PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
PPE 2001: online
Fall Semester, 2017
“Character is the most precious gift of education”
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Professor:
Shyam Seetharaman, Ph.D.
Email:
Class Time: online
Class Location: N/A
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REQUIRED TEXT: Frager, R., Fadiman, J.. Personality and Personal Growth (7th edition)
(ISBN: 0205957889)
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Personality Development is a course designed to familiarize students with various forms of cultural and scientific approaches to the study of personality.
· Demonstrate knowledge of the historical roots of the study of personality.
· Demonstrate knowledge of research methods and contributors to the field of personality development used in psychology.
· Demonstrate knowledge of self as both a biological and social organism.
· Demonstrate knowledge of universal stages of personality as they apply to culture and the study of individual differences.
· Demonstrate knowledge of the effects of ethnicity, age, and/or gender, and/or race on psychological and personality development functioning.
FORMAT:
This course will be presented in lecture format, in an online context. In order to facilitate your understanding of the lecture material, you are required to read all assigned material before the assigned reading (see schedule at end of syllabus).
ACTIVE PARTICIPATION POLICY
Active participation is an essential part of the learning experience, and is expected in this class.
Without regular participation, it is unlikely that you will be able to pass this class.
Attendance will be taken at the start of each class. To assess active participation, you will
be completing 8 discussion posts via discussion board on My Courses. These will be discussion
topics that I will introduce at the beginning of each week/chapter (see below on discussion
topics section).
To be considered as Actively Participating you can miss no more than 2 discussion postings. If a student misses more than four class meetings, he or she will be considered as Not Actively Participating. Additionally, if you fail to complete 2 homework assignments, this will also be considered as not actively participating.
The last day a student can voluntarily withdraw from the class (grade of W) is 10/20
I will verify that students are in attendance during the first two weeks of class. (Defined as being present in class and. Students classified as “No Show” for both of the first two weeks will be administratively withdrawn.
Immediately following the 60% point of the term, I will verify which students are actively participating in class. Students classified as not meeting the criteria for active class participation will be administratively withdrawn with a “WF.” Should a student stop actively participating following this date, he or she will receive a grade of “F” at the end of the semester. Students will be able to withdraw themselves at any time during the term. However, requests submitted after the 60% deadline will result in a “WF.” Students and instructors will automatically receive an email notification through their SPC email address whenever a withdrawal occurs.
Matters of Civility and Respect:
I strive to ensure the classroom affords a safe environment where every student feels he or she may share their ideas or voice their opinions. By the nature of many of the topics we address over the course of the semester, controversy may arise. I welcome the discussion and academic exploration of inherently sensitive and controversial issues in this classroom. I insist, however, students demonstrate personal respect for all others in the classroom and state sensitive subject matter in a way that reflects maturity and respect to other students on topics such as race, culture, gender, or sexual orientation.
I understanding obtaining a college education represents a serious challenge for many students that go beyond the rigors of the curriculum. I respect the personal sacrifices students make in choosing to take on the challenges of a college education. Thus, you can expect I will ensure our discussions and assigned readings are relevant to the course objectives; I will ensure discussions don’t wander far off the topic at hand; I’ll make every effort to make myself available to communicate with you outside of class; assignments are graded fairly, consistently, and are returned promptly (typically next class for tests and one week for essays/discussion posts).
OFFICE HOURS:
If you have any questions regarding your progress, or need help of any kind, please let me know. I will work with your schedule to provide the help you need. Please email me to schedule a time to speak either on the phone or via email. Please notify me at least 24 hrs in advance if you want to schedule an appt with me.
For an online course, it is critical that you regularly check your My Courses inbox (I would check it every time you logon to a computer, if I were you). I will be providing regular updates regarding the syllabus, course scheduling, reminders, tips about assignments etc.
HOMEWORK (10 points each)
During the semester, there will be 5 assigned homework assignments. These will be in multiple choice format and will cover topics discussed up to that point in the semester. These assignments will be submitted online via My Courses. I WILL NOT ALLOW MAKEUPS OR LATE SUBMISSIONS OF HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS. It is YOUR responsibility to keep track of the due dates. The homeworks are due by 11:30pm on the due date (see end of syllabus for course schedule).
DISCUSSION POSTS (20 points each)
For each chapter, I will post a discussion topic on My Courses (8 total), which you will be required to respond to. Additionally, you will be required to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts per week. The discussion topic will be posted a week prior to the deadline for the particular assignment (see end of syllabus for the schedule of due dates for the discussion posts). The discussions are due at 11:30pm on the due date specified on the schedule posted at the end of the syllabus. The minimum requirement for each discussion post is 200 words. I CANNOT ACCEPT LATE SUBMISSIONS. Each discussion question will cover topics discussed for each chapter specified in the schedule at the end of the syllabus. Here is an overview:
Discussion 1: Chapter 1
Discussion 2: Chapter 6
Discussion 3: Chapter 7
Discussion 4: Chapter 9
Discussion 5: Chapter 12
Discussion 6: Chapter 13
Discussion 7: Chapter 14
Discussion 8: Chapter 15
LEARNING SUPPORT REQUIREMENT EXTRA CREDIT (5 points each up to 25 points)
It is imperative to your success that you continue to work outside of the classroom utilizing outside resources, whether you are doing well or not so well in the course. To enhance your motivation, you are required to complete a learning support requirement. You have the option to visit one of the campus tutoring centers, the writing lab, learning support commons, or my office hours for outside class support. Additionally, you can get help from me via email/phone which will also count towards extra credit. Another useful tool offered by SPC is Smart Thinking (an online tool for getting help with your essays, for example). To show proof of out of class support (if it is not me), take a picture of a form signed or printed by a tutor etc. and submit the picture to a dropbox that I will post for you in order to help me keep track of the points/submissions. Keep in mind that this help must be from someone affiliated with SPC (myself, SPC tutor, Smart Thinking etc.). If you are not sure about this requirement, please let me know. You have the option of gaining extra credit (up to 25 points- you will get 5 points per visit). For This requirement must be met by the deadline specified on the syllabus schedule (see schedule near end of this document)
EXAMINATIONS (40 points each)
There will be 4 online non-cumulative examinations. The exams will be in multiple choice format and will consist of 40 questions worth 1 pt. each. The questions will be drawn from the textbook and lecture notes. The final exam will cover all topics discussed after the 4th exam (i.e. the last exam is not cumulative). No exam grade will be dropped. The exams will be due by 11:30pm on the due date specified at the end of the syllabus. My advice for studying is to read the book, look over the class notes posted, go over the answers to the exam review questions and to participate in class by answering the essay questions as thoroughly as possible. These all will be good preparation for the Exams.
EXAM REVIEWS
As noted on the syllabus, I will also post exam review notes, along with the answers to the questions, as a study tool for your exams. My advice is that you try the questions on your own first, before looking at the answers!
EXAM MAKE-UP POLICY:
If you miss an exam, you will be given the opportunity to take a make-up exam during finals week ONLY. The make-up exam will be entirely essay format. A make-up exam can only be scheduled with a valid, documented excuse. Not being adequately prepared to take an exam during the designated time is not a valid reason for wanting a make-up. A make-up exam can be arranged if you contact me BEFORE the class meeting following the regularly scheduled exam to arrange the make-up exam time during finals week. Otherwise, you will automatically receive a zero for the exam and be unable to make it up.
GRADING:
Your cumulative grade will be calculated using the following point distributions. There will be no adjustments (i.e. “curving”) of the cutoff points.
4 EXAMS 40 points each
4 Quizzes 10 points each
8 Discussions 20 points each
TOTAL COURSE POINTS = 420
LEARNING SUPPORT up to 25 points total extra credit
**To get your total percentage: Add up your total points and divide by 420**
Your final letter grade will be calculated using the following percentage scale:
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A 89.5-100
B 79.5-89.4
C 69.5-79.4
D 59.5-69.4
F < 59.5
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ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
Exams, papers, assignments, quizzes and any other activity conducted during this course are designed to increase and/or test your understanding of the information. Academic dishonesty is harmful to students, instructors, the university and society at large. Cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty, as well as disruption of the academic process, will not be tolerated. Many different actions constitute academic dishonesty. The following are some examples that illustrate such dishonesty. Keep in mind, however, that this is not a complete list, and ignorance about other examples is not an excuse for dishonesty.
· Cheating on exams/quizzes (e.g., illicitly using notes or other sources of information while taking an exam/quiz, obtaining information about the exam/quiz prior to the time it is given, copying answers from another student, having another person take the exam for you, changing answers on an exam that has been graded and returned by the instructor)
Cheating is defined, in part, as the unauthorized granting or receiving of aid during the prescribed period of a course graded exercise: Students may not consult written materials such as notes or books, may not look at the paper of another student, nor consult orally with any other student taking the same test; asking another person to take an examination in his/her place; taking an examination for or in place of another student…; stealing, borrowing, buying, or disseminating tests, answer keys or other examination material as officially authorized.
· Plagiarizing (e.g., presenting as your own some or all of the work of others without appropriate attributions or citations of your source(s), paying someone to write your paper, copying all or part of someone else’s paper)
Plagiarism is defined as “literary theft” and consists of the unattributed quotation of the exact words of a published text, or the unattributed borrowing of original ideas by paraphrase from a published text. On written papers for which the student employs information gathered from books, articles, web sites, or oral sources, each direct quotation, as well as ideas and facts that are not generally known to the public at large, or the form, structure, or style of a secondary source must be attributed to its author by means of the appropriate citation procedure. Only widely known facts and first-hand thoughts and observations original to the student do not require citations. Citations may be made in footnotes or within the body of the text. Plagiarism also consists of passing off as one’s own segments or the total of another person’s work.
· Providing false excuses (e.g., lying about why one cannot take an exam or why an assignment is late, forging or altering a legal or medical excuse)
· Falsifying information (e.g., making up or altering data, making up content for a paper, submitting an in-class assignment for a student who is absent, presenting information drawn from a review or abstract as if you have read the original source)
· Colluding on an assignment (e.g., working with other students on an assignment without the instructor’s approval)
· Using an assignment for multiple classes (e.g., submitting a new or previous paper to more than one course without the instructor’s approval)