Greetings!!

    Fall semester is almost upon us. My records show that you are registered in my section of Introduction to Psychology. I thought I would welcome you to Psychology (and to UNI) a little bit early instead of waiting until the first day of class. I hope we will have a great semester together!
    I think Intro to Psych is an important course for any student to take. I would recommend it even if a student had already completed the Liberal Arts/General Education requirements. All of us can benefit from a better understanding of the causes of behavior as we go through life trying to make sense of our own actions or feelings or those of friends, family, lovers, co-workers, politicians - whoever! Everyone needs to be able to critically evaluate the claims concerning behavior that are so much a part of news reports, commercials, and conversation. This course will help you with each of these. Many of you, raising children - now or in the future - will be better prepared with some understanding of developmental psychology. And all of you, in one way or another, will cross paths with someone in the mental health field. Perhaps you already have, in school (counselors, school psychologists). Recent statistics suggest that 1 out of 2 Americans will suffer from some sort of psychological disorder in their lifetime. You or someone you care about is likely to seek out some type of mental health treatment or advice. Or you may hear testimony from someone in this field while on jury duty. This course will help you understand the qualifications of and differences between professionals in the field. In addition, about 1 out of 5 Americans will have some kind of nervous system disorder or disease which affects behavior. Biological psychology, the study of how your biology (brain, hormones, etc.) affects your behavior, can help you understand what is happening when someone you know is affected by autism or Alzheimer's disease or other neurological problem. But psychology is not only concerned with treating behavioral problems. A good part of it is focused on normal behavior and improving the quality of life and our ability to function in a wide variety of circumstances (education, work, relationships, etc.). You can use what you learn to improve your life! There is psychological research relevant to every career, every world problem.

    Intro to Psych is taken by almost every UNI student. Unfortunately that means we have to offer it as a very large lecture class (~200). Now I know you may have your doubts about a class that big. It is easy to feel lost in the crowd, to think your attendance is not important, and to assume you are on your own if you start to have problems. That is not the case here! I may not learn to associate many faces with names, but I do care about how you are doing, I applaud your improvements, and enjoy getting to know as many of you as I can. I welcome office visits and e-mail and I'm almost always available before and after class as well. I will do what I can to make our class a comfortable place so that you feel free to speak up. (Remember - nearly everyone in class is just as new and as anxious as you!) I welcome questions and comments - they are one way to slow down my motor mouth! Fight passivity! Let's make it feel like a smaller class. Become involved and you will have much better retention of the material. You'll get so much more out of college if you are not just a listener! As Robin Williams in the movie "Dead Poet's Society" said "Carpe diem!" (Seize the day - or, in this case, seize your education!).

    While I feel like we can work together to make even our class a friendly and involving place, one thing that's more difficult to do is to design a course that "fits" all 200 students. If our class is like most others, about half of you have already had a psych class in high school, while about half are brand new to the subject. Some who took high school psych had excellent courses that were the equivalent of a college course (although usually spread over a whole school year), whereas others took a course that only covered a small amount of the content we will be tackling this semester. What this means is that inevitably sometimes we are going too slow or too shallow for more experienced students or too fast and furious for others. Students used to simply memorizing definitions and facts for high school tests may find college test questions that ask you to apply your understanding to real-life situations pretty challenging, while others will find our multiple choice tests too simplistic. Realizing these difficulties I can only say I will try my best to teach a fun, yet challenging course suited both for those who may never take another psych class in their lives and those who may go on to major or minor in psychology.

    Students new to college often don't realize that now they must become independent learners, studying actively to learn from texts, because there is not enough classroom time to present all the knowledge and skills of a typical college course. Think about it - if you took a college-level (AP) psychology course in high school, you would usually spend about 180 class periods with your psychology teacher. But that is almost unheard of at universities. Instead, we have about 45 class periods together to cover that same content. A great deal of learning (about 135 class periods worth) must occur outside the classroom when you are reading and working with text material. Our book (Introduction to Psychology by Rod Plotnik) is written in a conversational style that is easy to read. I think you will really like it - I bet it will be your favorite text! You are responsible for completing assigned reading, preferably before or while we are covering that topic in class - it is key to your success! You'll need a minimum of 2 hours per module (chapter) and additional time to do the study aids in the text and online (practicing in as many ways as possible is important!). It is highly recommended that you map out a regular Study Schedule for your classes (see the Time Management Links in our online syllabus) and try to stick to it. Plan on reading about 10 pages of Psych per class day. Take condensed notes as you read (see Notes frameworks linked to our syllabus). Read over those & class notes over regularly and you'll find you know the material before it comes time to study for an exam!

    To really master material most people have to actively work with the concepts. For that reason our class will not be just lecture and tests. We will have several small assignments during the semester related to the concepts we are covering. Since you can use your text and other resources, discuss assignments with friends, or consult with your prof or T.A.s, the conscientious student should be able to earn all assignment points. Almost all past students voted in favor of having some of the course points come from something other than exams. Typically the points from the assignments allow almost all students to significantly raise their grade above that which they would earn from test scores alone. You can take a look at all of the assignments for the semester by
looking at the end of our online syllabus at: http://www.uni.edu/walsh/linda8.html <http://www.uni.edu/walsh/linda8.html>
In fact you can even get a head start on the Syllabus Quiz and Library Scavenger Hunt if you like! Also notice that, close to the top of our online syllabus, there is a link to college success tips submitted by Intro students who have been at UNI a year or more - students who have already survived their first semester. Also throughout our syllabus and on the associated Sites to Promote Academic Success webpage at http://www.uni.edu/walsh/linda7.html <http://www.uni.edu/walsh/linda7.html> there are various learning aids. I worked hard on including those aids because I know just how many new students earn much lower grades than they expect when they begin college (even those earning A's in high school) because the pace is so much faster and you must do so much learning on your own (and there are so many new social activities that compete for your time). Take these aids seriously or seek out study skill assistance before your GPA takes a hit that takes many semesters to recover from!

I am excited about the new semester. I look forward to seeing you on the 24th!

Dr. Linda L. Walsh
Psychology - UNI
walsh@uni.edu <mailto:walsh@uni.edu>


P.S. I want to establish good lines of communication with members of our class, so notice (in the syllabus assignment list) that you can earn a few extra credit points by sending me an email introducing yourself and also for stopping by my office (Baker Hall 441) once school starts. You can also earn some extra credit by completing a couple "good study practices" (see syllabus).
P.S.S. I will be using our class mailing list through out the semester to contact you if I have to cancel class, to provide some extra credit opportunities, to clarify assignments, provide info on tests, etc. Please do check your UNI mail or arrange to have your UNI mail forwarded to your other email accounts (see link at top of our online syllabus)