Mrs. Erickson PSYCHOLOGY CDO High School

Mrs. Erickson PSYCHOLOGY CDO High School Social Studies Dept. Phone: 696-5661

Email: [email protected]

Psychology is a year-long social studies, elective course. Students can earn ½ credit of elective each semester.

Texts and Materials: The text is provided by the school. Additional materials will be furnished by me in the form of handouts and worksheets. Required materials for this semester are as follows:

Understanding Psychology (Glencoe, McGraw-Hill, 2001)

**Access my wikispace for class notes and various assignments: cdorerickson.wikispaces.com

Semester Units/topics: The following units will be presented during the year but not necessarily in this order.

First Semester: Topic

I. Approaches to Psychology *History of psychology *Psychology as a profession *Types of Research *Statistics in psychology II. The Life Span *Infant and child development *Parenting styles *Adolescence: Personal, physical and social development *Gender roles III. Body and Behavior *The nervous system *Studying the brain *Endocrine system (hormones) *Heredity and environment IV. The Workings of the Mind and Body *Sleep and dreams *Hypnosis and meditation *Drugs and consciousness V. Sensation and Perception *The five senses *Optical Illusions; attention *ESP

Semester Units/topics: Second Semester:

I. Learning and Thinking Processes *Classical and operant conditioning *Social learning *Memory and thought *Thinking and language *Motivation and emotion II. Personality and Individuality *Intelligence and personality testing *Personality theories III. Abnormal Personality *Stress and health *Psychological disorders *Criminal behavior IV. Therapy *Types of therapy *Applying therapies V. Social Psychology *Interpersonal attraction and personal relationships *Group interaction *Attitudes and social influence *Prejudice

Types of Activities/learning opportunities

I use an eclectic approach to teaching Psychology. This means that at some point during the semester you will have an opportunity to participate in the following kinds of activities:

*Class experiments/exercises related to psychology *Observations out on campus or out in the world *Student presentations *Guest speakers *Teacher directed lecture/notes *Student directed discussions *Videos/movies related to psychology *Text book readings and worksheets *Case studies *Library research *Tests, quizzes

Class Rules:

1) BE PROMPT (Being prompt means always be in your seat when the bell rings). 2) BE PREPARED (Being prepared means always have something to write with, paper to write on, and your book). 3) BE POLITE (Among other things, being polite means never having your cell phone out in class… if you must make a call, you may use my phone). 4) Respect other members of the class 5) Understand that your grade is your responsibility - I simply assign the grade that you earn.

Final Exam: There will be a semester final exam over material presented throughout the semester. The format of the final varies from year to year but on average the final exam equals about 10-15% of your overall grade.

Grading Criteria: Your grade will be determined by dividing your earned points by the number of possible points for each semester. Remember that Participation Points will be added to your total at the end of each quarter.

A = 89.5% + C = 69.5% - 79.4% F = below 59.5% B = 79.5% - 89.4% D = 59.5% - 69.4%

Attendance is an important factor in you gaining as much as you can from this, or any class.

Make up work is the student’s responsibility. Any assignment given during an excused absence can be made up or the student will be excused from completing those points. Late work and work missed due to unexcused absences may be accepted but at reduced points. It is up to the student to schedule time during the tutoring period to discuss missed assignments.

ALWAYS REMEMBER: Be a good self advocate. If you are struggling for any reason, please know that you can come by or make an appointment to see me to discuss strategies for improving your experience/grade/situation.