Materials
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Textbook: Understanding Psychology by Richard A. Kasschau Glencoe-McGraw-Hill, New York 2003
 Materials: Binder, notepaper, and pen or pencil (all everyday); and textbook as noted on the whiteboard in advance.
Course Objectives and Philosophy
This course in designed to enhance your understanding of the study of psychology, the different types, its uses, application, and fields of study. This class is designed for student involvement, participation, and curiosity.
Throughout the year, we will cover the biological aspects of psychology, including the functions of the brain and nervous system. We will explore the development and growth of people from infancy through adolescence, into adulthood and the aging and dying process. This course will introduce theories of learning, motivation, memory, and cognitive development.
There will also be review of personality development, intelligence, individuality, and group behavior. We will discuss the role and effects of stress, sleeping, and psychological disorders.
These themes will be explored through class lecture, discussion, group research and presentation activities, individual review and research, and reaching out to others outside the classroom. In order to do this effectively, you will be required to write papers, read relevant information, and review primary and secondary sources. These will help you in reaching your conclusions.
Evaluation
 Homework: In order to achieve a conclusive grasp on the material, they need to be practiced. On average, there will be two take-home assignments for each chapter. We will spend about 1-2 weeks on each chapter. You will also be expected to keep up with the correlating reading assignments. In-class assignments are recorded as homework.
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Quizzes: Are designed to ensure understanding and to locate any weak points in comprehension of the material. They will be given at random and may or may not be announced. They will predominately cover the reading assignments.
In the case of an excused absence, quizzes need to be made up within two school days of the date of the quiz . The lowest quiz for each semester will be dropped.
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Tests: are to ensure and evaluate overall comprehension of the material. They are meant to be challenging—not tricky.
They will consist of a variety of questioning methods including (but not limited to) multiple-choice, true false, and matching. Each test will consist of some form of long answer type question(s) as well. Tests will be announced ahead of time. If a student is absent the day of a test, they will have equal number of days absent to make up the test.
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Labs and Activity Assignments: Occasionally there will be some in-class labs and activities (with outside research).
Your involvement and production of material is necessary.
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Participation: is defined as attending class, coming prepared, completing assignments, paying attention in class, keeping current on the work, and being involved in the activities of the class. This class will require a great deal of discussion and all students are expected to contribute.
Grading Policy
Grades are divided by categories. Every assignment, activity, test, etc… will be assigned a category and every category is worth a predetermined amount as described below.
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For each semester---Homework: 30%; Quizzes: 10%, Labs and Activity Assignments: 30%; and Tests: 30%
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Semester grade—first and second quarter: 80%; final: 20%
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First quarter grades carry over into the second quarter; they do not start over each quarter.

Grading Scale
A+ 98-100
A 93-97
A- 90-92
B+ 88-89
B 83-87
B- 80-82
C+ 78-79
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F
73-77
70-72
68-69
63-67
60-62
Below 60%
Expectations
 Take responsibility for your learning and education: you are responsible for learning the material, doing your assignments, and taking a proactive role in the class. This includes making up missed work, taking notes, keeping your notebook up to date, studying for quizzes and tests, and reading.
 Turn in assignments on time: it is expected that all assignments will be turned in on time. For late work see policies and procedures below.
 Follow classroom rules and course policies and procedures: you are to know and follow these. Failure to do so will result in reduced grades and possible failure of the course.
 Attendance and participation: these two aspects are essential for learning and comprehension of the material. It is often difficult to make up work due to absences; it is your responsibility to do so.
 Prompt and readiness: when the bell rings, you are to be in your seat, ready to learn (have materials).
 Be respectful: this is the most important point. You are to have respect for the course, the classroom, the teacher
(including substitutes), classmates, opinions, your work, and yourself. It is extremely important to respect each other’s opinions. Disrespect and intolerance are not acceptable.
 Class work standards: it is expected that each student do their best work on all assignments, quizzes, tests, and projects. It is through effort and hard work that a student will be successful in this course. All work accepted will be legible, formatted to guidelines, and directions followed.
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Textbook Management : Maintain textbook, classroom, and materials in good condition. You will be held accountable for any destruction of school materials. Bring your texts to class on days assigned by the teacher.
Dates when books are needed will be posted on the front board.
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ID : Students are required to where their ID badges in class as per the school policy. Students who do not have their ID will be sent to the AP office for a temporary.
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Purses, bags, backpacks, hats,e tc
…must be stored under the desk during classtime. They are not to be on the desk or in student’s laps.
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Be courteous and respectful during class lesson and discussion. Some of the material in this course may be controversial and may make some students uncomfortable. Be polite and respect each other’s opinions and the course material.
Policy and Procedures
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Tardy Policy : For each quarter, the student is granted four tardies with no consequence. For each of these first four, the student will be made aware how many tardies they have at that point. A fourth tardy will garner a phone call to the parents. Beginning with the fifth tardy for each quarter, the student will be referred to the AP for appropriate discipline as noted in the school’s policy.
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Make-up work
: it is each student’s responsibility to find which assignments, quizzes, tests, etc… that was missed as a result of an absence. All assignment sheets may be found in the class file case in the room. In compliance with board policy 6145, you will have two days to make up work for each day absent (day 1 is the day you return). Any assignments, quizzes, and tests that were due on the date of an absence will be due upon return to the class.
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Test Make-ups: If a student has an excused absence on the day of a test, they will have two school days from the date of the test to make up the test. If a student’s excused absence extends through that time period, the student will need to make arrangements with the teacher either prior to their return or immediately upon their return to make up the test in a reasonable time frame as allocated by school policy (1 day per absence). Test make-ups may be a different version or style from that given on test day in the classroom. Students with unexcused absences will not be allowed to make up tests.
 Late work: late work will not be accepted for credit for any reason. Any late will not earn any points but may be handed in as part of completion of all work necessary for any extra-credit option.
 Suspension: students will not be allowed to make up any work while on home suspension. If a long term project is due during a suspension, it will not be accepted or graded and the student will receive a zero for the assignment.

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Extra-credit: is designed for students who have completed all work, yet would like more opportunities to better learn the information and bring up their scores. Therefore, in order to be able to do any extra-credit, all assignments must be turned in (whether for credit or not).
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During student presentations and discussions: Speaking in front of a class can be a scary activity, especially when your audience is rude or inattentive. Therefore, in this class, whenever a student is speaking before the class, all members of the audience (including the teacher) must be engaged in active listening. Students who talk, pass notes, or put their heads down on their desks will lose points and face disciplinary action.
 Homework packets: All chapter vocabulary and in-class assignments will be due as a packet on the day a test, prior to taking the test.
 Progress Reports: o Student, parent, and/or coach initiated—students and parents are welcomed to keep up the status of grades through weekly progress reports. Typically these are done on Fridays. For students, parents, and coaches who wish to have these done, please had them in at the beginning of class. o School initiated—at the midway point of each quarter, progress reports will be sent home to each student who is in danger of failing.
 Parent contact : Office hours and location are TBA as soon as possible. For parents who wish to contact me may do so by leaving a message (ext. 2438) through the school or through email at rhermann@tusd.net
. All conferences or teacher/parent meetings must be scheduled in advance and outside class time.
 Teacher availability/Office hours : I will be available before school (15-20 min) and after school. Any other times would need to be pre-scheduled.
 The teacher does participate in the online parent connect. Regularly scheduled homework and tests are updated every few weeks. Project grades will be updates when they are graded.
Teacher’s Aid: All classroom rules and expectations apply for TAs as they do for the rest of the class. This includes no talking or interacting with students during instruction. TA’s are expected to complete all teacher requested work prior to working on their own work. TAs are expected to attend class regularly and on time. Please see TA contract for more rules and school TA policies. TA grades will be based on compliance to policies and expectations.
Additional Note:
Bathroom breaks—breaks will not be issued in the first ten minutes of class, during test taking times, or in the last ten minutes. Common sense and common courtesy is expected in regards to bathroom use. If chronic abuse becomes an issue then a pass quota will be incorporated. Students who use the restroom on days when there is a substitute will need to serve
10 minutes of detention when the teacher returns.
Plagiarism/Academic Dishonesty
It is imperative that each student does their own work and does not copy of cheat from other students or sources.
Plagiarism is the use of someone else's words or ideas as your own. I take plagiarism seriously and it will not be tolerated in this course. If caught, the student will receive an automatic failure for the assignment. Therefore, for any of the major projects, you must have in-text citations and a bibliography . There are two types of in-text citations; you may choose which format to use:
Footnotes
Parenthetical
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In-text citations are to be used any time you use someone else’s idea or information, whether it is a direct quote or not.
Even if you paraphrase information, you still need to cite it.
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If you are using more than 5 words consecutively, you must use quotation marks.
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Common knowledge info (i.e. someone's birth or death date) is generally excluded from needing citation.
 Most essays are formal writing. It is not proper to use personal pronouns (i.e. you, I , we, us, our, etc..), nor are you to use contractions. Spell out words and short numbers. The must be formatted according to the Tracy High School
Social Science Writer’s Guide (THSSSWG).
When assigned a major project, research the topic and present an analysis of the issue. Each essay or project MUST include in-text citations, (whether footnotes or parenthetical references) AND a bibliography. If ONE or BOTH of these aspects are missing, it will result in an automatic 0 for the assignment and violation will be noted in the student’s discipline record on school site .

Sources
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Online sources other than: online journals found through Ebscohost, information from official government cites, or other American university research cites, will not be permitted unless otherwise approved.
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Acceptable sources: age appropriate books, newspapers, and professional journals.
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Encyclopedias (except for charts and graphs) and textbook are strongly discouraged.
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General rule: the number of sources used should meet or exceed the number of pages in the project.
Rules and Consequences
Rules
Respect: for course, classroom, work, students, teacher, and yourself
Consequences
Warning or notice of behavior for behavior to cease
Parental notification
Detention
Removal from class
Note: whole class misbehavior will result in extra class assignment(s). Failure to complete will result in detention.
On Time
Be Prepared
Tardy is defined as not being in seat and prepared when the bell rings.
School policy regarding excessive (5 or more) tardies will be adhered to. There will be a warning issued for the first two tardies. On the third and subsequent tardies for each quarter—see student handbook.
Failure to have necessary materials will result in a warning. You will not be excused in order to gather materials.
Student will re-enter the class in an appropriate manner.
Acceptable Behavior upon entrance into the class
Personal grooming, sleeping, eating, swearing, or electronic devices are not appropriate classroom behavior
Loss of material
Parental notification
School rule and enforcement as noted in student handbook.
For all other discipline concerns, please see student handbook.