Part of LaGuardia’s First Year Experience, this course is designed to assist incoming students majoring in Psychology to make a successful transition to their major and college life. This course is based on open educational resources that are zero-cost to all. The First Year Seminar for Psychology introduces psychology and ways to think about different theoretical approaches and research that are relevant to student success, such as learning, identity, and motivation, and research methods. This course addresses issues related to navigating personal development and academic achievement in psychology.

The courses on this portal are or will be Zero-Textbook-Cost courses. Course faculty are creating and adopting teaching, learning and research materials that permit no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions.

The following course pages provide links to the syllabus and open course content, websites and learning tools:

Biology
SCB 201 – General Biology I
Chemistry
SCC 110 – Foundations of Chemistry
SCC 201 – General Chemistry I
SCC 202 – General Chemistry II
Physics and Astronomy
SCP 101 – Topics in Physics
SCP 105 – Life in the Universe
SCP 140 – Topics in Astronomy
SCP 201 – Fundamentals of Physics I
SCP 202 – Fundamentals of Physics II

Course Objectives:
To examine the role of psycho-active substances in human cultures and societies through interdisciplinary perspectives, e.g., anthropology, sociology, psychology, political science, biology, and public health
To increase knowledge of the effects of different psychoactive substances on the individual and society
To facilitate open and honest communication the nature of substance use, abuse and addiction

This session focuses on building subject knowledge in photography and finding background information on an artist. The lesson begins with students closely examining a photograph, following the Visual Thinking Strategies model (https://vtshome.org/). Following the exercise, students are divided into groups and select a monograph on a photographer. As a group, they research the photographer using the book and other library resources (subscription databases) and open web resources (artist’s website, museum websites). The session ends with student groups giving 2-5 minute presentations on a photographer.