These were the course policies that I used for Human Development the last time I taught it in Spring 2002:
OVERVIEW
The topic of this course is human development. I am aware that I have considerable bias about this topic. My bias is that scientific approaches are the best way known to find out about behavior. You can be assured that you will not be graded on the extent to which your opinions agree with mine. You will have to understand the views that are presented in class because some of them will be reflected on exams, but you do not have to agree with them. At times I will discuss potentially sensitive issues such as sex and ethnicity. These topics have been scientifically researched within the area of human development. I assume that the intellectual consideration of research and its implications will not be seen by any of us as a personal matter.
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
I love to teach and I work very hard at it. While I hope the class will not be dull and boring, I do not think teaching should be confused with entertainment. Sometimes I think that some students' expectations are that classes will be as entertaining as television. There are several reasons why this is not likely to happen. An hour of television costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. We do not have that level of funding to put on an hour of class. More importantly, the producers of television generally do not care if you learn anything or not. They want to you to buy something because they have packaged you up and sold you to their sponsors. That is what television does--it sells you to the highest bidder.
In contrast I want you to learn something, and that is almost the only thing all I want. Of course I would like it if you were happy and excited all the time, but I can not guarantee that. Your mood is basically up to you. As far as I am concerned you know that you have learned something from the class if you (1.) see the world differently than you did before class and if (2.) you can do something that you could not do before class. The first of these is a cognitive goal and the second is a behavioral goal. I will try very hard to teach you but I can not make you learn. However, I believe that you will learn if you work as hard at learning as I work at teaching.
EXCUSES AND FAIRNESS
The reason why these policies are so detailed is that I want to be fair to everyone. My job requires me to evaluate your performance in this course, but I can not evaluate excuses. If I start to make exceptions to the course policies based on reasons for lack of performance, I am not being fair to all the students. For example, imagine that the family member of a student experiences the sudden onset of a serious illness. I understand that a sudden serious illness in an immediate family member might result in missed class and late homework. As you will read below, late homework does not get credit. If I were to accept that late homework for credit, I have made a judgment about the seriousness of the illness and the closeness of the family member. Is a heart attack serious enough? Certainly. Is flu serious enough? Maybe, it depends upon other support persons available. Is a mother a close enough family member? Certainly. Is a second cousin close enough? Maybe, I suppose it depends upon the history of the relationship with the second cousin. Do you see what I mean? I can not possibly fairly evaluate these things, so I must restrict myself to evaluating performance in the course.
The policies in this course are very forgiving. Attendance for any particular day is not required. A missed homework or two will not affect your grade. Massive absences from class with resulting lack of class participation and quantities of late homework will affect your grade because I am here to evaluate your performance in the class and those things are part of the evaluation. If you know in advance that you are going to miss class, I advise you, at least, to send in your homework ahead of time. In that case, you may Email it [lawrence.shaffer@Plattsburgh.edu] or fax it to me at the department [518-564-3397] if you find yourself suddenly away from campus. Ordinarily I am not eager to have emailed homework because it would be impossible for me to cope if everyone did this every day. Use your own good sense and discretion in deciding when to Email homework.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
This course touches on a large variety of topics pertaining to developing humans. We will cover the span of development from conception to death. The course will highlight the interactions between social and biological factors in development and will discuss the futility of attempts to see development as a result of nature or nurture. The course will focus more on social influences because these factors are easily manipulated; however, it will remain clear that all development also depends upon factors usually considered to be biological.
As it will be construed in this course, Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior. The textbook for this course will be: Morrison & Shaffer (2002). The first author of this book, Alan Morrison, is a talented and hardworking man who as an undergraduate here at Plattsburgh at the time we wrote this book. He graduated in June, 2000 This is Alan and me:
alanlary.jpg (84657 bytes)M__S_cover.jpg (29029 bytes)
It may interest you to know that Alan is almost certainly the only undergraduate who has ever been the first author of a college textbook. He and I worked on this book together. Each of us changed things that the other had written. The result, for you, is a book that will be challenging but that can be understood by undergraduates--after all, it was co-authored by an undergraduate. Having you use a book that I co-authored is not a money-making scam for me. Alan and I wrote the book so that we would have something good to use in teaching. As for all the money that we will make from the book, I sincerely doubt that we will ever even make the minimum wage for all the hours that we have invested in writing. If you want to make big money, go work in a grocery store--do not write a college text.
There will also be some additional readings--which will be handed out in class--and a few library readings. The course will focus on critical thinking about research in the area of human development, rather than on practical applications--for example, parenting skills. As we read and discuss the research literature, some real-world applications may suggest themselves, but the generation of these applications is not a goal of the course. By the end of the course if you are successful, you will be able to:
1. Read original literature in developmental psychology at least to the extent of being able to extract the main points.
2. Discourse about the process of research in human development.
3. Describe the findings of many research studies in human development.
4. Tell a story of development which involves linking these findings together to make an integrated picture.
5. Present oral or written critiques of research in human development.
If you do not agree that these are valuable goals, this may not be the course for you.
ATTENDANCE
Much of the material for which you will be responsible will be generated in class discussions that go beyond the content of the text. As you will see, this offering of PSY 311 is not a class in which success depends upon merely memorizing the text. You will have to learn the content of the text to a very high standard, but to be successful in this course you also need to attend class meetings and to appear on time. A substantial amount of your grade in this course will depend upon your preparation for class and your performance in class. If you are not ready and willing to actively participate in the classroom you will not succeed in this course. Similarly, if you are not present in class meetings you will miss the opportunity to receive feedback on your comprehension. You are responsible for all material presented and announcements made, whether you are in class or not. Class WILL be held on days adjacent to holidays so please arrange your holiday transportation accordingly. I assume that I am dealing with professionals who plan to be where they are supposed to be every day.
In the event of weather emergencies you can find out if the college is closed by calling the college class weather line at 564-CLAS. In that event, I will email you on your college email telling you what adjustment we will make in the reading assignment schedule.
PREPARATION
I advise you to read and think about each reading assignment before its due date. If you have other exams, papers and responsibilities, I advise you to plan for them by doing the preparation for PSY 311 ahead of time. The assignments for the entire semester are available on this website in order to assist you in time budgeting. PSY 311 requires an introductory-level knowledge of psychology. Students who did not do well in a beginning psychology course will, at times, need to consult an introductory psychology text for help in understanding concepts.
HOMEWORK
There is a homework assignment for each reading in the course. I expect you to make a reasonable effort at these assignments. You will find that in so doing you are having to think rather specifically about the details of material you have read.
Before the beginning of class on the day they are due, place your homework in the collection area provided at the back of the room. Late submissions will not be given credit. Beginning of class, unless otherwise announced, is operationally defined as 8:00 AM sharp according to the clock in the lecture theater. You may send assignments in with a friend if, for some reason, you are unable to attend a class. While your assignments will not be returned to you, you may consult them in my office.
THE ASSIGNMENT:
Put your name, last name first, on the top left line of each assignment. On the top right, put the chapter number that the assignment covers. All assignments must be word processed, not handwritten.
The written assignments for this course are quite short. The reason for this that I want you to spend your time reading the assigned material and learning it. I believe that the thinking behind the written assignments will help you to learn the material.
For each chapter in the book your written assignment will be to:
Identify the research method(s)
Identify the variables
Write a summary of the findings that is not more than two sentences long and that confines itself to a description of the relationships found between the variables.
Identifying the research method or methods used in the study: While there may be more than one, you should identify what you believe to be the primary research method and to give a reason why you believe this. The primary method will almost always be one of three: a within-subjects experiment, a between-subjects experiment or a quasi experiment. In addition, studies may also be longitudinal, correlational, and use techniques such as surveys or naturalistic observations. If a study is obviously one of these secondary methods, you should list the method, but you do not need to describe why you think so.
Identifying the variables in the study: If the study is an experiment, these will be independent and dependent variables If the study is not an experiment, I think a good way to proceed is to try to identify what I will call "input" and "output" variables. These also go by other names within psychology--such as "subject variables," "predictors" and "outcomes." I prefer "input" and "output" as labels for these and I would like you to use these two terms, even though you should be aware that I sort of made them up and they may not be recognized by the field of psychology. In a quasi experiment, the input is the characteristic already possessed by the participant, such as gender or age. The output is what behavior or cognition is measured. . For studies that are experiments with additional quasi experimental outcomes, list independent and dependent variables as well as the input and output variables of the quasi experiment.
Here are some examples of methods and variable identification:
Study example 1: Age differences in the understanding of the causes of AIDS. Male and female ten-year-olds, 15-year-olds and 20-year-olds are given a structured interview asking them to recognize causes and non-causes of AIDS from a list. It is found that all ages correctly recognize causes ("AIDS can be transmitted in blood and blood products..."), but that younger people are less successful at the identification of non causes ("You can catch AIDS from a drinking fountain...")
Method: This is a quasi experiment because the groups are defined by age, not random assignment. It is also a cross sectional study and an interview
Input variable: age
Output variables: correct identification of AIDS causes, correct identification of non-causes of AIDS
Study example 2: Male and female college students are randomly assigned to participate either in a program designed to increase self esteem or to be in a control group that receives a program about lawn care. After the programs, participants from both groups are individually observed in a social interaction with a complete stranger. This encounter is taped and coded for evidence of self esteem by trained raters. It was found that students who received the self esteem program showed higher levels of self-esteem. Additionally, females in the self esteem group showed more self esteem than males. Within the self esteem group of females, seniors showed less benefit from the program than freshmen.
Method: This is a between subjects experiment because the students were assigned to self esteem or lawn care training at random. It was also a quasi experiment and a naturalistic observation.
Independent variable: Self esteem training or lawn care training
Dependent variable: ratings of self esteem in social interaction
Input variables: sex, class level
Output variable: ratings of self esteem in social interaction
Study example 3: A single episode of the preschool educational program Blue’s Clues was shown once or repeated on 5 consecutive days to 3- to5-year-old viewers. A comparison group watched a different program one time. Children were assigned to groups by matching their ages and other characteristics as far as possible. Viewer behavior was videotaped and comprehension and learning of Blue’s Clues content was tested. With repetition, looking at the TV screen remained at a high level. Only 5-year-old boys looking decreased. Verbal and non-verbal interactions with the program (such as answering questions and pointing at the screen) increased, especially during educational content. Comprehension improved with repetition.
Method: This could be considered a between subjects experiment if one is willing to overlook the absence of actual random assignment to groups. It was a within subjects experiment for the comparison of children with themselves over successive viewings of the program. It was a quasi experiment for comparisons of age and gender. It also used a longitudinal approach and some naturalistic observation.
Independent variables: Repeated viewings, content of tape (Blue’s Clues or other tape)
Dependent variables: viewing behavior, verbal and non verbal, while watching tape, test scores of comprehension and learning
Input variables: age, gender
Output variables: viewing behavior, verbal and non verbal, while watching tape, test scores of comprehension and learning
To help you identify the research method, here is a list of common methods:
A short guide to types of research methods for PSY 311
Experiment
Participants usually randomly assigned to different groups being studied. Groups are treated differently in one or a few very specific ways--the independent variable. Behavior resulting from this treatment difference is measured--the dependent variable. If one group gets a specific treatment and ones does not, usually the treated group is called the experimental group and other groups are called control groups. Conditions other than the independent variable are held as constant as possible for all groups. These constant conditions are called controls. A variant of the true experiment uses people as their own control group by giving each participant each of the treatments. This is called a within-subjects experiment. Conclusions from experiments can be taken to indicate a cause and effect relationship between the independent and dependent variables
Quasi-experiment
Participants achieve membership in different research groups as a result of preexisting characteristics, not random assignment. These preexisting traits may be things such as: gender, age, socioeconomic status, athletic ability, or ethnic identification. A link may be found between one or more of these characteristics and some outcome variables, but cause and effect relationships are not identified by this method. Without random assignment to groups, a researcher cannot clearly demonstrate causal relationships.
Correlational study
In the most general sense, a correlational study investigates the relationship between two variables. Usually the data are reported as correlation coefficients. Strength and direction (positive or negative) of relationships can be demonstrated by correlational studies but causal links remain an open question.
Longitudinal study
A longitudinal study follows a group composed of the same people across a period of the life span. The behavior of these individuals is observed and/or measured at several intervals over time in an attempt to study the changes in their behavior. Longitudinal studies may cover a short time, such as a few weeks, or a long time, such as the entire life span. Longitudinal studies may additionally employ other methods, such as quasi-experimental or correlational approaches, but the defining characteristic is that the same people are studied repeatedly across time.
Cross sectional study
A cross sectional study usually examines groups of different people who belong to different age groups as a means of studying behavior development across part or all of the life span. These studies can usually be done more easily and quickly than longitudinal studies but the resulting data may be of lower quality. They can be troubled by cohort effects, in which observed differences between one age group and another are unique to the particular time period of the study. For example, 30 year old women are more likely to have professional jobs than 60 year old women. This is not a developmental trend, but the outcome of changes in educational opportunity since the 60-year-olds were young. Somewhat rarely, the term cross sectional may be used to describe studies which divide and examine segments of society based on variables other than age, such as income, educational level or family size. This is not common in psychology but is more usual in other areas, such as medical research.
Schaie’s Most Efficient Design
This design which Psychologist K. Warner Schaie modestly named after himself, is also sometimes called a Cohort Design, A Cohort Sequential Design, or a Cohort Cross-Sequential Design. It combines cross sectional and longitudinal methods. In the first year it may begin with, for example, 3, 4, 5, and 6-year olds in a cross-sectional analysis. The next year, the same children will be followed up at their current ages of 4, 5, 6, and 7-years-old. Another cross sectional analysis can be performed and, also, a one-year longitudinal study is done comparing each child with his or her own data from the previous year. This can be repeated in subsequent years, each time generating new cross sectional data as well as new longitudinal evidence. This study provides control over cohort effects.
Prospective Study
A prospective study examines a behavior or psychological event before it develops, so as to capture unfolding changes. Usually prospective studies are longitudinal. For example, children might be followed from the early years of life in an attempt to observe the development of eventual leadership within teen peer groups.
Retrospective Study
A retrospective study usually relies on memories of past events. For example, leadership in teen peer groups could be studied by asking middle aged adults to recollect their first experiences in taking a leadership role. Retrospective studies are only as accurate as the memories themselves. Anyone who knows anything about psychology should know that research has shown memories to be inaccurate, particularly over long periods of time.
Archival Study
An archival study is similar to a retrospective study in that it looks back at past events, but archival studies rely on data that goes beyond personal memories. To perform archival studies, research use existing data banks such as census records, tax records, school records, and court records, to investigate behavior that occurred in the past.
Survey
A survey is a structured list of questions presented to people. Surveys may be written or oral, face to face or over the phone. It is possible to cheaply survey large numbers of people, but the data quality may be lower than some other methods because people do not always answer questions accurately.
Interview
An interview may be highly structured or it may involve less structured narrative. It may include survey methodology. It usually involves people responding orally to questions or talking about their thoughts on a topic.
Case study
A case study involves extensive observations of a few individuals. Data collection may include watching behavior, interviews and record searching. Case studies may be retrospective and/or prospective. Usually case studies are employed where the behavior or situation is so rare that other methods, involving larger groups of participants, are not possible.
Single-Subject Design
Baseline measures of behavior, such as observations in natural settings, are made for one or a few participants. An intervention is conducted to attempt to change behavior. Behavior is measured through the intervention and afterwards to assess the impact of the treatment.
Naturalistic observation
Naturalistic observations can range from unstructured observations of humans or other animals to situations involving hypothesis testing or some manipulations to a natural setting. If you wanted to know if males are likely to hold doors open for females, you could watch until you had seen a number of natural occurrences of this, or you could get a female helper to follow males into buildings and watch to see what happens. It can be difficult to precisely define the natural setting, particularly when the participants are humans. Placing an actual research procedure into this category or others can involve a judgment call that might be debatable.
Demonstration
An unsystematically engineered observation of behavior, sometimes involving only one participant. The demonstration is remarkably common in the history of psychology, even though it provides only very weak evidence for anything.
On days when a journal article crtitique is due, you will write a summary of the article as described above, but you will also include the indentification of one strength and one weakness from the article.
Your homework for the textbook and journal article critiques must be word processed. Handwritten textbook homework will not receive credit. I advise you not to leave the writing or printing of homework until the last minute. In that way you will be able to avoid losing credit because of computer or printer failures. In order to receive credit, your homework page must have your name, last name first, clearly and boldly printed on the left side of the top line. Each of your paragraphs should be preceded by the chapter number and the title of the chapter, or the title of the journal article being critiqued.
On days when there is a Do It Your Self Assignment, you will follow instructions on the form that will be handed out for that day.
LATE HOMEWORK
Late homework will not be credited, as described above. However, if you have done it but not handed it in on time and want me to look at it, I will be happy to do so. I keep a separate late homework file where all late homework is stored. At final grading time, I try to find reasons to move grades up when they fall a tiny bit below one of the grade cutoffs. In looking for reasons, I will look at the late homework file. I will also consider total amount of class participation, quality of participation and quality of homework. If some homework has been completed but handed in late, I will probably use that as a reason to raise your grade the couple of tenths of a point required to get you into the next grade category. Do not confuse this procedure with the idea that late homework gets credit--it does not. Whether there is a lot or a little, late homework can only get you a few tenths of one percentage point when it comes to final grade decisions. The reason for this is that anyone can have an emergency or two in which homework ends up being late. In contrast, in the past some students have been chronically late in handing in much of the homework. If you can not get your homework in on time this is not a good section of PSY 311 for you to take.
Sometimes students will say that the homework policy is arbitrary, rigid and unfair. Two of these critiques are correct. I agree that the policy is arbitrary and rigid. All due dates are, in some sense, arbitrary. The point is homework has to be due sometime. There has to be some deadline after which homework will not get credit. I could make that deadline be the end of day the assignment is due; Friday of the week in which the assignment is due; the day before the final exam; or the minute before I take final grades to the registrar. All of these are arbitrary. No matter which one of them I chose, someone could come running up with late homework and miss the deadline.
The deadline is rigid because I want you to know in an unambiguous way when your homework is due. It would not be good for you if I was unclear about that, saying, for example, "hand your homework in any time." There would, of course, be some point after which it would not count, but you would not know when that deadline had passed. With the policy in this course, you know when it is late.
I disagree with those who say that a rigid homework deadline is unfair. Anything other than a rigid deadline is unfair, because it would mean that some students were getting credit that was denied to others. The only way to be fair is to have clear course policies and to stick to them
PARTICIPATION
A significant part of your grade will involve the evaluation of the quality of the remarks that you make during class discussions. In order to get credit for your participation you will have to have a sign, with your last name clearly written on it, in front of you. I will supply the materials for name signs. You will also have to speak loudly enough to be heard by the entire class in order to get credit. You are addressing the entire class, not just the instructor. Speaking to a group is a valuable life skill. If you plan to refuse to answer questions in class or to persist in answering so softly that you cannot be heard, then this is probably not the class for you. You can choose the questions you would like to answer but you should plan to participate on a regular basis. If, at any stage, you wonder if your participation level is adequate, I can help you to assess this. One way to get a quick read on participation level is to compare your totals with those of other students on the grade spreadsheet that will be posted regularly. Former students have considered the participation requirement to be a valuable teaching tactic. It is not my intent to embarrass you or to threaten you, rather, I want to give you regular feedback on your understanding of the course material. This is an opportunity for you to sharpen your oral presentation skills as well as your ability to think on your feet.
SEATING
I will designate a row in the lecture theater that will be considered the back row. If you sit in rows behind this designated back row, one percent of your final grade will be deducted for each day you sit there. There is a good reason for this. This is an interactive class and it can be difficult for students to hear other students if we are spread all over the theater. If you have some psychological need to sit in the back of the room, this is not a good class for you to take.
EXAMINATIONS
There will be four examinations in this course. The dates of these are found on your reading assignment list. The exams will cover the reading which was assigned since the last exam as well as the discussion material from the class meetings. Part of the last exam, given during final exam week, will consist of questions about material covered after the third exam; the remainder of it will consist of questions from earlier segments of the course. Examinations will not be returned to you, but they can be reviewed in my office for two weeks following the date upon which they are given. I will not conduct pre-exam review sessions, but will be available, as usual, to help with any questions you may have. A review session may be a very good thing to organize with other students. These sessions are most useful if they focus on students asking questions of each other.
POPPINSIAN EXEMPTION FROM THE FINAL EXAM
Students whose work in every aspect of the entire course, including attendance, is consistently flawless may be exempted from the final exam and will receive a grade of "A" for the course. I call this the Poppinsian Exemption because in order to get it you must be like Mary Poppins--practically perfect in every way. It is not merely a matter of mathematics--it is my evaluation of your entire performance. Students receiving the Poppinsian Exemption will be notified my me after the last class has met but before the final exam. Do not ask about it--I will let you know. You should assume that you will not receive a Poppinsian Exemption until you hear differently. Many very good students do not receive a Poppinsian Exemption--therefore take the final exam--and earn an "A" in the course.
GRADING
Grades will be regularly posted and updated on a grade spreadhseet attached to this website. Your grade in this course will be based upon my overall evaluation of your performance. In making this judgment, I will guided by the following proportional contribution of requirements:
Examinations 60%
Participation 20%
Homework 20%
Final grades will be based on your total percentage using average weighted as shown above:
A 94-100% C+ 77-79%
A- 90-93% C 73-76%
B+ 87-89% C- 70-72%
B 83-86% D+ 67-69%
B- 80-82% D 65-66%
E LESS THAN 65%
Some students do not understand the concept of a weighted average. In this course, if you were to calculate your grade by hand you would take the average of all your exam scores and multiply that by .6 (in order to weight it 60%.) You would take your total percent performance on homework and on participation and multiply them each by .2, in order to weight them as being worth 20%. Then you would add these three products together. If "E" stands for the average of your exam scores, "P" for your total participation expressed as a percent, and "H" for the percent of homework credited to you, the formula for your final grade would be:
(E X .6)+(P X .2)+(H X .2) = FINAL GRADE.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
The college catalog defines academic dishonesty as: "the willful misrepresentation of any part or all of another’s work as one’s own. Copying another’s answers or giving or receiving unpermitted aid during classroom or take home examinations, assignments, papers, research reports and projects is cheating. Plagiarism in all its forms is cheating. Students have an obligation to themselves and to their peers to uphold the integrity of their institution by not participating either directly or indirectly in acts of cheating, and discouraging cheating by others. A students who aids another in cheating shares the guilt of the offense." In PSY 311A the penalty for cheating will consist of an immediate and final course grade of "E".
WHY IS SHAFFER SUCH A MEAN PROFESSOR?
Sometimes students will look at all these course policies and ask themselves the question that begins this section. Really, mean is not the correct concept, demanding is a bit nearer the mark. There is a simple answer: The world is demanding and I want to prepare you for the world.
In your professional life after Plattsburgh:
Excuses will not replace performance.
Reading will sometimes be difficult.
Things will have to be done on time.
Consistent, not erratic, performance will be rewarded.
You will have to have to communicate ideas to others, sometimes to large groups
I would be shirking my responsibility as your instructor if I did not do my utmost to help you to build these transferable life skills. You can probably find some three credit classes which are less demanding than PSY 311A. This will not deter me in any way whatsoever from offering you the highest quality educational experience that I can provide. That is why I am here.
OFFICE
Office: Beaumont Hall 206B, 518-564-3383
Shaffer office hours: Wed 10:00-10:50, Tues and Thurs 9:30-10:30 AM
Shaffer e-mail: lawrence.shaffer@plattsburgh.edu
Shaffer webpage: http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/lary.shaffer/
I will be happy to make appointments to see you at times other than office hours. I am often in the office from 5 AM to 7 AM in the morning or earlier. That time is primarily used to do my own preparation for 8 AM classes so you will not be given much time then. Nevertheless, that may be a good time to ring with quick questions. From 7 AM to 8 AM I typically have coffee in the College Center to discuss teaching and other issues with a colleague or two. You are more important than my colleagues, so you can always feel free to interrupt us if you are around at that time and have a question. If you use voice mail, please leave a message and an e-mail address where I can respond. Merely leaving a phone number as a message may result in me returning your call at 5 AM.
HOW TO STUDY
Particularly following the first exam, I am often asked about how to study for PSY 311. There is no reason to wait until that time to become concerned about study techniques. My academic specialization is in biological aspects of behavior. I am not an expert in the area of study skills. There are study skills experts on campus and you will find some of them in the Learning Center in the Feinberg Library. Notwithstanding my lack of expertise, students often ask me how to study for this class. In order to try to help, I have put together few suggestions below from the published literature on study skills and the experience of other students. It goes without saying that these tactics should be applied as soon as possible: they will not bail you out if you wait until you have already done poorly on one or more exams. They are not little study "tips" that will allow you to do well with little effort. Rather they are a description of the hard work that you will need to do in order to learn.
Suggestions About How to Study
1. Work on psychology by doing the assignments by the time they are due, a little bit at a time. No athlete would prepare for a big game by sitting around doing nothing for weeks and then staying up late the night before intensively working out. The same principle applies to learning. LEARN THE MATERIAL AS YOU GO ALONG--DO NOT WAIT UNTIL A SHARP-TOOTHED EXAM IS BREATHING HOT AIR DOWN YOUR NECK. I have tried to assist you with this by having small amounts of reading due on specific days. You will have to take responsibility for learning the material as it is assigned. Learning material is not the same thing as reading it. First you read it, then you learn it--every day. If you do this, you should not have to spend much or any time studying for exams. By the time the exam is near, you should already know the material.
2. Take responsibility for your own performance. Blaming roommates, textbooks, time of class meetings, me, Barney the Dog, or whatever will not improve your performance. If you are not spending two to three hours in good, dense, quiet study for each hour in class, you are not doing enough. In PSY 311, that means two and a half hours of preparation for each class meeting.
3. At the end of each paragraph in the reading, stop and ask yourself what you have learned--if your answer is "nothing" read it again, and--if necessary--again. As you find important things, mark them with a highlighter, or a pen, in the margin--highlighting the lines themselves makes the book difficult to read. Important things are not just definitions. They also include study findings and summaries of areas of research. Read for about 45 minutes or so--after that your efficiency drops. Stop and do laundry for 15 minutes or something like that before you go back to reading.
4. At the end of each reading session, take the important things that you have found and write them out as questions--without answers--on the front of 3 X 5 cards. Put the text page numbers on these questions so you can quickly look back to the text if you need to. Put the answers on the back of the card. If you have answers written where you can see them while you are reading the quesiton, this will not be a good study aid. Do the same with your notes from class. Write these as multiple choice style questions, that is, put as much information as you can in the question. The answer will usually be a single word or two. If you have more than a word or two as an answer on your cards, they are not good study aids for multiple choice exams. Test yourself with these cards at intervals. If you can get someone else to study using this approach, ask them your questions and have them ask you their questions. These cards should contain definitions of words you do not know, but they should also cover why the study was done, what was done and what was found. This is not a course in the vocabulary of developmental psychology, although you will have to know some vocabulary in order to talk about the concepts.
When you have read the material, made your cards, and run through them to be sure you know them, you are done with your studying for that particular class day. Note how different this is from saying that you are done when you have read the material.
5. Study in a place that is quiet and where you will not be disturbed. Plan to work very hard when you read and study. Many failing students think that studying is nothing more than reading the book over and over with the stereo blasting or the TV on and people running in and out while the phone rings. They spend hours at this, but they are not really doing anything useful. To make an analogy--it would be like trying to increase physical fitness by walking slowly and having an ice cream cone every two blocks. This might be fun, but it does not result in a hard body. Laying around in front of a TV chatting with friends while scanning a book may also be fun, but it is a complete waste of time as far as learning is concerned. To get fit, one must work the muscles, get out of breath, and that sort of thing. In order to learn, one must WORK hard and intensely, focusing on the task at hand.
6. Study in the time of day during which you are most alert. Do not put studying off until you can hardly keep your eyes open. Successful students report that they make good use of the situation where they have an hour or two between classes. It is easy to waste that time by returning home and doing things of little consequence. Much work can be accomplished during the day by finding quiet places, which are near to where your classes meet, and hitting the books.
7. It is probably not worthwhile to re-copy your lecture notes after class. It is a very good idea, however, to take notes as thoroughly as possible in class, leaving some space as you are taking them. Then, as soon after class as you can, review the notes and clarify things you have not recorded in sufficient detail. This would also be a good time to work up the questions mentioned in Suggestion 4, above.
8. Tell the stories of the course to other people: parents, friends, partners or anyone. If no one will listen, tell the stories OUT LOUD to your dog, spider plant or desk lamp. The research articles are stories. Before exams, you should be able to tell these stories in considerable detail, without notes. That is how you can tell you know the material. At first, as you are learning the story, you will have to refer to notes, but as you tell it over and over, you will need the notes less and less.
Hint: I have found that point four (4) above is usually ignored by students who are not doing well. If they do it at all, they do not do it on a daily basis. Following these steps exactly will not be easy at first. If you do poorly on an exam, the first thing you will have to admit is that you have to do something DIFFERENT if you expect your grades to be different. A second thing you might have to admit is that you may have managed to get through high school and subsequent life without maximum efficiency in learning how to learn. Most students who do not do well are either (1) not working hard enough or (2) not working efficiently.
Go for it. Do it to it. Give me the chance to help you become all you are capable of being.