Drugs, Society, and Behavior

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Course Requirements:

Debates

Two times during the semester each student will participate in a formal debate. The topics for debate have been chosen because they represent areas in which experts disagree. This is a very important point because students sometimes feel that a particular argument is somewhat artificial or somewhat extreme and that someone makes it just for the sake of argument. Let me assure that this is not the case with any of the debates this semester.
I have high expectations for your performance in these debates, and when I use the word formal I do it fully aware of the implications. I expect you to be well prepared for your debate. This means:

a. Your library research needs to be complete and current

b. You need to be aware of your presentation style: keep the audience interested; make sure they are able to understand your arguments

c. You need to rehearse so that you can do your presentation without reading

d. You need to stick to the time limit

e. You need to dress for the occasion

f. You need to coordinate your presentation with that of your partners

g. Audiovisual aids are a must--make sure that you at least use a few well-developed overheads. However, don't be afraid to try something a little different.

Be aware that there will be guests in every debate. These guests will probably be professors from psychology and other departments who will be invited and asked to judge your performance. Debates will also be video taped so we can discuss your performance at a later point.

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Term papers

You will also be responsible for writing three research/position papers in this seminar. For two of those papers, the topic is the same as the topic of your debate. This does not mean, however, that in your debate your will simply read your paper. The amount, type, and way of presenting information in a paper are almost never adequate for oral presentations. You can think of your paper as an expansion of your debate, or of your debate as a summary of your paper, whatever works best for you. The third paper will be on a topic of your choosing but you must consult with your professor before choosing this topic. Each 10 page debate paper is due at the beginning of class on the day of the Writing Process Meeting of the same number as your debate. It is crucial that you bring two copies of your paper in because it will be the topic of our meeting that day. The due date of the third paper will be determined after you have chosen the debates in which you will participate. Once established, this date is non-negotiable. Late papers will be downgraded 10% for each day they are late. This means that the highest possible grade you can get for a paper that was one day late is a B+. I am also requiring that you meet with the writing tutor to talk about your paper before you hand it in.

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In the class meeting following a debate day we will spend time reviewing the performance of the debaters. We will do this primarily by watching the videotape of the presentation. Seeing yourself as others see you is the best way to gain some insight as to what areas of your presentation style can be improved. Many of you will find this experience somewhat uncomfortable or downright embarrassing. I have in the past video taped my lectures and positively hated it. However, I know you will find this exercise as worthwhile as I have. As a member of the audience you will be responsible for giving constructive feedback to your fellow student debaters. You will do this by writing down THREE things you liked about your peer's presentation and THREE things you think need to be improved. Please make sure you write your name on the feedback sheet before you hand it in to me at the beginning of class on critique day.

I have kept in mind several specific goals in designing this seminar. To develop these goals I have drawn on my previous experience with first year students. In particular, I have thought of some of the skills that I have sometimes found to be less developed among my first year students in the past. The basic goal is, of course, related to the content of the course. I want you to learn a vast amount of information about the use and abuse of drugs in our society. Reading materials, lectures, and films are all designed, first and foremost, to convey this information to you. However, there also some process issues that I want to cover.

For example, in my experience, first year students do not always learn to use the library as early in their college career as they should. I have taught many sophomores who did not know the appropriate way to go about searching for information in our library. During this semester you will spend quite a bit of time doing that. In your papers I will expect you to cite a reasonable amount of appropriate scholarly sources to substantiate each one of your arguments. To do that you will have to access professional data bases.

Another goal is to have you learn how to read research reports. Psychology is an empirical discipline in which the publication of reports on scholarly activity is highly regulated. For example, for a research report to be considered valuable it needs to have undergone a process known a peer review. In this process, experts in a given field within the discipline conduct a blind review of a particular piece of work. Only after these acknowledged experts agree that the work makes a clear contribution to the field is the work accepted for publication. The format and content of the written report are also highly regulated. You will need to become familiar with some of these regulations to make sense of what you read.

I have also noticed that many students have a difficult time expressing their ideas orally. This is a crucial skill we will work on during the semester. As implied in the name of the program, this is a First Year SEMINAR. In a seminar it is the students who carry the burden of making the class an interesting and productive endeavor. The emphasis will be on informed and well-reasoned discussion rather than on lectures. I will look to you every week to engage each other in a polite but honest oral give-and-take in which you express your opinions (always supported with some sort of evidence) and intently listen to the opinions of others in the class. I expect you to disagree with each other and with me. Disagreement is the fuel of conversation. However, I also expect you to acknowledge that every one's opinions are as important and deserving of attention as yours.

You will also sharpen your public speaking skills by participating in two formal debates during the semester. Presenting material to an audience in a logical, clear, and concise manner is a difficult enterprise. How do you keep your audience engaged? How do you present the material so that it is at the same time clearly understood and interesting? Is it better to make many brief points or a few larger ones? You will face these questions over and over in this seminar and throughout your life. Whether you are a teacher trying to communicate with your students, an architect trying to persuade a customer to choose your plans instead of those of your competitors, or a graduate student in any area of academia defending your masters or doctoral thesis, public speaking is an invaluable skill.

Finally, I also want you to learn how to critically review a manuscript. Several times during the semester you will have the opportunity to read the work of one of your peers. Your responsibility is to help this person to make his or her work better. To do this you will have to think long and hard about the content of what you read. You will also have to be well informed about the content of the work. In my experience two problems tend to arise: (1) Many students are uncomfortable critiquing the work of a peer. The tendency in this case is to say very little that is helpful fearing offending the author; (2) Many students do the opposite, the become harsh and insensitive in their criticism. You need to resist both of these tendencies. Valuable criticism is that which points to what needs improvement in an honest but kind manner, while also offering praise for what is good.