Psychology Learning Community

During the fall semester, PLC members will be co-enrolled in two courses.  First, you will have the opportunity to participate in Psyc200 (Orientation to Psychology and the Major).  This is a special course that will introduce you to the diverse range of areas studied in Psychology, to different careers connected to these areas, and to the unique opportunities of being a Psychology Major at JMU.  In addition, it will facilitate having you meet and make initial connections to numerous faculty and students in our department. Second, you will be enrolled in Psyc212 (Psychological Research Methods and Design, Part I) to begin important pre-requisite coursework for our major and your methodology training. Then in the spring semester, you will be enrolled in Psyc213 (Psychological Research Methods and Design, Part II) to complete your method training and pre- requisite coursework.

Recent work by the American Psychological Association (APA) on best practices for Undergraduate Psychology Programs has outlined 10 learning goals.  The PLC coursework and additional experiences that will be offered will give each member of our community the opportunity to begin mastering all 10 goals in your first year.  Specifically, these learning goals are:

• Goal 1. Theory and Content of Psychology - Demonstrating familiarity with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in psychology.
• Goal 2. Research Methods in Psychology - Understanding and applying basic research methods in psychology, including research design, data analysis, and interpretation.
• Goal 3.  Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology - Respecting and using critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry, and, when possible, the scientific approach to solve problems related to behavior and mental processes.

• Goal 4. Application of Psychology - Understanding and applying psychological principles to personal, social, and organizational issues.
• Goal 5. Values in Psychology - Being able to weigh evidence, tolerate ambiguity, act ethically, and reflect other values that are the underpinnings of psychology as a discipline.
• Goal 6. Information and Technological Literacy - Demonstrating information competence and the ability to use computers and other technology for many purposes.     
• Goal 7. Communication Skills - Being able to communicate effectively in a variety of formats.
• Goal 8. Sociocultural and International Awareness - Recognizing, understanding, and respecting the complexity of sociocultural and international diversity.

• Goal 9. Personal Development - Developing insight into one's own and others' behavior and mental processes and applying effective strategies for self-management and self-improvement.
• Goal 10. Career Planning and Development - Emerging from the major with realistic ideas about how to implement one's psychological knowledge, skills, and values in occupational pursuits in a variety of settings.

When selecting students for our community, we are interested in freshmen who have declared Psychology as a major and who have demonstrated proficiency in mathematics and writing to enter the Psyc212 and 213 sequence as a Freshmen.  In addition, other important characteristics in selecting members for the community will be interest in working in a community that promotes diversity, collaboration, interest in exploring psychology as a science of behavior, and willingness to engage in service-learning and other experiential learning opportunities.

Please contact Dr. Kenn Barron if you have any questions about the Pyschology Learning Community, either by email  at barronke@jmu.edu or by phone at (540) 568-4065.