Welcome to Psych 419, Adult Development and Aging.  I am really happy to be your instructor for this WWW course.  If you are on campus, please feel free to drop by my office (Forney Hall 013) and say hello, ask questions, introduce yourself.  If you are not on campus, e-mail is welcome.

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Jamie Nekich (please call me Jamie).  I have worked at the University of Idaho for 12 years and have taught Developmental Psychology and Adult Development and Aging that entire time. 

I'm a licensed psychologist so I've also taught Abnormal Psychology. Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence, and the Psychology of Well-Being, though I am not currently teaching any of these courses. 

I currently teach two sections of Psyc 305, Child Development.  I teach one section in the classroom and one section on the web.  I developed taught a freshman core discovery course called: Art, Artists, & 'Madness' which was an exploration of human emotion, mental health, and expressive pathways to self-understanding from 2006-2010.  That course has now been transformed into Psyc 456 (available for Psychology Majors), The Psychology of Emotion.  I have co-taught in the Department of Theatre on topics related to imagination and dream.  

I did my undergraduate work here at University of Idaho and earned a BS degree in Business.  I did my graduate work at Stanford University where I earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and two MA degrees: Social and Organizational Psychology.  In addition to the courses I teach I am interested in the healing aspects of the unconscious, dream work, healing story, and imagination.  I study and take classes/ offer classes in these topics all over the United States and internationally.  I am interested in mind/ body connections in emotional and physical healing and feel we all possess a great deal of inner wisdom if we find suitable ways to tap and utilize it.  I have a small private psychology practice as a Jungian-oriented Psychologist.

I am a single parent with two children.  I have a son who is sixteen, in Senior High this year.  I have a daughter who is 13 and in Junior High.  Parenting and family life are among my greatest joys.

Our Course:

The structure of the course is laid out in the schedule and the grading in laid out in the syllabus.  In addition to that basic information you should be aware of the following:
 

• Make sure you get the 4th edition of the text book.  It's quite a
  bit different from the earlier editions.
   
• You should log onto Blackboard and make sure things are working for
  you in that interface. 
   
• Students who get the poorest grades in the course are
  the ones who forget to turn in assignments. 
   
• As in many courses, there are plenty of ways to take shortcuts, and
  even cheat, to raise your grade in this course.  Please let your personal ethics guide you.   Put in your best effort to master the material by doing the assigned work --- and accept the grade you earn.  If you're honest, act honest. 
  
  If misconduct comes to my attention I will hold you accountable and report you to the Dean of Students.  I do monitor student behavior and have access to exam and homework submission statistics.  I will ask questions when I see suspicious behavior.