12/22/06

       The Final Project and Course Averages are now posted in the Gradebook.  The grade submitted (right-most column) should match with the grade you see on MyHanover.  The Final Projects (JA Average, Paper and Presentation) had a mean of 84.4% and range 77-93%; the course averages were similarly high (in the B range): 83.9% mean; range 74 - 93%.  Great job every one!  I hope to see you each in an upper level psych class in the future.  Have a wonderful holiday and a peaceful break!

12/17/06

       The Short Answer scores from the Final Exam have now been posted (these count for 10% of the Final Exam score).  The final stats on Exam III are Mean = 82.0% and range: 70 - 91.2%.  I have also posted Participation scores [mean = 8.7; range: 7 - 10]; note these were graded on a scale of 1-10 abut you'll see a % conversion so it could be figured into the final average. 

      You will notice that the Average column now includes these (so all but the Final Project is factored in).  If you click on the Final Project tab, you can see your Presentation scores, as well as the Journal average.  Once the Final Papers are graded, this page will have the calculations for your Final Project (40% Paper; 40% Journals; 20% Presentation).  That total will get carried over to the Gradebook page and you will then be able to see your final grade for the course (don't expect this before Tuesday).  For now, the course averages are rough approximations of your grade.

12/13/06

       The MC/Matching raw scores from the Final Exam (which make up 90% of the grade) are now posted.  You will see the short answers posted just as soon as I have them, but possibly not till Saturday.  At that time the weighted final grade for Exam III will be listed.  For the folks who missed the first hour of the final exam, I am not docking your grade, but the additional "lateness" is listed in the Attendance page and as such will be impact your Participation grade.

12/12/06

      Here is the final structure of Exam III:  41 questions - mostly multiple choice and a few matching.  These will make up 90% of the exam grade.  Three short answer questions, totalling 10 points (the other 10% of the exam).  

      The gradebook now has the final attendance (and related lost points); it will have Presentation scores later this week and Final Project grades as soon as those are done - most likely this weekend.  I'll see you tomorrow in our regular room at 9am; you will likely not need more than 2 hours for the exam.

12/8/06

      ATTENTION ALL!:

       THE FINAL EXAM IS IN OUR CLASSROOM!

     I have clarified with the registrar that there was an error in the listing.  Please come to the right room for your final.  Speaking of the final, one of our members was asking me about "suggestions for studying" for the final, as I had given you for Exam II.  However, in this case I don't have much to say beyond what we discussed today.  Clearly,  I have already omitted pages from ch. 10, so you don't need to study those.  The film and ch. 9 and 11 are, I think, fairly clear and there is nothing I have omitted from them.  Use your study groups to discuss those readings and the articles.  Try to come up with terms, topics, and examples that you think I am likely to test you on - test each other in  your study sessions.  Be prepared to identify group dynamics in a scenario or brief dialogue and correctly label / explain what is happening in that example.  If you can do that, you should do well on both the  multiple choice and the short answer questions.

     Again, look for about 45 M.C./matching and 4-5 short answers (a few sentences to a paragraph should be enough for your answers).   Good Studying! 

      Also, I will have your graded final papers available for pick up during the first week of next term.  Please stop by my office to get yours, so you can see my comments.   I will update this page over the coming weeks as your outstanding grades are added to the gradebook.

12/6/06

     Ok, the presentations were uniformly good in this class.  You will see grades posted for them in the coming days; for now I put a 1 to indicate it was done.

      Please remember to check your attendance, scantron scores, etc in the gradebook if you have not already done so.   If you have documentation for an absence that you have not given me, get it to me by Friday.  At this point I believe all excused absences that were documented have been entered as 0.9, so you are not being penalized for those.   If you think I neglected to change yours, contact me immediately.   Note that the right-most columns of the attendance page will not be accurate until after Friday.  At that time, you will be able to see your total unexcused absences so you know how much will be deducted, according to the policy laid out in the syllabus.  While I record lateness (0.8) in the attendance sheet, they are NOT deducted from your final average the way absences are.  Instead, I factor patterns of lateness into your Participation grades.  Participation grades will be up close to when grades are submitted (which is 12/19).  In the  meantime, you will see your Presentation scores, final paper scores, and final exam scores posted as I finish them during finals week.

11/20/06

      I realize a series of slides is not the same as attending a workshop, but for those of you who cannot make it to the Learning Center on Tues 11/28, 7pm, to hear my talk, I thought I'd post the handouts I have.  The last one is blank - ignore it.  If you have PowerPoint, you should be able to see this:

Public Speaking Anxiety Workshop slides.

      Good luck finishing your papers and preparing your presentations!

11/10/06

      In case you have not yet seen it, the Registrar's office has revised the final exam schedule.  Our exam is now scheduled for Weds., 12/13 at 9am-12 noon.  I doubt you will need the whole 3 hrs, but do not schedule other things so you won't be rushed.

11/7/06

    The presentations dates we agreed to in class are here:  Final Project Talks

11/6/06

      Ok, I spoke to the Registrar's office and they are in the process of revising the Final Exam schedule.  It is definitely NOT the case that we'll be having the exam 9pm to midnight!  However, it is possible that the exam may be scheduled at an entirely different time/day, if the 9am slot is filled with other exams.  So, stay tuned....  and look for a revision to come out this week.

        Just a reminder - please do review the gradebook for the accuracy of your exam scores, JA scores and attendance.  Bring any discrepancies to my attention right away.

11/3/06

     For those of you who find yourself occassionally struggling with issues of time management and/or study skills problems, please consider attending next Tuesday’s Spotlight on Academics talk at the Learning Center.  The topic is “It’s Never Too Late: Ten Tips for Getting Academically Back on Track.”  The talk will focus on specific, concrete strategies for improving academically that can be put into practice immediately. It’s designed to help students re-engage and re-focus on classes that are difficult in a meaningful way. The talk will be held TU, 11/7, in room 102 of (old) Science Hall at 7:00 p.m.

11/2/06

     I have now posted the Exam II scores in our gradebook.  The statistics for the exam are as follows:

Multiple Choice:  Ave = 80.1%; range: 66% - 91%

Short Answers:  Ave = 83.4%; range: 43% - 100%

Overall all test scores: Ave = 80.8%; range: 61% - 93%

So, while there was a bit more variability and a higher mean on the Short Answers, final scores are fairly similar to the multiple choice (for the whole class, not necessarily for a given student).  You will recall that the short answers  were worth 20% so they may  have impacted your score in either direction, but usually  not by more than a half grade.  Notice, too, that the average for this class is fairly high (B- as opposed to the usual mean of C).   Good job.  Please come see me if you have questions after we review the exam in class on Monday.

11/1/06

     There is an event I meant to announce in class - The Psych Club, People for Peace and a bunch of other organizations are sponsoring a film tomorrow night followed by a panel discussion.  "Invisible Children" is a powerful film about the plight of children who are being abducted into war in Uganda and Sudan.  The film is at 8pm in CFA Auditorium 11/2.  Do try to make it if you can. There are some obvious group aspects to the phenomenon.....

10/30/06

     The Multiple Choice and Matching are now posted for Exam II.  Remember they equal 80% of the exam and the Short Answers count for 20%.  I hope to have those posted by Weds, if at all possible.  For now, consider these an approximation of your grade.  The mean was B- (80%).

10/18/06

     In response to questions raised in class today, let me clarify that I am aware you will be writing JA 4 before you get JA 3 back since JA 4 is due Weds after break.  I will aim to have JA 3 back to you by 10/30 and if at all possible, JA 4 by the end of that week, 11/3, so that you will have both by the weekend before JA 5 is due.  Even without my feedback on these, however, you should be using the comments from JA 2, the Learning Center, and each other (study groups) as resources for improving your paper.  As I recall, one of the ideas in our brainstorming was to have more outside study groups - you can / should form these on your own if you have not already done so. 

      Your midterm grades are now posted in the gradebook - I only reported those below C. 

Have a great break!

10/15/06

     In response to some of your feedback from Friday, I have posted (on our course page) a Word file which should serve to help you create your study guides for Exam II.  Please review that file; remember our exam is 10/27, the Friday after break, and will cover chapters 5-8.

10/13/06

     Thank you all for your helpful feedback in class today and on the  mid-term evaluations.  I am continuing to digest all the good information and will contemplate how best to bring this material back to the group so that we can further refine and enhance the decisions we make in this class.  Look for something to be posted here after fall break following up on our brainstorming activity.  In the mean time, I look forward to reading your next journal entries (due 10/16).

10/10/06

     You will notice the Final Project assignment has now been posted to our coursepage.  We will discuss these on Weds., after finishing up today's handout.  Please do bring your definitions / examples back to class so we can finish this activity.  Please also let me know either during office hours or via e-mail how the course is going for you.   If there are ways you see that we can improve this course or our group functioning, please do share them. 

10/6/06

     The following is an updated grid.  Please adjust your class syllabus accordingly.  If we need to make further changes for weeks 11 -14, I'll do so as it gets closer; right now it seems like that part of the course will work as it appears in your syllabus.

       You will notice JAs due on 10/16, 10/25, and 11/6.  After that, only the final paper will be due.  You can expect to receive your Final Paper assignment next week.. 

9/27/06

     Your Exam I scores are now posted in the gradebook.  The class average was quite high - 82.9% so a very high B-.  Good Job, everyone!  The range was 70%-97%, so no Ds or Fs.  We will review the exam on Monday since we'll need both class times this week to complete the film.  Congratulations on mastering the first 1/3 of the course!  If you have concerns about your grade, come see me after we review the answers in class.

9/25/06

     If you have not already seen it, go back to our course page and read the Journal Assignment I have posted there.  Please submit it on Monday (10/2).  I will be posting your JA assignments from now on, and I am aiming to get your final project write-up to you by next week.

      Just a reminder: Chapter 5 is due this week.  Please read it carefully by Weds.  We will be viewing a film, split across Weds. and Friday classes.   You will need to take notes on the group  dynamics you see in the film, which relate to the concepts in chapter 5.  We will use Monday of next week to discuss both the film and the chapter on Leadership. 

9/20/06

   So, as we said in the class today, cooperating with each other and forming study groups will likely improve both your individual course grades, as well as the group goals of establishing a cohesive class and everyone experiencing as much as they can about groups to enhance learning.  You can form groups on  your own or use the MyHanover page (which appears to be working now).  Either way, your first exam is coming up this Monday, on chapters 1-4 and material presented in class (including videos).  The ideal use of study groups involves weekly meetings to review the material.  However, even if you form a group now, to prepare for the exam, you can best utilize it by having read all the material and organized your  notes first, then meeting with 2-3 other people to go over concepts and link the activities we did to the concepts in the book. 

      Bring any questions  you have about the material to class on Friday, I will leave a few minutes at the end to answer questions or clarify concepts from the text.  By now  you should be making study sheets for yourselves - this may indicate where you still have questions.  Thanks for the class feedback and let me know if there are other issues we should be discussing.

9/6/06

Thanks to some help from the IT dept, I have been notified that earlier today, some of you could read the MyHanover Forums but could not reply to them.  Sorry - glitch in the system.  That should now be fixed.  You can post your Group Membership lists, as well as use the Study Groups forum to form your own outside-of-class study groups.