Okay, so I wanted to make a syllabus for an “Introduction to Psychology” course. I’ve never done this before, so it was a bit of a learning curve, but here’s how it went down.
First, I brainstormed all the big topics I thought a beginner’s psych course should cover. You know, the basics like the history of psychology, research methods, the brain and behavior, sensation and perception, learning, memory, motivation, emotion, personality, social psych, and of course, psychological disorders and treatments. I just jotted them all down on a piece of paper.
Next, I tried to organize these topics into a logical order. I figured starting with the history and methods made sense, then moving into the biological stuff, then cognitive processes, then developmental, social, and finally ending with disorders and therapies. It seemed like a natural progression to me.
Breaking it Down
Once I had the big chunks, I started breaking each topic down into smaller, more manageable subtopics.
- For “Research Methods,” I added things like “experiments,” “correlational studies,” “case studies,” “surveys,” and “ethics.”
- For “The Brain and Behavior,” I included “neurons,” “neurotransmitters,” “brain structures,” and maybe a little bit about “brain imaging techniques.”
I did this for each of the main topics, trying to be thorough but not overwhelming.
Adding Assessments
Then came the not-so-fun part: figuring out how to grade students. I decided on a mix of things:
- A few quizzes to keep them on top of the readings.
- A midterm and a final exam to test their overall understanding.
- A couple of short writing assignments, maybe a research paper proposal and a final paper, to get them thinking critically.
- I also put some participation points to encourage active in class.
I spent a while fiddling with the percentages for each of these, trying to make it fair and balanced.
Polishing it Up
Finally, I typed everything up neatly, added some basic course information (like my name, pretend office hours, and a made-up email address), and included a course description and some learning objectives. I also added a section on academic honesty, because, you know, gotta have that.
After reading through it a couple of times, making a few tweaks here and there, I felt pretty good about it. It’s definitely not perfect, but it’s a solid starting point for an intro psych syllabus, and I learned a lot in the process!
