ABOUT THE COURSE

HOW TO USE THESE WEB PAGES.

To go from one topic to the next, you simply click at the bottom of the page where it says ãnextä.

* Everything on these pages that is underlined AND IN COLOR takes you to another link (that is, another page). Links in the middle of a page take you to supplemental information. This is always either:

an explanation of who a particular author is and what his or her research is about (click on the name ãBronfenbrennerä) in the introduction page to see an example of this,
a definition of a term with which you may not be familiar, or
additional information on the topic, especially very recent research and information specific to the Spirit Lake Nation, such as statistics on life expectancy, single parents, etc.

Underlined information in black is simply the title of a book or journal. In APA style (which is what psychologists use in writing), when a book or journal is cited, it is underlined. You will come to know and love APA style by the end of the course, as you are required to use it in your papers.

* When you get to the end of a lesson, you will always have at least one choice (usually more). These include:

You can go on to the next lesson.
You can go back to the home page and go from there to any other lesson.
You can send me email to ask any questions, give your opinions, etc.
You can follow a link to other websites on the World Wide Web which relate to the topic of, e.g., genetics.
You can complete an assignment or take a quiz.
And other stuff as I think of it!

*ASSIGNMENTS: There is an assignment at the end of almost every lesson. To complete the assignment, simply click on the word assignment and it will take you to a form to fill out which gives the assignment and space for you to type in your answer. If you are not ready to complete the assignment right then, simply click the close box (the square at the top left corner of the screen). You can come back and complete the assignment whenever you want.

*QUIZZES: There is a quiz at the end of each lesson. Please be sure you have read the chapter before you take a quiz. If, after looking at the quiz, you decide you are not ready to take it yet (as in, you have no clue what the answers are), you can go study and take it later, but the quizzes are created by a computer program, so you won't get the exact same quiz twice, but a similar one. For example, if the first quiz you looked at had the question:

An embryo with two X chromosomes will be

a) female

b) mentally handicapped

c) anemic

d) male

while the quiz you get the second time around might say

An embryo with an X chromosome and a Y chromosome will be

a) female

b) mentally handicapped

c) anemic

d) male

---------- Just in case you have a burning desire to know, without reading the Appendix on genetics yet, the answers are a and d!---

* MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAMINATIONS: These are both open-book tests and include multiple-choice and short answer questions. These are proctored exams which you complete and turn in at the Adult Learning Center.

*BOOK REVIEW and TERM PAPER: These are described more completely in the syllabus. It is recommended that you email the papers to me. You can type your papers on a wordprocessor and then attach the files to an email message to me. If you don't know how to send a file, ask staff in the Adult Learning Center, the computer lab, or another student.

=== > PAY ATTENTION TO THE MESSAGE BELOW <===

The web pages are NOT intended to be a course on their own. These pages replace the lectures that you would have attended if you had been lucky (or unlucky, depending on your point of view) enough to have taken this course from me in an actual classroom. READ the textbook!! The information in these pages are in addition to what is in your text. Some of it simply emphasizes information in your textbook, other pages provide additional research on information or research studies which I think should have been included in the text but weren't or that I did not think were adequately covered. (This isn't necessarily implying it isn't a good book. It is simply impossible to put everything in an introductory textbook and authors have to choose what they will include.) Quizzes and tests will cover the information in the web pages and in the book. You should also be doing the practice tests in the study guide. HINT: The more you read the text and complete the exercises in the study guide, the better chance you will have of making an 'A' in this course. I will ask a lot of questions on what may appear to be rote memorization and jargon, e.g., "What is an age cohort?" or "Define self-efficacy". Why do you have to learn this? There are many reasons but two are:

As a professional, whether a nurse, teacher, psychologist or whatever career you pursue, your colleagues will expect you to understand certain terms and concepts, to be able to "talk the talk". Having the vocabulary of a field is part of being an educated person.
As you progress in your field, later textbooks, articles and course lectures will just assume that you are familiar with certain terms, such as 'preoperational stage', and you will be at a disadvantage if you haven't learned the 'language' of your field.

Go back to the home page Go to the next page (course syllabus)

C lick here to send me email on any comments or questions you might have. (DrAnnMaria@aol.com)