Psychology 2040A-001

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.

http://westerncalendar.uwo.ca/Courses.cfm?Subject=PSYCHOL&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=

 

Antirequisites: Psychology 2410A/B, Psychology 2480E and 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.

3 lecture hours, 0.5 course 

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor: Joanna Sinos, MSc

Office: Social Science Centre (SSC) Room 7440

Office Hours: Email me and we can schedule a time to meet or connect on OWL collaborate

Email: jsinos2@uwo.ca   Phone Number: 519-661-2111 Ext. 88006 

 

Teaching Assistant: Vanessa Sinclair

Office:                 

Office Hours:    

Email: vsincla2@uwo.ca                               

 

Time and Location of Classes: Tuesdays 7:00 – 10:00 pm, Spencer Engineering Building, room 1059. 

 

Email Policy: I check email regularly and will respond to emails within 24 hours during weekdays. Please include the course code (PSYCH 2040A) in all email subject lines. If for some reason I cannot address your email within this 24-hour timeline or am unavailable for longer than a 24-hour window, I will notify the class via the OWL website announcements feature.

 

Appointments: If you are interested in scheduling an individual meeting with me at any point during the term, please contact me via email to arrange it. I am only available on campus on select days of the week but will do my best to accommodate your schedule and availability.

 

Course Website: The course website will be found on your OWL page http://owl.uwo.ca/portal                                                                                   

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western

http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.

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 Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

Santrock, J.W., Conrad, N.J., & Closson, L. M. (2015) Child Development, 1st Canadian Edition. McGraw Hill. *Required

The textbook is required and is an essential part of the course content. Weekly chapter summary notes will be provided via the OWL website; however, these notes are intended as a guideline only and are not a substitute for the textbook. Context exclusively in the textbook will be evaluated.

The text is available at the campus bookstore, Amazon, and elsewhere. [Note: You do not need access to Smartbook (digital materials) for this course] 

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

The goal of this course is to introduce the theoretical, methodological, and empirical foundations of the field of Developmental Psychology.

   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

By the end of this course, students should have:

Learning Outcome

Learning Activities

Assessment

Knowledge and Understanding

Identify (I) and distinguish (Di) concepts related to psychological development.

Readings.

Lectures.

Discussions.

Examinations (Idi)

Abilities

Apply knowledge of developmental research methods.

Apply knowledge of developmental research theory.

Readings.

Lectures.

Discussions.

Examinations

 

5.0     EVALUATION

Midterm #1 = 33%

Midterm #2 = 33%

Final Exam = 34%

 

There are three multiple-choice exams (closed book). All exams are non-cumulative. The exams will be based on the materials presented in the textbook and in the weekly summary notes. See section 6.0 for more details on exam dates and content coverage. 

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  ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE

Evaluative Component

Date

Time

Location

Chapters

MIDTERM EXAM #1 (33%)

October 1st, 2019

In class

In class

1-4

MIDTERM EXAM #2 (33%)

November 12th, 2019

In class

In class

5, 6, 7, 9

FINAL EXAM

(34%)

December Final Exam period (December 8-19, 2019)

TBD

TBD

10, 13, 14, 15, 16

 

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

Week

Date

Topic

Readings

1

Sept 10

Introduction

 

Ch. 1

2

Sept 17

Biological Beginnings,

Prenatal Development

Ch. 2, 3

3

Sept 24

 

Physical Development

Ch. 4

4

Oct 1

MIDTERM 1

*Chapters 1-4

5

Oct 8

Motor, Sensory, & Perceptual Development

Ch. 5

6

Oct 15

Cognitive Development I

 

Ch. 6

7

Oct 22

Cognitive Development II

 

Ch. 7

8

Oct 29

Language Development

 

Ch. 9

9

Nov 5

READING WEEK

 

10

Nov 12

MIDTERM 2

*Chapters 5, 6, 7, 9                                 

11

Nov 19

Emotional & Social Development

Ch. 10

12

Nov 26

Moral Development,

Families

Ch. 13, 14

13

Dec 3

Peers, Schools & Technology

Ch. 15, 16

Final Exam (December 8-19, 2019) *Chapters 10, 13, 14, 15, 16

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

Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.

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://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12

 

The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf


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

 

If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:

  1. Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
  2. For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;

For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html

Students seeking academic consideration:

  • are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;  
  • are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;

must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence



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
- 2019-2020 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.

Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.