Course+Expectations


 * Welcome to Intro to Psychology, study of the human mind and behavior!**

This semester long class is a project based collaborative course. Your interests will shape the direction of the course, but the basic units are as follows:


 * The Brain **: biological roots of behavior.


 * Sensations/the senses: ** sight, sound, taste, hearing, and touch.


 * Sleep/Dreams **: This is not "dream interpretation" per se, but you will learn more about what you should be doing and what works best for your sleep cycles.


 * The Brain on Drugs **: what happens in the brain when things go really really wrong.


 * Memory **: How it works, how it can be improved, how things can go very wrong.


 * Learning **: How it works, what the types of learners are, how to optimize your own learning potential.


 * Development **: what is typical, what is atypical.


 * Abnormal Psychology **: when the brain isn't working "typically." Prevalence and aspects of mental illnesses, exploring the DSMIV, and examining how the mentally ill are treated in the United States.

All units will conclude with a project, frequently a group project. Working collaboratively is a life skill, it would be really ironic to take psychology without collaborate with another human...


 * You can expect the following from me **:

Respect for all members of our class and everyone's belongings

Clear expectations and explanations of learning objectives, assignments, and how you will be graded (rubrics will be distributed with assignments)


 * I expect the following from you: **

Respect for all members of our class and everyone's belongings

Presence (both physically and emotionally with us)

Prepared, come with required materials and having completed assignments

Any questions, thoughts, comments?

Please contact me at: 781-270-2942 or gould@bpsk12.org

If you find yourself falling behind or there is some sort of issue in a group, please be in touch. No, all group members will not always earn the same grade, but also know that expecting that the world will always treat you fairly is a warning sign of mental illness. Not much surprises me at this point, so be in touch with issues you are encountering. Please remember that a full class session is not always an appropriate time to discuss your personal experiences with drugs, mental illness, or many other topics. In a biology class studying the digestive system you would not share private details about your bowels, in psych we will strive to discuss very personal topics while remaining objective and respectful. Thank you for your respect and attention to this.