Faculty Expectation
Classroom
Behaviors: Attendance | Classroom
| Ethics
Responsibilities: Oral Presentations
| Writing & Help
| Math Grades
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Faculty Expectation |
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Although the psychology department does not have a standard attendance policy, regular attendance is strongly recommended. |
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Faculty vary in their attendance policies, penalties, and points awarded for attendance. Be sure to read the course syllabi carefully. |
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Faculty will honor major religious holidays of all faiths by avoiding exams and such on those dates. When conflicts occur, speak with your instructors about possible alternatives. |
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Notifying your instructors or the College of an
absence does not necessarily mean that the faculty members will
reduce any absence penalties. Again, be sure to review your course syllabi
for specifics. However, in cases of prolonged absences due to illnesses or
personal matters, it is advisable to contact the Dean of Undergraduate
Education. In turn, this office will send notices of your situation and
your expected return date to your instructors. Be sure to see your
instructors about the possibility of completing assignments upon your
return to classes. |
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Turn off all cell phones before class begins. | ||||||
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Arrive for class on time. |
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If using a lap top in class, use it ONLY for note taking and other classroom appropriate tasks. Do NOT spend class time IM-ing or e-mailing your friends and family or searching the web. | ||||||
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Complete reading and written assignments before class and within due dates. |
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Do not hold conversations with friends during lectures. Whispers and giggles are not appreciated when unrelated to course content or when inappropriately timed. |
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Read and keep your syllabus! Double-check requirements regularly. |
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Become familiar with Blackboard as soon as possible. Most instructors use this service as a means to communicate with students - e-mail and announcements. Many also post assignments on Blackboard and set absolute deadlines for completion! | ||||||
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Follow instructions when completing assignments, including page limits, format requirements, and due dates. |
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Ask for clarification or help as soon as a problem begins. Do not wait until you are failing a course. | ||||||
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Most faculty welcome e-mail contacts with questions about assignments, requests for office appointments, and more. It is strongly recommended that students make up of their FRC accounts. If you opt to use other accounts, be aware that some services block some types of information. For instance, students with AOL accounts often do not receive group e-mails as sent through Blackboard.
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If you have difficulties with writing, organizing your work, time management, study skills, reading at a college level or pace, test anxiety... Please go to CASA (Center for Academic Supports). You might be surprise how helpful the seminars and tutors can be! There services are "free" - paid for with your college fees! | ||||||
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Anticipate 2 hours of homework for each hour of
classroom time. Four courses = 16 hours of classroom time per week, plus
as much as 32 hours of reading, writing, and studying! Full-time college
and full-time employment are not recommended. Do not over-estimate your
ability to learn and work! |
I hate oral
presentations. Is it possible to avoid them as a psychology major?
No. More and more, educators and employers are demanding that people be able to communicate well orally. Practice truly makes perfect in this case. The more students stand before their peers and present, the easier it gets - though maybe not any more enjoyable for some. The majority of the upper-level psychology courses require individual or group oral presentations. Some may be a matter of minutes, others may require presenting for a fair portion of the class meeting. There are many ways to reduce your anxiety:
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Prepare early. Give yourself ample time to learn your topic. The better a topic is known, the easier the words will come out and make sense to you. |
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Practice. Rehearse aloud to yourself and then to friends. |
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Visit the room after-hours. Get comfortable looking at all the chairs. Imagine your peers and instructor. Stand at the podium. Walk around. |
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Use lots of appropriate visual aids. Dim lights can help hide a flushed face or sweaty brow - start with an overhead! Put your title up on the screen, followed by an outline of your information. If that's not possible, prepare handouts - an outline at the least - start your talk by referring to the handout to get some of those eyes off of you! |
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Relax before your talk begins - go to the bathroom, take deep breaths, close your eyes, arrive at class early, plan to begin with an overhead and darkened room. Do whatever it takes to calm yourself down. |
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Wear your favorite nice clothing. When you dress comfortably, you will be able to relax more easily and feel more confident. It works the other way too - people who look nice are taken more seriously. You will look as if you know what you're saying! |
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Don't sweat small mistakes. With the exception of
maybe the instructor, no one will know if you make a mistake. Just keep
going. If the error was an important point, come back to it as if you
never said it before. If the instructor thinks it's important to clarify
the error, odds are he/she will do it without drawing attention to what
you said. |
I have a hard time writing. How important is writing as a psychology major?
Very. It's not just being a psychology
major. As a college graduate, certain abilities and behaviors are expected. One
of these is that you are more literate than the average person. In applying for
jobs and to graduate school, your writing errors will be glaring! Once employed,
you will forever be writing - letters, reports, minutes for meetings - the list
is endless. You may never have to write another paper for a class, but you will
be writing. Errors will be embarrassing and no longer just the cause of a few
lost points. Do not graduate from college without learning to write well. Take
extra writing classes, pay attention to the editing your instructors provide,
and/or take advantage of the services you pay for through your student fees. As
a student, you have the luxury of many sources for writing help. Use them!
Where can I go for help with my writing?
In the building housing CASA, the college provides writing tutors. Free of charge, students may make appointments to meet with an instructor or trained tutor to review their writing. It is recommended that students experiencing a lot of difficulty go to the Center as soon as the semester starts. Bring your course requirements with you and any writing on which you have started to work. Students feeling they write fairly well may want to stop by and have a grammar check-up. Bring a paper you feel proud of and have someone find all your errors. A review of the mistakes you commonly make may be invaluable.
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Sign-up sheets for Writing Tutor appointments may be made at the front table of the CASA wing. |
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Appointments may be made on short notice
(walk-ins) or by signing up for appointments several weeks in advance. |
Is math important as a psychology major?
Math is always important. Basics are
used every day. However, the only specific requirement of the psychology major
is a course in statistics. The statistics courses at FSC are tough. Talk to
students who have completed the course and ask about their instructors. Try to
find an instructor whose style of teaching fits yours. Also consider
making regular appointments with a math tutor at CASA. As with writing help, the
services are free of charge and hours vary from day to evening.
Are high grades really important?
No doubt that we are a country of overly
grade-conscious people. GPA’s of at least 3.0 are often required for admission
into graduate programs. However, when students do their best, seek appropriate
help from professors, and show continued improvement, the effort is noticed.
Effort may not guarantee high course grades or overall GPA's, but effort does
show up in letters of recommendation. "Glowing" letters paired with
good scores on standardized tests (GRE’s) may still get students with mediocre
GPAs into graduate programs or open doors to other desired opportunities. As a
precaution, it wouldn’t hurt the ambitious student to re-take courses in which
Ds and Es were earned before graduating!
