Course Expectations


PSY 348: Lab in Animal Communication & Cognition
\| Home \|\| Goals \|\| Expectations \|\| Requirements \| \| Grading \| \| Class Schedule \|\|Helpful Hints\|

Course Expectations	This is a 300-level lab course in Psychology, and meets the 300-level lab requirement for Psychology and Psychobiology majors. It is also reading- and writing-intensive, so you will be asked to read primary literature, write several kinds of documents, and to write often. I'm told by students that I teach very "intensive" 300-level courses, so be forewarned!
The prerequisites for this course include PSY/BIO 226 (Comparative Animal Behavior), and MATH 141 or its equivalent (Introductory Statistics). Some statistical analyses will be expected in this course, so you will need to dust off that statistics book. We'll review stats on an as-needed basis, but do not expect this course to replace the knowledge you obtained in MATH 141. Only students who meet these requirements will be allowed to enroll. REPEAT: If you do not currently meet the prerequisites for this course, you will not be allowed to enroll. The basic course meets in 3, 50-minute periods per week, plus 3 hours of lab. At Wheaton College, the institution expects you to put in about 2 hours of work outside of classtime for each 50-minute period that you spend in class. Thus, in order to make satisfactory progress in this course, you should be spending a minimum of 12 hours a week on the material--reading, writing, reviewing your notes. If you wait until the last minute to do this work, (say, until the weekend of the first quiz), then you will have 12 hours of work to do in the 48-hour weekend, even before you attempt the quiz. Don't make this mistake. College should be your full-time job. (That's why most colleges require that you live on campus.) If you don't treat it that way, you're wasting your time and money. Take all that you can get from here! And that especially includes KNOWLEDGE!! If you are not being asked to work this much in any of your other courses, you are getting ripped off. Demand more from your professors. It's your future that you're paying for now. Be sure to get what you pay for!
Other Expectations	I expect you at all times to treat me, your fellow students, and the animals that we observe and study with respect. For example, I expect you to abide by and uphold the Wheaton Honor Code, by the Six Commandments of PSY 348, and by the Ten Commandments of Paper Writing in PSY 348.
I expect you to handle gently and humanely any animals that you might be asked to observe in this course, and to report to me any injuries or ill treatment that you see. And I expect you to provide me with due notice if you are unable to complete an assignment or exam on time. Similarly, I promise to treat you with respect as responsible adults. I promise to do my best to answer all of your questions and respond to all of your suggestions so that we can be effective partners in learning.

| Wheaton College Home |