Psychology 2040B-650 (online)
Child Development
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
A survey of theory and research in developmental psychology including learning, cognition, perception, personality, and social development in infancy and childhood.
Antirequisite: Psychology 2410A/B, Psychology 2480E, the former Psychology 2044.
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.
Course Weight: 0.5
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Kathryn Turnbull
Office and Phone Number: Westminster Hall 519-661-4068
Office Hours: SSC 7440, arrange through email or OWL
Email: kturnbu3@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Christopher Kowalski
Office: N/A
Office Hours: Meetings arranged through email or OWL
Email: ckowals@uwo.ca
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Rathus, S. A. & Rinaldi, C. M. (2019). Voyages in Development (2nd Can. Ed). Toronto: Nelson Canada.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of contemporary understanding of Child Development, with an emphasis on Canadian perspectives. The course is divided into 4 basic units: (1) Introduction, History and Prenatal Child Development; (2) Infant Development (newborn through 1 year); (3) Early Childhood Development (age 2 to age 6); and (4) Middle Childhood Development (age 6 to age 12/13). In this course, students will learn about physical, cognitive, social, and emotional changes that humans undergo from the time of conception and birth through to approximately age 13 years. The course will emphasize empirical and scientific research and theories of child development, while also comparing perspectives from other cultures. Students will use personal reflection and critical thinking to apply the theories taught in this course to their understanding of childhood. All of us develop in the world from a state of relatively helpless infancy through a childhood of rapid learning and change. Students can use this course as an opportunity to reflect on their own childhood, as well as their current experiences caring for or working with children, to engage with the material and apply knowledge from the course. The course is delivered entirely online, and will include recorded lectures, as well as the completion of short assignments and online questions where students will apply the theories from the course to enrich their understanding of child development.4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
|
Learning Outcome |
Course Activities |
Assessment of Outcome |
|
Summarize contemporary understanding of Child Development from the perspective of Canadian Psychology |
Online lectures and required textbook readings |
Midterm Grade and Final Examination Grade, Learning Application Questions Grade |
|
Use current theories of child development to understand contemporary childhood issues |
Written Assignments, Learning Application Questions |
Written Assignment Grade, Learning Application Questions Grade |
5.0 EVALUATION
There will be 2 non-cumulative multiple-choice exams in this course: a midterm (35% of the final grade) and a final (35% of the final grade). Exam questions will be based on material covered in online lectures and required textbook readings. There will be 2 short written assignments that will each be worth 10% of the final grade. The final 10% of the grade will be from 4 learning application questions that students will complete for the 4 sections of the course.
5.1 Short Written Assignments
For each short written assignment students will submit a 3-4 page summary and critical review of a published research study from the Child Development literature related to an area covered in this course. Students may choose an article that summarizes an empirical study or a review article that presents a theory that is referenced in the textbook. Students may also complete their assignment on another appropriate paper from the Child Development literature to review for their assignment: this is encouraged, but students may wish to contact the teaching assistant or instructor in advance to ensure that they have selected an appropriate empirical article. An evaluation guide will be posted online to show how assignments will be graded. Each assignment is worth 10% of the final course grade. The first assignment is due on February 15 and the second assignment is due on April 9.
5.2 Learning Application Questions
A list of 3-4 relevant application questions will be posted online for each of the 4 course units. Students will choose one question per unit and submit a 250-300 word response to the question online. The questions will be graded based on how well students apply information from the textbook readings and lectures to their own experience of contemporary society, and/or to their own understanding of children. Each learning application question will count for 2.5% of the final course grade. Late submissions of learning application questions will not be accepted and will receive no course credit. The online set-up of the course allows students to submit their learning application questions any time between January 14 and the application question deadline for each unit, as noted in the course schedule below. This structure allows students the flexibility to complete assignments early, and to proactively manage any scheduling conflicts that could prevent timely submission
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows Western's grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Midterm Exam: March 2, 2019: 2 hours
Final Exam: Scheduled by Registrar during Final Exam Period (April 11-30, 2019): 2 hours
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
|
Date |
Topic |
Readings |
|
Jan 7 – Jan 11 |
History, Theories, and Beginnings |
Chapter 1 & 2 |
|
Jan 14 – Jan 18 |
Prenatal Development |
Chapter 3 |
|
Jan 21 – Jan 25 |
Birth and Newborn Babies |
Chapter 4 |
|
Jan. 25 |
Learning Application Question Due |
Chapters 1-4 |
|
Jan 28 – Feb 1 |
Infancy: Physical Development |
Chapter 5 |
|
Feb 4 – Feb 8 |
Infancy: Cognitive Development |
Chapter 6 |
|
Feb 11– Feb 15 |
Infancy: Social and Emotional Development |
Chapter 7 |
|
Feb 15 |
Learning Application Question Due |
Chapters 5-7 |
|
Feb 15 |
Written Assignment 1 Due |
N/A |
|
Feb 18 – Feb 22 |
Reading Week Break |
N/A |
|
Feb 25 – Mar 1 |
Early Childhood: Physical Development |
Chapter 8 |
|
Mar 2 |
Midterm Exam |
Chapters 1-7 |
|
Mar 4 – Mar 8 |
Early Childhood: Cognitive Development |
Chapter 9 |
|
Mar 11 – Mar 15 |
Early Childhood: Social and Emotional Development |
Chapter 10 |
|
Mar 15 |
Learning Application Question Due |
Chapters 8-10 |
|
Mar 18 – Mar 22 |
Middle Childhood: Physical Development |
Chapter 11 |
|
Mar 25 – Mar 29 |
Middle Childhood: Cognitive Development |
Chapter 12 |
|
Apr 1 – Apr 5 |
Middle Childhood: Social and Emotional Development |
Chapter 13 |
|
Apr 5 |
Learning Application Question Due |
Chapters 11-13 |
|
Apr 9 |
Written Assignment 2 Due |
N/A |
|
TBA Apr 11-30 |
Final Exam |
Chapters 8-13 |
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?Command=showCategory&PolicyCategoryID=1&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2018 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.
