Rev 12-28-07

Link to...

• Course Goals
• Exams and Grading
• Other Expectations
• Weekly Schedule (MS Word Format)
• Taking Sides Instructions
• Handouts & Forms
• Career & Graduate School Links
• Practice Test Items for Exit Exam (Select chapter & link to Practice Test)
• Exit Exam Scores and Final Seminar Grades for Spring 2004

Required Materials:

§ PSY 4490 Student Packet (available in the Campus Bookstore)
§ Kuther, T. L. The psychology major's handbook. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
§ Slife, B. (2002). Taking sides: Clashing views on psychological issues (12^th ed.). Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin.

Optional Materials:

§ American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5^th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author.
 

Important Note: This class is designed for students who are planning to graduate as psychology majors in May or August, 2004. If you will be graduating in December, 2004, or later, the department strongly suggests you delay taking it until a subsequent semester. If you take the course prematurely, you will be unlikely to have the documents needed to complete your portfolio, which represents a major component of this course.

As a capstone experience, this course is designed to prepare you to succeed once you leave Mansfield. It offers an opportunity to reflect on what you have learned during your college career and to build career or graduate school plans for yourself. By actively investing in this class, perhaps more than in any other course, you are investing in yourself and your future. 

Goals: There are two broad goals for the psychology senior seminar: 

1. The first goal is to put a "capstone" on your education in psychology at Mansfield. This is done in two primary ways:

• You will write and present a "seminar paper" that will challenge you to examine a significant issue problem or area where a psychological approach has been applied. You may also write a paper detailing the intellectual contributions and legacy of research and scholarship pioneered by a female or ethnic psychologist.
• You will demonstrate through (a) participation in class discussions and presentations (e.g., Taking Sides debates), (b) completion of your psychology portfolio, and (c) an exit examination covering a wide range of core topics, your basic understanding of the scientific method in psychology, as well as the important psychological terms, concepts, and issues covered in your undergraduate course work.

2. A second goal of this seminar is to increase your awareness of career opportunities, and to some degree, prepare you to obtain employment or enter graduate study within the broad field of psychology and related areas of study. 

• You will complete assignments that require you to examine your strengths and weaknesses, values, and interests. 
• You will consider your potential roles as a community member and leader.
• You will develop a personal strategic plan that ideally sets a direction for your future.
• You will design your own résumé and cover letter that introduces you and your skills to a potential employer or graduate admission committee.
• Your psychology portfolio, mentioned above, will also contribute to this goal as a representation of your knowledge, your best work, and your best thinking in the major.

Examinations and Grades: You will be evaluated on a number of measures, but unlike most other courses, there will be no regular examinations in this class. (This doesn't me that you won't be working hard.) The single examination that will be given during the Final Examination Hour is an exit examination for the psychology major. It contains approximately 150 questions and covers a wide range of topics to which you have been introduced as a major.

Important Expectations and Reminders

• Graded Assignments: Failure to turn in any graded assignment on time will result in a minimum of a full grade reduction per day on that assignment.
   
• Classroom Assignments: Failure to complete, turn in, or participate in a classroom assignment on time will result in the loss of 2 points from your total each time it occurs.
   
• Rough Drafts: Failure to turn in rough drafts on time will result in a the loss of 2 points from your total each time it occurs.
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• Attendance: You are expected to come to class on time and to participate in discussions. Unexcused absences will result in a deduction of 2 points from your final total each time they occur. Any excused absence must be cleared with me in advance and will involve a make up assignment. If there is an emergency, you must let me know as soon as feasible. If class must be cancelled for any reason (e.g., a snow or ice storm), an announcement will be recorded on my office phone (570-662-4772).
   
• Academic Integrity: My expectations are consistent with the psychology department's honor code, which I encourage you to review. I expect you to be fully responsible for your own work. Any forms of cheating, plagiarizing, or representing another's work as your own are unacceptable and will result in serious sanctions, including the possibility of failing this seminar. If you have any doubt about an issue of academic integrity, I encourage you to raise the question in class or to consult with me.

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