Lifespan Psy condensed to 3 wks?

Feistn · Feb 19, 2012

I've taken a couple courses like this. African Cinema and ASL II. You should expect to put pretty much a full eight hour day into the class to be successful. My classes were in person, and one nice thing about it was that you literally had no time to forget things. With language, it was even better because you were using it for hours a day every day.

leenak · Feb 19, 2012

You could ask what is expected. I've never taken that short of a course. For my Lifespan class, we had 4 exams, multiple quizzes, 1 research paper and 8 2-3 page writing assignments.

CinDRnyc · Feb 19, 2012

The shortest course I've ever taken is 8 weeks and that was at rio salado, it was a Humanities so not too hard. Personally, I wouldn't do it UNLESS you are desperate and you need it to apply by a deadline or something. If it is your only class you can probably pull it off but I took Lifespan in a normal 16 week timeframe and it was a lot of work. Check out a syllabus if you can to see what is expected.

lilliben1 · Feb 20, 2012

I'm in lifespan psych right now for a regular 16 week semester. It's an "easy" class but a LOT of terminology. Our teacher lets us use open notes for quizzes/exams which helps, but even with that you still need to know the material.

Personally I wouldn't do it unless you know for a fact you have awesome study habits/memorization skills.

Cherry02 · Feb 20, 2012

I took a 3-week course once...5 days a week, 4 hrs/day (obviously in person)...it was very easy and laid back. I also took Spanish 4 in 4 weeks (4 days a week, 4 hrs/day)...it pretty much consumed my life for those 4 weeks...but it went by quickly, so that was nice. I think if you have a good amount of time to devote to the class each day, you can definitely do it. But it is hard to predict exactly how demanding it will be...just depends on the class and the instructor. Good luck!

Hibbzem17 · Feb 20, 2012

go for it! you wont regret it. try to keep up with discussions. usually you have a few days time to complete quizzes/and assignments. but expect to be online EVERY day. and google is definately your friend with online classes. I did it and got an A-! and now hat s another class crossed off my pre req list. good luck

rn/writer, RN · Feb 20, 2012

The best advice in this thread so far is to see if you can get hold of a syllabus. You might also try contacting the instructor and asking what to expect. That's really the only way to make an informed decision.

Let us know what you find out.

RNGriffin · Feb 20, 2012

Psychology throughout human lifespan is basically going to build on the knowledge you previously had from Psychology 101 and Psychology Human Development. With that, you won't see many new concepts rather reiteration and a more detail expansion of your previous knowledge. Three weeks is a relatively quick time to complete an entire course, so prepare to take quizzes, chapter test, and write research papers within a week time frame. Each Psychology instructor is different, but I have rarely seen one who doesn't require some type of observational literature analysis. With that being said, if you have a grueling work and home schedule this may not be the course to take. But, if you are a person who learns concepts quickly & are able to correlate those concepts with previous knowledge, it should be a breeze.

Go for it if you can handle it.

melc0305 · Feb 20, 2012

Thanks for all the feedback! I think I will try to take the 10 week online Lifespan Psych but then I will have to take it in conjunction with A and P 1. I am just nervous because I haven't been in school in almost 20 years...and it's been over 20 years since I've had a science course. Add to that, I've never taken an online class before so I'm not sure what to expect.

RNGriffin · Feb 20, 2012

Honestly, this is going to be a huge departure from the traditional learning style you were accustom to 20 years ago. Professors typically require your participation in discussions, as well as interaction with other classmates. Opposed to physical courses, you will no longer be able to hide in the back of the class, but now your responses & understanding will be made much more aware. This is all from my experience with online courses through John Hopkins a year ago. I've had professors who were easy going, but the majority of our learning has been through the articulating understanding in written format. You'll have to be confident in your writing ability, and ability to convey your message through text. It's a great learning tool for those who aren't strong writers, and could be a hinderance for those who aren't as expressive in the writing sense. You'll do fine! Good decision in opting for the 10wk course. As you aren't familiar with these online courses & reality has to settle in before making a decision in regards to your education.

rn/writer, RN · Feb 20, 2012

Thanks for all the feedback! I think I will try to take the 10 week online Lifespan Psych but then I will have to take it in conjunction with A and P 1. I am just nervous because I haven't been in school in almost 20 years...and it's been over 20 years since I've had a science course. Add to that, I've never taken an online class before so I'm not sure what to expect.

The 10-week course seems like a wise choice. If you had taken science classes recently or were familiar with the way online classes function, you'd only be dealing with one untried element. But with both science classes and online learning being new to you, the three-week course would probably have felt too intense, and you may have ended up dropping out and having to retake it.

Even though you'll be doing A&P at the same time, you'll have a more manageable workload--less than one third of what you would have had--and will have a chance to develop a comfort level with online classes.

Best wishes to you in both courses.