Psyc 230 IDDL2, Abnormal Psychology Spring 2017 Online COURSE SYLLABUS
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Psyc 230 IDDL2, Abnormal Psychology Spring 2017 Online COURSE SYLLABUS Please read the following course syllabus carefully, especially the course dates, times and location. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to communicate with the IDEAL Program office, your academic advisor, or the instructor. The IDEAL degree-completion program is designed with the adult learner in mind. Adult learners approach learning with specific goals, want to be able to directly apply new learning to their work and personal lives, and tend to learn best when the coursework is problem-centered so that they are actively engaged in the learning process. In addition, adults bring rich and varied experience to the classroom, which becomes a valuable learning resource for other students. The IDEAL Program assumes joint responsibility in the learning process. The activities and assignments in the courses build on the shared experience of all learners in each class. This is why each student’s preparation, participation and interaction in class activities and discussions are critical to the success of each course. The accelerated format of each course requires a significant amount your time outside the course to prepare for and complete the course assignments. This varies between students and courses; however, students typically spend nine-twelve hours per week on course material. To participate in the IDEAL Program, it is expected that you will do the following: 1. Participate in and complete the online orientation prior to your first online course. 2. Obtain the required course materials prior to the course start date. 3. Login and participate in your course a minimum of three times per week. 4. Complete all assignments to the best of your ability. 5. Participate in the class discussions and demonstrate respect and consideration to the instructor and other students when they express themselves in discussion. 6. If you have any technical difficulties, you must contact the Office of Distance Education immediately at [email protected]. If you cannot perform these six expectations, it is recommended that you drop the course. We look forward to your academic success in each course and the ultimate completion of your degree. Course No. & Title: PSYC 230 IDDL2, Abnormal Psychology Semester and Term: SPRING 2017 Day and Dates: Online, March 6 – April 29, 2017 Time: Asynchronous Campus Location: Online Course Description: This course will provide an in-depth review of a broad spectrum of psychopathological conditions, as defined by the DSM-5. The focus will be the study of thoughts, feeling and behaviors that interfere with psychologically adaptive functioning. The diagnoses, causes and appropriate treatments of different disorders will be discussed, including psychosis, personality disorders, anxiety, depression and adjustment difficulties. Prerequisite Courses: PSYC 103 and PSYC 201 or 202 Course Code: HS-PE, LA, PSY, SsC, PSY-M, HSM, DM-PPR Required Textbook: Abnormal Psychology DSM-5 Update: Clinical Perspectives on Psychological Disorders (2015). Halgin, Richard & Whitbourne, Susan. 7th Edition, McGraw-Hill Publishers. ISBN 978-1- 259-13338-1 Instructor & contact information: Lauren Linn Email: [email protected] Phone: (for scheduled appointments only) 203.400.5580 Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to: • Discuss major contemporary perspectives and theories on the nature of abnormality and mental illness. • Apply these theoretical perspectives in reviewing each of the conditions covered in the course. • Describe the distinguishing features of major psychological disorders such as schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, depression, drug dependence, OCD/dissociative disorders and others, as classified in the DSM-5. • Explain the clinical process of interviewing, diagnosing and treating clients. • Describe important evidence-based treatment procedures used by clinicians and explain what treatments are used for certain conditions, discuss advantages and disadvantages of particular treatments methods. Assignments: FOR DEADLINES AND POINT VALUES FOR EACH ASSIGNMENT, PLEASE SEE THE DOCUMENT ENTITLED IDDL 230 ABNORMAL PSCHOLOGY COURSE OUTLINE and the ASSIGNMENTS area of the course on Canvas. WEEKLY DISCUSSIONS (20 points each): There will be 8 Discussions. The topics/prompts will be posted one week in advance. You will write both an Initial Post in response to that week’s prompt (10 points) as well as a Comment (10 points each) on the response of one of your classmates (10 points). Discussion prompts will ask that you think critically about a certain aspect or topic that pertains to that week’s assigned readings and accompanying slides and activities. For the discussions, you may be asked to be watch a video online and/or to read articles from mass media (ex: BBC, CNN, psychologytoday.com etc) or to complete a short online exercise giving you the background information (along with the textbook and slides) you need to participate in that week’s Discussion topic. Appropriate responses (for both your own Initial Post as well as your Comments to a peer) should be a minimum of 3 paragraphs each for the discussions (with a paragraph being assumed to be a minimum of 4 sentences). YOUR DISCUSSION POSTS MUST BE WRITTEN IN FORMAL, COLLEGE-LEVEL ENGLISH. All discussion postings must be grammatically correct with correct spelling to receive full credit. Do not use slang terms, contractions, texting shorthand, or other shortcuts. I have created an entire section of the course entitled WRITING RESOURCES for you, with handy tips for creating college level written assignments. You are expected to use these resources and feedback you are given. Penalties will increase for errors that are repeated after feedback is given. I will always be looking for your real thoughts on the topic rather than only a “right answer.” Please use your own words rather than rephrasing/rehashing definitions related to the topic. Please do NOT quote any dictionary definitions of terms or wiki-anything! Never use Wikipedia as a source. Responses should be your own thoughts and feelings, as backed up with examples from the readings (simply saying you agree with someone will not suffice). Mocking and/or disruptive/abusive postings will not be tolerated. This is a zero tolerance policy. Failure to respect your colleagues and instructor will result in having your access to the Discussion Board (and thus your ability to complete a good portion of the course requirements) revoked. Plagiarism WILL NOT be tolerated – see the section on academic dishonesty below for a full description on what this means and what the consequences for it entail. The Rubric for the Discussions is attached to each Discussion in our Canvas course site. Be sure that you read my feedback on your Discussion postings very carefully, and make sure to use that feedback to improve your score in future posts. There is an ASK THE PROFESSOR Forum on the Discussion Board, in which you may post any general questions you may have for clarification about assignments or concepts. Do NOT use this area to ask about deadlines (All of this information is already provided in this Syllabus and reiterated in the instructions for each of the Assignments) or specifics that are already delineated in the assignment. In addition, this is not a forum for posting commentary or for personal information, such as anticipated absences; please use email for these kinds of communications. WEEKLY CHALLENGE QUESTIONS (10 points each week): You will be responsible for posting two questions per week in the Discussion Board dedicated to this assignment. Your questions should be over any of the reading you have done for the week. You may ask for clarification of a concept or for additional information about a topic for that week. You will NOT receive credit if you ask for clarification on assignments. You must write your questions in complete sentences using formal wording and proper grammar. READING QUIZZES (20 points each): There is a 10-question, multiple choice quiz each week over the Chapters/Modules assigned for that week. Each quiz is worth 20 points each and can be taken as many times as you wish until it is due. These points add up, so be sure that you do not skip any of these quizzes! EXAMS (100 points each): There will be two exams for this course. Exams are non- cumulative. Each exam will be composed of multiple choice and true/false questions (50 questions, 2 points each). Exam dates can be found at the end of this syllabus. On the day of the exam, you will see a link become available on Canvas. Once you start the exam, you MUST finish it in that setting, and without closing out the window the test was in! You will have 75 minutes to complete the exam – in other words, a little over one minute per question. As this is an online course, you will obviously have access to your class materials for the exams, however you will not be able to complete the exam on time if you attempt to look up every question! You must complete the exam within the time minutes allotted. Your exam will automatically close once the time is up, and you will not be able to access it again. The exam will ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR 24 HOURS on the day it is scheduled between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59pm. No exceptions. You are responsible for completing the exams without consulting other students to do so. Evidence of cheating of any type will result in an automatic failure of the exam and/or course. Each exam can be taken ONLY ONCE. At least 48 hours before each exam, I will post a review sheet on Canvas that will help you direct your studies for the exam. Be sure that you review these thoroughly and use the ASK THE PROFESSOR Discussion Board thread or email me any questions you may have for clarification of the exam review.