Psychology

Texts:

Students will not use a textbook in this course. Instead they will use a variety of sources and documents.

Standards:

During the course, students will use various political science thinking skills:

Standard Areas: Perspectives in Psychological Science and Research Methods

At the conclusion of this unit, students will understand:

1. Development of psychology as an empirical science

2. Major subfields within psychology

3. Research methods and measurements used to study behavior and mental processes

4. Ethical issues in research with human and non-human animals

5. Basic concepts of data analysis

Standard Area: Biological Bases of Behavior

After concluding this unit, students will understand:

1. Structure and function of the nervous system in human and non-human animals

2. Structure and function of the endocrine system

3. The interaction between biological factors and experience

4. Methods and issues related to biological advances

Standard Area: Sensation and Perception and Consciousness

After concluding this unit, students will understand:

1. The processes of sensation and perception

2. The capabilities and limitations of sensory processes

3. Interaction of the person and the environment in determining perception

4. The relationship between conscious and unconscious processes

5. Characteristics of sleep and theories that explain why we sleep and dream

6. Categories of psychoactive drugs and their effects

7. Other states of consciousness

Standard Area: Lifespan Development

After concluding this unit, students will understand:

1. Methods and issues in lifespan development

2. Theories of lifespan development

3. Prenatal development and the newborn

4. Infancy (i.e., the first two years of life)

5. Childhood

6. Adolescence

7. Adulthood and aging

Standard Areas: Learning and Language Development

After concluding this unit, students will understand:

1. Classical conditioning

2. Operant conditioning

3. Observational and cognitive learning

4. Structural features of language

5. Theories and developmental stages of language acquisition

6. Language and the brain

Standard Areas: Social Interactions and Sociocultural Diversity

After concluding this unit, students will understand:

1. Social cognition

2. Social influence

3. Social relations

4. Social and cultural diversity

5. Diversity among individuals

Standard Areas: Memory, Thinking, and Intelligence

After concluding this unit, students will understand:

1. Encoding of memory

2. Storage of memory

3. Retrieval of memory

4. Basic elements comprising thought

5. Obstacles related to thought

6. Perspectives on intelligence

7. Assessment of intelligence

8. Issues in intelligence

Standard Areas: Motivation, Emotion, and Personality

After concluding this unit, students will understand:

1. Perspectives on motivation

2. Domains of motivated behavior in humans and non-human animals

3. Perspectives on emotion

4. Emotional interpretation and expression

5. Domains of emotional behavior

6. Perspectives on personality 

7. Assessment of personality

Standard Area: Psychological Disorders

After concluding this unit, students will understand:

1. Perspectives on abnormal behavior

2. Categories of psychological disorders

Standard Area: Treatment of Psychological Disorders

After concluding this unit, students will understand:

1. Perspectives on treatment

2. Categories of treatment and types of treatment providers

3. Legal, ethical, and professional issues in the treatment of psychological disorders

Course Outline:

This is a tentative outline. I reserve the right to make changes as needed based on student progress or factors such as weather, testing etc.

1. Unit 1: Research & Methods

2. Unit 2: Life Span Developments

3. Unit 3: Learning

4. Unit 4: Biological Basis of Behavior

5. Unit 5: Cognition

6. Unit 6: Consciousness

7. Unit 7: Memory

8. Unit 8: Sensation

9. Unit 9: Psychology Disorders

10. Unit 10: Emotion

11. Unit 11: Social Interactions

12. Unit 12: Stress & Health

13. Unit 13: Treatment of Disorders

Required Materials/Supplies:

1. Chromebook and Charger:

   1. Many assignments will be completed in Google Classroom. Therefore you will need to bring your Chromebook everyday.

2. Binder:

   1. You will need a three ring binder for this class to collect work and notes.

3. Paper/Pencils:

   1. Most of your work will be completed on paper. You need to come to class with a writing utensil everyday.

Any other materials needed will be provided by the teacher.

Class Rules

Learning is the goal of our class time. I want to foster a classroom that is open to learning and our joint experiences and opinions. Below I have included a list of expectations to help bring about that goal.

1. Please come to class on time. If you are not in the room when the bell rings you are tardy.

2. Please be respectful to all students and teachers. We are all unique individuals with different viewpoints. I welcome discussion and opinion. Rudeness/bullying will not be tolerated.

3. All school and district policies/rules will be followed.

Consequences:

1st Offense- Verbal Warning

2nd Offense- Parent Phone Call

3rd Offense- Referral 

Late/Absent Work:

1. Late Work:

All work is due by the stated due date on each assignment. I will give you ample time to complete each assignment.  If the work is not turned in by the due date it will go in the gradebook as a zero. Late work turned in 1 day after the due date will receive at most a 75%. Two days late will receive at most a 50%. Beyond two days will receive a 0%

2. Absent/Makeup:

   1. It is your responsibility to make up any work that you missed due to an absence. Please check with me to make sure you know what needs to be completed. You will have up to 5 days to complete any missing assignments.

Retake Policy:

Major assignments will be eligible for one retake. However, your attempts will be averaged together For example, if you made a 40% on the first attempt and a 100% on the second, your grade will be a 70%. 

Grading Policy and Assessments:

       A = 90-100

        B =   80-89

        C =   70-7

        D =   60-69

        F =    50-59

        Quarter:

        Major Assessments:  60% (minimum 3-4)

        Minor Assessments:  40% (minimum 12)

        Minor assessments will consist of: Quizzes, Binder Checks, work done in class, writing assignments, etc. 

        Major assessments will consist of:  Tests, Major Essays, and Projects

         Disclaimer: 

         I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus as needed.