1 Saint Leo University PSY 110HA Psychological W.docx

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Saint Leo University
PSY 110HA
Psychological Well-Being: How to be Sane in an Insane World
Course Description:
This course uses psychological approaches to physical,
cognitive, and emotional well-being.
The scientific method will be used as a lens to view adjustment
issues. Topics include
personality and self-development, positive psychology, sex and
gender, and relationships.
Emphasis is on application via personal assessment and stress
management techniques.
Students must be aware that they will be asked to share personal
information concerning their
psychological well-being throughout the course as it applies to
content that we cover. Some of
the content of this course addresses issues related to sex. If you
are uncomfortable with this
course content, please consider taking a different course to
fulfill the Human Adventure
requirement for University Explorations.
Prerequisite:
None

Textbooks:
This is an Open Educational Resources (OER) course. All
course content is free and is found
online and through the Saint Leo University Library. Faculty
and Students must have the ability
to download pdf files and will need Adobe Digital Editions
1.7.1 or higher for offline viewing.
Links to assigned readings are provided in the respective
modules.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Analyze major historical, political, social, economic, and/or
life events in context focusing on
the important findings to the science of psychology
demonstrated by quiz grades and the
Compare and Contrast Critique.
2. Develop and use critical thinking concepts and processes
demonstrated by quiz grades and
the Compare and Contrast Critique.
3. Apply principles from the social sciences to individual
experience and demonstrate insight
into one's own thinking process and personality while
developing self-awareness in line with
Saint Leo's core value of Personal Development through these
assessments: Traits To
Strength, Virtual Communication Project, Stress and Coping
and Self-Assessment. HA2
4 Apply principles from the social sciences to individual
experience of different stress reduction
techniques to live more effectively as demonstrated by the
Stress and Coping Project and
graphical representation of data.
5. Identify personal strengths that are associated with quality of
life demonstrated by the Traits
to Strength Project and the Self-Assessment Project.
6. Communicate effectively for a determined purpose while

demonstrating an understanding of
effective communication techniques that enhance personal
relationships through quiz grades
and the Virtual Communication Project assessments. CC2
7. Analyze major historical, political, social, economic and/or
life events in context while
explaining issues important to and gender research
demonstrated by quiz grade and Virtual
Communication Project assessments. HA1
8. Develop an appreciation of and sensitivity to issues of
diversity demonstrated by quiz grade.
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Core Value:
Personal Development: Saint Leo University stresses the
development of every person's mind,
spirit, and body for a balanced life. All members of the Saint
Leo University community must
demonstrate their commitment to personal development to help
strengthen the character of our
community.
In order to improve ourselves and the world around us, we need
to learn to adjust and cope with
life’s difficulties and make effective decisions within these
difficulties. PSY110 HA directly
confronts these challenges with opportunities for students to
learn about scientifically-sound
methods of assessing their own personality and behavioral
patterns. By fostering self-reflection,

this course encourages students to more deeply examine their
own thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors. Likewise, students are asked to participate in stress
management. Engaging in the
application of relaxation and stress reduction, PSY110 HA
provides a direct method for
improving well-being. By engaging students in self-exploration
and the management of stress,
PSY110 HA’s core course content is an essential starting point
for cultivating personal insight
and character.
Evaluation:
Quizzes 20%
Written Assignments 70%
Discussion Questions 10%
Quizzes (5% each of final grade)
Students’ performance will be assessed with 4 objective, non-
cumulative quizzes over the
course of the term. These quizzes will assess knowledge of
content learned during the course
in class, in your readings, and from learning activities in and
outside of class. Some instructors
may choose to include short answer and/or essay questions.
Writing Assignments In this course, there are 5 unique course
requirements that you will need
to complete as writing assignments / essays by the designated
deadline. For each, you will be
assigned to explore a topic, assess a situation, or complete a
task then write about your
experience and/or answer questions while addressing concepts
and theories covered in this
course. For each assignment, the specific information
concerning what you are to address and

how you are to do it can be found below in this syllabus.
Additional tips: Be certain to carefully review the information
for specific directions and refer to
the Scoring Rubrics provided for each activity for information
on how your writing assignments
will be graded. For each written assignment, write 500 words /
2 pages. A 50 word leeway will
be accepted; otherwise points may be deducted. Use basic APA
style guidelines such as 1”
margins, 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and
when citing your sources and
listing your References.
Compare and Contrast Critique (15% of final grade)
You are to locate one source of pop psychology and one source
of empirical research and
compare and contrast the merit of the information in each as
follows:
• Begin by searching in the appropriate place for 2 sources that
are fittingly related to each
other on any topic in Psychology. Empirical research can only
be found in professional
journals. The easiest way to find a professional journal article
is by accessing PsycINFO
through the portal at my.saintleo.edu then locating the online
Library. Pop psychology
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sources are newspapers, news magazines, tabloids, and other
self-help articles found either

online or on store shelves that offer advice. Examples include
articles by Dr. Phil, Dear
Abby, Dr. Laura, Tony Robbins, etc. Articles in Psychology
Today and WorldHealth.net are
pop psychology and, although they may report on or refer to
empirical research, they are not
professional journal articles.
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• To prepare your essay, you should think critically about the
merit of the information in each
article by asking the following questions about each: a.) What
is the main issue, problem, or
intention of the article? b.) In what way(s) does the article
investigate various points of view
and assumptions? c.) What evidence is provided to support the
issue? d.) In what way(s)
does the article discuss consequences and implications of the
reasoning provided? e.) In
what way(s) does the information provided help you make an
informed decision about the
purpose?
• Now, focus on the answers to the above questions and
compare and contrast the 2 sets of
information.
• Determine what your thesis is and state it clearly and
concisely. It should briefly introduce
your topic but more importantly should indicate that your
purpose is to compare and contrast
the merit of the pop psychology article with the merit of the
empirical article. This will be the

first sentence of your essay.
• In the body of your essay, you may do a whole-to-whole
comparison of the 2 sets of
information or you may do a (less common) point-to-point
comparison. For a whole-to-
whole comparison, address the information about one of the
articles by discussing its merit
using the critical thinking concepts above, then, do the same for
the second article. For
point-by-point, you should address the first important point
about one article then that same
point about the other, discuss a second point about one then the
other, and so on. You will
want to be very thorough in the body as this is a very large
percentage of your grade on the
essay.
• Your conclusion should summarize how the merit of the pop
psychology article compares
and contrasts with the merit of the empirical article, thus
reaffirming your thesis without
restating it. This is where you conclude with inferences, clearly
address implications or
consequences of accepting the given information, and culminate
any assertions.
Additional Resources: For more help on how to search our
library and a video lecture from
one of our Saint Leo University librarians on how to do this
assignment, copy and paste this link
into your browser:
http://saintleo.libguides.com/PSY110Critique.
Here’s a very short video on APA Format: In-Text Citations,

Quotations, and Plagiarism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FrJeRrLYe0
Here’s another video on How to do your Reference Page in APA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmcaYdZDa-U
Refer to the assignment guidelines and scoring rubric for further
information.
Traits to Strength Project (15% of final grade)
You are to complete this assignment as follows:
• Access the Psych Central Personality Test:
http://psychcentral.com/personality-test/start.php
• Navigate to Quizzes then scroll down to Personality. Take the
test by answering the
questions as honestly as possible. Upon completion, find your
comprehensive personality
report on the five personality traits and reflect upon the positive
aspects of your relationship
http://saintleo.libguides.com/PSY110Critique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FrJeRrLYe0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmcaYdZDa-U
http://psychcentral.com/personality-test/start.php
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with each trait. Choose the most positive information in the
report and reflect upon how that
trait is a personal strength that you possess.

• To begin your essay, state and highlight or indicate in italics
or bold your positive Trait. It is
not necessary to define the trait or reiterate the description of it
from your results.
• Now, describe your reaction in the following ways: How does
this trait represent who you
are as a person? Were you surprised by the results? How does
this trait act as a personal
strength, and in what ways do you find having it important and
helpful to your quality of life?
Aside from the test results, what other character strength(s) do
you feel you have, and how
are they important or helpful in reference to your psychological
well-being? Some examples
include leadership, gratitude, spirituality, bravery, honesty,
justice, perseverance,
appreciation of beauty, wisdom, etc. You will want to address
the answers to these
questions clearly and completely as this is 25% of your grade on
the essay.
• Next, explain how you can apply this personality trait /
strength or your other strengths to the
important areas of your life such as work, school, relationships,
play, and/or parenting. You
may even wish to use your strengths in a way that you have not
done before and report on
that. Again, please provide a thorough discussion, as this part
is also worth another 25% of
your grade on the essay.
information.

(UE Key Assignment) Virtual Communication Project (15% of
final grade)
Submit the Virtual Communication Project to Chalk and Wire
no later than Sunday 11:59
EST/EDT of Module 5. The Virtual Communication Project
Chalk & Wire link is located in the
Module 5 folder. Students who do not submit the assignment to
Chalk & Wire will receive a
zero. This is a key assignment assessment; the results are used
to ensure students are
meeting University Exploration program goals. Video and PDF
instructions can be found on the
course home page. PDF instructions are also located in the
Start Here folder.
You are to gather and analyze conversations comparing virtual
to face-to-face interactions.
• Begin by creating a brief 5 question opinion survey/interview
on a topic of interest. This
should include open-ended questions so that the people
surveyed can elaborate on their
answers.
• Complete the survey/interview with 3 people face-to-face then
complete the same
survey/interview with 3 people using virtual communication
such as email, text messaging,
chat room, discussion board, or any other virtual means that you
wish to use.

• To prepare your essay, think critically about your results.
• Determine what your thesis is and state it clearly and
concisely. It should briefly introduce
your topic but more importantly should indicate how virtual
interaction compares and
contrasts with face-to-face interaction. This will be the first
sentence of your essay.
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• In the body of your essay, you should include your survey-
interview questions but it is not
necessary to include your participants’ answers. Focus on the
answers to these questions
and compare and contrast the 2 sets of information. Were your
results what you expected?
How were they similar; how were they different? Was it easier
to interact virtually or face-to-
face? What were the challenges? What were the advantages of
meeting face-to-face
verses meeting virtually? What were the disadvantages of each
way? How did the
differences in the following seem to influence the nature of the
responses: physical distance,
anonymity, richness of communication, visual cues, time? You
will want to be very
thorough in the body as this is a very large percentage of your
grade on the essay.
• Your conclusion should summarize how virtual interaction
with people compares and
contrasts with face-to-face interaction reaffirming your thesis

without restating it. This is
where you conclude with an overall summary describing your
insight into what the findings
mean to you and what you learned about yourself in reference to
your psychological well-
being and the method of communication that proves more
effective.
• Please be mindful of using open questions in your survey.
These are questions that require
an explanation / more than a few words. Here are some
examples: What are some of the
things you like about this class? What are the challenges of
going to school while working
full time? How is an online class different from a face-to-face
class? What types of activities
do you enjoy in your class? Describe the consequences of
getting behind. Avoid closed
questions. These are questions that can be answered with a
couple words and offer no
explanation. Here are examples: How many classes are you
taking this semester? What
classes are you taking this semester? When do you have class?
Do you think you are going
to pass? Did you turn in all your assignments? Are the tests
hard? When is the semester
over?
information.
Stress and Coping Project (15% of final grade)

For 2 weeks straight, you are to engage in some stress
management / relaxation technique for
10-15 minutes per day then report on your experience as
explained below.
• Begin by choosing an activity you wish to take on and engage
in for 14 days. Here are some
ideas: walking, jogging, stretching, bicycling, swimming,
weight training, jumping rope, yoga,
Tai Chi, meditation, progressive relaxation, body scanning,
visualization, repetitive prayer,
listening to soothing music, painting or coloring, journaling
about 3 things for which you are
thankful, something you wish for or dream about, or a positive
experience you had during
the day. The idea is to try something that you do not currently
practice each day and stick
with it every day for 2 full weeks. If you are interested in body
scanning meditation or
visualization, here are sample audio/video guides: Body Scan
Meditation or Visualization -
Forest.
• Each day before you engage in your activity, track your
overall mood using a scale of 1 to
10 with 1 being very negative, 5 being neutral, and 10 being
very positive. You should also
track how you feel, using a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being very
agitated, 5 being neutral, and
10 being very calm. When you finish your activity, once again,
track your overall mood and
how you feel. Write down this information every day and even
though you need not submit
it, you will need to summarize your overall results in your
report.

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• At the end of the 14 days, review the tracking of your moods
and feelings throughout that
time period, and to prepare to write your essay, evaluate the
findings of how your mood and
feelings changed or did not change.
• Begin your essay by clearly describing the stress management
/ relaxation technique you
chose to use. Then discuss the findings that you tracked each
day before and after
engaging in your activity. Be sure to thoroughly address what
you originally expected to find
and then anything that may have surprised you, as this is 25% of
your grade on the essay.
• Next, write an overview of your technique in reference to the
benefits to your psychological
well-being. You should also address any challenges you
encountered and what you learned
from the overall experience. Lastly, be certain to disclose
whether or not you intend to
continue to use the technique in the future. Again, please
provide a thorough discussion, as
this part is also worth another 25% of your grade on the essay.
Begin this project by Sunday of Module 3 and end by the
Sunday of Module 5. The Stress and
Coping project is due by the end of Module 6.

information.
Self-Assessment Project – (10% of final grade)
You are to complete 7 of the Quizzes found in this website:
http://psychcentral.com/quizzes/.
Follow the link to Quizzes then scroll down to the quizzes on
Relationships and Sexuality or
Personality sections. Please avoid using the Quizzes on
Disorders and Symptoms since the
emphasis in this class is on psychological well-being, not
mental illness.
• To begin your essay, state and highlight or indicate in italics
or bold the titles of each of the
self-assessments you took and briefly describe your results in
terms of your reaction and
how you see your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors coinciding
with your scores. You may
also address what surprised you about the findings. Be certain
to provide a thorough
discussion, as this part is worth 25% of your grade on the essay
• Next, write an overall summary describing your insight into
what the findings mean to you
and what you learned about yourself in reference to your own
psychological well-being.
Again, please provide a thorough discussion, as this part is also
worth another 25% of your
grade on the essay.
information.

Weekly Discussions (10% of final grade) Students will complete
a discussion assignment each
week that includes posting answers to questions and responding
to at least two peers.
Grading Scale:
Grade Score (%)
A 94-100
A- 90-93
B+ 87-89
http://psychcentral.com/quizzes/
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B 84-86
B- 80-83
C+ 77-79
C 74-76
C- 70-73
D+ 67-69
D 60-66
F 0-59
Assessment of the Learning Outcomes:
Course
Learning
Outcome

Assessment Method
1 Quiz, Compare and Contrast Critique
2 Quiz, Compare and Contrast Critique
3 Traits to Strength Project, Virtual Communication Project,
Stress
and Coping Project, Self-Assessment Project
4 Quiz, Stress and Coping Project
5 Traits to Strength Project, Self-Assessment Project
6 Quiz, Virtual Communication Project
7 Quiz
8 Quiz
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Course Schedule:
Module 1 Psychological Research
Objectives When you complete this module, you should be able
to:
▪ Define Psychological Well-being.
▪ Explain the process of scientific research.
▪ Describe the difference between empirical research and pop

psychology.
▪ Distinguish between the research methods used by
psychologists.
▪ Define happiness and its determinants.
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Post an introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post an initial response to the discussion question Thursday
11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Module 2 Personality
to:
▪ Define personality and describe key characteristics of the
major
theories of personality.
▪ Explain and evaluate personality assessments.

Assignments
11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
Submit Compare and Contrast Critique Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete Quiz 1 Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
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Module 3 Positive Psychology
to:
▪ Define positive psychology and explain its history and origins
within
the field of psychology.
▪ Explain how positive psychology provides a framework for
research
on psychological well-being

▪ Identify one’s individual positive traits and how these might
aid in
improved living.
Assignments
11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
Submit Traits to Strengths Project Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Module 4 Stress, Lifestyle, and Health
to:
▪ Define and give examples of different types of stress and
stress
concepts.
▪ Differentiate between stimulus-based and response-based
definitions
of stress and the early contributions to the stress research field.
▪ Identify the short and long-term effects of stress.

▪ Define coping and explain various coping strategies.
Assignments
11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
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Module 5 Interpersonal Communication/Interpersonal
Attraction and
Relationships
to:
▪ Describe important principles of good interpersonal
communication
and explore ways to adopt them in daily living.
▪ Discuss the roles of proximity, familiarity, and physical
attractiveness
in attraction.

▪ Outline characteristics common to maintaining and growing
relationships, as well as factors that influence ending
relationships.
▪ Distinguish between the different types of love.
Assignments
11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
Submit Virtual Communication Project to Chalk & Wire Sunday
11:59 PM EST/EDT
Module 6 Marriage and Family/Gender, Sex, and Sexuality
to:
▪ Describe society’s current understanding of family and how
marriage
and family patterns have changed over time.

▪ Recognize the prevalence of single parents, cohabitation,
same-sex
couples, and unmarried individuals, and the general challenges
families face.
▪ Distinguish between sex and gender.
▪ Explain the influence of socialization on gender roles.
▪ Distinguish between the meanings of transgender, transsexual,
and
homosexual identities.
Assignments
11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
Submit Stress and Coping Project Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
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Module 7 Psychological Disorders

to:
▪ Describe the medical model of abnormality and explain why
classification systems are necessary in the study of
psychological
disorders.
▪ Distinguish between the biological perspectives and the
diathesis-
stress model of psychological disorders.
▪ Identify key criteria for diagnosing a few common
psychological
disorders.
Assignments
11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
Submit Self-Assessment Project Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Module 8 Therapy and Treatment

to:
▪ Describe different types of mental health professionals.
▪ Recognize the major orientations to therapy, as well as
commonly
used techniques.
▪ Explain biomedical treatment and its role in treating
psychological
disorders.
Assignments
11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
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Saint Leo University
SCI 120SC
Human Ecology
Course Description:
We individual humans, as well as all of human civilization, are
totally interdependent with the global
ecological system – dependent upon clean air, pure water, a
stable climate, healthy forests, healthy
grasslands, healthy ocean ecosystems, and fertile soil with its
teaming microscopic life. Individual humans
and human civilizations are subject to the laws of physics, the
rules of chemistry, and ecological
principles – there are no exceptions! In what ways do we
humans depend upon the ecosystems of Earth?
In what ways does human society affect the ecosystems of
Earth? What can we learn from nature’s laws
about how to live on Earth sustainably? What is a healthy
human ecology? What is the future of human
civilization and its relationship to the ecosphere?
Prerequisite:
None
Textbooks:
Dyball, R., & Newell, B. (2015). Understanding human ecology:
A systems approach to sustainability.
New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN: 9781849713832
B. Lopez (ed.). (2007). The future of nature: Writing on a
human ecology from Orion Magazine.
Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions. ISBN: 9781571313065

Learning Outcomes:
After completing the course, students will be able to:
1. Discuss and analyze the ways individual humans and
civilizations depend upon the ecosystems
of Earth, assessed in exams, quizzes and current events journal.
2. Describe the impact of human decisions on environmental
systems assessed in exams, quizzes,
current events journal, and Future of Nature presentation. SC2
3. Communicate effectively about what can be learned from
nature’s laws about how humans can
live on Earth sustainably, assessed in exams, quizzes, current
events journal, and Future of
Nature presentation. CC2
4. Analyze physical, biological, and/or ecological systems and
their relationships through defining
and discussing what comprises a healthy human ecology,
assessed in exams, quizzes, current
events journal, and Future of Nature presentation. SC1
5. Discuss and evaluate the future of human civilization and its
relationship to the ecosphere,
assessed in exams, quizzes, current events journal.
6. Discuss how human civilization can change to become
harmonious with the ecosphere of which it
is an interdependent part, assessed in exams, quizzes and
current events journal.
7. Saint Leo Core Value of Responsible Stewardship is the
focus of the course: Students will be
able to discuss and evaluate how humans and human

civilizations can learn to live within the
restraints of the natural world without destroying creation,
assessed in exams, quizzes and
current events journal.
Core Value:
Responsible Stewardship: Our Creator blesses us with an
abundance of resources. We foster a spirit of
service to employ our resources to university and community
development. We must be resourceful. We
must optimize and apply all of the resources of our community
to fulfill Saint Leo University's mission and
goals.
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Evaluation:
Assignment Weight
Discussions (8 total) 10%
Quizzes (6 total) 10%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam 20%
Current Events Journal (6 total) 12%
Current Events Overview Paper 8%
Future of Nature
Presentation 15%
Discussion (6 total) 5%

TOTAL 100%
Grading Scale:
Grade Score (%)
A 94-100
A- 90-93
B+ 87-89
B 84-86
B- 80-83
C+ 77-79
C 74-76
C- 70-73
D+ 67-69
D 60-66
F 0-59
Discussions
For each module (8 total), you will post an initial response to a
discussion question that is posted on the
Discussion Board no later than Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
for each module. Students will also post a
response to at least two classmates no later than Sunday 11:59
PM EST/EDT of each module.
Quizzes
There are a total of 6 quizzes (Modules 1-3 and 5-7).
Complete each quiz no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
for the module in which each is assigned.
Midterm and Final Exam.
The Midterm Exam occurs in Module 4 and the Final Exam

occurs in Module 8.
Complete the Exams no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
for the module in which each is
assigned.
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Current Events Journal
For Modules 1-6, you will analyze and evaluate a Human
Ecology Current Events article. The articles
must be published during the term that the course is taken.
Write an analysis and evaluation of the article,
paying particular attention to the scientific accuracy of the
material and focusing on how any problems
addressed in the article could have been avoided in the first
place or lessons that can be learned and
used to create a healthy future human ecology. Be certain to
provide a complete Web Address (and
citation) for the article in your post. Your Current Event Journal
should be approximately 600 words in
length.
Post your Current Events Journal to the Current Events Journal
Discussion Board for each module in
which a Journal is assigned no later than Thursday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT.
Post a response to at least one classmate’s Current Events
Journal no later than Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT for each module in which a Journal is assigned.

Current Events Overview Paper
After analyzing and evaluating 6 Current Events Articles for
your Journal, write an approximately 600
word overview paper of all the articles you have evaluated. Tie
the articles together with an overarching
theme such as:
What changes in our human ecology are needed to avoid these
problems or to create a more
sustainable human-nature relationship?
Click Current Events Overview Paper for further details on this
assignment.
Submit the Current Events Overview Paper to the Assignment
box no later than Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT of Module 7. (This Assignment box is linked to
Turnitin.)
Future of Nature Presentation
The Future of Nature Presentation will cover a reading from the
textbook The Future of Nature. Along with
creating a presentation, you will also facilitate a discussion
between you and your peers on the given
topic.
Your instructor will notify you when you will be giving your
Future of Nature Presentation, along with the
reading you will be presenting on.
The Future of Nature Presentations will occur in Modules 2-3
and 5-7.
Click Future of Nature Presentation for further details on this

assignment.
If You Are Presenting:
Post your Future of Nature Presentation to the Future of Nature
Presentation Discussion Board no later
than Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT for the module you are
assigned to present in.
Your discussion grade will consist of how well you facilitate a
discussion. When you post your
presentation, you must also post 3 discussion questions
pertaining to your presentation for your
classmates to answer. List them as 1., 2., 3. After you get
initial responses to your questions, you must
post responses to at least 3 classmates.
You must submit your Future of Nature Presentation to Chalk
and Wire. The Chalk & Wire link is located
in the Key Assignment Module as well as to the Future of
Nature Presentation Discussion Board.
Students who do not submit the assignment to Chalk & Wire
will receive a zero. This is a key assignment
assessment; the results are used to ensure students are meeting
University Exploration program goals.
Video and PDF instructions can be found on the course home
page. PDF instructions are also located in
the Start Here folder.
http://mediaweb.saintleo.edu/courses/SCI120SC/CurrentEventsP
aperGuidelines.pdf
http://mediaweb.saintleo.edu/courses/SCI120SC/FoNGuidelines.
pdf

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If You Are Not Presenting:
Post a response to at least two classmate’s Future of Nature
Presentation no later than Sunday 11:59
PM EST/EDT for any module you are not presenting in. NOTE:
Each presentation should have at least 3
responses; please post a response to a presentation that does not
have 3 responses.
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Course Schedule:
Module 1 Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: The
Challenge of Human Ecology
to:
▪ Describe the transdisciplinary nature of human ecology.
▪ Explain the social justice implications of human ecology.
▪ Give examples of the social dimension of environmental
conflicts.
▪ Explain the statement, “The great challenge of our time is an
ethical and
metaphysical one, not a call to new technologies.”
▪ Explain the significance of a “Blue-Green” alliance on climate
change. How
does it relate to environmental and social justice?

Assignments
Post an introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates’ Introduction Sunday
11:59 PM EST/EDT
Read the assigned materials
11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
Post an initial response to the Current Events Journal 1
Discussion Board
Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post a response to at least one classmate’s Current
Events Journal 1
Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
6

Module 2 Building Shared Understanding
to:
▪ Demonstrate understanding that collaboration across discipline
and sector
boundaries is necessary in any attempt to develop sustainable
communities.
▪ Demonstrate understanding of the complexities of human
communication.
▪ Demonstrate understanding of fundamental system dynamics
concepts.
▪ Explain how climate change has changed life for the Inupiaq
whaling
communities and how it might change life for millions of people
around the
world.
Assignments
11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT

Discussion Board
Events Journal 2
Post and Submit Future of Nature Presentation 1: Action
(if presenting in this module)
Post responses to at least two classmates’ Future of
Nature Presentation 1: Action (if not presenting in this
module)
Post and Submit Future of Nature Presentation 2:
Refugees (if presenting in this module)
Nature Presentation 2: Refugees (if not presenting in
this module)

7
Module 3 Systems and Sustainability
to:
▪ Explain how the feedback loop is the fundamental building
block of system
dynamics.
▪ Define and explain sustainability using process rate diagrams
for renewable
and non-renewable resources and for polluting processes.
▪ Explain carrying capacity, the limits of growth, and
population crashes.
▪ Demonstrate understanding of the “Goldilocks Principle:” an
extension of the
Ehrlich-Holdren Relationship (“In order to be sustainable a
society must
maintain its resource and waste flows at rates that are not too
high, not too
low, but just right”).
▪ Discuss the benefits and problems associated with Ecotourism.
Assignments

11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
Discussion Board
Events Journal 3
Boundaries (if presenting in this module)
Nature Presentation 3: Boundaries (if not presenting in
this module)
8

Module 4 Towards A Shared Theoretical Framework
to:
▪ Explain Boyden’s analysis of “to facilitate thinking and
communicating about
the different options for the health and wellbeing of humans and
of the
ecosystems on which they depend.”
▪ Evaluate the Cultural Adaptation Template and Boyden’s
Biosensitivity
Triangle and Transition Framework.
▪ Explain Newell and Proust’s Feedback Guided Analysis and
the Guided
Analysis to Technology Choice and Human Health.
Assignments
11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
Post Current Events Journal 4 to the Current Events
Journal 4 Discussion board

Post responses to at least one classmate’s Current Events
Journal 4
Complete the Midterm Exam Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Module 5 Paradigms: Ideas That Change the World
to:
▪ Compare and contrast the “Respect Nature,” “Ownership and
Control of
Environments,” and “Landscapes in the Service of Remote
Consumers”
paradigms and their effects on the environment.
▪ List the major feedback signals that are lost in modern
industrial society and
describe the major problems that arise when those feedbacks are
missing.
▪ Describe the effects, both positive and negative, of the
widespread use of
fossil fuels.
▪ Discuss how a reverence for nature, for creation – a sense of
awe of the
universe - could affect the way a society treats the ecosystems
of Earth.
Assignments

11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
Discussion Board
Post a response to at least one classmate’s Current Events
Journal 5
Reverence (if presenting in this module)
Nature Presentation 4: Reverence (if not presenting in
this module)
Module 6 Life in the Anthropocene

to:
▪ Explain why the belief in the possibility of unlimited growth
must give way to
a new paradigm if we are to live well in the Anthropocene.
9
▪ Summarize the human impacts on key planetary boundaries or
tipping points
during the Anthropocene.
▪ Discuss the ethical implications of both the environmental
justice and social
justice consequences of the skewed distribution of the impacts
of production,
distribution, and consumption in the global community today.
▪ Explain why it is impossible for programs to bring the poor up
to the levels of
affluence enjoyed by the rich and why the paradigm of
‘sufficiency’ must
come to dominate the human economy.
▪ Discuss the importance of “true cost” (also known as “whole
cost”)
accounting when considering economics.
Assignments

11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
Post Current Events Journal 6 to the Current Events
Journal 6 Discussion board
Post responses to at least one classmate’s Current Events
Journal 6
Post and Submit Future of Nature Presentation 5: Monsters
(if presenting in this module)
Nature Presentation 5: Monsters (if not presenting in this
module)

10
Module 7 Global Impacts of Consumption
to:
▪ Discuss the problems of industrial commodification of food
systems – and
their solutions.
▪ Explain how engaged ecological citizens who are prepared to
demand local
sustainable food systems could extend relevant ethical
principles and
standards to all environments and remote land managers and
have
expectations that the systems of production that supply them are
also just
and sustainable.
▪ Discuss how people must be willing to both adopt and be
reasonably easily
able to operate within a belief system/paradigm that lowers their
environmental impact.
▪ Explain the difference between “Think Globally, Act Locally”
and “Think
Locally, Act Globally” and the importance of both.
▪ In regard to the goals of a healthy human ecology, compare
the effects of
having a “sense of place” with the concept that nature is merely
a supply of
“raw materials” to be used as humans see fit.

Assignments
11:59 PM EST/EDT
EST/EDT
Post and Submit Future of Nature Presentation 6: Native (if
presenting in this module)
Nature Presentation 6: Native (if not presenting in this
module)
Submit the Current Events Overview Paper Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
11

Module 8 Stewards of a Full Earth
to:
▪ Explain the importance of stabilizing and then reducing
population numbers
while achieving sustainable per capita consumption.
▪ Explain why it is important to incorporate equity and justice
into all
sustainability decision making.
▪ Discuss the need for modern society to shift to a paradigm of
sufficiency
within which just and sustainable wellbeing for all of creation
becomes the
norm.
▪ Be able to apply Aldo Leopold’s famous statement to the
principles of human
ecology: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the
integrity, stability, and
beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends
otherwise.”
Assignments
11:59 PM EST/EDT

EST/EDT
Complete the Final Exam Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT

1 Saint Leo University PSY 110HA Psychological W.docx

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