Welcome to the Fall 2015 semester and Health Psychology D921!
Below is a set of ground rules specific to discussions held in class and online. These are important to remember so that every member of the classroom feels respected and safe when discussing topics that are sometimes personal and powerful.
- Listen actively — respect others when they are talking.
- Speak from your own experience instead of generalizing (“I” instead of “they,” “we,” and “you”).
- Do not be afraid to respectfully challenge one another by asking questions, but refrain from personal attacks — focus on ideas.
- Participate to the fullest of your ability — community growth depends on the inclusion of every individual voice.
- Instead of invalidating somebody else’s story with your own spin on her or his experience, share your own story and experience.
- The goal is not to agree — it is to gain a deeper understanding.
- Be conscious of body language and nonverbal responses — they can be as disrespectful as words.
YOUR TASK: It is now your job to create any additional class ground rules you may feel necessary. You may also use this opportunity to ask a question about any particular policy and stimulate conversation among your classmates. If you chose not to add a rule, please be sure to elaborate on one of the rules presented above. You are encouraged to reply to other’s suggestions about these guidelines for meaningful discussion among one another.
Reference:
http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activities/groundrules.html
I agree with policy number 3, sometimes an individual doesn’t agree with someone thought or comment. Therefore focusing on the idea and forming your disagreement into a question is a great form of asking the speaker to elaborating on their thought and also allows you to contribute in the conservation by stating your opinion.
These rules or policies are fair and understandable. It also encourages people to be active in class and discussion. The 6th policies is the most important because many people agree or disagree without understanding fully or not listening to both side of the stories.
I agree with rule #7. Keeping in mind that our body language can reflect words that are not being said but thought. We need to be just as respectful with our body language as we are with our words.
I agree with all of the class policies, because these policies are encouraging the class to have thoughtful and respectful discussions. Policy number 5 is my favorite policy, since it allows students to share their experiences based on a similar situation that another student has experienced.
These rules seem to be very fair and can be exercised if followed. Rule #7 would have to be the most important because people usually don’t realize how their body language reflects their attitude. Also psychology tends to bring out a lot of emotions in people at times.
I believe these rules are all valid, fair and should be followed not only in class but in our daily lives. This class is going to make us better people because by following these rules and by implementing them in every call we will learn to respect others and their thoughts even though we might not agree with what they are saying.
All the rules are very important to take out the best result from the class. I like the rule 3 because it encourages to challenge your classmate about your opinion or thoughts. It also requires you to brainstorming about your topic before you challenge others.
I think policy number 1 and 6 are very important. Both policies say that we should take into consideration another person’s point of view and learn from them. Even if we don’t agree with someone else’s opinion, we can still politely share our input.
I agree with all seven policies that are written for this class, only if society can follow these policies, maybe everyone would understand each other a little better.
🙂
Actually all these rules make sense and represent the core of any healthy group’s discussion. I want to add to the seventh rule that as gestures can have a negative message embedded within, they can have a positive one that we should take it seriously. Body language is used by many people to communicate ideas who can’t express them in some circumstances and we have to pay attention to that if we really want to have a full understanding of one person’s participation.
These policies apply perfectly to Health Psychology class. They support appropriate base structure for mutual respect and perfect learning environment. Personally, I’m in favor of no 6.The goal is not to agree — it is to gain a deeper understanding. The ultimate goal is to learn and analyze.
I agree with rule #7 most likely because sometimes a certain sign, body language, or gesture may offend or have a certain meaning to another individual. Sometimes as I speak out loud, I may not be fully aware of my face gesture, and it can be interpreted differently. Is it still ok to talk about others experience, and generalize when is necessary?
The policies seem pretty straight forward, of course some of these are common sense. I find it curious that our opinions are actually important whereas we could just as easily be reading from a textbook or website for information that has already been gathered. Also, I wonder if in this class, our stories/experiences are worth just as much if not more than just facts. It all seems interesting and I’m happy to tackle the subject.
This is a well established policy. I understood the policy well enough. I am looking forward to learning a lot about health psychology. You have explained everything well. In the future if i’m having hard time to cope up with something, I will talk to you personally. But as of now I it is great and I’m looking forward to this session and learning great things.