Fall Term 2018
Syllabus
The Syllabus is a “work in progress” and it will be updated regularly.
Introduction:
The class is laid out so that some days we will focus on learning theoretical material in depth. The first Unit (roughly equivalent to the first 8 weeks of class) examines practical memes, tools and skills that will be helpful in understanding the sources for reactions/responses that arise in our personal psychology and in those who we see around us. We will be meeting with Peter Fleming via the web and he will present concepts from his perspective of Contribution Theory. I will also weave into this unit information about major theorists in the field of Psychology whose work you will encounter in University courses. In the second Unit we will work with the Neurodevelopment going on in the adolescent brain using the theoretical constructs of Dr. Dan Siegel. We will read a chapter of his book Brainstorm each week and experiment with the exercises he includes.
On other days we will be exploring different but complementary material. Unit 1: We will start off with learning a form of meditation that will allow the release of stress and an increase in creativity. We will then move into a 4-week process called The Happiness Project in which we will experiment with ways to increase our feelings of well being. Unit 2: In the second half of the semester we will use some classes to explore how we learn, how we process the world, and our relationship to people.
We will be learning new concepts in Practical Psychology each week and writing about your response to those concepts in your journals..
Near the end of 1st quarter you will hand in your Happiness Project work, which will be the major assignment for that quarter. I can tell you in advance that the final projects will be due during the last 2 weeks of class.
There is no final exam in this class. There are no graded tests at all. You will take several "tests" over the course of the term, but they will be tests about how you process information, or what you value, or what you are good at, or how you learn. The results of those tests are to help you understand yourselves better and to improve outcomes for learning anything.
I will give you a blank journal. You should bring these journals to class each week and you will often have times to write your observations of exercises, films or activities into those journals as part of class. This is where class notes will be recorded. This journal becomes your "textbook" for the course.
If you want to work with the class materials in a "paper" format rather than just access them online, I encourage you to get a notebook/binder for class materials that I will be distributing. The materials on the website and those things I give you in class replace a traditional textbook for most of the course. For the second unit on Adolescent Development, we will be using the book Brainstorm by Dr. Dan Siegel and watching recorded talks by him.
Journals are where you record the material from the course. I will collect these journals on most Fridays at the end of class. I will return these to you with comments by the following Monday so that you can use the feedback for future assignments. When we leave the first unit of the course and move into the unit on Adolescent Development the homework will be found in the book itself and your responses will be recorded in the journals.
The Final Project replaces a semester final exam and will be due at the end of the term. Description of that assignment will be posted on the website at midterm.
Introduction:
The class is laid out so that some days we will focus on learning theoretical material in depth. The first Unit (roughly equivalent to the first 8 weeks of class) examines practical memes, tools and skills that will be helpful in understanding the sources for reactions/responses that arise in our personal psychology and in those who we see around us. We will be meeting with Peter Fleming via the web and he will present concepts from his perspective of Contribution Theory. I will also weave into this unit information about major theorists in the field of Psychology whose work you will encounter in University courses. In the second Unit we will work with the Neurodevelopment going on in the adolescent brain using the theoretical constructs of Dr. Dan Siegel. We will read a chapter of his book Brainstorm each week and experiment with the exercises he includes.
On other days we will be exploring different but complementary material. Unit 1: We will start off with learning a form of meditation that will allow the release of stress and an increase in creativity. We will then move into a 4-week process called The Happiness Project in which we will experiment with ways to increase our feelings of well being. Unit 2: In the second half of the semester we will use some classes to explore how we learn, how we process the world, and our relationship to people.
We will be learning new concepts in Practical Psychology each week and writing about your response to those concepts in your journals..
Near the end of 1st quarter you will hand in your Happiness Project work, which will be the major assignment for that quarter. I can tell you in advance that the final projects will be due during the last 2 weeks of class.
There is no final exam in this class. There are no graded tests at all. You will take several "tests" over the course of the term, but they will be tests about how you process information, or what you value, or what you are good at, or how you learn. The results of those tests are to help you understand yourselves better and to improve outcomes for learning anything.
I will give you a blank journal. You should bring these journals to class each week and you will often have times to write your observations of exercises, films or activities into those journals as part of class. This is where class notes will be recorded. This journal becomes your "textbook" for the course.
If you want to work with the class materials in a "paper" format rather than just access them online, I encourage you to get a notebook/binder for class materials that I will be distributing. The materials on the website and those things I give you in class replace a traditional textbook for most of the course. For the second unit on Adolescent Development, we will be using the book Brainstorm by Dr. Dan Siegel and watching recorded talks by him.
Journals are where you record the material from the course. I will collect these journals on most Fridays at the end of class. I will return these to you with comments by the following Monday so that you can use the feedback for future assignments. When we leave the first unit of the course and move into the unit on Adolescent Development the homework will be found in the book itself and your responses will be recorded in the journals.
The Final Project replaces a semester final exam and will be due at the end of the term. Description of that assignment will be posted on the website at midterm.
Weekly Class Schedule
Unit One: Introducing "Psychology" and it's Personal Applications
Week 1: Introduction to the Course
9/4 Who are we? What is this class about? Setting the Guidelines.
9/5 Continuation of Tuesday...Plus TED talk by Ken Robinson on Creativity. Class discussion on the talk
9/7 No Class today
Week 2: Happiness and a Toolbox Approach to Skill Development
9/10 Positive Psychology: Martin Seligman TED Talk followed by writing and discussion
9/12 Awareness Continuum Meditation.
9/14 Peter Fleming, Director of the Pellin Institute, will talk to us about Three Streams in Psychological Treatment and we will all talk about these options and what form makes the most sense as a personal approach to understanding ourselves better. (We are looking for a "fit" between self and theoretical approach.)
Week 3: Tools for Understanding Emotional Reactions
9/17 Film: Happy
9/19 Peter Fleming: Starting from Strength and The Pendulum of Emotion
9/21 Shawn Achor TED Talk and introducing "The Happiness Project".
Week 4: Positive Psychology isn't just about Happiness
9/25 PERMA
9/27 Peter Fleming: Feelings of Accomplishment and how we develop Authority.
9/29 LISTENING (Carl Rogers)
Week 5:
10/1
10/3 Levels of Listening
Week 6:
10/8 TED talk Rick Hansen
10/10 Peter Fleming: Life Forces
10/12 Discussion of Life Forces and other Motivators of behavior
Week 7:
10/15 Work on The Happiness Project report
10/17 Peter Fleming : Purpose
10/19 Celebration of Happiness
Unit 2: Adolescent Neuropsychological Development and Mindfulness
Week 8: Brainstorm Part 1
10/22 3 Meditations
10/24 Discussion
10/26 Learning to SIFT the mind. Beginning a definition of Mind.
Week 9: The techniques associated with Part 1 of Brainstorm
10/29 Peter Fleming: Attraction to Hurt and Callusing.
10/31 A review of ESSENCE with Dan Seigel. Introducing "Time-in"
11/2 Gardener and Multiple Intelligences
****Final opportunity to turn in materials for mid-term grades
Week 10: Testing
11/5 Brain and Body Dominances and their Interplay.
11/7 Emotional IQ testing and concept.
11/9 no class
Week 11: Brainstorm Part 2
11/12 Ann: The River of Integration. The Window of Tolerance
11/14
11/16. Wheel of Awareness meditation. Theory and practice.
Week 12: Thanksgiving Week
No Classes for Psych CR
Week 13: Brainstorm. Part 3
11/26 Attachment Theory. A presentation of Attachment theory and an explanation of the testing method used to determine models for attachment behavior.
11/28 I AM. A film exploring Consciousness.
11/30 ***Attachment surveys and reflective writing. In Ann’s absence, the class will complete the section of Brainstorm found in pages 163-167. Write the answers to these questions and relevant memories and stories in your journals. We will use these entries to reflect on personal attachment models we may be using in forming our current relationships. We will also use this information to help develop understanding of the attachment patterns our parents have integrated and see how those patterns influence parenting choices.
Week 14: Brainstorm Part 4
12/3. Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial Development in Adolescence
12/5 Myers-Briggs Test and 3 other theories of developmental process.
12/7. The Healthy Mind Platter. Summing up what you can do to strengthen your personal brain development. Read Part 4 of Brainstorm for Monday.
Turn in journals
Week 15: Playing with Consciousness
12/10 Movie Finding Joe
12/12. Dick Mann visits our class
12/14 Experiments in Consciousness and learning about the final Project
Week 16: Strengths, Talents and Consciousness Week
12/17. Strengths Test Results Class with Stephen Nose
12/19 Remote Viewing
12/21 Summaries and Plans for January
Winter Break 12/22-1/6
Week 17:
1/7
1/9
1/11
Week 18: Final Week of Class
1/14. Student Presentations
1/16. Student Presentations
1/18. Last Class
10/22 3 Meditations
10/24 Discussion
10/26 Learning to SIFT the mind. Beginning a definition of Mind.
Week 9: The techniques associated with Part 1 of Brainstorm
10/29 Peter Fleming: Attraction to Hurt and Callusing.
10/31 A review of ESSENCE with Dan Seigel. Introducing "Time-in"
11/2 Gardener and Multiple Intelligences
****Final opportunity to turn in materials for mid-term grades
Week 10: Testing
11/5 Brain and Body Dominances and their Interplay.
11/7 Emotional IQ testing and concept.
11/9 no class
Week 11: Brainstorm Part 2
11/12 Ann: The River of Integration. The Window of Tolerance
11/14
11/16. Wheel of Awareness meditation. Theory and practice.
Week 12: Thanksgiving Week
No Classes for Psych CR
Week 13: Brainstorm. Part 3
11/26 Attachment Theory. A presentation of Attachment theory and an explanation of the testing method used to determine models for attachment behavior.
11/28 I AM. A film exploring Consciousness.
11/30 ***Attachment surveys and reflective writing. In Ann’s absence, the class will complete the section of Brainstorm found in pages 163-167. Write the answers to these questions and relevant memories and stories in your journals. We will use these entries to reflect on personal attachment models we may be using in forming our current relationships. We will also use this information to help develop understanding of the attachment patterns our parents have integrated and see how those patterns influence parenting choices.
Week 14: Brainstorm Part 4
12/3. Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial Development in Adolescence
12/5 Myers-Briggs Test and 3 other theories of developmental process.
12/7. The Healthy Mind Platter. Summing up what you can do to strengthen your personal brain development. Read Part 4 of Brainstorm for Monday.
Turn in journals
Week 15: Playing with Consciousness
12/10 Movie Finding Joe
12/12. Dick Mann visits our class
12/14 Experiments in Consciousness and learning about the final Project
Week 16: Strengths, Talents and Consciousness Week
12/17. Strengths Test Results Class with Stephen Nose
12/19 Remote Viewing
12/21 Summaries and Plans for January
Winter Break 12/22-1/6
Week 17:
1/7
1/9
1/11
Week 18: Final Week of Class
1/14. Student Presentations
1/16. Student Presentations
1/18. Last Class