Organization

Divisions

Group by whatever makes sense for your material: by week, by topic unit, by module - most teachers choose weekly modules
Separate and group assignments, assessments, activities, etc. into small chunks
Shorter chunks work better than longer chunks (breaking longer assignments into shorter chunks helps students with time-management)
Account for the difficulty of the material and length of assignments
Some prefer giving the same type of assignments each week (discussion, paper, test), while others like a greater variation in types of assignments each week

Create a calendar with dates for each chunk and due dates for all assignments - this can be done within the Canvas calendar
Don't forget to account for holidays and Spring break
Progression 1:
- some prefer that all content in the entire course be available at the start so students can plan ahead
- some prefer making only current material available to make the workload seem less overwhelming
Progression 2:
- some prefer a system where assignments within each chunk can be completed in any order
- some prefer "adaptive release" where certain assignments must be completed before the next
Progression 3:
- few have tried a "non-building" approach where any work in the course can be completed in any order (but this would depend on the course content and purpose - and see difficulties below)
All due dates should be finalized and posted in your course syllabus on the first day of class (any late changes should have an accompanying announcement)

Specify exact due dates/deadlines
Make assignments unavailable after the deadline (unless you allow for late work)
Include multiple midweek/mid-module deadlines (or reminders) to help with students' time-management
Remind students to work regularly in your announcements - not only about weekly assignment deadlines, but also non-assignment tasks like reading, working on longer projects, studying for exams, etc.
Some have included no deadlines and have allowed students to work through the entire course without any date constraints (except for the end of the course) - this is a self-paced approach (but here the class is out-of-synch with each other, especially in discussions, and this makes it difficult for the instructor to track and grade students)
Establish clear policies and penalties for late work

Week	Dates	Module(s)	Module Topic (s)
1	Jan 28 – Feb 3	1 & 2	Discovering Psychology & Psychology & Science
2	Feb 4 – Feb 10	3	Brain’s Building Blocks
3	Feb 11 - Feb 17	4	Incredible Nervous System
4	Feb 18 - Feb 24	5 & 6	Sensation & Perception
5	Feb 25 - Mar 2	7 & 8	Sleep &Dreams, Hypnosis, & Drugs
6	Mar 3 – Mar 9	9	Classical Conditioning
7	Mar 10 - Mar 16	10	Operant & Cognitive Approaches
8	Mar 24 – Mar 30	11 & 12	Types of Memory & Remembering/Forgetting
		Optional Presentation #1 due by midnight Mar 30
	Mar 29	Exam One (Modules 1 – 12)
9	Mar 31 – Apr 6	13 & 14	Intelligence & Thought/Language
10	Apr 7 – Apr 13	15 & 16	Motivation & Emotion
11	Apr 14 – Apr 20	17 & 18	Infancy/Childhood/Adolescence/Adulthood
12	Apr 21 - Apr 27	19 & 20	Freudian/Humanistic/Social/Cognitive/Trait Theories
13	Apr 28 - May 4	21	Health, Stress, & Coping
14	May 5 – May 11	22 & 23	Assessment, Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorder, & Schizophrenia
15	May 12 – May 18	24	Therapies
16	May 19 - May 25	25	Social Psychology
		Optional Presentation #2 due by midnight May 25
	May 31	Exam Two (Modules 13 – 25)

Last Updated: 08/23/2019

A Member of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District