Please message me using the Canvas inbox. I will respond to Canvas Inbox messages (preferred) or emails as quickly as possible, usually within 24 hours (excluding weekends where you need to allow at least 48 hours for a response). Weekends begin on Fridays at 5pm-Sunday at 11:59pm. If you do not hear from me within 24 hours, please email me again. I NEVER IGNORE STUDENT EMAILS. I do ask in return that when you do email me, please be respectful and professional.
To message me through the Canvas Inbox, click on the Inbox icon in the blue left-hand global navigation menu (on a computer) or the Inbox icon in the Canvas app (for mobile devices).
If you email me the day an assignment is due with a question about that assignment, I cannot guarantee that I will respond that day, especially when you email me after 5pm on a weekend. Additionally, not receiving a response from me on the day an assignment is due is not an excuse to submit an assignment late. Therefore, please plan ahead and review the assignments at the beginning of the week so that if you have questions they are answered In a timely manner. I want to help you and I know you can be successful in this course but please be respectful of my boundaries and aware that emails do not guarantee an instant response.
Each week, I will send out 1-2 announcements to introduce you to the weekly content and activities and offer mid-week reminders.
You will receive assignment feedback from me in Canvas in the form of the rubric, in-line textual annotations, and an audio/text summary comment.
Your discussions will be graded within 72 hours of the deadline, and larger projects will be graded within 10 days of the deadline.
I will foster an atmosphere of respect, trust, and collaboration.
Netiquette is online etiquette. It is important that we are all aware of proper online behavior and respect one another.
Please make sure to do the following in your assignments:
Use complete sentences
Use proper spelling and grammar and proofread your work
Avoid slang and uncommon abbreviations
Do not use obscene or threatening language
Be respectful of other students’ opinions
Academic integrity is about being proud of your work and making sure to give credit to other people when you use their words or ideas. In schoolwork, you need to explain where you got your information from. For example, what book, journal article, website, documentary, etc. did you use when you completed your assignment? What examples did you get from these sources to support your work? These examples are the things you need to cite in your paper and all assignments.
Academic honesty is required of all students. Plagiarism–to take and pass off as one’s own work the work or ideas of another–is a form of academic dishonesty. To avoid plagiarism, always paraphrase and reference the original source from which the idea was developed. If you are not sure what plagiarism consists of, see me, or consult the APA Publication Manual.
Penalties may be assigned for any form of academic dishonesty, including sharing work with other students. While you are welcome to talk about your assignments with classmates, all work turned in must be your own. Any work that matches another student will result in an automatic zero for both students. Questions or clarification as to how to include the ideas and statements of others or how to avoid other forms of academic dishonesty should be discussed with your instructor to avoid unintentional academic dishonesty.
Assignments that involve academic misconduct (plagiarism, use of AI, etc.) will be marked as “missing.” You will be able to redo one assignment that involves academic misconduct but will not receive credit or any resubmissions for any assignment thereafter that involves academic misconduct (don’t worry- we have an entire lesson on academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism).
Your instructors are eager to help you succeed in your studies at Cuyamaca College. But success means more than just receiving a passing grade in a course. Success means that you have mastered the course content so that you may use that knowledge in the future, either to be successful in a job or to continue with your education. Your success depends on a combination of the skills and knowledge of your instructors and your own hard work. You will reach your future goals only if you gain new knowledge from every course you take. That knowledge becomes yours and can be used by you only if it is gained through your own personal efforts. Receiving a grade in a course without acquiring the knowledge that goes with it diminishes your chances of future success.
While in college, you are also shaping the principles which will guide you throughout the rest of your life. Ethical behavior and integrity are a vital part of those principles. A reputation for honesty says more about you, and is more highly prized, than simply your academic skills. For that reason, academic honesty is taken very seriously by the Cuyamaca College faculty. The following guidelines have been prepared so that you will understand what is expected of you in maintaining academic honesty.
Below is the link for the College’s official academic honesty policy. Please see the catalog description for more details. https://www.cuyamaca.edu/academics/catalog/files/part06-policies.pdf
Active participation in an online class means submitting assignments and taking quizzes on time, contributing to discussion regularly, and checking Canvas & email at least twice a week. Students who are inactive during the first three days of class will receive an email asking the reason they have not logged on. If by the end of the week students have not responded and have not been active in the course, the instructor will drop them to give other students the opportunity to add the class. Students who are inactive for more than two weeks without contacting the instructor will be dropped from the course. It is your responsibility to add, drop, or withdraw on or before the deadlines stated in the class schedule.
GCCCD Policy on dropping and withdrawing:
It is the student’s responsibility to drop all classes in which he/she is no longer participating (for online classes).
It is the student’s responsibility to drop all classes in which he/she is no longer attending (for on campus classes).
It is the instructor’s discretion to withdraw a student after the add/drop deadline (include date) due to excessive absences.
Students who remain enrolled in a class beyond the published withdrawal deadline, as stated in the class schedule, will receive an evaluative letter grade in this class (A, B, C, D, F).
Students who miss more than 8 hours of instruction (or 4 classes in our case) may be dropped from the course
All of you bring unique experiences to the course! In fact, your lived experience is what makes psychology so interesting. It is important to acknowledge the experience and opinions of others. I hope to create an online environment in which you feel safe to express yourself and share your experiences. I expect that students will behave professionally and respect other students’ right to learn. Students are expected to respect diversity and alternative points of view. In all discussions and assignments, please refrain from responses that may be offensive. Please email me if you ever feel uncomfortable or that your opinion is not being respected by classmates.
Students with disabilities who may need accommodations this class are encouraged to notify the instructor and Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS) early in the semester so that reasonable accommodations may be implemented. Students may contact DSPS in person in Room A-113 or by phone at (619) 660-4239.
To receive credit for this class you must be able to:
Compare and contrast the philosophy of different schools of psychology and their interpretation of behavior.
Apply scientific methods to the exploration of human behavior.
Describe the basic functions of the central nervous system and its relationship to behavior.
Explain and contrast various psychological phenomena related to sensation and perception.
Classify states of consciousness including sleep, hypnosis and drug effects.
Produce examples and strategies that improve the function of memory.
Label and use examples to describe operant conditioning, observational learning, and classical conditioning leading to behavioral change.
Discuss limitations and contrast the different theories of intelligence.
Compare and contrast theories of emotions and an individual’s behavior and reaction to stress.
Explore and define characteristics of the developmental stages from birth to adult behaviors.
Discuss and elaborate on the theories of the development and the consistency of personality.
Classify different mental disorders and identify possible treatments in reference to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for mental disorders IV-TR.
Produce explanations and predictions of social behavior using various psychological theories.
Canvas: This course uses Canvas for class management (discussion, turning in work, quizzes, grades, etc.). You should see the course when you login to Canvas as soon as the semester begins. To get started with Canvas, please:
Visit this page, which has many different links to help with canvas.
Look for a welcome email once the semester begins (sent to your WebAdvisor email address by default). Let your teacher know if you can't login by the first day of class or if you don't get a welcome email.
You cannot complete this class without reliable access to Internet
You need adequate storage to SAVE and BACK UP your work. You are responsible for your work in spite of technical problems, so be sure to back up! Most students use a USB Flash Drive or cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.). Success in an online class requires proficiency with technology. You need to know file management, email, and how to use a browser, and how to copy and paste.