Course: PSY 241 OL1 Developmental Psychology

Syllabus Course: PSY 241 OL1 Developmental Psychology Prerequisites: PSY 150 Credits: Three (3) Credit Hours Class Meetings: Online Instructor: Marianne Valentiner, M.S. Office hours: Most issues will be handled via e-mail due to not having an office on-campus. Email: mvalentiner@bladencc.edu Phone: 910-874-3096 (Please no calls after 8:00 pm) Important Dates: Course Begins: August 17 Orientation Quiz Due/Census Date: August 26 by no later than 11:55 p.m. Last day to drop a course with a W: October 14 Course Ends: December 16 REQUIRED TEXT: The Developing Person Through the Life Span, 8th edition, Kathleen S. Berger, Worth Publishers, ISBN# 10:1-4292-3205-6 DESCRIPTION: This course is a study of human growth and development. Emphasis is placed on major theories and perspectives as they relate to the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial aspects of development from conception to death. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge of development across the life span. This course has been approved to satisfy the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement general education core requirement in social/behavioral sciences. SPECIAL NEEDS INFORMATION: Students with special needs related to a diagnosed disability should contact Tommy Rains 910-863-6002; trains@bladencc.edu) in student services for assistance. Mr. Rains should be contacted within 48 hours of the beginning of the first class if special accommodations are needed. TECHNOLOGY ISSUES: For any assistance needed with e-mail contact Philip Pope, ppope@bladencc.edu. For assistance with Webadvisor, David Gooden, dgooden@bladencc.edu. For assistance logging into Moodle, send an email to: ncihbcc@bladencc.edu

Units of Study There are 8 units of study or 8 modules as listed below: Module 1: Beginnings Module 2: Infants and Toddlers Module 3: The Play Years (preschool) Module 4: The School Years (middle childhood) Module 5: Adolescence Module 6: Early Adulthood Module 7: Middle Adulthood Module 8: Late Adulthood, Death, and Dying COURSE OBJECTIVES AND MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS Course Objectives: At the completion of this course, the student will be able to: 1. Discuss and support both the biological (nature) and environmental (nurture) influences on human development. 2. Describe several theoretical approaches to the study of development. 3. Identify the three domains of human development (physical, cognitive, and psychosocial). 4. Outline development in each of the three domains throughout the life span. 5. Describe the research methods applicable to the study of development. 6. Explain the process of conception, stages of prenatal development and birth process. 7. Examine the dying process from the physical and psychosocial perspectives. Major Assignments: Some of the major assignments in this course will include: Discussion Board assignments Quizzes Article Reviews Exams

Attendance Policy Regular attendance is considered essential to realize course objectives. Students are expected to attend all scheduled meetings of classes for which they register. The College has determined that excessive absence (absences which exceed 20% of the scheduled class meetings) is detrimental to academic success. No matter the basis for absence, students are held accountable for academic activities and faculty may require special work or tests to make up for missed class. A student will be withdrawn by the instructor from the course when the student's absences exceed 20% of the scheduled class meetings or the student has missed two consecutive weeks of classes. Attendance is calculated by the weekly submission of assignments. Students who do not submit assignments are considered absent from the course. Failing to submit for two consecutive weeks will result in the instructor withdrawing the student from the class with a grade of W or WF. Dropping the class Dropping the course is the responsibility of the student. Written notification should be sent to the instructor of the student s intention by completing the proper form. The instructor retains the right to withdraw students for academic reasons, lack of attendance, or inappropriate classroom behavior. If a student fails to complete the required attendance and conduct, the student may be dropped from the class. A student can officially withdraw in accordance with the withdrawal policy. You may receive a W, WF or F. Discipline Policy The school has a discipline policy, which will be enforced. Under it, the college has the right to decline admission, to reprimand, to place on probation, to suspend, to expel, or to require the withdrawal of a student for just cause when it is deemed in the best interest of the college. A list of offenses is found in the College Catalog. Classroom Etiquette An integral part of education is developing a sense of integrity and responsibility not only towards you but also toward others. In the classroom, as on the job or in your home, exhibiting appropriate behavior reflects on your maturity. Disrespect for persons, ideas, or property will not be tolerated in the classroom. The instructor has the right to have a student removed from class for any disruptive behavior. Academic Freedom Students' rights to express dissenting opinions from that held by the instructor are upheld. No student will be penalized for disagreeing with the instructor's opinion. However, students should know the difference between opinion and fact, as factual information is not subject to debate. In addition to good academic performance, students should exhibit honesty and integrity. If there is any question that academic honesty and integrity are not honored, students may be required to redo assignments in the presence of an instructor-selected monitor. Proof of dishonesty, including plagiarism, will make students subject to disciplinary action, and may result in immediate withdrawal-failing (WF) from the class. Please consult your college catalog for more information regarding discipline.

Never reference or use Wikepedia, Psychology Today, or any social media outlet. Documents A student must know how to save documents to the desktop and attach documents to email and Moodle. ALL documents for submission must be saved in rich text format (RFT). A students work will be returned only once if it cannot be opened by the instructor. A student will have 3 days to resubmit the assignment. After this time period the assignment will not be accepted or graded. Make Up Tests: There will be no make-up Tests! Everything in this class is available for an entire week. That means that one day issues or a few days sick shouldn t impact your assignments. The deadline for all assignments is 11:55 p.m. on the due date. Assignments may be submitted before the due date, but will not be graded until after the posted deadline. Students who wait until the last minute may encounter problems, since Moodle will not accept late assignments. If you wait until 48 hours before an assignment is due and have an issue (Moodle messed up, someone interrupted you, power went out, etc.) you will have a 0 on the assignment. I do not have time to help you in that situation. Statement on Written Assignments The instructor reserves the right to refuse any assignment, which is messy, unreadable or appears to be copied. Incorrect grammar and spelling errors will be noted. Papers will be graded on the basis of content, organization, grammar, and neatness. Proofreading is important! Response Times Email - Although it's not possible to answer immediately, I try to respond each day. Weekend messages are answered as soon as possible. Tests Grades and comments and information will be posted within 10 days of the due date. Written Assignments Under normal circumstances grades and comments will be posted within 10 days of the due date. PLEASE NOTE: Completing an assignment does not guarantee earning the maximum number of points. I expect everyone to put forth their best effort. Your grade is based on the content, quality, accuracy, and completeness of what you submit, not whether you worked hard. Ask questions if you aren't clear about what's expected of you. OTHER POLICIES General Guidelines for Online Attendance Just as in a face-to-face course, attending your online course is important. In fact, it may be even more important. In a face-to-face course, sometimes a student is physically there, but mentally "somewhere else." In an online course, there is little social pressure to be there or pretend to be there, but if you

don't visit regularly, you won't get much from the course and will find it difficult to get a good grade. Here are some ideas to keep in mind. Verify your course enrollment. Students must complete the online orientation quiz in each course in order to verify their course enrollment. The quiz must be completed by the census date of the course (which is posted in Moodle) or you will be dropped from the course. If you do not complete this quiz you will be dropped from the course. Check the course site regularly. Even if you don't have specific assignments to complete, check the course site and your email regularly. Your instructor will make announcements, new postings will appear in discussion forums, and other plans may undergo subtle changes. Regular checks will help you remember all that you need to get done. Plan on spending at least two hours of work time for every credit hour that the course receives. As a rule of thumb, colleges assume that you will attend as many hours as are listed in the credit hours, then do homework and prepare in an equivalent number of hours during each week. In an online course, the distinction between attendance and study hours is removed, but the same minimum amount of time is necessary. In actual practice, some courses take many more hours of study. Your instructor can tell if you are visiting the course site. There are tools in Moodle that allow your instructor to get specific information about how often you visit the course site. They can see where you have visited specific areas of the course: lecture notes, assignments, forums, and quizzes. You will have to show your instructor the quality of your participation. Statistical tools in Moodle won't let your instructor know if you understand what you read, if you enjoy or dislike aspects of the course, or if you are succeeding. That is up to you. Your assignments, postings, and instructor communication will show the quality of your work. You are expected to communicate with both the instructor and your classmates. Don't wait to be asked to communicate. Send your instructor questions. Post messages to other students. Ask questions and share your ideas. Course Requirements Writing Activities: You will engage in a variety of activities designed to help you think critically about the course material. These activities can be found on the Moodle page. These activities will be worth 50 points. Discussion Forum Assignments The discussion forum is an environment where you can participate in a "virtual discussion" with your instructor and other members of your course. The forum is one of the most dynamic, interactive features of this course. Often instructors will post questions in discussion forums for you to review and

respond to. In addition, you are encouraged to read other students' responses and engage in online dialogue with them. Positing less than 50 words will not be graded. Importance of article reviews: This activity is designed to help you to understand the importance of article reviews in the field of psychology. There will be a handout on Moodle explaining exactly what do have in your review. Instructional Methods: Several types of instruction will be used in this class for the presentation of the course materials: assigned readings in the textbook, supplemental reading, discussion, and other material as presented or assigned by the instructor. The student will be responsible in the testing situation for information from all sources. Grading: The college GRADING SCALE- as percentages of available points- will be used for final grades. 1000-900 = A 899-800 = B 799-700 = C 699 600 = D 599 below = F SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL All supplemental material will be posted on Moodle. However, if you would like more information, the citations are provided below: Burt, A. S., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (2009). Aggressive versus nonaggressive antisocial behavior: Distinctive etiological moderation by age. Developmental Psychology, 45, 1164-1176. Rhoades, K. A., (2008). Children s responses to interparental conflict: A meta-analysis of their associations with child adjustment. Child Development, 79, 1942-1956. Rueter, M. A., & Conger, R. D. (1998). Reciprocal influences between parenting and adolescent problem-solving behavior. Developmental Psychology, 34, 1470-1482. Vaish, A., Grossmann, T., & Woodward, A. (2008). Not all emotions are created equal: The negativity bias in social-emotional development. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 383-403. Bot, S. M., Engels, R. C. M. E., Knibbe, R. A., & Meeus, W. H. J. (2007). Sociometric status and social drinking: Observations of modeling and persuasion in young adult peer groups. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35, 929-941. Gotlib, I. H., Lewinsohn, P. M., & Seeley, J. R. (1995). Symptoms versus a diagnosis of depression: Differences in psychosocial functioning. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 90-100. Rutter, M., O Connor, T. G., the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) Study Team. (2004). Are there biological programming effects for psychological development? Findings from a study of Romanian adoptees. Developmental Psychology, 40, 81-94.

Course Outline The instructor reserves the right to modify this schedule to accommodate student, community, and other needs as they arise. Task & Point Values 8 quizzes @ 25 POINTS EACH = 200 Points Total 3 Article Reviews @ 100 POINTS EACH = 300 Points Total 6 Discussion forums @ 25 POINTS EACH = 150 Points Total You have the option of participating in 7 forums. Only 6 of the 7 will count toward your total forum grade. I encourage you to participate in all 7 forums. The lowest grade of the 7 will be dropped. If you participate in less than 6 forums, all grades will be used to calculate your final grade. 2 Exams @ 100 POINTS EACH = 200 Point Total Final Exam @ 150 POINTS TOTAL = 1000 POINTS Class Schedule ALL assignments are due by no later than 11:55 PM on the due dates. We will do our best to stick to this schedule, but things do happen. It may change. Week 1: Aug. 17 Aug. 23 THE BEGINNINGS part 1: Chapters 1 & 2 Orientation Quiz: due NO LATER than 11:55 pm August 26. Not completing this quiz by this date and time will result in being dropped from the course! Intro Forum Week 2: Aug. 24 Aug. 30 THE BEGINNINGS part 2: Chapter 3 & 4 Quiz 1: Chapters 1 4 Week 3: Aug. 31 Sept. 6 THE FIRST TWO YEARS part 1: Chapters 5 & 6 Forum 1

Week 4: Sept. 7 Sept. 13 THE FIRST TWO YEARS part 2: Chapter 7 Quiz 2: chapters 5-7 Article Review 1 Week 5: Sept. 14 Sept. 20 EARLY CHILDHOOD part 1: Chapters 8 & 9 Forum 2 Week 6: Sept. 21 Sept. 27 EARLY CHILDHOOD part 2: Chapter 10 Quiz 3: Chapters 8 10 Exam 1 Week 7: Sept. 28 Oct. 4 MIDDLE CHILDHOOD part 1: Chapter 11 & 12 Forum 3 Week 8: Oct. 5 Oct 11. FALL BREAK!! Oct.5-7 Article Review 2 Week 9: Oct. 12 Oct. 18 MIDDLE CHILDHOOD part 2: Chapter 13 Quiz 4: Chapters 11 13 Week 10: Oct. 19 Oct. 25 ADOLESCENCE part 1: Chapters 14 & 15 Forum 4 Week 11: Oct. 26 Nov. 1 ADOLESCENCE part 2: Chapter 16 Quiz 5: Chapters 14 16

Exam 2 Week 12: Nov. 2 Nov. 8 EMERGING ADULTHOOD part 1: Chapters 17 & 18 Forum 5 Week 13: Nov. 9 Nov. 15 EMERGING ADULTHOOD part 2: Chapter 19 Quiz 6: CHAPTERS 17 19 Week 14: Nov. 16 Nov. 22 ADULTHOOD part 1: Chapters 20 & 21 Forum 6 Happy Thanksgiving! Week 15: Nov. 23 Nov. 29 ADULTHOOD part 2: Chapter 22 Quiz 7: Chapter 20 22 Week 16: Nov. 30 Dec. 6 LATE ADULTHOOD: DEATH & DYING: Chapter 23 Forum 7 Quiz 8: Chapter 23 Finals Week: Dec. 7 Dec. 13 Article Review 3 Final Exam: The exam will open starting Thursday, December 10 th -13 th, and is due NO LATER than December 13 th by 11:55 PM.

*Please print this syllabus to use as reference for dates. Mark your calendars for upcoming assignment dates so that you may be better prepared.