Dr. Alan Kee

Professor of Psychology

Amarillo College

 

Lifespan Development Psychology (Online)

 

Course Schedule

 

Fall, 2013

 

Welcome to Lifespan Development Psychology (Online)!

 

Please read and review carefully all of the policies in the syllabus. Then, read and review carefully this course schedule.  These two documents are your roadmap to the entire course.  Also, do not hesitate to call or email me if you have any questions regarding the policies in this course. 

 

I also recommend that you carefully read and outline the assigned reading. These outlines are for your own study purposes – you do not turn them in to me. 

 

Unit One 

Unit One consists of Assignment One and Assignment Two.  These two assignments are to be completed between August 26 and September 26.

 

 

Assignment One

The Study of Human Development

Read and Outline:

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 2 - Theories of Development

 

Go to http://www.learner.org/resources/series138.html and locate the updated edition of Discovering Psychology video program. Then locate and view the video program entitled Understanding Research. This program examines the scientific method and the ways in which data are collected and analyzed--in the lab and in the field--with an emphasis on sharpening critical thinking in the interpretation of research findings. 

 

View Lecture: Thinking Critically

View Lecture: The Scientific Method

 

You will find the lecturesunder Lessons Tab on the Home Page of the course.  You will be tested over the lectures as well as the reading assignments. 

 

Psychology Science Lab Project (due September 23)

 

After you complete the lectures: Thinking Criticallyand The Scientific Method, the next step in

this assignment is to complete the Psychology Science Lab Project .  This project involves applying concepts from the lectures on Thinking Critically and The Scientific Method.  The goal of this project involves teaching you about how to interpret a research study involving correlation.  Go to the Lessons tab and click on "Psychology Science Lab.”  Here you will find the instructions for this project.  In order to post your answer, you will need to go to the Lessons tab on the home page of the course and then go to the Discussions.  Click on Discussions and then posts your response (answers) to the questions for this project in the appropriate heading (Psychology Science Lab Project).  You do not respond to a peer on this project.

 

This assignment will count as a Discussion Assignment, meaning it is worth 100 points and it will be averaged with the other Discussion Assignments.  This project (Psychology Science Lab Project) plus the discussion assignments make up participation in this class. Participation counts as 20% of the grade in the course. 

 

The Psychology Science Lab Project is due September 23. Late submissions will receive a 40 point penalty.

 

Assignment Two

Birth and Infancy

Read and Outline:

Chapter 4 - Birth and Physical Development: The First Two Years

Chapter 5 - Infancy: Cognitive and Language Development

Chapter 6 - Infancy: The Development of Emotional and Social Bonds 

Lecture onThe Birth of a Child with a Handicapping Condition

*(Lectures are found by going to Lessons tab and then click on Lectures)

 

Video Program: Go to http://www.learner.org/resources/series54.html and locate the Seasons of Life video program. Then locate and view the video program entitled Infancy and Early Childhood (Birth-Age 5). Beginning with the first years of life, the early influences of the biological and social clocks, how the children develop and how they gain confidence and curiosity are explored.         

 

Unit One Discussion Assignment:

Your assignment in Unit One is to answer one of the 4 questions below to answer.  Each of the Discussion Questions relate to the readings and lectures in Unit One. 

 

Your Unit One Discussion Assignmentisdue September 23.  We will discuss this question at this time.  Remember that part of the assignment is for you to respond to at least one of your classmate’s posting.  Your peer response is due September 26. 

 

To post your discussion response, go to “Discussions” and then click on the specific unit for the discussion question you are working on. Remember, your discussion response to the question needs to be a minimum of 600 words in 12 point type size, and your peer response needs to be a minimum of 100 words.  I will not grade a paper that does not meet these minimal requirements. 

In terms of your peer response, I want to see that you gave their discussion some real thought.  You need to relate (connect) to your peer’s response by connecting your personal experience and/or observations to their response and/or relating an idea from the text or from another source of media to their response. 

 

In order to increase the variety of questions answered, I would like to distribute the questions across the people in this class:

 

·         If your last name falls between A – F, then your assigned question is question 1. 

·         If your last name falls between G – M, then your assigned question is question 2. 

·         If your last name falls between N – T, then your assigned question is question 3. 

·         If your last name falls between U – Z, then your assigned question is question 4. 

 

 

1.      Observations

The purpose of this project is to observe the qualitative difference between mother–child and father–child interactions. Students should follow these steps:

         a. Arrange to spend 30 minutes with a mother and her infant observing their interactions. Write down exactly what happened during this time.

         b. Then arrange to spend 30 minutes with the same infant and the father, observing their interactions when the mother is not present. Write down exactly what happened during this time.

         c. The text indicates that mother–child and father–child relationships are different. Compare and contrast your two observations with regard to infant–parent interactions.

         d. Compare and contrast the two interactions and turn in your observations.

 

2.      Foster Home Placement

The purpose of this project is to describe the effects of foster home placement on an infant as perceived by a social worker. Your task is to interview a social worker who works directly with the placement of foster children and record the answers given to the following questions:

 

         a.   What effects does foster placement have on an infant?

 

         b.   What types of attachments do foster children develop?

 

         c.   What are the problems you encounter in placing a foster child?

 

         d.   What is the best possible placement for a foster child?

 

         e.   What is the average length of time an infant is placed in a foster home?

        

         Explain how your discoveries in your interview relate to two or three specific

         themes in your text on infancy.

 

 

3.      Naturalistic Observation

 

Your task in this assignment is to unobtrusively observe parents and children in naturalistic settings such as shopping malls, fast food restaurants, and playgrounds. Ideally, you should target a parent with one child who is an infant or toddler and another child who is older.  Observe and then describe any differences you see in the relations between the parent and each of the two children. Based on your observations, how would you describe the role that the parent is playing in encouraging each child's development? What specific behaviors or words reflect the parent's sensitivity to the developmental differences between the two children?  Relate your observations to two or three specific themes in your text on infancy.

 

4.      Community Resources

The goal of this assignment is to help students understand the community resources that are available to prevent child maltreatment and to help all parents cope with the normal stresses of taking care of infants and toddlers. 

Your task in this assignment is to interview leaders/facilitators of local self-help and support groups for parents, such as Parents Anonymous, or parent education groups (Early Childhood and Family Education). Social workers, school counselors, and community education workers should be able to provide a list of appropriate organizations. Relate the information that you gather from your interview to two or three specific themes in your text on infants and toddlers. 

Here are the guiding questions for you to use in your interview:

         a. The size and structure of the groups/classes

         b. The history and "mission" of the group/organization and the length of time groups/classes have been available to parents in the community

         c. The educational background of the facilitators/leaders

         d. The way in which groups are formed (e.g., by referrals vs. self-interest)

         e. The cost to participants and any subsidies that help support the groups/classes (e.g., grants or United Way contributions)

         f. The means by which the groups/classes are advertised to the general public

         g. The typical format of meetings (e.g., informal sharing-and-response versus formal presentation of information about child development or parenting)

         h. Whether parents meet with or without their children present

         i. Whether and how child care is provided

         j. Whether and how the effectiveness of the groups/classes is measured

Exam One: The testing dates are September27 – September 28.  You may take the exam on any of these days. To get into an exam, click on Lessons and then click on Exams.  Exam One covers Unit One, consisting of Assignments 1 and 2.  This exam is taken online. 

 

Unit Two 

Unit Two consists of Assignment Three, Assignment Four, and Assignment Five.  These two assignments are to be completed between September 29 and October 31.

 

Assignment Three

Early Childhood

Read and Outline:

Chapter 7 - Early Childhood: Physical and Cognitive Development

Chapter 8 - Early Childhood: Emotional and Social Development

Lecture on Asperger's Syndrome

*(Lectures are found by going to Lessons tab and then click on Lectures)

 

Assignment Four

Middle Childhood

Read and Outline:

Chapter 9 - Middle Childhood: Physical and Cognitive Development

Chapter 10 - Middle Childhood: Emotional and Social Development

View the FET (Family Effectiveness Training) videos (under the Lessons tab).

 

Being a parent is tough. It doesn't matter if you're caring for a toddler or trying to communicate with teenagers, there are countless opportunities for even the most easygoing parents to lose their patience. Learning how to effectively handle the countless conflicts that arise on a daily basis is crucial--both for parents and children. 

 

The Family Effectiveness Training Program is designed to help parents by offering the skills that will help to raise happy, well-adjusted and responsible children--and to make the parenting experience a more rewarding one. If you are interested in studying this program in more depth, you can order this program through Gordon Training International.

 

This FET program is not the only helpful program available for parents. For those who want to go deeper into this area of parenting skills please see the following books which are based on scientific research: 1) SOS! Help for Parents by Lynn Clark, Ph.D. 2) Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Golman, Ph.D., 3) Why Spanking Doesn't Work by Michael Marshall, Ph.D. 

 

FET is not a replacement for counseling or psychotherapy for children. It is not a replacement for family counseling.  However, it is a wonderful adjunct to counseling.  Also, FET does not have all the answers to parenting issues. However, it does provide a good foundational model from which to build additional skills and knowledge from other programs.

 

I want to encourage you to think about how the skills in FET could apply to your relationships at work and in your personal life. You may want to talk about how these skills could apply in your life in your connection response.

 

You will be tested over these FET videos in that a few basic questions have been submitted to the test generator.  These videos demonstrate important skills to have for dealing with people in general.  If you wish, you can order the book, Family Effectiveness Training, or the book, Parent Effectiveness Training, (both by Dr. Thomas Gordon) if you want to learn more about this approach to rearing children.  Dr. Thomas Gordon was an American clinical psychologist and colleague of Dr. Carl Rogers. He is widely recognized as a pioneer in teaching communication skills and conflict resolution methods to parents, teachers, leaders, women, youth and salespeople.

 

View video Introduction: Go to the Lessons tab. Click on the Videos folder and view the "Introduction to Family Effectiveness Training" video.

 

View video Session 1: Go to the Lessons tab. Click on the Videos folder and view "A Credo for Your Relationships" video.

 

View video Session 2: Go to the Lessons tab. Click on the Videos folder and view the "Participative Rule-Setting" video.

 

View video Session 3:Go to the Lessons tab. Click on the Videos folder and view "Solving Problems You Own" video.

 

View video Session 4: Go to the Lessons tab. Click on the Videos folder and view "Pitfalls of Punishments and Rewards" video. 

 

View video Session 5: Go to the Lessons tab. Click on the Videos folder and view "Helping Others Find Their Own Solutions to Problems" video.

 

View video Session 6: Go to the Lessons tab. Click on the Videos folder and view "Resolving Conflicts Peacefully" video.

 

View video Session 7: Go to the Lessons tab. Click on the Videos folder and view "Dealing with Values Collisions" video.

 

View video Session 8: Go to the Lessons tab. Click on the Videos folder and view "Courage for Learning the Skills - Rewards for Using Them" video. 

 

Assignment Five

Adolescence

Read and Outline:

Chapter 11 - Adolescence: Physical and Cognitive Development

Chapter 12 - Adolescence: Emotional and Social Development

Lecture on Costs and Benefits of Adolescent Employment

*(Lectures are found by going to Lessons tab and then click on Lectures)

 

Video Program: Go to http://www.learner.org/resources/series54.html and locate the Seasons of Life video program. Then locate and view the video program entitled Childhood and Adolescence (Ages 6 - 20). This program examines the years before and during adolescence and the stressful task of molding an identity while the biological and social clocks are out of synch. 

 

Unit Two Discussion Assignment:

Your assignment in Unit Twois to answer one of the 4 questions below to answer.  Each of the Discussion Questions relate to the readings and lectures in Unit Two. 

 

Your Unit Two Discussion Assignmentisdue October 28.  We will discuss this question at this time.  Remember that part of the assignment is for you to respond to at least one of your classmate’s posting.  Your peer response is due October 31. 

 

To post your discussion response, go to “Discussions” and then click on the specific unit for the discussion question you are working on. Remember, your discussion response to the question needs to be a minimum of 600 words in 12 point type size, and your peer response needs to be a minimum of 100 words.  I will not grade a paper that does not meet these minimal requirements.  Remember to review the syllabus; it will give you detailed instructions on how to do these discussions and peer responses. 

In terms of your peer response, I want to see that you gave their discussion some real thought.  You need to relate (connect) to your peer’s response by connecting your personal experience and/or observations to their response and/or relating an idea from the text or from another source of media to their response. 

In order to increase the variety of questions answered, I would like to distribute the questions across the people in this class:

 

·         If your last name falls between A – F, then your assigned question is question 1. 

·         If your last name falls between G – M, then your assigned question is question 2. 

·         If your last name falls between N – T, then your assigned question is question 3. 

·         If your last name falls between U – Z, then your assigned question is question 4. 

 

 

1. Parenting Styles

 

How would you explain the parenting style your parents used in raising you? Were they highly restrictive, permissive, or more democratic? In what ways has their approach affected your self-esteem? If you are a parent, do you parent in the same way or differently?

 

2. Adolescent Employment

What is your opinionaboutadolescent employment? Describe your employment experiences during high school.  (If you were not employed during high school, then reflect on your observations of the other students working during this time.) What were the positive and negative effectsof employment for you during high school?  How did yourexperiences compare to the research findings discussed in Chapter 12? What changes could be made in adolescent employment situations that would emphasize the positive effects of employment and minimize the negative effects? What could be done to make adolescent work experience more useful in career decision making and more relevant to teenagers' later careers?

3.      The Social Worlds of Adolescents Compared to Those of Young Children

Adolescence is a time of great change in socialization. Often teenagers are thrown into situations for which they feel unprepared. Similarly, the period of early childhood (ages 2 to 6) involves changes and challenges in socialization as the young child moves from home to nursery school, kindergarten, and first grade. Compare and contrast the social worlds of adolescence and early childhood, citing sources from the text to support your statements. What similarities and differences exist?

4.      Media Effects

In this assignment, your goal is to observe systematically a medium to which teenagers are regularly exposed (e.g., television, popular movies, music videos, magazines, “Top 40” radio).  This observation can be an effective way of examining specific cultural influences on adolescents. Possible topics for observation might include vocational roles of men and women on television, portrayals of love and sex in popular songs, parent-teenager relations on television, or images of physical beauty in teenage fashion magazine advertisements.

Select a topic (vocational roles of men and women on television, portrayals of love and sex in popular songs, parent-teenager relations on television, or images of physical beauty in teenage fashion magazine advertisements) that you want to focus on and then select the media (television shows, movies, magazines, and/or songs ) you want to focus on.  You may choose to concentrate on one or several television shows, movies, magazines, and/or songs.  

After completing your observations, explain what effects the media characteristics you have observed might have on specific areas of adolescent development—how vocational roles on television might affect teenagers' own career aspirations, for example.  Relate and describe what you observe in the media to the themes you are reading about in your text on specific areas of adolescent development.

 

Exam Two: The testing dates are November 1 – November 2. You may take the exam on any

of these days. Exam Two covers Unit Two, consisting of Assignments 3, 4, and 5.  This exam is taken online. 

 

 

Unit Three 

Unit Three consists of Assignment Seven, Assignment Eight, Assignment Nine, and Assignment Ten.  These four assignments are to be completed between November 3 and December 4.

 

Assignment Seven

Early Adulthood

Read and Outline:

Chapter 13 - Early Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development

Chapter 14 - Early Adulthood: Emotional and Social Development

Lecture on Family Transitions

*(Lectures are found by going to Lessons tab and then click on Lectures)

 

Video Program: Go to http://www.learner.org/resources/series54.html and locate the Seasons of Life video program. Then locate and view the video program entitled Early Adulthood (Ages 20 - 40). Young adults hear the first of many messages from the social clock: to separate from the family, get a job, find a mate, set goals and face reality in this period of intense social growth.

 

Assignment Eight

Middle Adulthood

Read and Outline:

Chapter 15 - Middle Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development

Chapter 16 - Middle Adulthood: Emotional and Social Development

Lecture on Loneliness in Adults

Lecture on Divorce, Remarriage, and Middle Adulthood

*(Lectures are found by going to Lessons tab and then click on Lectures)

 

Video Program: Go to http://www.learner.org/resources/series54.html and locate the Seasons of Life video program. Then locate and view the video program entitled Middle Adulthood (Ages 40 - 60). Older adults are concerned with creating a legacy for the next generation, changes in life direction and personal goal achievement.

 

Assignment Nine

Late Adulthood

Read and Outline:

Chapter 17 - Late Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development

Chapter 18 - Late Adulthood: Emotional and Social Development

Lecture on Sex in Old Age

*(Lectures are found by going to Lessons tab and then click on Lectures)

 

Video Program: Go to http://www.learner.org/resources/series54.html and locate the Seasons of Life video program. Then locate and view the video program entitled Late Adulthood (Ages 60+). This program is an examination of the last stage of life; when people consider what they might still do to change or add to their lives.

Assignment Ten

Dying and Death

Read and Outline:

Chapter 19 - Dying and Death

Lecture on Near-Death Experiences

*(Lectures are found by going to Lessons tab and then click on Lectures)

 

 

Unit Three Discussion Assignment:

Your assignment in Unit Threeis to answer one of the 5 questions below to answer.  Each of the Discussion Questions relate to the readings and lectures in Unit Three. 

 

Your Unit Three Discussion Assignmentisdue November 27.  We will discuss this question at this time.  Remember that part of the assignment is for you to respond to at least one of your classmate’s posting.  Your peer response is due December 4. 

 

To post your discussion response, go to “Discussions” and then click on the specific unit for the discussion question you are working on. Remember, your discussion response to the question needs to be a minimum of 600 words in 12 point type size, and your peer response needs to be a minimum of 100 words.  I will not grade a paper that does not meet these minimal requirements. 

In terms of your peer response, I want to see that you gave their discussion some real thought.  You need to relate (connect) to your peer’s response by connecting your personal experience and/or observations to their response and/or relating an idea from the text or from another source of media to their response. 

 

 

In order to increase the variety of questions answered, I would like to distribute the questions across the people in this class:

 

·         If your last name falls between A – E, then your assigned question is question 1. 

·         If your last name falls between F – J, then your assigned question is question 2. 

·         If your last name falls between K – O, then your assigned question is question 3. 

·         If your last name falls between P – T, then your assigned question is question 4. 

·         If your last name falls between U – Z, then your assigned question is question 5. 

 

 

1. Love and Marriage

Talk to three people you would expect to have contrasting views on love and marria