This is an introduction to the science of human behavior and surveys topics including learning, motivation, physiological, personality, and abnormal psychology. This is basic to all succeeding courses in psychology. This is a three credit hour course.

This course is designed to provide the student with a basic understanding of Psychology and is a foundation for all succeeding Psychology courses. This course has transferability to other colleges, but it is always advisable to check with the receiving four-year school.

Required:

Required: "Essentials of Psychology: Concepts and Applications" by Nevid, Jeffrey S.
5th ed (2018) Cengage Learning
ISBN: 978-1-305-96627-7 [This is the Mindtap version and you buy an access code. You must buy the access code which includes the e-book to take this course. You may buy a tangible book that you hold in your hands but that extra expense is not required.]



A reliable home computer
Good word processing skills
Excellent communication skills on computer

Suggested:
None.

You can buy your books online at the NMJC Bookstore.

Students attending New Mexico Junior College will be evaluated according to the following grading scale:

						90 - 100%	=	A
						80 -  89%	=	B
						70 -  79%	=	C
						60 -  69%	=	D
					 	 0 -  59%	=	F

Evaluation breakdown:
You will be “offered” learning activities that add up to 100% of your course grade:

Mastery Training = 10%
Apply Psychology = 10%
Assignment/Discussion = 20%
Dealer's Choice = 10%
Quizzes = 20%
Final Exam = 30%

Mastery Training
After you study the assigned reading each week, you will participate in a programmed instruction approach that tests and builds your knowledge of core concepts from the chapter that week. You will have three attempts to take this practice quiz and I will include the highest score from these attempts towards your course grade. This is weighted to be 10% of your final course grade.

Apply Psychology
After you study the assigned reading each week, you will participate in a lab or research activity that helps to build your knowledge of core concepts from the chapter through the application of psychological ideas into your daily life. You will have three attempts at the lab activity and I will include the highest score from these attempts towards your course grade. This is weighted to be 10% of your final course grade.

Assignment/Discussion
After you study the assigned reading each week, you will do an assignment and/or participate in a discussion that helps to build your knowledge of core concepts from the chapter to the application of psychological ideas into your daily life. This is weighted to be 20% of your final course grade.

Dealers Choice
After you study the assigned reading each week, you will do further assignments, discussions, lab or research activities that help to build your knowledge of core concepts from the chapter through the application of psychological ideas into your daily life. This is weighted to be 10% of your final course grade.

Quizzes
After you study the assigned reading each week, you will do a 25 item multiple-choice quiz to assess your mastery of learning core content and skills in psychology. This is weighted to be 20% of your final course grade.

Final Exam
At the end of the course, during finals week, you will take a final exam that includes multiple-choice as well as short essay questions that assess your mastery of learning core content and skills in psychology at the end of the semester. This is weighted to be 30% of your final course grade.

Retrieving Grades from T-BirdWeb Portal
Go to the New Mexico Junior College T-BirdWeb Portal login page. Please enter your User Identification Number (ID), which is your Banner ID, and your Personal Identification Number (PIN). When finished, click Login.

Tips for Success in Online Courses:
1. Log in to class regularly.
2. Pay attention.
3. Take notes.
4. Keep up with readings and assignments.
5. Ask questions when you do not understand something.
6. Utilize your professor’s office hours and e-mail.
7. Read the text.
8. Adhere to the deadlines posted in the course outline.

New Mexico Junior College’s institutional student learning outcomes represent the knowledge and abilities developed by students attending New Mexico Junior College. Upon completion students should achieve the following learning outcomes along with specific curriculum outcomes for respective areas of study:

• Communication
• Comprehend information to summarize, analyze, evaluate, and apply to a specific situation.
• Communicate in an accurate, correct, and understandable manner.
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Define a problem and arrive at a logical solution.
• Use appropriate technology and information systems to collect, analyze, and organize information.
• Apply critical thinking, analysis, and problem solving to data.
• Self and Community
• Analyze and reflect on the ethical dimensions of legal, social, and / or scientific issues.
• Communicate an awareness of a variety of perspectives of ethical issues.
• Interact with individuals and within groups with integrity and awareness of others’ opinions, feelings and values.

This course will introduce students to the concepts, theories, significant findings, methodologies, and terminology that apply to the field of psychology.

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

1 Explain how the scientific method and psychological research methodologies are used to study the mind and behavior.

2. Recall key terms, concepts, and theories in the areas of neuroscience, learning, memory, cognition, intelligence, motivation and emotion, development, personality, health, disorders and therapies, and social psychology.

3. Explain how information provided in this course can be applied to life in the real world.

4. Identify the major theoretical schools of thought that exist in psychology as they relate to the self, the culture, and the society.

Student Requirements
If you have not already received login information for Canvas/T-BirdWeb Portal/E-mail, you will need to contact the Enrollment Management office at (575) 492-2546.

Check first-time login page for instructions at www.nmjc.edu/distancelearning/coursescourseschedules/canvasinstructions.aspx.

Canvas Assistance

• Review the Canvas Student Orientation.
• Call the Canvas helpdesk at (575) 399-2199 for assistance and have your course CRN (ex. 10023) and/or student ID number available.

You must have access, on a regular basis, to a computer that supports the Canvas minimum specifications and has an active connection to the Internet. See the minimum computer specification requirements at www.nmjc.edu/distancelearning/coursescourseschedules/Canvasinstructions.aspx.

This course is designed so that you work and learn throughout the week and do not attempt to study on just one day or night. You must decide if your life situation will allow you to do that within the time frames outlined in this course. If not I would advise you to consider re-taking this class when you have more control over your schedule.

Chapter work is due by 1159PM Sunday and no late work is accepted.

You should refer to the Announcements on an almost daily basis to stay current. It is your responsibility to keep up with all your work and the due dates.

Response Time Frames: The instructor will respond to student email within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends. Grades for the course will be posted by the end of Tuesday each week.

There is no extra credit in this class.

Students will be held responsible for the information on these pages.

Academic Honesty
Each student is expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity in online academic and professional matters. The College reserves the right to take disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal, against any student who is found guilty of academic dishonesty or otherwise fails to meet these standards. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, dishonesty in quizzes, tests, or assignments; claiming credit for work not done or done by others; and nondisclosure or misrepresentation in filling out applications or other College records. Cheating or gaining illegal information for any type of graded work is considered dishonest and will be dealt with accordingly.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information
Any student requiring special accommodations should contact the Special Needs Student Services Coordinator at (575) 492-2576 or by e-mail at krueda@nmjc.edu.

Attendance Policy and Participation Expectations
It is expected that you regularly log into class at least three times weekly and check your Canvas mail to ensure you have not missed any changes/updates. Students are expected to complete discussions/quizzes/tests/ assignments before deadlines expire.

Canvas Help
If you experience difficulty with Canvas you may reach the Canvas Helpdesk at canvashelpdesk@nmjc.edu, or by calling the 24 hour helpdesk phone at (575) 399-2199.

Netiquette
The professor is responsible for monitoring and evaluating student conduct and student behavior within the Canvas course. By registering for this class, the student is assumed to have entered into an agreement with New Mexico Junior College and the professor to log into the class regularly and to behave in an appropriate manner at all times. Disruptive behavior may result in the student being removed from the class and dropped for the semester. For comprehensive information on the common rules of netiquette and other online issues, please review the NMJC Online Student Handbook.

Online Learning Environment
By participating in an online class, you undertake responsibility for your own progress and time management.

• Pay attention to deadlines and do not forget them (keep a calendar if it helps).
• Carefully read and understand all assignments.
• Complete assignments according to posted instructions and notes. Do not just glance at an assignment before attempting to complete it (this is likely to result in a poor grade).
• Questions may be posed for clarification in the class discussion area or by sending an e-mail to your instructor.

Plagiarism
Offering the work of another as one’s own, without proper acknowledgment, is plagiarism; therefore, any student who fails to give credit for quotations or essentially identical expression of material taken from books, encyclopedias, magazines and other reference works, or from the themes, reports, or other writings of a fellow student, is guilty of plagiarism. Plagiarism violates the academic honesty policy and is considered cheating.

Tutoring Assistance
Free tutoring services are available to all NMJC students through Brainfuse and the Academic Success Center located at the Pannell Library on the 1st floor.

Withdrawal Policy
The instructor has the right to drop any student who has failed to log on to Canvas for two weeks or more, but it is not guaranteed that the instructor will drop you. If the student chooses to stop attending a class, he/she should withdraw from the class by accessing your student account in the T-Bird Web Portal at www.nmjc.edu, or submitting the required paperwork to the Registrar’s Office by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 20, 2018. Failure to withdraw yourself from a course by this date may result in your receiving an “F” in the course. All students are encouraged to discuss their class status with the professor prior to withdrawing from the class.