Learning Goals

A year after this course is over, I want and hope that you will…

1. remember and use a comprehensive model of the Self to critically evaluate your own and others’ engagement in social media.
2. notice anecdotes and personal experiences in social media as triggers of inquiry, followed by seeking, synthesizing, and identifying gaps in empirical and theoretical scholarly literature to help understand them.
3. analyze social media data to identify psychological phenomena, and attempt to explain your findings using relevant and current psychological research and theory.
4. use social media deliberately to effect positive change in your own life and perhaps a larger community, and attempt to measure the impact of your actions.
5. effectively engage in a scholarly community of inquiry in various ways, including face-to-face and using tools of social media.
6. develop the skill and willingness to critically evaluate your own and others’ ideas and the manner in which they are presented.

Learning Assessments

How will we know if we’ve made progress toward those goals? Click the links for details.

• Course Participation 5%. Ongoing.
• Journal Article Evaluation (2 articles x 5%) 10%. Due Tuesday January 19.
• Analysis of Your Self in Social Media 10%. Recommended target deadline is Tuesday March 8, but accept submissions up to Friday April 15.
• Impact Project (Final Paper 15%, Quality of Your Peer Reviews 15%, Quality of Your Self-Assessments 10%) 40%.
  • 1 page proposal and mini-oral presentation for your working group due Tuesday February 4 Tuesday February 11.
  • Draft paper due Thursday March 17. Bring 6 copies to class.
  • Peer and self-assessments on Drafts due Tuesday March 22 Thursday March 24.
  • Final paper due Thursday March 31. Bring 6 copies to class.
  • Peer and self-assessments on Final papers due Tuesday April 5 Thursday April 7.
• Final Exam (25%, Quality of Your Peer and Self Assessments 10%) 35%. Date to be scheduled by the registrar.

(Note the departmental grading policy here.)