PSYCHOLOGY SYLLABUS

 

Psychology A/B                    Mr. Gerber                            2005-06

 

          This course is designed for students to explore the exciting complexities of the world of Psychology.  As a senior at EVHS you have become keenly aware of other people and how they interact and react to others.  You have also realized that it is most helpful to understand different types of people.  The ability to understand and work with all types of people is becoming increasingly important if you are going to live successfully in the twenty-first century and to just be a good person.

            Our objectives in this course will focus on six/seven units that will attempt to answer some difficult questions concerning the world of Psychology.  As your teacher, I hope that you will gain a better understanding of yourself and your relationships with others.  We will tackle these areas of study TOGETHER, and hopefully make it an interesting experience.  To help in accomplishing this I ask only four things:

 

                                    #1        Have PRIDE

                                    #2        RESPECT others (attitudes and beliefs)

                                    #3        Come to class

                                    #4        Be Positive!

 

            As your teacher I have every intention of doing everything I can to make this course an enjoyable one, as well as a great learning experience.  If you have any questions, concerns, or problems please do not hesitate to ask me.  I will do all I can to make this class interesting, relevant to your lives, and enjoyable.  With your help, we both can work together to enjoy this course and enjoy the class as well.

Course Outline

Unit #1:  Critical Thinking, Research, and Neuroscience

·                    Research Strategies

·                    Neural Communication

·                    The Nervous System

·                    The Brain and Human Behavior. . .with computer simulation

Unit #2:  Sensation and Perception

·                    Sensing the world (thresholds, signals, and subliminal stimulation)

·                    Understanding the senses (vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell)

·                    Perceptual Illusions

·                    Perceptual Organizations

·                    Is there Perception without Sensation (ESP)?

Unit #3:  States of Consciousness

·                    Waking Consciousness & Hypnosis

·                    Sleeping (cycles, stages, and disorders)

·                    Dreams (what, why, how, & what the mean)

·                    Effects of Alcohol and other drugs on consciousness

 

Unit #4:  Learning and Memory

·                    Classical Conditioning

·                    Operant Conditioning

·                    Encoding and Storing Information

·                    Retaining and Retrieving Information

·                    Forgetting and Memory Improvement

 

Unit #5:  Personality and Personality Disorders

·                    The Psychoanalytic Perspective

·                    The Trait Perspective

·                    The Humanistic Perspective

·                    The Social Psychological Perspective

·                    Learning about your own Personality

 

Unit #6:  Final Projects:  Authorware

·                    Vital to your overall Final Grade (150 points)

 

EVHS Academic Honesty & Integrity Policy 2005-2006

 

  1. Statement of Principle and Policy regarding academic honesty and integrity:

Academic honesty and integrity are essential to excellence in education.  Since assignments, exams and other schoolwork are measures of student performance, honesty is required to ensure accurate measurement of student learning.  Each student, parent and staff member has a responsibility to promote an academic culture   

                  that respects and fosters individual achievement.

 

  1.  Honor Code:

On all coursework (assignments, exams, projects) undertaken by the students of Eastview High School, the following commitment is expected:

 

            On my honor, as an Eastview High School student, I

          will neither cheat nor plagiarize on any coursework.  

 

This statement means that the student understands and has complied with the expectations of academic integrity and honesty set forth by Eastview High School.

  1. Definition of Cheating:

Cheating is misleading an instructor in some way so as to receive or attempt to receive credit for work not originated by the student or work performed with unauthorized assistance.  Cheating includes, but is not limited to:

 

·        Copying from another student’s examination, assignment, or other coursework with or without his/her permission;

·        Unauthorized collaboration that violates the teacher’s established expectations;

·        Allowing another student to copy his/her work;

·        Having another person take an examination, write a paper, or complete an assignment;

·        Using unauthorized “cheat sheets,” notations on desk, clothing, self, or personal technology devices (such as graphing calculators or data organizers) as “electronic cheat sheets”;

·         Giving or receiving copies of examinations with or without an exchange of money or other forms of reimbursement;

·        Revealing/receiving examination content, questions, answers, or tips from another student or removing such information from the classroom after an examination through the use of notes, scratch paper, technology, verbal communication, etc.;

·        Using technology inappropriately to complete coursework or examinations;

·        Resubmitting substantially the same work that was produced for another assignment or course without authorization.

 

  1. Definition of Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is the use of passages, materials, words or ideas that come from someone or something else, without properly naming the source.

 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

·        copying someone's assignment;

·        copying text or other materials from the Internet or other source without citing them;

·        paraphrasing items from a book or article without citing them;

·        using translation software to translate sentences or passages; or

·        using the same sentence structure or thesis as another source without citing it.

Basically, if someone or something else has done the work (or a portion of it) for you, and you do not acknowledge it, you are being academically dishonest.

 

Grading Procedures

Your grade in this course will be the accumulation of total points in the following areas:

            1.         Final Project:  (YOU cannot pass unless it is completed)

            2.         Attendance

            3.         Daily Assignments/Group Activities

            4.         Unit Vocabulary

            5.         Unit Tests

 

All of your points will be added together and placed on a standard scale based on percentage of total points possible

            93-100%                     A                     73-77%                       C

            90-92%                       A-                    70-72%                       C-

88-89%                       B+                   68-69%                       D+

            83-87%                       B                      63-67%                       D

            80-82%                       B-                    60-62%                       D-

            78-79%                       C+                   below 60%                   F

 

I will do my best to post grades by ID number at least every other week.  Through September and October it will probably be once a week.  It is, however, your responsibility to always keep a current updated grade for yourself.  IF YOU EVER HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR GRADE, PLEASE ASK BEFORE THE LAST WEEK OF THE QUARTER.

 

 

 

Suggestions to be a successful student:

 

ATTENDANCE:        

·                    COME TO CLASS ON TIME . . .all EVHS attendance policies will be enforced

·                    THE MORE I COME TO CLASS, THE BETTER MY GRADE IS . . .you are tardy if you are not in the classroom when the bell rings (this will become an important issue, thus it will be enforced).

·                    You will receive two points for every class period that you attend on time.  There are 45 days in Quarter #1.  This translates to 90 possible attendance points.  This is essentially the equivalent of your attendance grade on the grading procedure on the previous page.  .

·                    BRING YOUR ADMIT TO CLASS WHEN YOU ARE ABSENT

 

SUBSTITUTE POLICY:

·                    TREAT THE SUB LIKE YOU WOULD TREAT ME . . .If your name appears on my documentation sheet from a sub for any reason, automatic referral is the consequence which will usually mean detention.  Consider this your warning for future reference.

 

THE CLASSROOM:

·                    USE APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE

·                    Language is a rather big issue for me.  Everyone and every issue deserves to be discussed in a mature manner.  We should all be mature enough in this classroom to discuss the wide range of topics necessary to complete the course.

·                    The “F” bomb will result in immediate dismissal from class.

·                    EARN THE PRIVELEGE TO BE TREATED LIKE AN ADULT

·                    BE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING WHAT YOU MISS . . . KNOW YOUR GRADE.

 

ASSIGNMENT/TEST POLICIES:

·                    COMMUNICATE WITH ME IF YOU WILL MISS CLASS!

·                    If you are gone for a test you will be expected to take the test the day of your return.  Tests are announced well in advance and should be planned accordingly.

·                    Late assignments may be turned in for 3/4 credit up to the date of that Unit’s test.

·                    When you are gone it is your responsibility to check with classmates or with me for missing assignments, activities, notes, etc.  I will not find you.

 

I hereby extend formal open communication lines to all students enrolled in Senior Psychology class located in Rm. A204.  Discussions and communication are important to understanding people.  Let’s enjoy each other and have a great Senior Year.