Chapter 6 - 7

07 Office Hours

Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor. fill in the diagram with the information that you hear.

W: Hi Professor Jordan, can I talk to you? My name is Sandra Lilith.

I’m interested in taking a Developmental Psych. class next term.

M: Yes, hi Sandra, come on in. Take a seat.

W: Thanks. So I, uh, just met with my advisor and she tentatively signed me up for your class, but she said I would need to talk with you to get your approval and to ask you to sign a form.

That’s because I haven’t taken Intro to Psych, and, um, it said in the course catalog that that class was a prerequisite for your course.

M: Yes, that is correct. It is a departmental policy not to allow students to take middle and upper level courses without having first completed the necessary prerequisites.

We do this because the courses above the introductory level courses presuppose that students have a certain amount of background knowledge.

For instance, in Developmental psychology, we start off assuming that you know all the theories and material covered in the introduction to Psychology course, the 101 course.

Without that background knowledge, it’s hard to follow the course.

So I’m afraid you’ll have to take the 101 course first, and then you are more than welcome to be in my class next time I offer it, which I think, hmm, will be this summer.

W: Oh no, that won’t work. I’m not going to be here this summer, and I really want to take your class. See, I have an internship this summer at a camp and will be working with disabled children.

So I really want to take your class to help me be prepared for that experience.

One of the supervisors at the camp, Jessica Franklin, graduated from here about two years ago, and she highly recommended that I take your class before starting my internship.

She thought it would be very beneficial to have a foundation in the theory of developmental psychology to help guide my work.

M: Ah, I remember Jessica. Glad to hear she is working at the camp.

I know that was something that she had hoped to do after graduating. Good for her. Tell her I said hello next time you talk with her.

W: Sure. Be glad to.

M: But about your situation. I can understand where you are coming from, and it sounds like you could really benefit from the class. And it’s great to hear that you are planning an internship this summer as well and want to apply the theories from the course toward your work, but without the background knowledge that you will need, I’m afraid the course will be too difficult for you.

W: Well, I know that I didn’t take the 101 class here, but I have taken two years of psychology in high school, so I’m pretty familiar with the basic theories and concepts. I didn’t take the AP test, but I still know a lot.

M: Hmm. How about this? What I can do is let you take the class on a trial basis. I’ll sign your form and you can be in the class.

But, I want you to check in with me on a weekly basis and let me know how you think things are going.

Then we can decide if the course is right for you or not. I’d also suggest that you audit the 101 class while you are in my class.

That means you’ll be in 101, but you won’t be responsible for all the work, and you won’t get credit for it.

But that way, at least, you’ll be getting some exposure to how we teach introductory psychology at this college, and it might help you review what you learned in high school.

W: Professor Jordan, I really appreciate you doing this. I’m confident that it will work out.

And of course, I’ll keep you posted on how things are going.

M: OK then, where’s that form you were telling me about?

W: Oh, right here. Thanks.

M: Just make sure you turn that in soon. They are pretty strict about deadlines around here.

W: Yeah, that’s what I hear. My advisor keeps warning me about that. I’ll drop it off right now. See you next time

M: I’ll see you then.

1) Based on information from the conversation indicate whether or not the student must perform each action. Place a checkmark in the correct box.