Intro to Pyschology

  

 Course Evaluation

    Course subjects

       Taking my first course that is solely teaching about Psychology had its own definition of challenging. I had to learn a subject without any firm background as to what it means other than what I've learned about a few Psychologists in the past. Without a doubt, the hardest subjects to learn were ones that involved recognizing new vocabulary words. Mainly regarding how the brain functions. It was hard enough learning the different "sections" of the brain. But to try to explain each one by its corresponding name and function was hard to grasp.

    Similarly to what I have mentioned before, the easiest discussion was when we had to learn about conditioning theories. Robert Shultz has talked about this subject several times in his Eco-Human Experience class, so I retained some knowledge about classical conditioning. I didn't necessarily learn anything brand new to this subject, but rather a different perspective that supports the idea of conditioning as an effective and valid method of controlling a pupil's mind process.

    Classmates/Peers

    When it comes to classmates, the people I sat with were great. Whenever we had a chance to discuss stuff (if we weren't assigned groups), we usually had an active discussion. A common pattern I noticed was that the bigger the groups, the less likely everyone will get a say or choose to participate. What I would recommend is to have groups of 3 or 4. That way, the amount of work can be better distributed for each person to walk. Another thing is students don't often volunteer to answer a question when the door's open to give an idea. It may be anxiety, or the same issue as how I'm still trying to retain information. Nevertheless, even if finding an opportunity to share an idea was challenging, everyone seemed to get along on good terms. 

    Personal Reflection

      Something that I have been good about was attending each class, as well as adding ideas to discussions. I find both of these qualities important as a student as they not only prove my willingness to learn, but they help me progress as a responsible adult. To combat my concern about not being able to retain knowledge immediately, I take down notes of what I find important to remember. If I have to recollect information, I have a simplified source to depend on.

    Final thoughts

    For an intro class, I believe it summed up a lot of first-layer details about a variety of subjects. Learning how the body reacts to thoughts (e.g. phantom limbs, medically altered perceptions...) answered a lot of unanswered questions in my mind. To learn stuff like the consequences of drugs was also an eye-opener. I knew bad things could happen, but I didn't know what exactly happened based on the drugs someone takes. That I believe could apply to someone my age, and I could also use the information to discourage a class I'm teaching from going down that path.

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