “A” button twice (“AA”). A green light indicates the frequency was changed successfully.
Remember: - Your i>clicker points will be determined by the computer records. Each day the computer records who received the points and who was absent. Do not come to me at the end of the quarter and say your clicker must have had a problem because you were here and participated during all the days the computer says you were absent and expect me to give you participation credit for all the absences. I will go with the computer records.
Receiving clicker participation credit:
I>Clicker participation points are given for “clicking in”, not correct answers. If you were not in class for any reason, did not bring your clicker, or did not have working batteries, you will not receive participation points. The credit you receive for clicker participation will be the score registered by the computer. Saying, “I was there, and used the clicker, but it did not register my response.” will not change the score.
Exams:
General description:
The four mid-term exams (50 points each) are not cumulative and cover only the chapters for that exam. The exams are all multiple-choice, and will test your knowledge of concepts, terms, and findings. You will also be asked to apply some of the fundamental concepts to new situations.
Make-up exams
If you miss a scheduled exam, you may take the make-up exam at the end of the quarter on the day indicated in the course calendar.
I recommend you take the exams as scheduled, because the make-up exams are more difficult. The difference is that I "teach to the test" for the scheduled exams.
The make-up exams are only from the text. I ask the computer to randomly select questions from a database of questions (e.g. randomly select 50 questions from chapters 1-4). These exams look the same (e.g. 50 multiple choice questions), however, they will have different questions than the originally scheduled exam.
Since you have had more time than other students to study the material, you may not use any study materials during the makeup exams.
Bring a Scan-Tron answer sheet, a #2 pencil, and correction fluid (white out).
Simply erasing (not using correction fluid) may cause the machine to score your exam incorrectly, which will not be changed, because you did not follow the exam directions.
Scoring exams:
The score you receive for the exams will be the grade indicated by the computer. I feel this is the fairest for the largest number of students. While I am glad to discuss the exam with you, it will not change your score. Any changes in question wording, etc. will be considered for next quarter, but will not be used to change scores this quarter.
Other online exam concerns:
1. Take the exams on a stable internet connection. If your internet crashes, try repeatedly to restart the connection during the time you have to take the exam. The test will return at the same place you left off, however, the timer will keep going.
2. Once you start an exam you must complete the 50 questions in 50 minutes. You cannot pause an exam to look up the answer and come back to it later.
3. The exam labeled, “Practice Exam (Not graded)” is the only practice exam. All others are real exams. This is to familiarize you with the test taking system. You may take this exam unlimited times. The real exams can only be taken once. You are not expected to know the answers to this practice exam, and it is not graded. This is just a trial run to be sure you know how to take an exam.
4. You may use any notes, study guides, text, or other materials provided in the class during the exams. You may not use any other source of help.
You need to know the material. You will not have time to look up all the answers; the exam will turn off before you finish, and you will have a zero for the remaining questions. Please do not email me saying you had a slow internet connection, your computer crashed, or something else and ask for the exam to be reset. It will not be.
You may use the computer lab at the college (Rm. 3303) for exams if you wish.
5. To reduce cheating, you can only see one question at a time. You cannot go back to previous questions.
6. I suggest you make notes on topics you are unsure about during the exam if you wish to restudy those items. To protect the exam, I will not email you the questions you missed. With online digital questions it is easy to copy the exam questions and send them to other students, friends, relatives or archive them for future reference.
7. If an answer option is “All the above” and it is in position “B” for example, it means all the other answers. This option may occur in other than the last (“D” or “E”) position because the questions and answers are scrambled for each student.