INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Hui-Chin
Hsu
Office:
2nd Floor, Family Science Center 1
Office
Hours: By appointment only (3:30 - 5:00p.m. Thursdays)
Phone:
542-2636
E-mail:
hchin@fcs.uga.edu
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS (available
at book store and on reserved at the Science Library):
1. Sigelman, C. K. (1999).
Life-span human development (3rd Ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
2. Schaffer, R. H. (1998).
Making decisions about children : Psychological questions and answers.
Oxford: Blackwell.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: This course is designed as an introduction to human development from conception to death. We will survey major theories, concepts, issues, and research findings concerning development within social, physical, and cognitive domains across the life-span. The specific objectives of this course are:
1. To learn the major theoretical
viewpoints and their basic assumptions in characterizing and explaining
human development.
2. To understand that developmental
outcomes have multiple causes, and that both biological and environmental
factors act and interact to cause specific developments.
3. To learn of the processes
which operate to cause typical developments, and also create differences
among individuals.
4. To appreciate the scientific
research methods used to gather information and test hypotheses about development.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Class Participation (10%):
You are expected to attend each class session since: 1) much of your learning
will derive from the reviews, discussions, and exercises held during class,
and 2) you do not want to miss in-class or take-home assignments and quizzes
which contribute to your course grade. Additionally, you are
expected to keep up with readings and to display your understanding by
offering relevant examples, comments, ideas, and questions when we meet
as a class. Passively listening to others is not enough! Moreover,
your comments will be evaluated based on how well they reflect a comprehension
or thoughtful consideration of course material. (Comments should
not merely regard practical matters such as assignments, deadlines, or
test content.) Remarks that are disrespectful or unproductive will
be viewed as poor participation.
Finally, you are expected to listen actively and respectfully during class. This means that you cannot read magazines/newspapers, do other work or writing, nor eat “meals” or noisy snacks during class. It also means that you must refrain from making disparaging remarks and talking while another person is speaking to the class. I also expect that you will turn off your beepers and cellular telephones during our class meetings. Class participation will be worth 10% of your course grade.
Recitation means active participation. For each reading assignment you will receive a list of study questions. YOU MUST READ AND ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THE STUDY QUESTIONS BEFORE COMING TO CLASS. YOU MUST BRING YOUR BOOK TO CLASS, AND IF POSSIBLE, COPIES OF THE OTHER READING ASSIGNMENTS. You will not be asked to turn in your answers, but during class the instructor will call on each student to report on their answers to the study questions, and to give their interpretation of the material orally in class. You will not know in advance which questions you will be called upon to answer, so you must prepare answers to all the questions. Instructor input and class discussion will revolve around these questions and answers. You can lose up to 4 points during each class period: 2 points for not show up to class and 2 points for not participating in discussion or other activities. If you don't understand a question, you will not lose points, as long as you can demonstrate that you have read the material but fail to grasp its meaning.
The only way to get credit for missed classes is to turn in a typed summary of the assigned readings. A minimum of 4 pages (single spaced) is required. The instructor must receive it NO LATER THAN ONE WEEK FOLLOWING THE CLASS THAT YOU MISSED. No points will be taken off if you turn in written make-ups. However, no more than 2 missed classes are allowed to be made up in this manner.
2. Quizzes (10%): There will be a total of 5 unannounced quizzes to help motivate you to keep up with course reading. Each quiz will be worth 20 points.
3. Exams (45%): There will be three exams in this class. Each exam will cover the readings assigned up to the day before the exam as well as the materials included in the class activities and in the research activities. The total score of each exam is 100 points. The exam will last for about 60 minutes. Each exam will have a similar format: multiple choice, matches, fill in blanks, definitions, short answers, and/or brief essays. If you have kept up with the readings, you should have little trouble with the exams. If you miss an exam, the exam with the lowest grade will be counted double. NO MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN.
4. Class Assignments (15%): There will be a total of 3 assignments to promote your learning and understanding of course material. You will be asked to write a 2-page paper (double spaced and typed) for each assignment. You will share what you learned from your assignments with the class.
Assignment 1: Becoming a parent is a critical transitional point for most people in adulthood. To gain some information about this process of becoming a parent, you are going to interview a mother or father about their experience during the transition to parenthood retrospectively. Please write a report about your interview. On your paper, first describe your interviewee briefly (e.g., his/her age, s/he is father or mother, the number of children s/he has etc.) and report his/her response to each interview question, and on the last paragraph state what you have learn from the interview. Your interview questions to the father/mother are:
a) Why did you decide to become
a parent?
b) What were your concerns
when you learned that you were becoming a parent?
c) Did you have any plans/strategies
to prepare yourself to be a parent?
d) Did the experience of
being a parent change you in any ways?
e) Did the experience of
being a parent change your relationship with your own parents? in what
way?
f) Did the experience of
being a parent change your relationship with your spouse/partner? in what
way?
Assignment 2: Children
learn a great deal of information (both good and bad) from television.
Researchers, parents, and teachers have concerned the effect of television
on children. The purpose of this assignment is for you to collect
data on the content of two half-hour animated cartoon shows (including
commercials) that are targeting elementary school kids. You are going to
examine the violence (i.e., hitting, kicking, killing etc.) involved in
children's TV shows. Avoid game shows and educational shows. Your
assignment is to collect data on the number of presentations of violence
that you observe in the cartoons and write a paper to report the data on
the 1st page and you reactions and thoughts on the 2nd page. The specific
requirements for this paper include:
a) the
name of the show, date you watched it, what channel and time
b) the
raw numbers of violent acts (i.e., 10) for each show
c) the
descriptions of 5 examples from each show
d) on
the 2nd page you will write your reaction and opinion about the children's
shows that you watched; what did you learn from this assignment? What implications
does this have for children after they watch the shows? What implications
does this have for parents or programmers?
Assignment 3. For this assignment, you are going to conduct web searches about psychological disorders in childhood, adolescence, and/or adulthood. For example, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common behavioral disorder in children. Eat eating disorder is more common among young girls. The best places to search for the relevant information is the professional organizations related to mental health. After your search you will summarize the information about the definitions, symptoms, treatments, and most recent research findings for the following five disorders: (1) panic disorders (you can find out relevant information at the Web site of American Psychological Association - www.apa.org/pubinfo/panic.html)phobic disorders, (2) personality disorders, (3) anxiety disorders, (4) phobic disorders, and (5) a disorder of your choice.
The following are the addresses
of mental health related sites:
- American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry: www.aacap.org/web/aacap
-American Psychiatric Association:
www.psych.org
- National Attention Deficits Disorder
Association: www.add.org
- National Center for Infants,
Toddlers, and Families: www.zerotothree.org
- World Association for Infant
Mental Health: www.msu.edu/user/waimh.
Also, you could find many disorders
listed on Health Link USA: www.healthlinkusa.com.
5. Class Project (20%): You are assigned a multi-hour project. The goal of this project is to provide an opportunity for you to integrate the information covered in the course, to enhance ability to conduct literature search at the library, and to develop skills to communicate with the public effectively. For this project, you must work in pairs, and you are responsible for finding a class partner.
You are going to write a newsletter targeting parents, caregivers (e.g., child care teachers), or service providers (e.g., family social workers) providing information and discussing issues about one or two specific aspects of human development (e.g., the importance of social interaction to infants). You will have 10 minutes to present the content of your newsletter during the last class period. Your newsletter will be displayed in class for an exhibition. The evaluation of your project will be based on 10 different criteria (see below) by all the students in class. The newsletter needs to be typed and at least 5 references are cited. The best 5 newsletters will be selected by the class. These references should be "scholarly" journal articles, that is, articles that report results of original studies. Acceptable journals include (but not limited to): American Psychologist, Psychological Science, Child Development, Developmental Psychology, First Language, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, International Journal of Behavioral Development, Infant Mental Health Journal, Journal of Child Language, Journal of Adolescence, and Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Human Development, Journal of School Psychology.
The newsletter should bet at least 6 pages long, but not longer than 8 pages. You are encouraged to discuss the contents of your newsletter the instructor at any stage of your study. THIS PROJECT IS DUE BEFORE 5:00p.m.ON THE LAST DAY OF THE LAST CLASS. Your score is based on the total of the oral presentation graded by the instructor (50%) and the vote by your classmates (50%). The timetable for the completion of this research project is outlined as follows:
Week 1 -
3 Forming team
Week 4 -
6 Deciding topic or theme of the newsletter
Week 7 - 10 Collecting
information and reviewing literature
Week 11 - 13 Designing the
layout of the newsletter, discussing the contents with the instructor
Week 14 - 15 Writing the
newsletter
Week 16 Presenting the newsletter
in class
6. Extra Credits (up to 5 points): There will be opportunities for getting extra credits periodically throughout the semester. These activities are optional (2 extra point for each) and will be taking place in the format of interviewing/introducing guest speakers, attending special lectures on campus, writing a review paper, writing a critique paper, writing notes for a field trip, designing a research project, assisting in teaching, and assisting class activities, hosting/introducing guest speakers etc.
CLASS POLICIES:
1. Attendance: Attendance
will be taken for every class period through out the semester. You
will be expected to explain the reason for absences or missed portions
of class (preferably in advance) and provide official documentation of
illness or other serious extenuating circumstances in order to avoid penalty
for any missed/late assignments, quizzes, and exams. If you need to arrive
late or leave early, do so unobtrusively so you will not be disruptive.
If you are absent or missed part of class, you are responsible for timely
securing missed information regarding lecture, handouts, assignments, quizzes
and exams (including changes in scheduled dates and deadlines).
2. Missed or Late Assignments/Quizzes: You must be present for in-class assignments/quizzes and submit take-home assignments when due in order for them to qualify for full credit. Only if you submit official documentation of illness/injury or other serious extenuating circumstances will an assignment/quiz be accepted on an approved alternative date without penalty. Missed or late assignments/quizzes will receive NO credit.
3. Late Project Papers: A late project paper or assignment will be accepted without penalty only if there is official documentation of illness/injury or other serious excuse and an alternative due date is approved by me. Late project papers/assignments will otherwise lose 1 point for each day late.
GRADING:
Your course grade will be
composed of: 1) class attendance and participation, 2) 5 chapter quizzes,
3) 3 class assignments, 4) 3 exams, and 5) a multi-hour project.
Grading Scale:
1) Attendance & Participation
(100 points) 10%
93-100% A
2) Quizzes (20 points each)
10%
90-92% A-
3) Class Assignments (50
points each)
15%
87-89% B+
4) Exams (150 points each)
45%
83-86% B
5) Class Project (200 points)
20%
80-82% B-
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77-79% C+
Total 100%
73-76% C
70-72% C-
60-69% D
below 60% F
Class Schedule
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Week
Date
Assigned Readings and Class Activities
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1
1/9
Sigelman -- Ch1. Understanding life-span human development
1/11
Schaffer -- On using research (pp. 1-18)
2
1/16
Sigelman -- Ch 2. Theories of human development
1/18
Schaffer -- A view of childhood (pp. 231-250)
3
1/23
Sigelman -- Ch. 3 The genetics of life-span development
1/25
Schaffer -- Is there a 'blood bond'?
Are children born by the new productive technologies at risk?
Class Activity -- You are invited to a debate held by a group
of concerned parents -
Debate topic: If the technology is available today, should parents have
the rights
to decide the characteristics of their children such as sex and temperament?
4
1/30
Sigelman -- Ch. 4 Early environmental influences on life-span development
2/1
Schaffer -- Is group daycare bad for young children?
Does maternal deprivation bring about long-term damage?
Guest Speaker: Michelle Pounds
5
2/6
Sigelman -- Ch. 13 Attachment and social relationships
2/8
Examination 1
6
2/13
Sigelman -- Ch. 14 The family
2/15
Schaffer -- Are children harmed by their parents' divorce?
Does marital conflict affect children's well-being?
****Class Assignment 1 due
Guest Speaker: Tania Smith
7
2/20
Sigelman -- Ch. 10 Self-conceptions and personality
2/22
Schaffer -- Who become antisocial?
Who are the vulnerable children?
8
2/27
Sigelman -- Ch. 11 Gender roles and sexuality
3/1
Schaffer -- Do women make better parents than man?
Do children need a parent of each sex?
Guest Speaker: Rhonda Faulkner
9 Spring Break
10
3/13
Sigelman -- Ch. 12 Social cognition and moral development
3/15
Baron-Cohen, S. (1994). Development of a theory of mind: Where would
we
be without the intentional stance? In M. Rutter, & D. F.
Hay (Eds.), Development
through life: A handbook for clinicians (303-318). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Guest Speaker: Robyn Mowery
11
3/20
Sigelman -- Ch. 5 Physical self & Ch. 6 Perception
3/22
Examination 2
12
3/27
Sigelman -- Ch. 8 Learning and information processing
3/29
****Class Assignment 2 due
Guest Speaker: Dr. Chris Todd
13
4/3
Sigelman -- Ch. 9 Intelligence and creativity
4/5
Hendricks, J. (1999). Creativity over the life course - A call for
a relational
perspective. International Journal of Aging and Human Development,
48, 85-111.
14
4/10
Sigelman -- Ch. 15 Achievement
4/12
Schaffer -- Does family poverty affect psychological development?
Should mothers go out to work?
Class Activity: You are invited to a cocktail party held by
a SupportGroup for Working
Mothers;
Discussion Topic: "What are the challenges working mothers are facing today?
How
should we meet these challenges?
15
4/17
Sigelman -- Ch. 16 Psychological disorders throughout the life span
Schaffer -- Do early problems continues into later life?
Do parental pathology lead to child pathology?
Guest Speaker: Amanda Willert
4/19
NO CLASS (Conference for Society of Research in Child Development)
****Class Assignment 3 due (turn in to the main office at House
A before 5pm)
16
4/24
Student presentation & exhibition
4/26
Examination 3
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