Course Description and Expectations
Teacher: Ann Wright
Phone: (734) 417-2988 (cell)
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: contact me for a time to meet
No calls after 9PM, but you can email or text at any time
Reading: We will be working with recorded talks and articles that we will present in class and which you will read/watch via the website. For the unit on Adolescent Development we will be reading the book Brainstorm by Dr. Dan Siegel. For the course elements covering Positive Psychology we may use content from the UC Berkely edX course The Science of Happiness.
Class Website:
psychatchs.weebly.com
Once the class membership is solidified, which may take a couple of weeks, you will begin to use the class website to get your materials. Your readings and assignments as well as links to talks will be found here. In class we will discuss and determine which course materials will also be distributed in paper form.
Teaching Team: I make use of my many friends who are colleagues in this field to help me present the materials we will cover. Peter Fleming, Director of the Pellin Institute (England) will Skype in for several weeks this fall and co-teach classes with me covering the tools of Contribution Training. Later in the term we will have presenters on several topics who will come to the classroom. I believe varied viewpoints give us a fuller picture of the field of Psychology, and hope you will enjoy these presentations. I often choose to "flip" the class by bringing thought leaders in various topics in the field via their TED Talks, RSA Animate talks or videos from their websites or online courses.
Experiential Learning: We will be using meditation exercises to facilitate self-understanding, along with some games and exercises so we can try out new ways of seeing our issues/problems and ourselves. At various points in the course we will be taking "tests" that will identify things like learning styles, brain and body dominances, Multiple Intelligences, Emotional IQ, and Core Values. The subject of the course is YOU, and on that subject you are an authority!
Project Based: There will be ongoing projects that will account for much of what you produce in this course. When covering Positive Psychology you will do a 3-4 week project to see if you can increase your sense of well being and happiness. You will be doing independent reading/viewing on areas that interest you. You will be learning about how you operate within your own personal psychology and taking tests and then sharing some of those results with me and sometimes the class. The final project offers you a choice of either presenting a creative piece of work showing your understanding of one or more of the concepts we will be exploring, or it will be a "self portrait" of you as you have learned about yourself over the term. During the second half of the semester some class periods will be dedicated to developing these projects.
Weekly Pattern: Our classes will follow a pattern that assigns some days to cognitive learning and others to experiential learning and testing. During the first month of class Fridays will be used to learn some tools for understanding ourselves and for dealing with our relationships with people. Mondays will be devoted to themes about Positive Psychology and the Happiness Project. Wednesdays will involve various forms of experiential learning. The website Syllabus pages should let you know what to expect each day.
Remember to make your entries to Moodle every week. I have no control over the Moodle program, so it is up to you to keep up. Failure to make Moodle entries effects your grade and I can do nothing to reverse that!
Phone: (734) 417-2988 (cell)
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: contact me for a time to meet
No calls after 9PM, but you can email or text at any time
Reading: We will be working with recorded talks and articles that we will present in class and which you will read/watch via the website. For the unit on Adolescent Development we will be reading the book Brainstorm by Dr. Dan Siegel. For the course elements covering Positive Psychology we may use content from the UC Berkely edX course The Science of Happiness.
Class Website:
psychatchs.weebly.com
Once the class membership is solidified, which may take a couple of weeks, you will begin to use the class website to get your materials. Your readings and assignments as well as links to talks will be found here. In class we will discuss and determine which course materials will also be distributed in paper form.
Teaching Team: I make use of my many friends who are colleagues in this field to help me present the materials we will cover. Peter Fleming, Director of the Pellin Institute (England) will Skype in for several weeks this fall and co-teach classes with me covering the tools of Contribution Training. Later in the term we will have presenters on several topics who will come to the classroom. I believe varied viewpoints give us a fuller picture of the field of Psychology, and hope you will enjoy these presentations. I often choose to "flip" the class by bringing thought leaders in various topics in the field via their TED Talks, RSA Animate talks or videos from their websites or online courses.
Experiential Learning: We will be using meditation exercises to facilitate self-understanding, along with some games and exercises so we can try out new ways of seeing our issues/problems and ourselves. At various points in the course we will be taking "tests" that will identify things like learning styles, brain and body dominances, Multiple Intelligences, Emotional IQ, and Core Values. The subject of the course is YOU, and on that subject you are an authority!
Project Based: There will be ongoing projects that will account for much of what you produce in this course. When covering Positive Psychology you will do a 3-4 week project to see if you can increase your sense of well being and happiness. You will be doing independent reading/viewing on areas that interest you. You will be learning about how you operate within your own personal psychology and taking tests and then sharing some of those results with me and sometimes the class. The final project offers you a choice of either presenting a creative piece of work showing your understanding of one or more of the concepts we will be exploring, or it will be a "self portrait" of you as you have learned about yourself over the term. During the second half of the semester some class periods will be dedicated to developing these projects.
Weekly Pattern: Our classes will follow a pattern that assigns some days to cognitive learning and others to experiential learning and testing. During the first month of class Fridays will be used to learn some tools for understanding ourselves and for dealing with our relationships with people. Mondays will be devoted to themes about Positive Psychology and the Happiness Project. Wednesdays will involve various forms of experiential learning. The website Syllabus pages should let you know what to expect each day.
Remember to make your entries to Moodle every week. I have no control over the Moodle program, so it is up to you to keep up. Failure to make Moodle entries effects your grade and I can do nothing to reverse that!
Credit and Grading Guidelines:
- The course is offered for .5 credits. You will receive points for attendance, class participation and completion of weekly assignment sheets and assigned readings. (Those elements add up to 35% of your grade).
- You will be keeping a personal (i.e. private) journal that will account for 25% of your grade in the course. I will need to see that you are writing in it, but you may ask me for confidentiality about the content for elements that you don't want me to read and comment on. This journal is also where you can keep your class notes. I will collect those journals every 2-3 weeks on a Friday and return them the following Monday with my comments. This is how I monitor how well I am doing in getting the concepts across clearly to you.
- This is a hands-on learning environment and together we will explore in reading, writings and exercises concepts and practices from several perspectives within the field of Psychology. Your writing about these experiences will be kept in the journal. (25% of the grade).
- There will be a final "creative" project to end the term. This project can be done individually or with other class members as a group project. This gives you the final 15% of your grade for the course. More on that soon.
Student Expectations:
- Students are expected to attend class regularly and to be on time. Being present is how you will learn the skills. Call, text or email me if you will be missing class. Plan to make up the class work in order to get full credit.
- I hope we will get to know one another much bettrer over the course of this term. Listen well, treat everyone in the group with respect and be willing to work cooperatively and talk through any issues that arise.
- The personal thoughts and feelings shared in this class will stay in the class. You are free to discuss any of the concepts and tools you learn here with anyone you choose, but all of the personal stories and pieces of information shared in this class are private. In order to feel safe here, we have to honor this rule of confidentiality.
- In service to the feeling of safety, "No"or "I'd rather not say" is always an acceptable answer to any personal question asked of you in this room.
- Come prepared for each class with the material from previous classes. We will often be moving back and forth between concepts, and your notes and the website materials will help you with that process.
- I am accountable to you too. As the semester progresses I want to hear what you want to learn about and I will then bring new materials to class. I want you to learn concepts that help you with your life and relationships. If you need help with any of the work, please call me, email me, or best of all, come talk to me before or after class.
Thanks and let’s enjoy and learn lots together!
Ann