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Psyc 294: Positive Psychology, fall 2005 SYLLABUS Walter vom Saal

Note: there may be adjustments and changes in this syllabus. You are responsible for any changes announced in class (even if you miss a class for an excused absence).

This syllabus has been prepared for my website (noted below) and may refer to other handouts on the website. To see those handouts, go to the website and click on the link to the home page for this course.

SYLLABUS Part I: Requirements and General Information

Course: Psyc 294, section 83. Fall 2005. Dr. vom Saal. CRN #1115.

Catalog Description: This is a Special Topics course approved for an initial expermental offering. A description of the course was distributed spring 2005.

Class meeting time and place: Wednesdays, 5:30-8:15 pm, HIRC 8.

Final examination period: Wednesday, 12/14/05, 5:30-7:30 pm.

Do not register for this course if you cannot make the final exam time!

Required Text: Compton, W. C. (2005). An introduction to positive psychology. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. Selected readings also will be placed on reserve or on electronic reserve in the library.

In addition to the text(s), this course will include information and assignments presented on my website. You should be prepared to print material from the web, and you should anticipate that there may be expenses associated with that printing.

Instructor:

Walter vom Saal, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology 502 Fitzelle Hall SUNY College at Oneonta Oneonta, NY 13820-4015

office phone: 607-436-3704 Psyc. dept. office: 607-436-3223 home phone: 607-432-1316 website: http://employees.oneonta.edu/vomsaaw e-mail: see website home page

Office hours will be posted on the home page of my website.

Course description: The central purpose of this course is to introduce students to the emerging field of positive psychology. The text and readings will provide an overview of the issues, approaches, and contributions in this area. In addition, students will explore applications to their own lives.

Course goals and meta-goals: The primary goal of the course is to offer you the opportunity to learn basic information about the course material as described above. A secondary but important set of goals are what I term meta-goals, by which I mean goals that go beyond the subject matter of this particular course. My meta-goals for you include learning the following skills: listening, note-taking, reading, and studying; writing well (including correct grammar and spelling); becoming more comfortable with and more proficient with numbers and numerical analysis; thinking critically; challenging assumptions; reading and following instructions; becoming aware of cultural variations; becoming aware of (and sympathetic to) human weaknesses; and increasing your own personal self-awareness. These may be evaluated during quizzes, exams, or by other means and may form part of your grades.

General Requirements

Attendance policy: Students are expected to attend all classes. A grade for class attendance and participation will be assigned. In order for me to consider whether an absence may be excused, a written explanation with appropriate documentation must be submitted within one week of the absence. Absence from the final exam period counts as TWO absences.

If you miss a class, even for an excused absence, you are responsible for finding out about any class announcements, including those about changed requirements or due dates. Please contact a classmate or the teaching assistant regarding material you missed.

Final examination period: Final exam times for all courses are printed in the college course schedules. You should plan for these when you register for a course. Attendance at this class during the final examination period is required. If you cannot attend class during the scheduled final examination period for this course, drop the course now.

Website: You are responsible for checking the course website and the associated BlackBoard site for announcements and assignments. You should check the website on a regular basis as described in class. To access the website:
-- go to: http://employees.oneonta.edu/vomsaaw; OR
-- go to Oneonta home page, click Academics, click Faculty Web Pages, scroll down to Psychology, click Walter vom Saal; OR
-- do a Google search for Walter vom Saal (spelled correctly!).

BlackBoard: we will use BlackBoard for this course. All students should self-enroll in BlackBoard. Click the link to BlackBoard at the top of this page, log in, and then find Psyc 294/83 using the course catalog, and click the enroll button. (Note 8/22/05: I got these instructions from the course administrator, but it is not possible for me to try this myself, so please let me know if you have problems.)

E-mail: Be sure your correct e-mail is on file at the college in case I need to contact you via e-mail. See my website home page for a link to information about how to do this.

Check your e-mail on a regular basis in case there is a message from me.

If you wish to contact me by e-mail, be aware that I do not always check my e-mail every day. DO NOT submit assignments through e-mail unless you have been asked to do so by me, or have discussed it with me and received special permission to do so. In either case, you must keep a copy of any e-mail you send (and my replies) and any materials that you submit by e-mail.

Specific Course Requirements and Grading

This course will be highly interactive and based on a seminar format. Students will have high level of individual responsibility for doing the required readings, coming to class prepared to discuss those readings, and both participating in and leading class activities.

Readings and activities. Each week we will:
- read one chapter in the text;
- read one (or possibly more) outside reading(s) and/or websites to look at; and
- carry out one activity that involves exploration of one of the issues under discussion in our own personal lives.

Quizzes. There may be quizzes on the reading material in some or all classes throughout the semester.

Participation in on-line discussion groups using BlackBoard. This course will have a significant on-line component. Each week every student must post three statements on line and three comments on other student's statement using BlackBoard. The mechanics of using BlackBoard, and more detailed requirements and guidelines for good posts, will be discussed in class. The required posts are:

- one post on the required text reading;
- one post on the required outside reading and/or website;
- one post on the activity;
- one comment on someone else's post on the required text reading;
- one comment on someone else's post on the required outside reading/website;
- one comment on someone else's post on the activity

The three initial posts are due Monday 8 am each week.

The three comments are due Wednesday 8 am each week.

You must keep copies of all significant posts (all your initial posts and any significant commentaries on other students' posts) in a single Microsoft Word file to be submitted at the end of the semester.

Grading of on-line forum contributions will be described in class; it will be based on my evaluation of your contributions, plus a chart you must personally maintain of your contributions, plus a system of "bonus points" to be assigned by classmmates.

Seminar planning and leadership. Each student will participate in two different student teams that will plan and lead two class discussions on chapter topics during the course of the semester. The instructor will provide guidance for how this is to be done. Responsibilities may include some or all of the following:
- select an appropriate outside reading and/or website for the topic;
- write up the class reading/website assignment along with possible thought or discussion questions;
- select an appopriate outside activity for the topic;
- assign other advance homework for that topic if appopriate;
- based on the above, post initial instructions on the topic for the BlackBoard discussion forums;
- plan discussion questions and activities for the day we have our class on that topic;
- lead the class on that topic;
- before or after the class, write an "executive summary" of the class BlackBoard discussion forums on the topic.

Group work. Some of the work in this class will be done in pairs or small groups as described above. You should be prepared for group work, and understand that some portion of your grade for the course will depend on the quality of work produced by the group or groups that you work with.

Personal journal. Each student will keep a personal journal throughout the semester. At a minimum, this will involve two entries per week that relate the topics under discussion to the student's personal life. Additional details and guidelines will be given in class. The journal will also contain a "final entry" addressing the following questions:
- what might a neutral reader conclude about the person writing this journal?
- what did I learn about each of the following: the topics of the course; other people; myself (strengths and weaknesses; likes and dislikes).

The journal must be submitted in the last class before the final examination period. It may be edited before submission. More details will be given in class.

Term paper. This will be a term paper on a topic related to the class that is individually selected. The topic must be approved by the instructor. Additional guidelines will be given. See the handout on class dates and topics for due dates regarding this assignment. [Note: we will discuss an alternative possible assignment in class.]

Additional options: Students desiring to replace or supplement the standard course requirements or to submit additional evidence of learning may submit a written proposal before the due date shown on the schedule of dates. Proposals will not be accepted past the due date. Approval of proposals will be based on the quality of the written proposal (including quality of presentation, neatness, style, grammar, etc.) and evidence that the student is capable of independent work.

Grading procedure: The grade will be based roughly on the following weightings:

course component:	points:
Quizzes on readings	10
Participation in on-line discussions	20
Seminar planning and leadership	20
Personal journal	20
Term paper	20
Class participation and attendance	10
TOTAL	100

Note: The "points" shown for each component are a rough approximation of the relative weightings to be given to various course requirements. The final course grade will be based on my best overall professional judgment about how you performed in the course and what you learned, and will not be bound by a rigid weighting of individual components. In particular, unusually good or unusually poor performance in any component may increase the weighting of that component.

Grading Scale:

Points to letter grade:			letter grade to points:
0.00 - 59.9=E	80.0 - 82.9 =B-		E = 0	B- =82
60.0 - 62.9 =D-	83.0 - 86.9 =B		D- = 62	B = 85
63.0 - 66.9 =D	87.0 - 89.9 =B+		D = 65	B+ = 88
67.0 - 69.9 =D+	90.0 - 92.9 =A-		D+ = 68	A- = 92
70.0 - 72.9 =C-	93.0 - 96.9 =A		C- = 72	A = 95
73.0 - 76.9 =C	97.0 - 99.9 =A+		C = 75	A+ = 98
77.0 - 79.9 =C+			C+ = 78

Lateness policy: Except in the case of excused absences, late homework assigned in preparation for specific classes will not be accepted and will receive a failing grade; missed quizzes will receive a failing grade; and all other work will receive a penalty of one letter grade for each calendar day late. Late posts to the on-line discussion groups will not be accepted. In the case of excused absences, homework may be submitted late, and quizzes will be omitted.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL WORK SUBMITTED: All work submitted for this course must be stapled (not paper-clipped!) and must have the following information as high as possible at the top of the first sheet:

Psyc 294/83	[Your name]
[Title of project or requirement]	[date]

Failure to follow this requirement will result in a grade penalty and return of your work for correction and resubmission.

In addition, I will expect you to keep a copy of everything you submit, and also keep all drafts used in preparation for papers or other work submitted. Also be sure to back up your computer files on a regular basis. This is an important habit to develop. Loss of computer files will not be an acceptable justification for failure to complete assignments on time.

PROOFREAD YOUR WORK! Materials submitted should be high in quality. Read the handout on Guidelines for Writing Papers and the handout on Writing and Grammar, and be sure your written work follows those guidelines. If a paper returned to you has "C+R" written on top it means you should correct errors and resubmit. Correct the errors by writing over the original so tha I can see your corrections; DO NOT rewrite or retype the whole paper. The grade for the work will be “E” until the work is resubmitted with errors corrected.

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Related documents:

See the home page for this course on my website for related documents including key dates and deadlines, handouts, reading assignments, homework assignments, and others.

updated 8/22/05 revised 9 pm