PSYC 1006 - Writing in The Sciences
Class Meeting: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 1:10 pm - 2:10 pm
March 4 - March 29
Office: 306 Callaway Academic Building
Available by appointment. See the scheduler to the right to make an appointment. Check the locator on my door if you stop by my office and would like to know if I'm available.
Email: ssthomas@lagrange.edu
(use subject: PSYC 1006)
Phone: 706-880-8298
Twitter: @SocialPsySteph (Class hashtag: #PSYC1006)
Please see the course calendar at the bottom of the page for assignment dates.
All students enrolled for Spring 2019 should complete the following survey. All surveys should be completed by Friday, March 8th at 12:00 pm. This survey will count as your first participation points for the course.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychological Sciences
LaGrange College
Text
Sternberg, R. J., & Sternberg, K. (2017). The psychologist's companion for undergraduates: A guide to success for college students. Cambridge University Press.
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Baldwin, S. A. (2018). Writing your psychology research paper. American Psychological Association. Washington, D. C.
Students may also be required to read several journal articles and book excerpts, all of which will be provided in a digital format via Connect.
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Course Description and Objectives
This course will teach students to effectively write papers in a scientific style. Students will learn how to construct a scientific paper including a literature review, research paper, and poster from the stage of generating an idea through polishing the product for distribution. This will include discussion of writing style, grammar usage, paraphrasing, and other common techniques for writing in the sciences.
Course Requirements
Attendance
Attendance is crucial to be successful in this course. Missing just one day can put you far behind on material. Thus, attending class is a required component of this course and will contribute to your grade. Being on time is also important in order to not disrupt the class and ensure you have received all of the information. Therefore, students that are 15 minutes or more late for class will be counted as absent for the day and will not receive attendance points.
You are responsible for all content covered in class that does not appear in the textbook. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed from a classmate. I am happy to answer specific questions about material after you have obtained materials from a classmate, but I will not re-give lectures to students who missed class. I do not send slides or materials to students by email.
Early in the semester, you should get contact information from one or more of your classmates and set up a "buddy system" for the purposes of letting you know what was covered in class, any changes to the course outline (including information regarding deadlines for various assignments), and giving you copies of any handouts in you should miss a class session.
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If you are absent, you will have an opportunity to have the absence erased and still earn your attendance points by completing the following. You must 1. Fill out an absence form (found on Connect) and turn it in to me ASAP and at least by the next day you are in class. You can drop this off at my office or bring it to the next class meeting 2. Meet with a fellow classmate to get the notes that you missed. After your meeting, you should send an email to me (with your classmate CCed) in which you discuss the progress made in your meeting and any remaining questions. 3. Complete the required in-class work for the day and any other makeup work that is assigned. After receiving your absence form I will email you indicating what specific work you should complete to makeup for your absence.
Because this class only meets for 4 weeks, attendance is crucial. Therefore, if you have three or more unexcused and/or unmade-up absences during the course, you will fail the course. Having 3 absences is a full week of class and thus would mean that you had been absent for 25% of the course. Absences that you have been made-up using the above procedure will not be counted towards this total. In addition, only 1 undocumented excused absence will be accepted during the course. After that, all other absences require documentation to be considered excused.
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If you achieve perfect attendance during the course, you will earn extra credit points added to your grade. Absences that are made-up will not count against perfect attendance. Perfect attendance is defined as achieving all of the available attendance points for the entire semester.
Class Participation and Assignments
Another contribution to your overall grade will be your participation in active learning exercises such as in-class activities, in-class discussions, completion of personality scales, doing fun field experiments outside of class, and tweeting about class topics, and so on. These activities are designed to help you learn concepts in an active and memorable manner. By participating in these active learning exercises, you will learn much more (and have more fun) than would be possible if this class consisted solely of lectures and multiple choice tests. These activities will often not be announced in advance.
Twitter: For some of the in-class assignments we will be using Twitter. Therefore, students should set up a Twitter account if they do not already have one. Students will also need to approve follow requests from the instructor for this course; if students would prefer to set up an account specifically for this course (instead of using their personal account), that is perfectly acceptable, and in most cases, highly recommended. The Twitter participation will occur in-class, therefore, students must have a device which can access Twitter with them in class (e.g., smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc...). To get credit for these activities, you must fill out the survey (linked at the beginning of the syllabus) in which you provide the Twitter handle that you will be using for the course.
In addition, I will use Twitter to send out additional reminders and announcements (in addition to what I post on Connect). Students are strongly encouraged to follow me to easily receive this information. When I post information relevant to our class, I will use #PSYC1101. I encourage students that have questions or comments related to class to post using this # as well or send me a direct tweet. I will also post a list of all students Twitter handles on Blackboard (for those students who have indicated they are willing to share this information) so that students may connect using Twitter. This offers an easy way to ask questions of other students, post information relevant to the class, set up group study sessions, etc...
Final Project
All students will complete a final project for the course. This final project is meant to help the student compile all of the knowledge and information they have gained over the course of the semester. This portfolio is intended to be a document that students keep and use as a reference tool for scientific writing help throughout their career.
No late work will be accepted and papers must be submitted as a hard copy (no electronic copies will be accepted). Students will NOT have to write a paper for this project.
More information can be found on Connect.
Overall Grading
The different types of assignments that you will encounter in this class will each contribute a unique amount of weight towards your final grade in the class. The following table lists the percent of your final grade that will come from each of the designated types of assignments. Note: an average grade of D or F on exams may lead to a final grade of D or F in the course.
The following factors may also affect a student's grade:
Grades may also reflect class behavior, and those students who behave in a way deemed disruptive by the instructor may have their grades reduced and/or be referred to Student Judiciaries. Likewise, students that are active in class discussion may have their grades increased.
Academic misconduct. Any student who cheats or plagiarizes will be given a grade of “F” for the course and will be referred to Student Judiciaries. Cheating includes, but is not limited to: wearing earphones or hats to the test session, attempting to or leaving the classroom with a copy of the test or answer sheet, looking at another student’s test or answer sheet, or using a phone during the exam period. Plagiarism involves any attempt to pass off work from another source as your own. This applies to both tests and assignments.
Maintaining a Good Learning Environment in the Classroom
Electronic Devices
Please silence your phone and put it away during class. Yes, I can see you texting, tweeting, and snapping even when you put your phone under the desk or try to hide it on your desk. This not only distracts other students around you but also distracts me from my lecture. If I see a phone out an inappropriate time, I will call you out in front of everyone and your grade WILL be negatively impacted by repeated issues. In addition, please do not wear headphones during class. Once class begins, headphones should be removed from your head/ears and put away.
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That said, I would like for you to bring a mobile device/tablet/laptop to class as we will use them often for participation via Twitter and polling. In addition, much of class time will involve the use of a laptop. Thus, if you have one, you are encouraged to bring it to class. If you do not have a laptop or prefer to not bring it to class, one will be provided by the library when necessary for the class.
In order to encourage correct behavior regarding electronic devices in the course, if the class can go the entire semester without the professor reprimanding a student for inappropriate electronic device usage, then ALL students in the class will receive 2 points of extra credit added to their grade. However, each time the professor must reprimand a student for using a cell phone during class or being off task while on a computer, then the entire class loses one of these points.
I will use Twitter to send out additional reminders and announcements (in addition to what I post on Connect). Students are strongly encouraged to follow me to easily receive this information. When I post information relevant to students in this course I will use #PSYC2210. I encourage students that have questions or comments related to class to post using this # as well or send me a direct tweet. I will also post a list of all students Twitter handles on Connect (for those students who have indicated they are willing to share this information) so that students may connect using Twitter. This offers an easy way to ask questions of other students, post information relevant to the class, set up group work sessions, etc...
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Laptops
Laptops are required for class. If you don't have one, please speak with the professor ASAP at the beginning of the course. Students will be told in advance when they should bring their laptops to class.
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Please use polite email etiquette and don't email me about these issues or your email may be deleted. In general, my email responses will be very short (1-sentence). I am not trying to be rude, just efficient as I get many emails in a day. If your question requires a lengthy response, I would suggest scheduling a meeting with me instead. For all email responses, please permit at least 24 hours before expecting a response (e.g., you are unlikely to get a response to your email the night before an exam). In general, emails may not be answered over the weekend, holidays, or after business hours.
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Finding Errors
To encourage the reading of all class materials, I offer extra credit to the first person to notice errors in any class documents. If you spot an error (this can be as simple as a misplaced comma or a misspelled word), please send me an email with a screenshot and explanation of the error. Each found error will earn you extra credit towards the Participation portion of your grade. This not only encourages deep reading and attention to all class materials but ensures that the class materials are continually improving.
Other Administrative Details
All papers submitted in this class should follow APA format and the paper formatting guidelines found here.
The course outline is a guide. The coverage of certain topics or participation in class activities may take more time or less time than was originally expected. The instructor reserves the right to alter the course outline at any time. Students will be notified in class and/or by email of any changes in the course outline.
In the case of an emergency such as severe weather or an influenza or zombie outbreak, I may be obliged to make changes to course content, assignments, or other substantive elements of the class.
The syllabus may be corrected or amended if errors or omissions are discovered after the syllabus is posted. Corrections will be posted to the course Connect site and/or the instructor's Twitter page.
ADA Statement: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, LaGrange College consistently undertakes to provide, by every reasonable effort, assistance and appropriate accommodations to qualified students with disabilities. If you have a disability, please contact Brandi Cameron, Coordinator of Learning Disability Support Services at 706-880-8269. She is located in Smith Hall in room 121. Students with documented accommodations that they wish to utilize must speak with the instructor & present documentation by the end of the 2nd week of the semester.
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Acts of academic misconduct (e.g. cheating, plagiarism) may result in course failure and will result in referral to the Honor Council. No electronic devices may be on a student's person, out, or in use during exams or other graded activities. If that rule is violated, it will be assumed that the device is used for cheating. The matter will be referred to the Honor Council. Unless told otherwise by the instructor, assume that all graded work uses only the student's brainpower and is closed book/notes/internet and is an individual assignment. During exams and graded activities, students may only have a pencil and an eraser on the table top (aside from any materials provided by the instructor). During exams, all belongings should be closed and stowed under the table. All notes/books must be in a zipped bag and placed under the table. You must turn in your exam if you leave the room.
Honor Code: “As a member of the student body of LaGrange College, I confirm my commitment to the ideals of civility, diversity, service, and excellence. Recognizing the significance of personal integrity in establishing these ideals within our community, I pledge that I will not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate these unethical behaviors in others.”
All tests, papers, etc... will be destroyed during week 5 of the following semester. Any questions regarding grades or assignments must be addressed before that time.
You are required to get permission from the instructor if you wish to audio record, video record, or take pictures of a class.
Important information from the instructor will be sent to student's via their LaGrange email account or via announcements within the Connect course site. Students are responsible for all messages and materials sent via these routes. Reminders and hints may also be sent via the instructor's Twitter account. Any changes to course policy, dates, or assignments will also be sent via email or Connect.
DropGuard: The faculty, staff, and administration at LaGrange College want students to succeed in every aspect of their college experience. One of the tools we use to help us in that process is called DropGuard. The DropGuard system allows faculty and staff members to enter information when they are concerned about students – perhaps because of absences from class or other activities, or because of irregular performance, and so on. If there are several indications that things may not be going well for a student, it’s possible that the student will be contacted by their advisor or by another campus official. Students may receive email notifications from DropGuard when the instructor notes a concern. If a student finds themselves in a situation where they could use some additional assistance, please set up a meeting with a faculty member or academic advisor. Naturally, academic support services are readily available in PACE, Tutoring Center, the Writing Center, and in the Counseling Center (study skills, time management, etc.). If students have specific questions about DropGuard itself, please feel free to e-mail: studentsuccess@lagrange.edu.
If you ever encounter an issue with an online assignment, please email me and you MUST include a screenshot that documents your issue. Failure to follow this guideline may result in a denial of your request for late submission of the assignment. As a note, technical errors are bound to occur, therefore, it is HIGHLY recommended that you do not wait until the last minute to complete assignments.
Responsible Employee Reporting Obligation: All faculty and staff share in the responsibility to create a safe learning environment for all students and for the campus as a whole. As members of the campus community, all faculty and staff (other than those designated as confidential reporters) are designated as responsible employees and therefore have the duty to report any instances of sexual harassment, sexual violence and/or other forms of prohibited discrimination. If a student would prefer to share information about sexual harassment, sexual violence or discrimination with a confidential employee who does not have this reporting responsibility, a list of those individuals can be found at http://www.lagrange.edu/about/security/sexual-harassment-violence.html.
*Instructor reserves right to alter schedule due to any unforeseen circumstances*
Course Calendar