To pass the course, you must turn in all written assignments, take both midterms and the final, and achieve 204 of 300 possible points.
(1) TPE #1: A 3- to 5-page typed (TPE=thought-provoking exercise), short paper (assignment will be posted here after the first day of class) due in class at 10:00 am, 10/6, using your own thoughts and feelings, as well as the first couple of lectures on community mental health, graded P/NP. If you turn in a NP paper, you'll have the opportunity to fix it for 15 points (25 or 20 or 15 or 0 points possible; graded pass/no pass; writing quality will be evaluated);
(2) Journal: During the quarter, I'll be offering you journal questions to answer in class. You'll need to turn in five (5) of these in order to get full points. Each should be at least about half a page of handwriting. Turn them in at the end of the class in which they are offered. If you turn in a NP response, you'll have the opportunity to fix it for 3 points (25 points total; 5 points each; graded pass/no pass; writing quality will be evaluated);
(3) TPQ #1, #2, #3: Two short essay, in-class quizzes (Thought-Provoking Quizzes)--see lecture and reading schedule for dates--and TPQ #3, which is the final exam. TPQs are not cumulative. A larger number of questions will be posted on the website a week before the first two quizzes. I will choose a smaller number of these for each quiz (50 points possible each; 150 points total possible);
(4) TPE #2: A final, maximum 10-page paper due on or before 10:00 am, 11/24, which will enable you to apply everything you've learned in the course--it will require your own, informed ideas versus a recitation of what you've memorized (creativity, grounded in facts, rules). You will receive the assignment a couple of weeks into the quarter. Notice that during the last month of the course, there is not much reading assigned. That enables you to do independent reading on your own for your paper. Plan ahead. Print your paper out early! Late papers without verifiable documentation will be docked 5 points per day late; otherwise, it's unfair to all the other students in the class to give you extra time they didn't have. (100 points total possible).
Evaluations: You will be evaluated on your final
paper, three quizzes, journal responses, and short paper. Turning in all assignments
and quizzes are mandatory to your passing the class. For those
opting for grades, I use 90%-100% = A, 80%-89% = B, 68%-79% =
C. 68% is a passing grade if you are taking the class P/NP. I
use plusses and minuses based upon the final distribution of scores
in the class. Try to forget about whether or not you will earn
an 'A' or an 'excellent.' Whether or not you learn something here
is more important in the long run. You can make this shift by
asking yourself what exactly you hope to learn for yourself and
your future, and then focus on that. Paradoxically, this attitude
often produces an A as a side effect. On the other hand, "A"
truly means "excellent." The average grade in any class
in UCSC's Psychology Department is about a B-. About 15%, therefore,
should receive an A (about 20 of you). However,
due to grade inflation at universities, the reality is that about
25% (34) of you might well end up doing so. An "A" is therefore not an average grade--not in any upper-division psychology course. Now that you're taking upper-division classes, you might find that it is harder to earn an A, since you are taking the course with many other students who also have lots of experience, study the recommended 5 hours per week per unit (15 hours per week per class), and are seniors or juniors in the major.
Your writing quality will be mentioned in your evaluation. Even
if you are a stellar writer, see a writing tutor or have someone
read over your papers before you turn them in. See
this link about how college writing is evaluated! Your weaknesses
and strengths will be mentioned in your evaluation. Attendance
in lecture will not be mentioned, but it will be hard to do well
or learn much if you are not here. Neither the TAs nor the instructor are responsible for providing you with notes when you miss lecture--it's your responsibility to take care of yourself in this way. You might want to make arrangements with another student to share notes, if necessary, early in the quarter. I do not post my notes online.
Please note: You are responsible for understanding what plagiarism is (passing off another person's ideas as your own--either by directly copying someone else's work, working together on TPQ #3 or your individual TPE #1 or #2, paraphrasing another's words without quoting them or citing them correctly). Do not plagiarize. If you do, you may well receive an 'F' for the class, and will (as campus policy dictates) be referred to your college provost for further academic action. I, and other faculty, have recently had several students who tried to do this. It is always obvious. It is nearly always caught. Don't risk your education. Click here to find out exactly what it is and how to avoid it, even if you think you know!
Here is a sample narrative evaluation: The short
paper was graded pass/no pass. Rye's work on this assignment was
of passing quality. Rye turned in all five in-class journal responses, which were uniformly well-written and well-considered. On all short-essay quizzes, including the final, Rye demonstrated
a strong grasp of the course material. Her ability to communicate
her ideas was excellent. As a final project, Rye developed a viable
plan to create and run a community mental health agency for one
year. Her population was the local mentally ill homeless. Rye's
paper was quite well-written, with no grammatical, punctuation,
or proofreading errors. Rye included psychodynamic and social-learning
concepts in her prevention and intervention plans. These were
well-described and presented. She did a wonderful job of allowing
the course material to inform her prevention plan, and used outside
sources to enrich her ideas. Rye also addressed ethical and diversity
issues in a cogent and sophisticated way. She clearly understood
the material covered in this course, and was able to apply it.
Creative work! Overall, Rye's performance in this course demonstrated
an excellent grasp of the concepts and her ability to apply them.
Requests: (1) Respect the ideas, thoughts, and feelings
of your fellow students in this pseudo-community we are forming.
Please be sensitive. (2) If you tend to speak up a lot in class,
please make sure that what you are saying will benefit others. A good guideline: speak once every class. If you don't speak
up in class, this will probably be a safe place to practice. People
will be kind to you. (3) If you must come in late or leave early,
please sit by the door. (4) Make copies of what you turn in, just
in case. (5) Keep up. Keep up. Keep up. (Lessen life stress whenever
possible.) (6) If you email us, please use your ucsc.edu address,
so that we actually receive your email. (7) If you can't make
the in-class TPQ dates, please don't sign up for the class.
Genuine, verifiable, documented emergencies are of course a different
matter, but please respect our trust in you by not trying to fabricate
emergencies (so diminishing!). (8) Regularly consider what you
have to offer the class. (9) If you are confused or unsure about the class material, please let us know by asking via email or in office hours. (10) I have a strict technology policy! Please turn your cell phones off--no texting--and put your laptop away during class. I find both extremely distracting, and they impede my ability to teach so much that those who disregard this policy will be given a warning; on second offense, offenders will be asked to leave the class permanently. Thank you for your consideration of me, your TAs, and your fellow classmates.
Disclaimer: As a psychologist in private practice
for nearly 20 years, having worked in CMH agencies, as well as an academic psychologist, I've
had lots of experience with the issues and populations discussed
in this course. We will be exploring issues of deep importance
from a scholarly point of view, with some antecdotes mixed in.
All names and identifying characteristics of clients will be changed
(and sometimes combined) before I start talking. Also, please
remember that this is a course, and as such, it is inappropriate
and unethical for me to allow you to reveal your sensitive, personal
history--i.e., we evaluate you, and this is not a safe, therapy
setting! In other words, as a teacher, I'm not doing therapy, and you are not in group therapy--they
are completely different roles.
Goals: This course integrates much of what you
have learned in social, developmental, personality, and research
courses here at UCSC and applies it to real-life populations.
The first half gives you a conceptual framework for doing so,
and the second half shows you how. We will be using a variety
of teaching methods to promote your active involvement in the
course with the intent that this will be an enjoyable and involving
way to learn! Enjoy...