- Valdosta State University
- College of Education
- Department of Psychology, Counseling, & Guidance
Home Page- of
- PSY 2500 Fundamentals of Psychology
- Instructor: John H. Hummel, Ph.D.
- jhummel@grits.valdosta.peachnet.edu
|
|
Catalog Course Description: "A general survey course designed to introduce the student to fundamental methods and content of contemporary psychology. PSY 2500 is required of all psychology majors."
Required Text: Feldman, R. S. (1996). Understanding psychology (4th ed.). New York, McGraw-Hill.
About this class...
About the instructor...
Grades
Study Guide
This class follows the format of Keller's (1968) Personalized System of Instruction (PSI). PSI classes treat each student as an individual learner. There are several important features of PSI classes. First, the course's content is divided into small units which normally correspond to a chapter in the textbook. Lectures are de-emphasized as a source of information. Instead, for each unit there is a set of study questions which serve as the unit's objectives. The answer to each question is in either the assigned text reading and/or in the WEB link for the unit. An important outcome of your college experience is to help you refine your study skills so that you can become a more effective independent learner. Because each student brings to the class different background skills, PSI does not expect everyone to master the content in the same amount of time. Accordingly, MOVEMENT THROUGH THE COURSE REQUIREMENTS is self-paced though everyone taking the class for course credit must complete all requirements by the end of the term. Once you answer a unit's study questions, perhaps reviewed and the answers with me and your fellow students, tested yourself by writing answers to the study questions without using notes (and checked them for accuracy!), and taken the practice tests for the unit on the WEB, you can take the unit's test.
PSI has a mastery criterion that you must meet for each unit before you are permitted to progress on to the next unit, which must be covered in the sequence outlined in this syllabus. To take the formal test for a unit, you must come to the assigned computer lab at VSU's Education Center during one of the times it is reserved for PSY 2500 testing. Unit tests are objective. Your test will be scored immediately and if you score 80% or higher on it you may move on to the next unit. If you score less than 80% you must restudy the questions for the unit and take an alternative test at a later testing session. If you want to retest to make a higher grade even though you exceeded the 80% criterion, you may BEFORE you progress to the next unit. However, each new test replaces the previous one. THE LAST TEST YOU TAKE IN A UNIT IS THE ONE THAT COUNTS EVEN IF IT IS LOWER THAN A PREVIOUS ONE. There are 3 separate tests for each unit. My experience with PSI is that 99+% of all students successfully reach the criterion in 3 attempts; most reach it on the first test, and over 95% make it in two tries or less. If you take all three tests for a unit, your score on the third test is your grade for that unit.
To help you avoid procrastinating on the units,
I have added two additional features to the class requirements. First,
students who finish the second unit before the end of the 3rd week of the
term will have 10% added to their score on the midterm. (While the unit
tests and the final exam are multiple choice, the midterm is an essay-form
exam that covers the first five units; the final is a comprehensive multiple
choice exam.) To take the midterm you must have completed unit 4 BEFORE
MIDTERM. If you have NOT completed unit 4 by the scheduled date of the
midterm exam, you must drop the course. When you finish the units, you
can take the final, though the final will also be available on the date
and time specified in the VSU class schedule.
Your average on the 10 unit tests counts as 80%
of your course grade. The midterm is 10%, and the final also counts as
10%.
UNIT SEQUENCE: To access the study questions, unit review, and practice tests for each unit, use your cursor button to click on the unit.
Text Chapter Title
3 The Biology Underlying Behavior
10 Motivation and Emotion
12 Development: The Beginnings of Life
14 Personality
17 Treatment of Psychological Disorders
TRY OUT VSU's PSYCHOLOGY TIMELINK!