The course didactics consist primarily of a discussion format. Therefore, for each class (except the class for which you serve as a Discussion Leader), you will be expected to generate at least two discussion questions related to the specific topics and readings for the week. The tentative course schedule lists the assigned readings and topics for each week. Each question should be 1-2 sentences and should be appropriately placed into context and cite the reading/s associated with the question/s. These questions are to be posted on the D2L Discussion board no later than 11:59pm on Tuesday of the week that class meets.

Your questions should display thoughtful reflection on the readings, including:

1. Evidence of critical thinking, and

2. Development of interesting ideas or questions that go beyond the immediate content in the reading.

Note: You should not post questions that are clearly answered in the assigned readings. 

You will receive a grade between 0-10 for each class based on the criteria below:

0 – Failure to turn in questions by date/time due.

5 – Only one completed question or a lack of thoughtful reflection in both questions.

10 – Completed questions show thoughtful reflection contributing to class discussion.

Each of you will be responsible for leading class discussions with another classmate during three class meetings. You will be graded on your organization, presentation of material, and ability to lead discussion. You should view this as an opportunity to be creative. Feel free to do demonstrations, organize a debate, show brief videos, assign additional readings, etc. At the very least, you should prepare an outline of how and where you want the discussion to proceed as well as a list of issues or questions you want the class to discuss. This may include discussion questions posted by other students. 

• Being a discussion leader requires being extremely prepared in advance. It is not something people can “wing.”  

• I am willing to meet with you to help you prepare your discussion. However, you must arrive prepared for the meeting. After all, YOU are responsible for preparing the discussion. Thus, I will make suggestions regarding your ideas for your discussion. This means that you need to read the articles and prepare an outline of what you plan to cover BEFORE we meet. Coming to our meeting unprepared makes a bad impression and I am likely to cancel the meeting. We should meet no fewer than 2 days before you are discussion leader. Simple questions can be sent to me via email.

• The best way to lead a discussion is to know in advance the topics you want to cover, the responses you want to elicit, and the discussion questions that specifically elicit those responses. You don’t need to know the answers to the questions you ask, but you should have thought about the answer. Questions like, “What did you think about the article by Baumeister and Leary?” are poor discussion questions and tend to elicit blank stares or brief, uninformative responses. Your discussion questions should be brief and stated in your own words. 

• One of the toughest things about being a discussion leader is the pause that follows the question. It can take up to 10 seconds between when you ask a question and receive a response. People must digest what you said, think about it, formulate a response, and then speak. Typically, however, the 10 seconds seems like several minutes. Be patient. If there is a problem with the question, people will ask you to repeat it or I will ask you to reword the question. 

• There is a tendency for discussion leaders to dominate the discussion. This is not surprising. As a discussion leader, you probably know the topic better than any other student in the class. You have thought about it more deeply and probably have the answer written down in front of you. Avoid the temptation to dominate discussion. The best discussion leaders pull responses and answers from others in the class. 

• As noted earlier, this is an opportunity for you to be creative. You may use other students' discussion questions to help guide your discussion, but your discussion should be more than just addressing each discussion question. Feel free to do demonstrations, organize a debate, show brief videos, assign additional readings, develop and administer a questionnaire, etc.   

You will each receive a grade of 0-100 based on the following criteria:

1. Advanced understanding of topic covered (25 points)

2. Evidence of preparation and organization (25 points)

3. Inclusion of thoughtful questions by peers (25 points)

4. Ability to effectively facilitate discussion and intervene when necessary (25 points)

Discussion Leader Schedule:

W1: Dr. Blackhart

W2: Jordan, Paige

W3: Leona, Tiffany

W4: Chloe, Jada

W5: Angela, Jessica

W6: Jessica, Jordan

W7: Angela, Tiffany

W8: Jada, Paige

W9: Chloe, Leona

W10: Angela, Jordan

W11: Jada, Tiffany

W12: Chloe, Paige

W14: Leona, Jessica

You are required to complete and submit a research project at the end of the semester. The purpose of this project is to have you integrate aspects of what you have learned in this course on the self and relationships into your current research interests. Your project may take several forms, such as a research proposal, a grant proposal, a manuscript that you are going to submit to a journal for publication, or an organized symposium for a national or international research conference. I am open to other types of projects as well, as long as 1) your project integrates an aspect or aspects of research on the self and relationships into your current research interests; 2) you are able to write up and submit your project (which will be subject to peer review and to being graded by me in its final draft); 3) you are able to give a 15-20 min. presentation on your research project. I am happy to meet with you regarding your research project if you would like feedback on your project. 

• A research proposal must include a Title Page; Abstract; Introduction / Literature Review; a Method section (what you will do, so make sure your tense is correct), including Participants, Materials, Procedures, and Statistical Analyses subsections; and References. The paper MUST be in APA style.   

• A manuscript that you are going to submit for publication must include a Title Page; Abstract; Introduction / Literature Review; a Method section (what you have done, so make sure your tense is correct), including Participants, Materials, Procedures, and Statistical Analyses subsections; Results; Discussion; References; and Tables / Figures as necessary. The paper must either be in APA style or, if the journal requires another style or deviates from APA style, must be written in the format required by the journal. In addition, you must include all elements required for the journal and adhere to word/page limits. You must include author guidelines for the journal when you submit your summary and outline. 

• A grant proposal must include the necessary elements for the organization to which you will submit the grant application. This will likely include a Literature Review; a Method section (what you will do, so make sure your tense is correct), including Participants, Materials, Procedures, and Statistical Analyses subsections; and References. In addition, you must adhere to word/page limits. You must include a summary of the grant application requirements and/or guidelines with your summary and outline. 

• An organized symposium for a national or international research conference should generally adhere to the guidelines for the organization to which you will submit the symposium (the guidelines must be submitted with your summary and outline), with the following exceptions. The overall abstract, the abstract in which you explain the purpose of the symposium, should be 1000-2000 words in length. The abstract for your talk (yes, if you are going to organize a symposium, you MUST be one of the speakers in the symposium) should also be 1500-2000 words in length (this can be longer if necessary). You must also include abstracts from the other speakers you plan to include in the symposium. This will require that you reach out to other researchers, ask them to be a part of the symposium, and ask that they provide you with abstracts for their talks. The abstracts for other speakers’ talks within the symposium should follow the word limit guidelines outlined by the organization for submitted symposia.  

• Should you choose to complete an alternative project other than what is listed above, please meet with me to discuss the project.  

• A scoring rubric that will be used to assist in evaluating the final draft of the research project is posted on D2L. 

A one-paragraph summary and detailed outline of your research project is due Wednesday, September 27th at 11:59pm and is worth 10% of your Research Project grade. The summary and detailed outline must include what project you are choosing to complete and, in the case of a grant proposal, manuscript submitted for publication, organized symposium, or similar projects, must include the guidelines / requirements you are to follow. A rough draft of the project is due Wednesday, November 8th at 11:59pm and is worth 20% of your Research Project grade. Please include guidelines for the project if you are completing a grant proposal, manuscript, organized symposium, or similar project in an Appendix at the end of your rough draft document so your peer reviewer will have those guidelines to use as he/she reviews your project (see below). The final draft of the research project is due on Wednesday, December 7th at 11:59pm and is worth 70% of your Research Project grade. The summary/outline, rough draft, and final draft MUST be submitted to the appropriate D2L drop boxes and all files submitted must be Microsoft Word .doc or .docx files. THESE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED LATE; if you turn in the summary/outline, rough draft, or final draft late, you will receive a 0 for that portion of the assignment. There is no minimum or maximum length of the project. It does not benefit you to be overly wordy, but you must include a comprehensive literature review and be detailed in the methodology and statistical analyses you propose to use.  

Peer Review 

Once you have turned in the rough draft of your research project, you are expected to provide a peer review of another student’s proposal. You will be randomly assigned to review another student’s research project rough draft. You will receive the paper you are to review via email from me no later than the end of the day on Thursday, November 9th. You MUST use the track changes option in Microsoft Word to make revisions and add comments as you review the paper. Your review should be careful and thoughtful, but DO NOT REWRITE THE STUDENT’S PAPER. The peer review is due to the D2L drop box by Wednesday, November 15th at 11:59pm. I will send reviews back to the originators of the papers no later than the end of the day on Friday, November 17th. You will be graded on the quality and thoughtfulness of your peer review. 

Presentation 

All students are to give an oral presentation of their research project. The presentation should take 15-20 minutes, including time for questions. You will be graded on the quality of your research project, on the quality of your oral presentation, on your ability to answer questions, and on the quality of your presentation slides. If your research project is an organized symposium, then your oral presentation should include a brief summary of the purpose and goals of the symposium, a brief summary of the topics the other speakers will discuss, and then a brief version of the oral presentation you will give on your research. You will be required to turn in a copy of your presentation file before class begins; it must be turned in to the D2L drop box by noon (12:00pm) on Wednesday, December 7th. The scoring rubric that will be used to assist in evaluating oral presentations is posted on D2L.