DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 234  

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Phone: 7411  Instructor's Hours.

My posted office hours which are: T or R 10:30 - 11:30. I am usually in my office by 7:30, occasionally as early as 7 and sometimes as late as 9. I leave for home about 5, occasionally about 4, and sometimes as late as 10 or even later. I am usually here in my office everyday, unless I am in class, in the library, in the Market Place eating, in a meeting, in the lab room, in which cases I am not there. What I am trying to express is that schedules are never simple and that things come up so that you won't always find me in my office waiting for you to appear, but if you find me in my office, I will be happy to meet with you unless I am working on something to meet a deadline. If you need to see me, I suggest that you see me after class or send me an email message with times you are available and I will arrange a time to meet with you.  I am very good at returning email. My email address is dick@gac.edu. Please do NOT leave a voice mail message requesting me to return your call--I won't. 

Attendance.
I take attendance each day because it helps me to learn your names, and I expect that you will be there. Those who are present every day will get a 5 point bonus at the end of the course. Those who miss just 1 class receive a 4 points bonus and those who miss 2 classes, 3 points. If you miss 5 classes you are ineligible for extra-credit projects. Missing 8 or more classes entails an automatic deduction of 2 points for each class you miss, and it would not be wise to request future letters of recommendation.

Assignments. 
It is important that you complete the reading assignments before we discuss those topics in class.  This will allow you to derive the greatest possible benefit from both the lectures and the text. In addition, your reading of the text may suggest questions that you might want to bring up in class. You should expect that there will be material from the textbook included in exams that was not covered in class, as well as material from the lectures that was not be covered in the textbook.  In addition, there may be additional assignments that I will give in class and you are responsible for knowing about them, even if you are not in class the day they are given.  It is likely that some of the assignments in the syllabus will be changed.

Written Assignments, Labs and Quizzes.
Computer labs will be assigned at various times during the semester.  They will usually consist of completing psychological tests on the computer that purport to measure various constructs of importance in developmental psychology.  I believe first hand experience with these measures gives a student a better idea of the nature of psychological measurement and the need to be cautious in making conclusions. 

Written Assigments
At times I may assign Web articles for you to read on a topic that is currently newsworthy and to which I would like you to respond.  Your response should contain evidence of cogent thinking about the article, or I may request that you write a report on a particular subject.  Your response should be written in an email and should be sent to psy100dm@gac.edu. Do not send your response as an attachment. To receive credit for your response, I must receive it by the day they are due.  If the response is related to a discussion we will have in class you must attend class on that day to be given credit for your response.

Instructions for accessing lab exercises:
Lab exercises must be completed in SSC27, otherwise it will not send me a notice that you have completed the exercise. Go to room SSC27 and sign on in the usual way with your username and password. Click on the exercise you want to complete. Download the file to the desktop and then double click on it. Follow the instructions and it should run with no problem. Let me know if it does not work for you.

Quizzes:
Quizzes on chapters in the textbook are assigned on a regular basis and can be taken on the Moodle site for this class. You will have three opportunities to take the quiz and you will be awarded the highest score of the three. Be sure to note the due date.

Late Assignments:
Be sure to finish your assignments on the day they are due. Late assignments (quizzes, labs) will automatically be docked 20%. If you miss a scheduled exam, a makeup will be given at the instructor's convenience. Incompletes for the course can only be granted for medical emergencies. 

Exams and Grading.
There will be four exams given during the semester. Eighty percent of your grade will be based on the total number of points received on these exams, and 20 percent will be based on responses to articles, quizzes and lab exercises.  Your final grade will be based on the cumulative total of all of these. For example, all students who have a point total 96% of the top score will receive an A. Exam scores will be sent by Email listed by ID number. If you would prefer that I do not post your score this way you should inform me ASAP.

Extra Credit.
It is possible to complete a project that earns a student extra-credit in the course.  Students who wish to do so must not miss class five or more times during the semester.  Extra credit projects are to take the form of an observational study or simple experiment. If you plan do this it is expected that you will do library resarch of the problem and discuss your proposal with me before MID-BREAK.  Proposals after this date will not be accepted. The primary reason for this extra credit option is not to raise a student's grade but to give the motivated student an opportunity to explore facets of developmental in which they may be especially interested.

If you are a student who is attentive and who asks questions, or contributes in class regularly it will probably stand out in my mind when I add your point totals up.

Policy on academic dishonesty. 
I hope that I will not have to deal with academic dishonesty but you should know that any such transgression will be dealt with severely. It should be obvious that cheating on exams is dishonest, but it is also dishonest to copy another student's work, or represent someone else's work as your own, or to represent that you have completed work when that is not the case. Sanctions will include failing this course and a referral to the Associate Dean of the college.