Manage your time wisely. This course takes place virtually. Taking an online class gives you the flexibility to schedule your own time during the week to access the course and complete the assignments. However, an online class can be difficult for some students. When you take a face-to-face class you know you have to attend lectures a few times every week, which helps you keep up with the work. With an online class you make your own schedule to make sure you fulfill the course requirements by the deadlines. To make sure that you do not fall behind or miss deadlines, I recommend that you schedule your work for the online class as you might schedule your work for your in-person classes, employment, and/or appointments. On your calendar, schedule several blocks of time throughout the week to work on this online class (PSYC 3010 Research Methods in Psychology I). It is essential that you access the course site regularly (at least 3 – 4 times per week) to read course announcements, complete the assigned readings, go over the lectures, interact with your classmates in discussions and in completing group activities, submit assignments, take quizzes, and complete exams.

Take good notes. You may feel tempted to read the readings, go through the lectures, and watch the videos without taking notes. You should avoid this temptation. Rather, you should take good notes and you should study your notes. This will enable you to be prepared to contribute meaningfully to group activities, and to successfully complete individual assignments and quizzes. Additionally, if you take notes for each learning module, you will be better prepared to study for the exams. Studying the notes frequently will enable you to retain the information better. The information you learn in this course will be useful in your upper-level psychology classes. Additionally, the skills that you gain from understanding and remembering the concepts will help hone your critical thinking skills and enable you to better evaluate information that is presented to you in everyday life.

Actively think about the learning activities as you complete them. The learning activities are designed to make sure you understand the material covered in the learning modules (e.g., the readings, videos, lectures). They are designed to help you understand and apply what you are learning. They can also help you assess (before you take an exam) how well you understand the material. If you feel lost and/or you feel that you do not understand the material that we are covering, please email me to schedule an appointment. To prepare for these activities, you should complete all assigned readings, view the lectures, watch the videos, etc. As you work on the learning activities, think about all of the information presented in the learning module. Think about how you can apply the information in the modules to everyday life. Exchange ideas with your group members.

Study early and often. Research (e.g., Benjamin & Tullis, 2010; Ebbinghaus, 1885) shows that you will retain information better if you study the material over a period of time rather than cramming. Let’s say you plan on studying for 12 hours. You are more likely to retain the information if you study for 2 hours a day for 6 days (spaced learning) than for 6 hours over 2 days (massed learning) or for 12 hours the night before an exam (massed learning/cramming). Research also suggests that you will be able to better understand and retain the information if you: create your own study materials (e.g., study guides), use concrete examples, make your own examples for concepts (e.g., use elaboration – make connections and apply the concepts to your own experiences), test yourself often (e.g., practice retrieving, create your own quiz/exam), use dual coding (combining text with imagery), and use interleaving (for more information see: http://www.learningscientists.org/downloadable-materials/). I also recommend answering the review questions and completing the learning activities that are provided in each chapter of your textbook. If you have any questions about the class material, please feel free to stop by during my office hours.

Schedule an appointment to meet with me if you need help. Do not wait until the end of the semester. You will enjoy the class much more if you understand the material. If you are considering dropping or withdrawing from the class, please feel free to schedule a meeting with me and make sure you visit your academic advisor to see how dropping/withdrawing may affect you academically and/or financially.