Developmental Psychology Winter 2015 1 Rutgers University, Department of Psychology Developmental Psychology Winter 2015 PROFESSOR Kaleigh Matthews Office Hours Office Phone Email Available by Smith 973-353- Kaleighbmatthews@gmail.com appointment. 117 3933 E-mail to schedule a time COURSE OVERVIEW This course will explore physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development from infancy through adulthood. Major theories in development will be discussed along with research strategies for investigating development across the lifespan. COURSE DELIVERY 100% online- Except for weekends or holidays, the instructor will respond to email messages within 24hours. COURSE DATES This course beings on December 23 rd, 2014 and ends on January 16 th 2015. PRE-REQUISITES 21:830:102 Principles of Psychology TEXT Berk, L. E. (2013). Exploring Lifespan Development (3rd ed.). Boston, M.A.: Pearson. ONLINE COURSE SITE This is a fully online course, which can be accessed through https://blackboard.rutgers.edu. BLACKBOARD - The syllabus and course announcements be posted on blackboard - All articles can be found on blackboard - Disucssion questions should be posted on blackboard by 5:00pm the day before class CLASS PARTICIPATION There are no on-campus meetings for this class. You are expected to login to the course each day to complete the readings and daily posts. COURSE OBJECTIVES After completion of this course, students should be able to: - Identify and describe the major theories of human development - Evaluate the methods used in developmental research
Developmental Psychology Winter 2015 2 - Compare and contrast the contributions of both biology and environment on human development - Distinguish between and describe physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development across the lifespan (i.e. throughout infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood) - Construct posts and discussion questions that demonstrate reflection and in-depth critical analysis of the assigned readings REQUIREMENTS & EVALUATION Blackboard posts- 100 points total (10 points each) Students are required to make daily posts based on the reading assigned for that day - These posts should include a reflection and/or critical analysis of the assigned reading as well as 2 discussion questions. o Posts must be at least 1 paragraph in length (5-10 complete sentences) NOT including the discussion questions o Be sure your questions show that you (a) completed the required reading and (b) have thought in depth about the reading Daily response to classmate s discussion question - Students must respond to a discussion question posted by one of their classmates o Responses should 3-5 sentences in length Midterm Exam- 50 points total The midterm exam will include questions from chapters #-# - The midterm exam will be available from Monday the 5 th until Thursday the 8 th at 11:59pm - Your exam must be uploaded to Blackboard NO LATER THAN 11:59pm on Thursday, January 8 th!!! - NO LATE EXAMS WILL BE ACCEPTED Final Exam- 50 points total The final exam will include questions from chapters #-# - The final exam will be available from Monday the 12 th until Friday the 16 th at 11:59pm - Your exam must be uploaded to Blackboard NO LATER THAN 11:59pm on Friday, January 16 th!!! - NO LATE EXAMS WILL BE ACCEPTED Personal Reflection Paper- 25 points total Students are required to complete a personal reflection paper. Students should reflect back on what they learned in this course. - Some suggestions of what to discuss: What did you find interesting/surprising? Which areas of development interest you the most and why? What developmental research questions interest you the most? - This paper should be 2 full pages in length (Double spaced, size 12 Times New Roman font)
Developmental Psychology Winter 2015 3 No Make-Up Assignments - There are absolutely no make-ups. Late assignments will not be graded No Cheating - Students who cheat will receive a 0 on the assignment and I will alert the department chair - See below for University policy on academic honesty University Policy on Academic Honesty - Working together promotes understanding; representing others work as your own is unacceptable. Plagiarizing copying or closely paraphrasing someone else s work will result in zero credit for that assignment. Additional occurrences may result in a failing grade for the course - Students at Rutgers University are expected to maintain the highest ethical standards. The consequences of academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism, are very serious. Rutgers academic integrity policy is at academicintegrity.rutgers.edu. When you submit an exam or assignment, you need to abide by the honor pledge of On my honor, I have neither received nor given any unauthorized assistance on this examination (assignment)." - Multimedia presentations about academic integrity may be found at http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/douglass/sal/plagiarism/intro.html and http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_understand_plagiarism_1/0,6622,427064-,00.html Grading Response Time Assignments should be graded within 2 days of the due dates. Assignments that are lengthy may take longer to grade. Breakdown of Final Grade Your final course grade will be based on the following criteria: - Blackboard posts- 100 points - Midterm exam- 50 points - Final exam- 50 points - Personal reflection paper- 25 points Total possible points: 225 A = 100-89.5% B+ = 89.4-86.5% B = 86.4-79.5% C+ = 79.4-76.5% C = 76.4-69.5% D = 69.4-59.5% F = 59.4-0 Netiquette Netiquette is network etiquette, the dos and don ts of online communication. When posting to our discussion board or communicating with others in our class, please remain courteous. Below are the guidelines we will follow in this course. Be professional and courteous
Developmental Psychology Winter 2015 4 Be respectful of other points of view Avoid using slang and abbreviations because they can lead to misinterpretation Do not capitalize all letters because this suggests shouting Think and proofread before you submit TECHNICAL PROBLEMS In the online environment, there is always a possibility of technical issues (e.g., lost connection, hardware or software failure). Many of these can be resolved relatively quickly, but if you wait to the last minute before due dates, the chances of these glitches affecting your success are greatly increased. Please plan appropriately. If a problem occurs, it is essential you take immediate action to resolve the problem. Technical questions should be directed to the Student Help Desk at: help@newark.rutgers.edu 973-353-5083, Hill Hall 109 http://ncs.newark.rutgers.edu/hd REQUIRED TECHNOLOGICAL SKILLS Ability to utilize Blackboard REQUIRED EQUIPMENT/MATERIALS: Computer, Internet access, software that can save a file in the format of Microsoft Word or PDF SERVING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Rutgers University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University's educational programs. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, a student with a disability must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/documentation-guidelines If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability services office will provide you with a Letter of Accommodations. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. To begin this process, please complete the Registration form on the Office of Disability Services web site at: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/registration-form. RUTGERS UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES Many library resources are available online. Assistance is available through phone, email and chat. Information about the library can be found here: http://libguides.rutgers.edu/intro Please review this 2-minute video about the library online resources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijvfvqjz8dg THE WRITING CENTER Offers writing tutoring and writing workshops to all undergraduates students currently enrolled in classes on the Rutgers, Newark campus. 175 University Avenue Newark, NJ 07102, Conklin 126 973-353-5847 http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/writingcenter
Developmental Psychology Winter 2015 5 Dropping the Course In order to withdraw from a course, it is not sufficient to stop posting assignments or contributing to discussion. In accord with university policy, students wishing to withdraw from a course must do so formally through the Registrar s office. It is the student s responsibility to complete all forms. If this is not done, the instructor must assign a grade of F at the end of the semester. COURSE SCHEDULE TOPICS READINGS ASSIGNMENTS DUE (1) Tuesday 12/23 Course syllabus Daily post #1 This post should include a paragraph telling me why you chose to take this course and what you hope to get out of it. The discussion questions are optional today but should be any questions you have about the material that will be covered in the course. (2) Monday 1/5 (3) Tuesday 1/6 Part 1: Theory and Research in Human Development Part 2: Foundations of Development Part 3: Infancy and Toddlerhood: The First Two Years Chapter 1: History, Theory, and Research Strategies Chapter 2: Biological and Environmental Foundations Chapter 3: Prenatal Development, Birth, and the Newborn Baby Chapter 4: Physical Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood Chapter 5: Cognitive Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood Daily post #2 (due by 1/4) Daily post #3 Daily post #4 (4) Wednesday 1/7 Part 4: Early Childhood: Two To Six Years Chapter 6: Emotional and Social Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood Chapter 7: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood Chapter 8: Emotional and Social Development in Early Childhood Daily post #5
Developmental Psychology Winter 2015 6 (5) Thursday 1/8 (6) Friday 1/9 (7) Monday 1/12 (8) Tuesday 1/13 (9) Wednesday 1/14 (10) Thursday 1/15 (11) Friday 1/16 Midterm exam due Part 5: Middle Childhood: Six To Eleven Part 6: Adolescence: The Transition to Adulthood Part 7: Early Adulthood Part 8: Middle Adulthood Part 9: Late Adulthood Final exam and personal reflection paper due No readings assigned. Chapter 9: Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood Chapter 10: Emotional and Social Development in Middle Childhood Chapter 11: Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence Chapter 12: Emotional and Social Development in Adolescence Chapter 13: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood Chapter 14: Emotional and Social Development in Early Adulthood Chapter 15: Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood Chapter 16: Emotional and Social Development in Middle Adulthood Chapter 17: Physical and Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood Midterm exam due by 11:59pm Daily post #6 Daily post #7 Daily post #8 Daily post #9 Daily post #10 Chapter 18: Emotional and Social Development in Late Adulthood No readings assigned Final exam AND personal reflection paper due by 11:59pm