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May courage never be extinguished, or light diminished nor spirits bound in pursuit of personal excellence.

picture of dolphin and woman
PSYCH 009 - Online
 
Psychology of Women:
A Multicultural Perspective
 
Syllabus
Painting above by Susan Seddon Boulet

Click here to go to Susan Seddon Boulet's website

 

MESSAGE FOR ONLINE STUDENTS

• This online class does not required any on-campus meetings. All instruction occurs online.

• This course is taught inside the Course Compass and not from this website. Also, I am not using ANGEL or the WebCT and you will not see this course listed there.

• Scroll down to the end of this syllabus for instructions on how to log-on to the Course Compass, including the Course ID.
 
• This information is given under the category ONLINE INSTRUCTIONS.

• You will not be able to log-on to the Course Compass website until the first day of class.

• It is best to purchase the text at the West Valley College bookstore, because it will contain the access code for the Course Compass.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Instructor: Sandy Ladd

Units: 3

Acceptable for Credit:

University of California
California State University
Fulfills Cultural Diversity Requirement for AA degree

Credit/No Credit Option

The course introduces the student to the gender-role development of women in terms of the biosocial and cultural factors involved in intellectual and personal-emotional functions. Examination of psychological research and theory will focus on multicultural factors; that is gender as it relates to race, class, culture & ethnicity in the United States society. This course will satisfy the 3-unit Cultural Diversity requirement for an Associate degree.

WVC APPLICATION FORM

In order to take an online course, you must apply to be a student at WVC and pay your registration fees. Go to the WVC website at www.westvalley.edu Click on apply.

If you are a high school student, there may be additional paper work that needs to be submitted between WVC and your institution to enable you to be registered for this class. Please check with your counselor.

OBJECTIVES

(1) To introduce the student to a cross-section of the literature related to gender roles in different cultural settings; (2) To help the student develop critical thinking skills through the evaluation of current research findings in this area; (3) To provide the student with a framework for self-exploration and self-understanding. These objectives will be accomplished through assignments involving listening, discussing, reading, and writing.

METHODOLOGY

Distributed learning, quizzes rather than midterms and/or a comprehensive final exam, will be one of the assessment methods used in this course. Quizzes consist of multiple choice questions. This course uses a quiz format only (no midterms; no final exam).

Psychologists have known for a long time that distributed learning is more effective, that is results in better comprehension and retention, than massed learning. Distributed learning means that new information is acquired in small pieces over time and assessed accordingly (for example, one quiz per chapter or one quiz per lecture). Massed learning means that large quantities of information are processed in the same compressed time span and assessed accordingly (for example, one midterm over 5 to 7 chapters).

Even though an instructor might tell you to read a chapter a week, if you are tested once a month by a midterm that covers 5 to 7 chapters it is most likely that you will wait until shortly before the exam and study those chapters together (massed) over a short period of time (a few days prior to the exam). This study pattern constitutes massed learning and reduces both your comprehension and retention of the material.

Critical thinking will be practiced through writing assignments (homework and projects/papers) and will also be presented in a distributed learning format.

CRITICAL THINKING

Students will be asked to explain, analyze, synthesize, apply and evaluate basic concepts in this course in all written assignments. Students will also be asked to apply selected psychological concepts to their own behavior in the assignment called Personal Reflection.

REQUIRED READING

REQUIRED VIDEOS (rent or view at WVC library)

Courage Under Fire (video 2001-74)

The Joy Luck Club (video 9907)

Selena (video 2001-47)

The Color Purple (video 89-114)

Lakota Women : Siege at Wounded Knee from Turner Pictures (video 2001-68) or The New World (film)

LINKED WEBSITES

Women's Repository of Course Syllabi, University of New York, Buffalo, national selection

VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS

Like you, I am also a student. I am a graduate student in Behavioral Neuroscience, Division of Graduate Medical Sciences, Boston University School of Medicine. This is why we are using the virtual office hour method. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me and we can discuss them.

ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE INSIDE THE COURSE COMPASS

Once you are inside the Course Compass, you will see that I have organized the course using a week-to-week format. For example, you will click on Week 1 and you will see the files for that week ordered in the way I think you should access them.

This format is very well-organized and most students find it easy to understand. However, if this is your first online class, you will need to tell yourself to relax and reassure yourself that you will be able to do this! It is normal to feel slightly anxious around any new activity. Be kind to yourself and use positive self-talk!

QUIZ FORMAT

The grading curve for all your quizzes on the text is as follows:

A = 200 - 180
B = 179 - 160
C = 159 - 140
D = 139 - 120
F = 119 and below

 

You will also have one quiz on the supplementary book, The Wisdom Paradox, worth 400 points. The grading curve is as follows:

A = 400-360
B = 359-320
C = 319-280
D = 279-240
F = 239 & below

The Homework - Quiz Sequencing Rule

You must submit your chapter homework prior to taking your quiz for each chapter. You will only receive credit for a quiz, if your chapter homework for that quiz is emailed to me prior to taking the quiz.

HOMEWORK

For each chapter of the text, students will be required to define the key concepts (20 points), complete the short-answer essay questions (30 points), give three new ideas you learned from the websites (25 points) and write a brief summary to an article related to women's health (25 points).

Because health care options for women are changing at such a rapid pace, current information on health care for women will be a constant portion of all chapter homework. The homework (worth 100 points) will be available under assignments in Course Compass.

Answers to the essay questions should be brief, but cannot be dualistic (yes-no, right-wrong, agree-disagree) and must demonstrate comprehension of concepts and current research findings. Use complete sentences. "Yes-no" answers will not be acceptable.

For each week, all assignments are due by midnight on Sunday. The homework must be complete in order to receive a grade for the course. If you miss the homework deadline, you may turn in late homework for any three chapters (without a penalty) during Magic Week (described "in pink" below).

Magic Week does not apply to papers. All late papers will receive a 30% reduction in points.

With the exception of the three chapter "grace period" during Magic Week, all other late homework and quizzes may be submitted during Magic Week but will receive a 30% reduction in points.

Homework must be TOTALLY complete in order to be graded. There will be no partial credit. So, if you are missing one term or do not attempt to answer one of the questions, you will receive zero points.

There will be a 5 point reduction for each error on any section of the homework. If you "try" but make a comprehension error, I will correct it and allow you to resubmit your homework and retrieve the missing points.

HOMEWORK COPIES TO SELF

When you email your homework to me or your papers ALWAYS send a copy to yourself so you will have "proof" that you sent it on time.

This is not necessary for threaded discussion papers (described below) because they are not emailed to me, but are completed inside the Course Compass.

SAVE ALL HOMEWORK ON YOUR HARD DRIVE OR ON A ZIP DISK

Save the copy of your homework, your Courage Under Fire paper, and Personal Reflection on your hard drive.

THREADED DISCUSSION PAPERS

PERSONAL REFLECTION

EXTRA CREDIT

For 50 extra credit points you have the option to view the video and answer the questions for either the October Sky or Good Will Hunting. All you need to do is watch the video and answer the essay questions under homework for extra credit. Apply information you have learned from the course when answering the questions so that you demonstrate comprehension of those psychological concepts associated with the psychology of women that are appropriate to the questions. Both these videos focus on male behavior, the latter uses four letter words and should be avoided if you don't want to be subjected to this sort of language.

LEAP FROGS

I realize that some of you may want to go faster than the pace I have set-up. You can always read the chapters and do the homework ahead of time. However, the quizzes are only available for the week specified in the Assignment Folder.

There are some limitations for leap frogs. I revise my lectures and change the lecture questions as the course progresses. So, you may notice there are, at times, lectures that are missing the link and will not open. This is because I am working on that aspect of the course.

Assignments that are completed early may be turned in prior to the due date.

DUE DATES

All assignments are due by midnight on Sunday.

The specific due dates for assignments are specified in the class schedule. Click on the link for Schedule at the end of this Syllabus.

SCORING ASSIGNMENTS

Homework will be scored by noon three days after the due date. For example, if homework is due on Sunday by midnight, scores will be posted on Thursday by noon.. Papers will be scored by midnight five days after the due date. You will be notified if there is a change to this schedule.

LATE ASSIGNMENTS

If an assignment or quiz is late and is beyond the limit allowed during Magic Week, that assignment or quiz will receive a 30% reduction. You can only submit late assignments during Magic Week.

MAGIC WEEK

What if you don't have the time to finish your homework? There is Magic Week ( or a grace period) that will allow you some flexibility.

During Magic Week, I will allow you to submit three chapter homework assignments and take three chapter quizzes (for any chapter required in the course). Any three make-up assignments or quizzes will be considered "on time" or just as if you completed it by the scheduled due date during Magic Week.

However, the same "homework - quiz sequencing rule" applies. You must submit your homework before you take your quiz. You will not receive credit for a quiz unless your homework is received prior to taking the quiz.

Magic Week is my way of recognizing that "unplanned things just happen! (even to good students)" and one of the "benefits" of online classes is the opportunity for "flexibility." However, it is best to complete the chapters in the order they are assigned. I want you to only use the Magic Week concept when you have an emergency which interferes with completing an assignment on time OR if you feel that you need extra time to do well on the more challenging chapters and prefer to "save" the easier ones for Magic Week.

The Magic Week concept does not apply to papers or projects.

GRADING POLICY

5,500 Points Possible

Task Points Total Points
11 Quizzes (Text/Lecture) 200 2200
1 Quiz (The Wisdom Paradox/Lecture) 400 400
Homework Assignments 100 1600
Individual (1) 400 400
Team Papers (4) 175 700
Personal Reflection (1) 200 200

Grades will be calculated on a class curve based on your total points. An approximate scale derived from last semester's curve is posted below.

Since I will provide each student with feedback on incorrect answers given on homework assignments and give each student the opportunity to correct their mistakes and retrieve lost points, it is expected that students will receive full credit for their homework. Also, the Magic Week option (explained above) reduces the possibility of being penalized for late homework or quizzes.

As a consequence of these procedures, at the end of the course you CANNOT assume that the percent derived by comparing your total points to the total points possible for the course predicts your grade for the course.

In other words, you could receive 92% correct at the end of the course and still receive a grade of B. This is because your homework points act as a constant, and make a total point percentage inaccurate.

In other words, the variance in a student's final points for the class is derived primarily from their quizzes and papers.

Given the above, here is how you can estimate your grade at any time during the course.

However, a comparison of the curve below to a standard percent grading method can be made by doing the following calculation: [(your total points obtained for quizzes/1100) * (100) + (your total points obtained for papers (excluding the personal reflection paper) /1100)*(100)]/5 = total percentage score on quizzes and papers]. The percentage you compute using this method will approximate your grade in the course (again, given that your homework should operate as a constant). The extra credit option (a paper) allows for some additional variance in the point distribution. However, again, I am using a class curve to derive the final grade.

Here is last semester's curve.

A 5500 4700
B 4699 3800
C 3799 2500
D/F 2499 & below
ADA STATEMENT
 
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a
federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil
rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this
legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a
learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their
disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an
accommodation, please contact DESP in the Learning Services Building
(408.741.2010 or 408.741.2658 TTY).

ONLINE INSTRUCTIONS

We will be using a website called Course Compass in this course. Once you are inside Course Compass you will see all the assignments and quizzes.

Make sure you are using only Internet Explorer version 5.0 or higher as your browser. If you don't have Internet Explorer version 5.0 on your computer, once you are inside the course (described below) there are instructions in the Read Me First file to help you download it. (It is possible to use Netscape, but only the older versions of Netscape, versions 4.5 and 4.7.

If you have any of the following problems, please call the Course Compass help line at 800-677-6337 (M-F 8AM - 8 PM EST & Sunday 5PM to midnight).

If you have problems registering online or logging on, please call Course Compass at 800-677-6337 (M-F 8AM - 8 PM EST and Sunday 5 PM to midnight).

Click here to access the How to Succeed in an Online Course WebPages.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR AOL OR HOTMAIL USERS

If you are using aol or hotmail as your server, you need to

• Click on the underscore when the welcome window appears (PC users) or click on the small box inside the larger box that is located on the upper right of the window (Mac users).

• This will minimize the browser for your server.

• In order to see all the files at the Course Compass site, you need to minimize your browser every time you log-on to Course Compass.

BROWSER PROBLEMS?

If you are having problems with your Internet browser or Java etc. when using Course Compass, please check the following link for possible solutions.

Click here to learn about browser preferences and troubleshooting.

Click here to learn how to empty the cache in your browser so that it will not get "backed-up with files" and slow you down.

If you are having still having problems after you have reviewed the links above, then either call the Course Compass Technical Help line or try the following:

In Internet Explorer 5x

1. Open your Internet Explorer.
2. Go to "Tools," "Internet Options."
3. Click "Delete Files", click OK
4. Click the "settings" button. Where it states "check for newer versions of stored pages" check the "Every visit to the page."
5. Locate  "Amount of disk space to use:" and change this amount to 50 MB. The box to change this amount is located to the right of this category. It may take a few moments  to change this setting.
6. Click the "View Files" button and then go to "Edit" and "Select All" , go to "File" and "Delete"

In Internet Explorer 6

1. Open your Internet Explorer.
2. Go to "Tools," "Internet Options."
3. Click "Delete Files", click OK
4. Click the "delete cookies" button. Confirm the deletion.
5. Click the "delete files" button. Confirm the deletion.
6. Click the "settings" button. Where it states "check for newer versions of stored pages" check the "Every visit to the page."
7. Locate  "Amount of disk space to use:" and change this amount to 50 MB. The box to change this amount is located to the right of this category. It may take a few moments  to change this setting.

For Netscape Navigator or Mozilla

1. On your browser's Edit menu, click Preferences.
2. In the Preferences dialog box, expand the Advanced category on the left by clicking the plus sign (+) next to it.
3. Click Cache.
4. Click Clear Memory Cache.
5. In the Confirmation dialog box, click OK to verify that you want to clear your memory cache.
6. Click Clear Disk Cache.
7. In the Confirmation dialog box, click OK to verify that you want to clear your disk cache.
8. In the Preferences dialog box, click OK.
9. Now under Privacy & Security click on Cookies then the Manage Stored Cookies button.
10. Click the Remove all Cookies button, click the Close and then OK buttons.
11. Close all browser

After you have completed these changes close out all browser windows. Then re-open your browser and log into the site

Please remember to use the Log Out button in the top right corner of the window each time you leave the site.

BEHAVIOR RESTRICTIONS

Going Over the Time Limit on a Quiz

When you are taking the chapter quizzes, please pay attention to the time.

If you go over the time limit by a few seconds, you will not see your score at the end of the quiz when you hit the submit bottom. When you click on my grades, you will see "!" or what looks like a locked box.

You don't need to email me. If this happens, I am informed by the software and I can usually fix it. Check your grades in a few days and you should see your score.

You need to stay within the time limit as it is not fair to other student to go over the time limit.

I will keep track of the times you go over the time limit.

One reason students go over the time limit is it they are trying to refer to the text or to the lecture notes.

Remember the quizzes are not designed to be open book or open notes.

Attempting to Print a Quiz or a Quiz Question

If you attempt to print, copy or download a quiz or a quiz question, I will see a mark that looks like this "!!" in my grade book.
You are not allowed to print, copy or download a quiz or a quiz question,
You will be dropped from the course if you try to do so.

Attempting to "Stop the Clock" or Access the Test Item Pool Through the HTML Code

If you attempt to "stop the clock" or to access the html code for the course compass and break into a quiz or a test item pool, a security alarm lock box will appear by your name. You will be immediately removed from the course and there will be other disciplinary consequences to this action as required by the District and the educational code of the state of California.

Network Errors

If you have a network error due to technical problems, you will what looks like a small lock box. I will understand and clear your first two quizzes as the result of network errors. After the second network error, I suggest that you take your quizzes in the Technology Center (or equivalent such as a public library) where there is a fast connection to the Internet, updated Browsers and technical assistance. In the event of a third network error, I will only clear your quiz and allow you to take it again after you seek assistance from an employee and obtain their name and work telephone number. Then, email that information to me so that I can verify the problem and try to help you.

Late Quizzes

Any quiz taken after the due date and not during Magic Week will receive a 30% reduction in points. You can only submit late assignments during Magic Week.

Individual Testing

Quizzes must be taken individually. I will receive a record of the time each student takes a quiz. If I see any consistent time patterns between students, I will ask you to come to my office and provide an explanation.

Time and Network Error Tracking

If necessary in order to increase your awareness or these behaviors, a column may appear that will give you the total number of times you exceeded the time limit or had a network error.

Click here to access the schedule of assignments for the Psychology of Women: A Multicultural Perspective during the Winter Session (January 2 - January 24, 2007).

This page was revised on November 16, 2006.

This page was designed and produced by Sandra Ladd.

408-741-2548

Email: sandra_ladd@westvalley.edu