Course Syllabus
General Psychology
ONLINE
PSY 2012 –Introduction to Psychology
(Click Here for Complete Syllabus)
Fall 2024
Instructor’s Name: Dr. Tari Colon
Telephone Number: (813) 586-1656
Email Address: tcolon7@hccfl.edu
Office Hours: VIA Teams: Saturdays 9-9:30AM, or by appointment. Please note you are not required to attend Office Hours. This is available to you if you feel you need to speak with me outside of class time.
Class Schedule (REQUIRED):
Class Schedule: This is an online course. Students are not required to meet on campus. All students Must log into the course portal (myhcc-canvas) and complete an assignment by Saturday the first week of class or will be academically withdrawn. See CANVAS FOR DETAILS
The standard schedule will follow 6-day-long segments of time: Monday through Wednesday and Thursday through Saturday (we take Sundays off). Due dates are typically Saturdays at 11:59pm, but I suggest turning things in early; discussion turn-ins should be spaced out. Section numbers (ex. 1.3, 3.1, 7.4, etc.) do not associate with chapters, but with course progression. These are for your benefit navigating through the course. Pay attention to the topics to match chapters in your book. NOTE: You will have limited access to your instructor (me) on the weekends! I recommend looking over (and maybe doing) assignments early, in case you have questions or issues.
Text Book and Materials:
For this course we will be using a free online textbook, Spielman, R.M. et al, (June 16, 2021). OpenStax Psychology. OpenStax CNX. To access the book, just click on this link https://openstax.org/details/books/psychology-2e or copy the link into your browser. Students may view the book online anytime, download it as a PDF to their computer, or download as an ebook to iPad, MAC, or Kindle. If the student prefers a hardcopy of the textbook links are provided on the OpenStax Psychology home page to rent or purchase the book.
Supplemental: none
Course Description:
PSY 2012 3 Credits- In this course, students will gain an introduction to the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. Topics may be drawn from historical and current perspectives in psychology.
Prerequisites: College level reading and writing skills are required.
Course Intended Themes and Outcomes
Course integrative themes
During your exploration of Psychology, you will uncover the following integrative themes:
1. Psychological science relies on empirical evidence and adapts as new data develop.
2. Psychology explains general principles that govern behavior while recognizing individual differences.
3. Psychological, biological, social, and cultural factors influence behavior and mental processes.
4. Psychology values diversity, promotes equity, and fosters inclusion in pursuit of a more just society.
5. Our perceptions and biases filter our experiences of the world through an imperfect personal lens.
6. Applying psychological principles can change our lives, organizations, and communities in positive ways.
Course Outcomes
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- students will be able to identify basic psychological theories, terms, and principles from historical and current perspectives.
- students will be able to recognize real-world applications of psychological theories, terms, and principles.
- students will be able to recognize basic strategies used in psychological research.
- students will be able to draw logical conclusions about behavior and mental processes based on empirical evidence.
Grading System:
Students are responsible for keeping track of their grades and should bring discrepancies to the instructor’s attention immediately.
Students will be awarded letter grades for courses taken at HCC.
A= 90-100%
B= 80-89%
C= 70-79%
D= 60-69%
F= 50-59%
Instructional Methods: This course is ONLINE. Students must have access and be proficient in using technology and CANVAS. In lieu of class lectures, students will interact with the professor and other students in online discussions. No other portal is required. ZOOM via CANVAS is available for office hours. Students are expected to study material independently to provide meaningful contributions to discussions and to demonstrate learning. Engagement in the course is facilitated by the instructor but maintained by the student. You are responsible for how much you learn.
Gordon Rule / Writing Requirements: This course is a general education course and therefore contains a “Gordon Rule” component. The Gordon Rule is designed to help students learn to communicate effectively through writing. Completion of this requirement will be a mixture of short writing assignments and discussions. Late work will earn 0 points. To pass this course, you must earn a grade of “C” or better on corresponding assignments.
***You cannot pass this course without completing the writing assignments/discussions.***
The Brandon campus has an excellent Academic Success Center, which provides tutoring, writing assistance, and more for free to HCC students; the writing commons are located in BACA 207 but has transitioned to a virtual environment where possible during COVID-19 (phone 813-259-6598). Students may also consider using "Smarthinking Online Tutoring," which is linked on the left hand side of your screen.
Grading Policy: Students are responsible for accurate correspondence and submission of assignments. Not knowing how to turn something in by the due date, or turning in an incorrect file or file type, is not an acceptable reason for not turning in something on time. If you are concerned about methods, please work with me ahead of time. I will provide you with all the tools necessary to fulfill all assignments. The first stage of understanding how to turn assignments in on CANVAS is to contact CANVAS support.
Technical difficulties do not warrant a time extension. Be sure you are connected in a web-secure and productive environment before beginning timed material like quizzes or exams. For CANVAS tech support, the toll-free number is: 844-408-6462. And, if you’re having log-in/password issues, the toll-free number to the HCC Help Desk is: 877-736-2575.Some types of online testing/quizzing have time limits. If you walk away from your computer or close the browser after starting a timed assignment, the timer will continue to run! This means the attempt will expire, and any question you answered correctly already will be kept, but all unanswered questions will be considered wrong. Before starting any timed assignment, ensure that you are prepared and are in an internet-secure, productive environment.
There are no make-ups in this class. Instead, there will be a few low grades where indicated that are dropped in order to account for Life Interference Errors. Life Interference Errors (LIE) are where our non-academic lives (which are very important also!) interfere with our academic lives. Car breaking down, inclement weather, overtime, forgetfulness due to stress, and family needs are some examples of LIE. It happens to all of us and is often unavoidable. Often, we simply must make the errors and learn how better to balance our academic and non-academic responsibilities for the future.
Assignments
Quizzes: There are at least 13 quizzes total, each containing 15 questions from a chapter section recently studied. You will have 45-minutes to complete all quizzes. You will have two attempts at each quiz, but quizzes are randomly generated from a bank of questions; so you may not see the same exact questions. The three lowest quiz grades are dropped as per LIE policy.
Exams: There are 4 exams. Each exam will focus on the material since the previous exam (about 3 chapters or so). Exams may consist of 60 multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, computations, short answer, essay, and/or matching questions. You will have 2-hours, but only one attempt, to complete all exams. The lowest exam grade will be dropped per LIE policy.
Discussion: Each major section, there will be at least one topic for students to discuss, for a total of 8 discussions. Before participating in the discussion, be sure to familiarize yourself with the topic in order to make a meaningful contribution. You will share your knowledge, experience, and/or ideas with your classmate and me. You will also respond in a discussion format. The lowest graded discussion will be dropped per LIE policy.
To receive full credit per discussion (50 points each), you must meet the following requirements:
1) Quantity & Timing = Your initial post, ideally, should be early in the lesson (before Wednesday). The reply posts should be spread in the remaining time.
2) Spelling and Grammar = As this is the Gordon Rule requirement assignments, you must meet at least minimum standards of writing, including spelling, grammar, and organization in all your posts.
3) Quality of Posts = Good quality posts will show evidence of one or more of the following: critical thinking skills, well-formulated opinions, personal connection to the topic, providing new information, and/or generating further conversation in the group. The goal is always to deepen the conversation in a meaningful way with each post you contribute.
Random/Additional Assignments: There will be 120 points worth of additional assignments, including first week activities. Each of these assignments will include their own rubric and explanation. None of these assignments are dropped!
Final Grade: Your final grade will be determined by summation of quizzes (150pts.), three highest exam grades (180pts.), discussions (350pts.), additional random assignments (120pts.), and any extra credit points. While you receive points in every area, grades are weighted:
Group
Weight
Random Assignment
15%
Discussions
35%
Quizzes
20%
Exams
30%
Total
100%
If you do not pass the Gordon Rule portion of the course (discussions), you cannot pass the course - no matter what your other grades are!
Additional/random assignments, quizzes, and due dates will be announced online. Any extra credit opportunities will only be available to students who are active in the class.