Dr. Donna Ashcraft                                                                   Spring, 2006
216 Harvey Hall                                                                         Office Hours:     MW 1:00-3:00
Phone: 393-1870 or 393-2295                                                                                 F 12:00-1:00
Email: Ashcraft@clarion.edu
Website: http://psy1.clarion.edu/dma/donna.html
 

Books Required:

Pyrczak, F. & Bruce, R. R. (2005). Writing Empirical Research Reports (5th ed.). LA: Pyrczak Publishing.

Galvan, J. L. (2004). Writing Literature Reviews. (2nd ed.). LA: Pyrczak Publishing.

Author. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
 

Additional Readings:

Additional chapters or articles will be required. These will be announced during class time and either distributed in class or put on reserve at the library. Students may also need to locate additional readings on their own. Announcements may also be made as to where students may locate additional readings.
 

Course Description:

Students will obtain an in-depth look at a particular social psychology topic chosen by the students, by allowing them to review the literature on that topic, and design a research proposal pertinent to it. The proposal should integrate the literature and potentially advance knowledge in that area.  The proposal must be at least 20 pages; feedback and opportunities for rewrites will be given. This aspect of the course will be collaborative in nature, with students from Clarion University working with students from West Chester University, over the Internet, and through video conferencing, to communicate across sites. Students will be graded on the quality of the proposal, and a collaborative analysis, as well as collaborative effort. Group assignments will allow students to explore additional social psychology topics by requiring students to examine their own experiences during the completion of the research proposal.

Course Requirements:

Collaborative Project: Students will complete the Java word paper, research proposal, and collaborative analysis as a team comprised of students from both CUP and WCU. See separate collaborative syllabus on the web at http://coral.wcupa.edu.

Individual Efforts/Assignments: To allow students to explore additional social psychology topics, beyond that of the research proposal, and in order to allow for individual, as well as collaborative efforts to count toward final grades, students will also complete a series of individual in-class assignments/activities. Students will use the collaborative project as an example of many social psychological principles. To do this, students will read about social psychological principles and then find examples of them in their experiences involving the collaborative project. The social psychological principles that will be studied will be determined by the professor, who will also provide an outline of an exercise that can be used to find the examples of the principles. Your completion of these activities will allow you to complete the final collaborative analysis.  

Class Participation:  Class participation is critical. Students must come to class prepared and willing to discuss the material. Students must have read the appropriate chapters/articles prior to class in order to complete the in-class activities and participate in the class discussion. Occasionally, it may be necessary to complete an assignment/activity as homework and bring the results to class for examination and discussion.

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. If you miss more than two classes your grade will drop by one letter grade. Your presence is necessary for your team to function effectively because so much of this course is collaborative. Your absence not only affects you, but also the interactions of the entire class and your individual group/team.

Grading: Students will be evaluated on:

1. Introductory collaborative paper
2. Collaborative Analysis Reports
3. Final Collaborative APA Research Proposal
4. Effectiveness of collaboration throughout the semester
5. Final Collaborative Analysis

Because CORAL is not a traditional lecture-based class, we cannot use traditional grading methods.  Thus, even though assignments may be given a grade, these grades will not mean the same thing as they would in the traditional classroom. In the CORAL class grades are used primarily as feedback, instead of a measurement of knowledge learned.  For example, in a traditional classroom, a D on an exam implies that the student learned a less than average amount of material and can negatively affect the student’s final grade, but in CORAL a D on a paper simply suggests that the student and his/her team needs to improve significantly on future papers in order to get a good final grade in the course. Final grades are based the amount of improvement shown in papers and team collaboration. A final quantitative assessment of the research proposal and final collaborative analysis, and a qualitative assessment of the understanding of collaboration and the CORAL course will also determine final course grades.

For a through discussion on assessment in collaborative courses and learning communities that supports this policy see:

http://www.evergreen.edu/washcenter/resources/acl/index.html