Psychology 2040A 650 SU23

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.

 

WESTERN UNIVERSITY 

LONDON               CANADA 

Department of Psychology 

Spring/Summer 2023 

 

Psychology 2040A    Section 650 

Child Development 

 

 

  1. CALENDAR DESCRIPTION 

 

A survey of theory and research in developmental psychology including learning, cognition, perception, personality, and social development in infancy and childhood. 

 

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 this course has an antirequisite that you have previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in this one. 

3 lecture hours; 0.5 course  

2.0 COURSE INFORMATION 

 

Instructor: Dr. Graeme Haynes  

Office Hours: Mon., 10:00 – 11:00 A.M. (on-line via Zoom)  

Email: ghaynes@uwo.ca  

 

Delivery Method: On-line (asynchronous)  

 

This is a fully online course that will use Western University’s learning platform, OWL (Sakai) and other educational resources based on the needs of the course. This class is designed to be asynchronous, meaning we will not have a regular, mandatory time when the entire class must be online.  However, there may be some synchronous activities that you will sign up for based on your own schedule, including office hour appointments with the professor. 

 

Email is the best way to contact me, and if need be, I can be available to meet with you in person during office hours (assuming public health guidelines permit this), or over Zoom.   

 

When sending me an email, please make sure to use proper email etiquette (e.g., start with a greeting), and include the following information: your name, the course you are in (I’m teaching several different courses this semester), and your question.  

 

Sample email: 

 

Hi Prof. Haynes,  

 

This is [insert name here] from your Psychology 2040a class.  After reading the lecture slides on [insert topic here], I was wondering if you could explain [insert concept here] in greater detail?  

 

Sincerely,  

 

[Name] 

 

If you adhere to these guidelines, I promise to reply to all emails within 24 hours. 

 

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness @Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ 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 contact Accessible Education at aew@uwo.ca  or 519-661-2147. 

 

2.1 Online Learning Notice: 
Please note: For courses delivered in an online format, include an online component, or are required to pivot online, students must have a reliable internet connection and computer that are compatible with online learning system requirements. Some courses may also require the use of a remote proctoring platform to ensure assessments are taken fairly in accordance with Western’s policy on Scholastic Discipline for Undergraduate Students and Scholastic Discipline for Graduate Students. Please refer to the course syllabus for further information. 

 

3.0 TEXTBOOK 

 

Kail, R.V., & Barnfield, A. M. C. (2021). Children and Their Development, 5th Canadian ed. New York: Pearson. 

 

4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES 

 

The goals of this course are to provide students with: 

 

  1. Knowledge of the vocabulary, research findings, theories, methods, and concepts in developmental psychology; 
  1. An understanding of the developmental processes from conception through childhood; 
  1. Awareness of the problems and advances in the study of child development; 
  1. The ability to think critically about issues in developmental psychology; 

 

 

 

4.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES 

 

Learning Outcome  

Learning Activity  

Assessment 

Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.  

Can describe the process of human development from conception through childhood and identify a wide range of factors that can promote and/or curtail human development.  

 

Assigned readings and supplementary slideshows 

Exams 

Knowledge of Methodologies.  

Can summarize their knowledge of psychological theories, empirical findings, and research methods involved in Developmental Psychology. 

Assigned readings and     supplementary slideshows 

Exams 

Application of Knowledge.  

Understand how findings from developmental research can be applied in everyday settings to promote positive development.  

 

Assigned readings and     supplementary slideshows 

Exams 

Communication Skills.  

Can discuss knowledge, ideas, and their critical insights about Developmental Psychology. 

 

Participating in online discussion forums 

 

 

Online discussion forums 

 

 

 

5.0 EVALUATION 

 

The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4.0 and are considered necessary for meeting these learning objectives. 

 

  1. Exams (30%, 30%, and 30%) 

 

All exams will take place synchronously on-line, and will be proctored remotely with Proctortrack. By taking this course, you are consenting to the use of this software and acknowledge that you will be required to provide personal information (including some biometric data) and the session will be recorded.  Completion of this course will require you to have a reliable internet connection and a device that meets the technical requirements for this service.  More information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on Western’s Remote Proctoring website at: https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca 

 

Exams are closed-book, and it is expected that all students will complete the exams independently with no communication between classmates.  You will have 120 minutes to complete the exams from start to finish (plus additional time for students who have documented accommodations which allow for extra time).  The exams will be linear, meaning you will not be able to return to earlier questions.  Once you start, you cannot stop or pause.  You will access this exam and submit your answers through the Proctortrack tab on our OWL site. 

 

Each exam is non-cumulative, and will consist of multiple choice questions.  For each exam, you are responsible for material assigned in the textbook, as well as material covered in supplementary online lectures.   

 

The first midterm exam, covering material from Chapter 1-5, will take place on Wednesday, May 31st, from 7:00 – 9:00 P.M.  

 

The second midterm exam, covering material from Chapter 6-9, will take place on Monday, June 26th, from 7:00 – 9:00 P.M.  

 

The final examination, covering material from Chapter 10-14, will take place during the August exam period (July 31 – Aug. 3, specific time TBA).    

 

 

  1. Discussion Forums (10%) 

Five of the weekly lessons will have a discussion question, which you will access on OWL via the Assignments tab.  You will be required to submit a post of roughly 200-250 words by Sunday at 11:59 P.M. of the week in which a discussion occurs.  The rubric below is meant to act as a general guideline, illustrating expectations for both the quantity and quality of participation. If, at any point in the term, you have questions about how you are doing in terms of your participation, please feel free to ask the professor or your TA via email. Each discussion is worth 2% of your final course grade (2% x 5 discussions). Late discussions will not be graded. 

Discussion rubric: 

Activity 

Unsatisfactory 

Satisfactory 

Points 

Discussion Post 

The post displays little or no understanding of the course material; the post paraphrases what someone else has already posted and contributes nothing new. 

The post displays excellent understanding of the course material, connects the course material to personal experiences, current events in the media, other literature (and in the case of media or literature, provides references, web links, etc.) 

__ / 1 

Quality of writing, 

netiquette, and proof- 

reading 

 

The post is unorganized or contains inappropriate content or is filled with spelling errors, poor sentence structure, etc. 

The post is very well written. The post is clear, concise, comments are easy to read and understand, free of grammatical or spelling errors. 

__ / 1 

 

 

5.1 POLICY ON MISSING COURSEWORK 

 

Make-Up Exams:  Exams must be written on the scheduled dates unless you have a legitimate excuse recognized by the university administration.  Valid reasons include medical or compassionate reasons, internet access issues (in the case that exams are on-line), and religious holidays, and must be substantiated by proper documentation (e.g., a medical certificate, obituary, accident report) which you must present to a counsellor from your home faculty’s academic counseling office.  A student who misses a regularly scheduled exam for other reasons, or who cannot justify a claim, will be assigned a 0 for the exam.  Students with approved absences for any exam must write a makeup exam, which will be scheduled by your professor.   

***Please refer to Section 11.0 for the full policy regarding make-up exams.*** 

Discussion Forums: Students who are unable to submit a discussion forum post by the due dates specified in this syllabus must contact their professor explaining the circumstances.  It is at the discretion of the professor to decide whether the due date will be extended and/or a late penalty will apply.     

 

Department Grading Policies:  

The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages: 

 

70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses 

72% 2100-2999-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 

 

Note that in the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components. 

 

Policy on Grade Rounding: Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered. To maximize your grade, do your best on each and every assessment within the course. 

 

To ensure fairness, please be aware that final grades in this course are based exclusively on students’ performance on the three exams and five discussion forums. Exams may not be rewritten, nor will the exams or discussion forums be reweighted in calculating final grades. Grades will not be adjusted on the basis of need or a subjective evaluation of effort, and students will not be able to improve their marks by completing additional assignments.  

 

 

6.0 ASSESSMENT AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE 

 

 

Date 

Material covered 

Value 

Midterm #1 

Wed. May 31st, 7:00 – 9:00 P.M.  

Chapters 1-5* 

30% 

Midterm #2 

Mon. June 26th, 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. 

 

Chapters 6-9* 

30% 

Final exams 

July 31 – Aug. 3 (Time TBA)  

Chapters 10-14* 

30% 

Discussion questions  

Due May 21, May 28, June 18, July 9, July 23 (all at 11:59 PM Eastern Time)  

 

10% 

*and all related supplementary material 

 

 

 

  1.  CLASS SCHEDULE 

 

Week of 

Topic 

Read 

May 8 

Introduction: Science of Child Development  

 

Chapter 1 

May 15 

Genetic Bases of Child Development; 

 

 Prenatal Development, Birth, and the Newborn 

 

Chapter 2  

 

Chapter 3 

May 22 

Growth & Health 

 

Perceptual & Motor Development 

 

Chapter 4 

 

Chapter 5 

May 29 

Study for midterm 

 

Wed. May 31 

7:00 – 9:00 P.M. 

Midterm #1 

Chapter 1-5 

June 5 

Theories of Cognitive Development 

Chapter 6 

June 12 

Cognitive Processes;  

Intelligence 

Chapter 7 

Chapter 8 

 

June 19 

Language & Communication 

 

Chapter 9 

Mon. June 26 

7:00 – 9:00 P.M. 

Midterm #2 

Chapter 6-9 

June 26 

Emotional Development 

 

Chapter 10 

July 3 

Understanding Self & Others 

 

Chapter 11 

July 10 

Moral Understanding & Behaviour 

 

Chapter 12 

 

July 17 

Gender & Development 

 

Chapter 13 

July 24 

Social Influences 

 

Chapter 14 

July 31 – Aug. 3 

FINAL EXAM 

Chapter  

10-14 

 

 

 

8.0 LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

 

We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Attawandaron peoples, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum. 

 

With this, we respect the longstanding relationships that Indigenous Nations have to this land, as they are the original caretakers. We acknowledge historical and ongoing injustices that Indigenous Peoples (e.g. First Nations, Métis and Inuit) endure in Canada, and we accept responsibility as a public institution to contribute toward revealing and correcting miseducation, as well as renewing respectful relationships with Indigenous communities through our teaching, research and community service. 

 

 

9.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES 

 

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offences. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offences because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offence are described at the following link: https://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 offences. 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 will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating. 

 

In classes that involve the use of a personal response system (PRS), data collected using the PRS will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. Your PRS login credentials are for your sole use only. Students attempting to use another student’s credentials to submit data through the PRS may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.  

 

Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University. 

 

10.0 POLICY ON THE USE OF EXAM PROCTORING SOFTWARE 

Tests and examinations for online courses will be conducted using a remote proctoring service. By taking this course, you are consenting to the use of this software and acknowledge that you will be required to provide personal information (including some biometric data) and the session will be recorded.  Completion of this course will require you to have a reliable internet connection and a device that meets the technical requirements for this service. More information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on Western’s Remote Proctoring website at: https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca. 
 

In the event that in-person exams are unexpectedly canceled, you may only be given notice of the use of a proctoring service a short time in advance. 
 

 
 

 

 

11.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR ILLNESS OR OTHER ABSENCES 

 

Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:  
https://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12 

 

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. 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;  
  1. 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.  

 

https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/faculty_academic_counselling.html 

 

Students seeking academic consideration: 

  • are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;   
  • must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence 

 

Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term. 

 

12.0 CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR RETURN TO LOCKDOWN: IN-PERSON & BLENDED CLASSES 

 

In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence or any other event that necessitates the course delivery moving away from face-to-face interaction, all remaining course content will be delivered entirely online, either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). The grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will also be conducted online, as determined by the course instructor. 

 

13.0 STATEMENTS CONCERNING ONLINE ETIQUETTE 

 

In courses involving online interactions, the Psychology Department expects students to honour the following rules of etiquette: 

  • please “arrive” to class on time 
  • please use your computer and/or laptop if possible (as opposed to a cell phone or tablet) 
  • please ensure that you are in a private location to protect the confidentiality of discussions in the event that a class discussion deals with sensitive or personal material 
  • to minimize background noise, kindly mute your microphone for the entire class until you are invited to speak, unless directed otherwise 
  • In classes larger than 30 participants please turn off your video camera for the entire class unless you are invited to speak 
  • In classes of 30 students or fewer, where video chat procedures are being used, please be prepared to turn your video camera off at the instructor’s request if the internet connection becomes unstable 
  • Unless invited by your instructor, do not share your screen in the meeting 

 

The course instructor will act as moderator for the class and will deal with any questions from participants. To participate please consider the following: 

  • If you wish to speak, use the “raise hand” function and wait for the instructor to acknowledge you before beginning your comment or question. 
  • Please remember to unmute your microphone and turn on your video camera before speaking. 
  • Self-identify when speaking. 
  • Please remember to mute your mic and turn off your video camera after speaking (unless directed otherwise). 

 

General considerations of “netiquette”: 

  • Keep in mind the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students in the course. 
  • Be courteous toward the instructor, your colleagues, and authors whose work you are discussing. 
  • Be respectful of the diversity of viewpoints that you will encounter in the class and in your readings. The exchange of diverse ideas and opinions is part of the scholarly environment. “Flaming” is never appropriate. 
  • Be professional and scholarly in all online postings. Use proper grammar and spelling. Cite the ideas of others appropriately. 

 

Note that disruptive behaviour of any type during online classes, including inappropriate use of the chat function, is unacceptable. Students found guilty of Zoom-bombing a class or of other serious online offenses may be subject to disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct. 

 

14.0 OTHER INFORMATION 

 

Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca   

 

Student Development Services: www.sdc.uwo.ca  

 

Psychology Undergraduate Program: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html 

 

If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf 

Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca). 

 

Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos 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 any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent. 

 

Policy on the Recording of Synchronous Sessions: Some or all of the remote learning sessions for this course (if scheduled) may be recorded. The data captured during these recordings may include your image, voice recordings, chat logs and personal identifiers (name displayed on the screen). The recordings will be used for educational purposes related to this course, including evaluations. The recordings may be disclosed to other individuals participating in the course for their private or group study purposes. Please contact the instructor if you have any concerns related to session recordings. Participants in this course are not permitted to privately record the sessions, except where recording is an approved accommodation, or the student has the prior written permission of the instructor.