Prerequisite: Psyc 1101 or consent of instructor - An introductory, non-laboratory based examination of human development across the lifespan with an emphasis on normal patterns of physical, cognitive, and social development.

1.  This course provides an introduction to the milestones of human development from conception to death.
2.  The course will focus on the  physical, cognitive, and social growth of children, adolescents, and adults with special attention focused on the various cultural contexts of development and the rich diversity of individuals.
3.  The content of the course is drawn primarily from the research and theories of developmental psychology.
4.  During the course, the students can integrate their knowledge of psychology and their observations of human development  with the content of this course.
5.  The course will address the implications for child-rearing, education, and social policy so that students can apply their knowledge to meaningful problems.
6.  The course is designed so that the student can link research in developmental psychology with everyday issues that the student  may encounter in his/her personal life or read about in the media.
7.  The course wil also try to provide a variety of opportunities for the studnet to demonstrate his/her knowledgeteaching the student developmental psychology, including multimedia lectures, movies, guest speakers, and hands-on experiences.
8.  Learning is seen as a process in which the student is actively engaged in the course material and not just a passive recipient.
9.  Those students who take responsibility for learning the material, demonstrating their knowledge on exams and projects, who plan their projects early, and who expend effort on learning throughout the course will be those most satisfied with the knowledge they have acquired and the grade they have received.

The student is expected to attend all regularly scheduled classes. The College's attendance policy indicates that a student who misses 20% of scheduled classes may be dropped from the course with a grade of WF.  Roll will be taken each class period.  In order to receive credit for attendance, you must arrive at class on time and you must remain until class ends.

A.  Letter grades will be assigned on the basis of the following numerical values:

A = 90 - 100                D = 60 - 69
B = 80 -  89                 F = less than 60
C = 70 -  79

Borderline grades will be determined by class participation and classroom etiquette.

B.  Four hourly exams and a comprehensive final will be given.  Exams will consist
of multiple choice, matching, short answer, and/or essay.  SEE ATTACHED READING AND EXAM SCHEDULE. The instructor has the option of giving periodic short exams which may or may not be announced ahead of time.  These will be averaged in with the hourly exams.

C.  A group project presentation will be developed around a topic selected from the text.  Grading will be according to the effectiveness of the presentation in terms of adequate coverage of the selected topic, use of  visual and teaching aids, use of demonstrations and examples of selected  topic, originality, organization, equal participation of each member, and length of the presentation.  (See attached).

Each presentation should be accompanied by one portfolio.  The portfolio should consist of 1) a title page giving the title of the presentation and listing the members of the group, 2) a presentation layout telling which group member is responsible for what part of the presentation and who did what, 3) a project log giving the dates and times of meetings of the group, who was present, and what was done, 4) a research report giving a brief review of the topic selected (between three and five double-spaced pages), 4) hand outs used during the presentation and/or a paper copy of your PowerPoint presentation, 3) an annotated bibliography of all resources that your group consulted in the preparation of the project.

An idea of the project presentation should be submitted to the instructor and approved before it is done.

D. Learning about behavior and its consequences is an important concept in this course.  Looking at classroom participation will give you an opportunity to assess your behavior in this area and learn about the consequences of your behavior. Class participation includes participation and behavior in the classroom.  Please also see classroom etiquette.   This portion of the grade will also be determined by attendence, excessive absences (see class attendance policy), and arriving late for classes.  Participation in the classroom, including classroom etiquette and attendance, will count 10% of your final grade. See attached rubric.

E.  Anytime a student is absent, the student is still responsible for the material covered in class and any class assignment given that day.

F.  Make-up work will be conducted on an individual basis, however,  there will generally be no make-up work considered for unexcused absences. Make-up tests will be essay tests. Students must have permission to miss test.

G.  Deadlines will be met and work will be of a standard reasonably expected from WC Students.

H.  The contribution of the exams, the final, the group project and class participation  are shown by the grading percentage below:

Four exams (or more). . . . . . . . . .. 60%
Comprehensive Final Exam. . . . . . .10%
Group project . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . 20%
Class Participation . . . . . . . . . . .. . 10%

   Grades and current averages may be viewed on WebCT

I. Incompletes - The grade of incomplete is given to students who for reason of illness or accident are unable to complete a segment of the course. At least 75% of the course requirements must be met with a passing grade BEFORE an incomplete will be considered. In no case will the grade of Incomplete be given as a means to avoid a failing grade.

An atmosphere of mutual respect will be maintained in the classroom.  Please do not hold conversations with classmates whenever the instructor or another student is speaking. Also refrain from writing and passing notes or participating in other distractive behavior. Your undivided attention in class is a must. The student is expected to come to class with his/her textbook and writing materials and be prepared to take notes.  The student should not be doing work from other courses while in psychology class.  The instructor reserves the right to request students who engage in disrespectful conduct and/or disruptive behavior to leave the class and if the behavior persists in future classes the instructor will drop the students from the class. Please turn off cell phones during class, especially during tests.  If the instructor sees a student using his/her cell phone for text messaging during class, the instructor will confiscate the student’s cell phone.  

Plagiarism is prohibited.  Plagiarism is defined by Webster as the stealing and passing off of the ideas or words of another as one's own. Further, the MLA Handbook states, "Plagiarism may take the form of repeating another's sentences as your own, adopting a particular apt phrase as your own, or even presenting someone else's line of thinking in the development of a thesis as though it were your own."  For further information about plagiarism, see Lester, Writing Research Papers.

Academic misconduct, including alleged violations involving plagiarism, will be handled according to the procedures outlined in the Waycross College Student Handbook .

The Academic Support Center (ASC) was created to offer supplemental assistance to students enrolled in all courses at the College.  The ASC offers a variety of services at all levels, ranging from personal tutoring in math, reading, and composition skills to providing handouts and supplementary materials on writing research papers and critiques, taking essay and objective tests, and developing effective study techniques.  Through audiovisual, computerized, self-paces, and one-to-one tutorial work, the ASC assists students in developing strengths and eliminating deficiencies.  Students may be referred by instructors or may independently seek additional help. Sample tests, outlines, and study guides are in the  ASC.

In order to officially drop a course without penalty, a student must obtain and fill out a Drop/Add form from the Registrar's office, acquire  appropriate signatures, and return the completed form to the Registrar's office before the designated date published in the Academic Calendar in the Waycross College Catalog.

The College is committed to providing accessibility to all students in accordance to ADA/504 guidelines. Students should contact the Director of Student Life regarding accessibility.

In conjunction with the chapter objectives given in the text at the beginning of each chapter, students should be prepared for the additional chapter objectives.

• what it means to say that human development is integrated, interactive, and dynamic.
• what role brain maturation plays in major developmental events that characterize early childhood.
• how physical development and cognitive development influence each other as children move through early childhood.
• how language development and cognitive development interact.
• what it means to say that play both mirrors and encourages cognitive development. 
  

At the end of Chapter Seven Early Childhood: Personality and Sociocultural Development, students  should know:     

• why learning to control emotions is such an important developmental event in early childhood.
• if TV shows, movies, and other media have a negative or positive impact on the development of today’s generation of young children.
• about the primary developmental task that preschool children must undertake.
• if having an imaginary companion bodes well or ill for normal development in early childhood.
• how children come to understand the concept of gender.
• the kinds of parenting styles that lead to the healthiest adjustment for children.
  

• about the overarching principles that guide development through the period of middle childhood.
• why asthma and obesity are becoming more prevalent among grade school children in the US.
• how the thought processes of a grade school child differs from those of a preschool child.
• the best way to define intelligence.
• the most important adjustments children face when they begin school.
• the best way to meet the educational challenges faced by children with special needs.      

At the end of Chapter Nine on Middle Childhood: Personality and Sociocultural Development, students should know:

• the events in middle childhood that enhance or detract from the child’s developing self concept.
• how a child’s social world is influenced through interactions with others.
• how children of different ages think about questions of right versus wrong.
• what influences peers have on development during grade school years.
• how a child comes to develop a sense of ethnic identity.
• what developmental issues are posed for children when family structure changes.
  

At the end of Chapter Ten on Adolescence: Physical and Cognitive Development, students should know:

• if adolescents in cultures around the world experience the period of adolescence in the same way.
• why adolescents focus on issues of body image and ways these concerns are expressed.
• if it is better to sexually mature before or after most of one’s peers.
• if the brain’s development during adolescence influences the thinking and behavior of teenagers.
• what adolescent egocentrism is and how it is linked to the changes in cognitive development that teenagers typically experience.
  

At the end of Chapter Eleven on Adolescence: Personality and Sociocultural Development, students     should know:

• why forming an identity is often considered the most important task of adolescence.
• the most important roles that parents play during the teenage years.
• why adolescents place so much importance on how their peers regard them.
• if risky behavior is a normal part of adolescence for most teenagers.
• how adolescents typically cope with the pressure they feel during the teenage years.
  

• if adults who are born in the same year are always the same age.
• if recently young adults in the United States have become more, or less, physically fit.
• how sexual orientation affects how a person experiences young adulthood.
• how the thought processes used by young adults differ from those that guide adolescent cognition.
• the primary developmental tasks most young adults confront.
  

At the end of Chapter Thirteen on Young Adulthood: Personality and Sociocultural Development, students should know:

• how the self is generally defined by young adults.
• what love is, and why it is especially important to young adults.
• the main features of the transition that occurs when a person becomes a parent.
• how people decide which career or job will be the best choice for them.
• how family members’ roles have changed as women have entered the work force in increasing numbers.
  

At the end of Chapter Fourteen: Middle Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development, students should know:

• how people in middle age generally approach this period of development – as the best part of their life or the beginning of decline.
• if there is such a thing as the midlife crisis.
• how habits established earlier in life begin to assert their effects in middle adulthood.
• how middle aged adults adjust to the cognitive decline associated with aging.
  

At the end of Chapter Fifteen on Middle Adulthood: Personality and Sociocultural Development, students should know:

• what theorists imply when they note that generativity is the primary developmental task of middle adulthood.
• the differences that exist in how men and women react to middle age.
• how parents typically respond when their last child leaves home.
• how adults cope with divorce when it occurs at midlife.
• about stresses that result from occupational challenges in middle adulthood.
• if personality development in middle adulthood is marked more by stability or by change.
  

At the end of Chapter Sixteen on Older Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development, students should know:

• if older adults typically conform to the stereotypes that people hold of the elderly.
• what ways the young-old are different from the old-old.
• the typical health problems people face as they age.
• the theories that are used to explain why people grow old and die.
• differences between normal aging and senility.
  

At the end of Chapter Seventeen: Older Adulthood: Personality and Sociocultural Development, students should know:

• what Erik Erikson meant when he identified the critical conflict of older adulthood as one of integrity versus despair.
• the changes – good and bad – that retirement typically brings.
• how older adults typically cope with loss.
• the pros and cons associated with the two major government supported social programs for older adults – Social Security and Medicare.
• options available when older adults need assistance in living and how families should choose among them.
  

At the end of Chapter Eighteen on Death and Dying, students should know:

• how most individuals manage the anxiety associated with the death of a loved one.
• how a terminally ill person can best cope with the knowledge that death is imminent.
• what characterizes a humane death, and how we can make death more humane.
• what factors influence how people deal with grief.
• what special circumstances are associated with the death of a child.
• how death can be considered part of the lifespan. 
  

PSY 2103‑ SPRING 2009 TENTATIVE READING AND EXAM SCHEDULE

 
        1                   Jan 5           Classes begin Jan 6 - Chap 1

                     Jan 13           Last day to register or change a class

2                   Jan 12           Chap 2

 3                   Jan 19           Chap 3

                       Jan 19          MLK Holiday

  4                   Jan 26          Chap 4 - Test Chap’s 1 - 3

  5                   Feb 2           Chap 5

          6                   Feb 9           Chap 6

  8                   Feb 23          Chap 7-8

          9                    March 2                       Chap 9-10

 10                 Mar 9             Chap 11 - Test 8-11

                   March 17       Advisement and Registration Day/Regents Test – No Classes  (Use this day for Early Registration)        

 12                Mar 23-27     Spring Break!                  

 13                 March 30       Chap 16-18

 14                 April 6          Chap 16-18

 15                 April 13          Test 12-18 – Presentations

17                  April 27          Presentations

April 30        Last day of classes and last day for any makeup work to be done

                      May 4-6     FINALS

                      May 8           Graduation

Name_____________________________________________  Grade ________

Class___________________________________   Semester ________________

The rubric presented here contains some common items, both positive and negative, that professors
regard as contributing to (or distracting from) class participation.  I will use this sheet to record how
well I see your fulfillment of these expectations.  To help you assess your own behavior, you will write
one too.  If there's a question about  the participation grade, we will compare these forms and have a
conversation on these items where we differ significantly in our judgments.  Classroom participartion
will count 10% of your final grade.

                                               POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES
1.  Enters into class  discussion
    ALMOST     FREQUENTLY     OCCASIONALLY     SELDOM     ALMOST
    ALWAYS                                                                                             NEVER
          5                     4                                  3                         2                    1

2.  When something is not clear, asks questions to clarify ideas
    ALMOST     FREQUENTLY     OCCASIONALLY     SELDOM     ALMOST
    ALWAYS                                                                                             NEVER
          5                     4                                  3                         2                    1

3.  Reads and studies textbook
     ALMOST     FREQUENTLY     OCCASIONALLY     SELDOM     ALMOST
    ALWAYS                                                                                             NEVER
          5                     4                                  3                         2                    1

4.  Takes notes
    ALMOST     FREQUENTLY     OCCASIONALLY     SELDOM     ALMOST
    ALWAYS                                                                                             NEVER
          5                     4                                  3                         2                    1

5.  Has positive attitude
    ALMOST     FREQUENTLY     OCCASIONALLY     SELDOM     ALMOST
    ALWAYS                                                                                             NEVER
          5                     4                                  3                         2                    1

                                                    NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTES
6.  Absent
    ALMOST     FREQUENTLY     OCCASIONALLY     SELDOM     ALMOST
    ALWAYS                                                                                             NEVER
          1                     2                                  3                         4                    5

7.  Shows up late
    ALMOST     FREQUENTLY    OCCASIONALLY     SELDOM     ALMOST
    ALWAYS                                                                                             NEVER
          1                     2                                  3                         4                    5

8.  Sleeps in class
     ALMOST     FREQUENTLY     OCCASIONALLY     SELDOM     ALMOST
     ALWAYS                                                                                             NEVER
           1                     2                                  3                         4                    5

9.  Exhibits disruptive behavior
    ALMOST     FREQUENTLY     OCCASIONALLY     SELDOM     ALMOST
    ALWAYS                                                                                             NEVER
          1                     2                                  3                         4                    5

10. Talks inappropriately (This includes the use of Text Messaging in class)
      ALMOST     FREQUENTLY     OCCASIONALLY     SELDOM     ALMOST
      ALWAYS                                                                                             NEVER
            1                     2                                  3                         4                    5

 

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