Information and Requirements

PSY 310 –Child & Adolescent Development

Fall 2007

Instructor: Dr. Nikki Yonts

Office: 105 Derby

Phone: 698-4285 (office)

Email address: nyonts@lyon.edu

Office Hours: Posted outside office door.

Required Texts:

Dixon, L.E. (2003). Twenty Studies that Revolutionized Child Psychology.
Shore, C.M. (2004). The Many Faces of Childhood: Diversity in Development
Swartwood, & Trotter (2004). Observing Children & Adolescents: Student Workbook

Other Recommended Texts: APA (2001). Publication Manual (5^th Edition).

Course Purpose:

Child Development examines the developmental process from conception through adolescence. This course will specifically cover the physical, cognitive, social, and personality development as well as the major theories of the field. In addition, we will focus on cultural and educational issues that arise from the study of the development of children and adolescents.

Course Goals:

Learn and gain mastery over the basic facts and research findings, terminology, principles, and theories important in the various areas of child and adolescent development.
Develop understanding, skills, and techniques for analyzing human behavior using a scientific approach.
Gain a basic understanding of the interaction between genetic and environmental influences on child and adolescent development.
Gain a basic understanding of cultural influences on physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development in children and adolescents.
Practice and develop critical thinking skills, and written and oral communications skills

Expectations:

I expect you to be present, punctual, prepared, and attentive during class. You can also expect me to be present, punctual, and prepared to teach. I expect you to participate positively and constructively in class and be respectful to others thoughts, opinions, and questions. You can expect me to provide a positive learning environment that encourages active student learning and I will be open to all thoughts, opinions, and questions. Finally, I expect you to understand and abide by the information and procedures described in the syllabus.

Accommodations:

Lyon College complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with disabilities who need assistance should make their requests for accommodations to the Office of Academic Services.

Course attendance:

Students are expected to attend all classes. It is also college policy that students can be dismissed from classes in which they have excessive absences. Therefore, I will be taking attendance daily. If a student misses a class, regardless of the reason, that student is responsible for all material presented in class, any assignments, and any changes to the class schedule. Also, please be respectful to your classmates and your instructor by coming to class on time. It is very distracting when students are late to class.

Assigned Readings:

Assigned readings must be read prior to the class lecture. We will not cover everything from the readings in class; however, you will be responsible for all material from assigned readings. Many of the test questions will cover material directly from the text and any supplemental readings. The chapters from the books have been assigned to facilitate discussion and debate. Therefore, it is especially important that you read the material before class.

Course Requirements:

Exams - There will be three exams. All exams will cover material from lectures, discussions, debates, and supplemental readings. Each exam will include identification questions and longer essay questions. The first two exams are non-cumulative, covering only the material since the last exam. The final exam will be comprehensive and in two parts, including an essay component and a take-home section from the observation workbook. All exams (except the take-home) are in-class exams, using blue books. All exams are closed-notes/closed-book and you may not collaborate with anyone. If you need to miss an exam for an excused reason, you must notify me before the exam and schedule a make-up date. Make-up exams will only be given for excused absences and must be taken within a week of the original exam date. The first two exams will be worth 100 points each, and the final exam will be worth 150 points, for a total of 350 points –64% of your final grade.
Child Observation Portfolio– To help you learn the critical concepts from the field of child development; you will be viewing video clips and answering questions from the observation workbook. Throughout the semester you will submit your answers to those questions in the form of an observation portfolio. Your answers must be typed, as per APA format. The portfolio will be worth 60 points – 11% of your final grade and be due on the days designated in your course schedule. In addition, your final exam will include a take-home component which will require you to complete observation modules from the workbook. I will provide additional handouts during the first full week of classes that give you more details on this assignment.
Exceptional child paper – During the first week back from fall break, you will “adopt” a child with exceptional needs. This assignment will require you to research the particular exceptionality you are given and write a formal review paper on your child. I will give you a series of questions to help you organize your paper. You must have at least 5 scientific resources (articles or books) and you may not use internet sources (meaning websites) for your research sources. The result of your research will be a 7-9 page paper, not including the title page and reference page. The paper will be worth 100 points (18% of your final grade). I will provide additional handouts that further describe this assignment.
Threaded discussions - To help with discussion, we will be using Educator to conduct threaded discussions on some of your readings. The purpose of these is to facilitate sharing of thoughts, ideas, resources, and information related to the material you will be reading. You are required to participate in all discussions. This will involve posting a response or answer to my questions as well as to other students’ posts. These posts must be completed within the deadlines set – no late posts will be accepted. Please be aware that this is not negotiable – procrastination will hurt you if the servers are down or you have computer problems, as I will not accept this as an excuse. Participation in the threaded discussions is worth 40 points (7% of final grade). I will provide additional handouts outlining requirements and expectations at a later date.

Honor Code Information:

You should be familiar with and uphold the Lyon College Honor Code (please see Student Handbook if you have any questions). Remember: For all written assignments, please avoid directly or indirectly (i.e., paraphrasing) using author’s words. This is plagiarism. You will always have the opportunity to show me rough drafts of any written assignments and I will help you with any problems or questions you have.

Collaboration: There will be no collaboration on exams and all exams are closed-book. Students are encouraged to study together and are free to discuss the articles they are reading for class assignments. However, all written assignments must be written without collaboration, unless otherwise indicated.

Summary of points:

2 Exams worth 100 points each 200

Final exam 150

Child observation portfolio 60

Exceptional child paper 100

Threaded discussions 40

TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE 550

If you get 90-100% of the points you will get an A; 80-89% = B; 70-79% = C; 60-69% = D; 59 or less = F. Note for final grades, I will follow the rules of rounding and will only round up if your decimal is .5 or above, so 89.5 would be an A but 89.4 would be a B. There are no exceptions because you will have opportunity to get extra credit points to push yourself into the .5 range.

Tentative Schedule

Date	Topics Covered	Readings	Due
Tue 08-21	Syllabus/Introductions
Thu 08-23	History, Theory, & Directions	Berk reading; Shore (1)
Tue 08-28	“World Views” of Development	Dixon (22); Super article	Discussion #1
Thu 08-30	Research Designs	Dixon (19)
Tue 09-04	Research ethics and children	Kanner, et al. article
Thu 09-06	Prenatal development	Dixon (17 & 18)
Tue 09-11	Prenatal development & Birth
Thu 09-13	Early learning, motor skills, & perception	Dixon (5)
Tue 09-18	Physical Growth	Barton, et al. article
Thu 09-20	Exam #1		Portfolio
Tue 09-25	Cognitive Development – Piaget	Dixon (2 & 3)
Thu 09-27	Cognitive Development – Piaget & Vygotsky	Dixon (4)
Tue 10-02	Cognitive Development – Vygotsky		Discussion #2
Thu 10-04	Attention, Memory, & Metacognition	Dixon (7)
Tue 10-09	What is Intelligence	Neisser, et al
Thu 10-11	No Class – Fall Break
Tue 10-16	Intelligence Differences	Shore (7)
Thu 10-18	Language Development	Dixon (8 & 9)
Tue 10-23	Language Development	Shore (5)	Portfolio
Thu 10-25	Exam #2
Tue 10-30	Emotional Expression & Understanding
Thu 11-01	Attachment	Dixon (10 & 12); Shore (4)
Tue 11-06	Temperament	Dixon (16)	Discussion #3
Thu 11-08	Moral Development	Dixon (15)
Tue 11-13	Contexts of Development: Parents	Dixon (13); Shore (8 & 18)
Thu 11-15	Contexts of Development: Siblings & Peers
Tue 11-20	Contexts: School	Shore (13 & 14)	Final Paper
Thu 11-22	No Class- Thanksgiving
Tue 11-27	Contexts: Community & Culture	Shore (10, 11, & 20)	Portfolio
Thu 11-29	Contexts: Community & Culture	Dixon (14)
Tue 12-04	TBD
Wed 12-05	Reading Day		Take-Home
Dec 6-12	Final Exams (See schedule for day)