PSYC 250: Child Development
| Course Home Page | Blackboard | Instructor's E-mail |
| Course Overview | Texts | Class Discussion |
| Honor Code | Course Mechanics | Schedule |
Course Overview
Child development is characterized by an increase in biological, behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and social complexity. In this course, we seek to understand how new capabilities emerge in each of these domains, and how they change from infancy to adulthood. Consider changes that take place in self-concept. The young child who describes himself as “six years old, black, and a good boy” matures into an adolescent who defines his identity as “self-reliant, liberal, and creative.” What accounts for these changes? In this course, we will explore the theories, methods, and research findings that aim to answer this and similar questions about child development.
Course Structure
The course is organized in lessons that follow the layout of chapters in your text. Each lesson includes a chapter overview, chapter objectives, a reading assignment, video assignments, discussion forum assignments, an online quiz, and self-help and supplemental exercises.
- The overview is our equivalent of a classroom lecture.
- Objectives will help you focus on important topics during your reading.
- Reading assignments will be primarily from the textbook, but also information on the same topics from online sources including Web sites and popular magazines and academic journals available through InfoTrac.
- Video segments on the CD-ROM set have been assigned to help reinforce the topics covered.
- The discussion forum gives you the opportunity to answer specific questions that I pose, ask your questions about the material, voice your opinions, and respond to the questions and opinions offered by others on key issues in child development. The forums are our equivalent of classroom discussion.
- You will complete an online quiz for each assigned chapter in the text. Quizzes are graded on a pass/fail basis.
- Self-help exercises are designed to help you organize, remember, and apply the textbook material in different contexts. These are not turned in for grading, but you are expected to discuss them on the discussion forum.
- There is a midterm exam and a final exam.
Required Materials
- Hetherington, Parke, Gauvain, and Locke, Child Psychology: A Contemporary Viewpoint, 6th edition (2006), ISBN 978-0073012315
- Patterson, Multimedia Courseware for Child Development – Dual Platform CD-ROM, 1st edition, ISBN 9780072545807
The materials are not available from the Friday Center, but can be purchased from online sources such as Amazon.com, AbeBooks, or Alibris.com. Students should purchase them as soon as possible to ensure availability. Be sure to purchase the correct edition. (A good way to find copies online is to search on the ISBNs.)
Class Discussion
I have found that my own learning is reinforced by asking questions and answering other people’s questions. Classes for distance learning courses tend to be more diversified than is typical in traditional face-to-face classes. One advantage of an online course is that it encourages individuals with very different life experiences to engage in discussions of key issues relevant to the topic of study. To capitalize on this strength, this course places heavy emphasis on your interactions within discussion forums.
Our discussion forums are on the UNC Blackboard site. There is a link to Blackboard at the top of every course page. You will log in to Blackboard, then choose the forum for the current week of the course. See Course Mechanics for help.
You are expected to participate as instructed on the lesson pages, and your grade will be determined by your responses to the prompted questions. You may also pose questions and discuss your reactions to the readings, self-help exercises, and quizzes. Talking about your own experiences is also acceptable as long as you use these experiences as vehicles to respond to the questions posed, to illustrate a point made in your textbook, or to raise questions concerning the theories or the empirical facts you will read about.
Participation in the discussion forums is not optional. Reading other students’ contributions to the discussions without posting something does not constitute “participation.” Posts made to a discussion forum after 5 pm Eastern Time on the Friday of the lesson are considered late and will not be read nor will they count toward your grade.
We will form discussion forum groups. When class size exceeds fifteen, it is difficult to maintain an online conversation. Therefore, the class will be divided into two groups. You will participate in only one, but I expect you to read the other group’s discussion at the conclusion of each lesson.
I generally do not participate in the forums, but I will be monitoring to ensure that all comments are respectful. If at any time you feel that someone’s comments are inappropriate, please notify me via e-mail. Your discussion forum participation will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Mastery of course material: You are to read and respond to a minimum of one of the prompted questions for each lesson. Your initial post should be 100 or more words in length and should be focused on one of the proposed questions. Your post should be an original, thoughtful analysis with clear and fluent writing. It is very important that you integrate the course material. Begin a new thread for your initial post with a meaningful subject line that includes the topic discussed and your name (topic by name).
- Interactivity: The extent to which you respond to other students’ ideas in an appropriate and constructive manner (even where you disagree) is important. Students who participate in well developed “threads” of discussion will do well in this category. Avoid simply restating, paraphrasing, and agreeing with other students’ post. You should plan to post to the forum and respond to two other students during each lesson as a bare minimum. Remember, credit will not be given for late posts.
Your participation in discussion forums will contribute 30 percent to your grade in the course. I will post your discussion forum participation grades after Chapters 3, 6, 9, 13, and 15. Given that this is such a large percentage of your grade, your participation can significantly raise or lower your final grade. If you are new to online courses or discussion forums, it’s best to dive in fearlessly—you will soon be swimming with ease.
Self-help Exercises
Self-help exercises are provided in many lessons to help you get a better grasp of the material. They might also be fun! Do not turn them in for grading. Do talk about them in the discussion forums.
Quizzes and Exams
Quizzes
To make sure that you keep up with and understand the textbook material, you will be asked to complete online quizzes on each chapter. These quizzes generally consist of ten questions and will be good practice for the midterm and final. The quizzes should be taken closed-book.
You will take your quizzes using Blackboard. See Course Mechanics for help.
The quizzes are available until 5 pm Eastern Time on the individual due dates. You may take the quiz at any time, but you must submit your answers before 5 pm on the due date. When you are ready to take a quiz, click on the appropriate link to enter the quiz site. Once you have entered the quiz, you must complete and submit it. You can view your grades in the My Grades section of Blackboard.
You will be graded on a pass-fail basis for each quiz. Cumulatively, the quizzes will account for 10 percent of your course grade.
Exams
There will be a midterm exam and final exam (each counting for 30 percent of your grade in the course). The exams will cover material from the textbook and supplementary readings. The final exam is not cumulative—it will cover Chapters 8 through 15 (material assigned after the midterm exam).
Each exam will be composed of three parts: twenty-five multiple-choice questions worth two points each, five short-answer questions worth five points each (you will choose four out of the five to answer), and three essay questions worth ten points each.
You will take your midterm and final exams using Blackboard. You will be quite familiar with Blackboard by the time of the midterm because you will have used it for the quizzes and discussion forums. You have two hours to complete the exam (once you enter the exam site, you must submit the exam within two hours). Your exam must be submitted before 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the final exam day.
See the Schedule for exam dates.
Very Important Notes
- The exams in Blackboard will be active only on exam days from 6 am until 11:59 pm Eastern Time. See the Schedule for exam dates. There is a link on every course page to take you to Blackboard, and you will be reminded to do so at the appropriate time.
- Once you click on the exam link at the Blackboard site, you will have started the exam. Do not enter the exam site until you are ready to take the test. You have 2 hours to complete and submit the exam—no longer. Blackboard will inform me of the exact time you entered the test site and the exact time you submitted your exam. You cannot stop the clock once you enter the exam site (saving your work does not stop the clock.) It is a violation of the Honor Code to take more than 2 hours for the exam.
- The exams are closed-book. It is a violation of the Honor Code to use your books, lesson notes, or any other materials, including resources on the Web.
- Be certain to follow the instructions that appear on the exam carefully.
- You have only one opportunity to take each exam.
Grading
Your grade will be based on the following percentages. Special grading considerations or extra credit assignments will not be offered so please do not ask.
| Quizzes | 10 percent |
| Discussion forum | 30 percent |
| Midterm exam | 30 percent |
| Final exam | 30 percent |
If even one of these four requirements is neglected, it is very difficult to achieve a passing grade for the course. If you pass all quizzes and exams but do not participate in the discussion forums, it is highly unlikely that you will pass the course.
Grade reports will not be e-mailed or mailed. You can access your grades in the My Grades section of Blackboard. Because your midterm and final exams include essay questions, your grade will be incomplete until I have time to grade everyone’s essays.
You may see your final grades at the Student Central Web site. For transcripts, see the Registrar's Grades/Transcripts page.
Office Hours
I will schedule and announce weekly office hours during which you can talk to me in real time via the Chat Room on Blackboard. If the scheduled times are not convenient for you, please e-mail me to schedule a Chat Room appointment.
Feel free to contact me with questions regarding the content of the course and your progress. (There is an e-mail link to me at the top of every lesson page.) Please include “PSYC 250 CCO” in the subject line of your e-mail. I get a lot of e-mail, and adding this flag to the subject line will prevent your message from getting deleted by mistake.
Honor Code
Remember that as a student of UNC-Chapel Hill, you are bound by the University's Honor Code: “It shall be the responsibility of every student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to obey and support the enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits lying, cheating, or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University students or academic personnel acting in an official capacity.”
Regarding the midterm and final exams, using any materials (books, notes, or resources on the Internet), or using more than the allotted time is cheating and a violation of the Honor Code.
Plagiarism is another serious Honor Code violation. See the Writing Center's handout on this topic. If you are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, contact me.Course Mechanics
Your instructor is not the person to contact for information concerning technical problems. Contact information is provided in this section.
Blackboard
Some of your class components (discussion forums, quizzes and exams, the class listserv, and a chat room for office hours) are accessed through a software package called Blackboard, and you will need to log in to Blackboard using a unique identifier known as your UNC Onyen (Only Name You'll Ever Need) and Onyen password.
There is a link to the Blackboard site in the gray navigation bar at the top of every page in this course. Click on that link, and then use your Onyen to log in to Blackboard. Click on the PSYC 250 link, and you will see navigation buttons on the left side of the screen labeled Announcements, Discussion Forums, and so on.
If you experience problems accessing Blackboard, this is what you should do:
- If you do not already have a UNC Onyen, go to the Onyen Web site and follow the instructions for creating an Onyen.
- If you have an Onyen but have forgotten it (or the password), go to the Onyen Web site.
- If you have your Onyen but can't log in to Blackboard, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.
- If you can log in to Blackboard but can't find this course listed, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.
- If you can't locate a forum in Blackboard, contact the Instructional Designer at the Friday Center.
- If you have technical problems while using Blackboard, contact Blackboard Help (use the Help button in Blackboard, or call 919-962-HELP).
Using E-mail
All communication from your instructor will go to your UNC Onyen e-mail address (the one that appears when you post to the discussion forum). Off-campus users can access their UNC e-mail using Webmail. You can have your e-mail forwarded to a different e-mail address by clicking “Forward e-mail” at the Onyen Web site.
If you use a filter on your e-mail account, you are responsible for ensuring that it does not prevent you from receiving messages from your instructor, the course listserv, or Friday Center staff.
Hotmail users should be aware that Hotmail will block messages sent from within Blackboard because Blackboard uses “blind carbon copy” to protect privacy. We recommend that you use your UNC Onyen e-mail account for this course.
It is extremely important for you to save copies of any messages you send to your instructor via e-mail. If your instructor doesn't receive your message, you must have a copy of the e-mail (with any attached file), indicating the date sent, to prove that you sent the message. It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails, as there is no way to guarantee that any e-mail message will be delivered. Please check your e-mail software to see how it manages sent and saved messages. Some software automatically deletes messages one month after they have been sent; others only save messages if they are filed in folders; others save messages received but not those sent. You may need to send yourself a copy of your e-mailed assignment at the same time you send it to your instructor, or you may need to print a copy of the e-mail message and any attachments to keep in your paper files. No matter how your system works, make sure you know how to save copies of all messages that you send to your instructor and that you save the copies for several months beyond the end of the course.
Library Services
Students enrolled in Carolina Courses Online can access online library resources from the UNC Library System. See the Library services for Distance Learners. UNC library staff is available to assist any students who have difficulties accessing online library resources.
When you click on a restricted library resource from off-campus, you will be prompted to enter your Onyen and password. For additional information, consult the Off-Campus Access page.
If you are unable to access the library's licensed resources, please contact the proxy team for further assistance.
Other Questions
Contact your instructor with questions regarding the content of the course and your progress. (There is an e-mail link at the top of every lesson page.) Please include “the coursename” in the subject line of your e-mail.
Contact the Instructional Designer at the Friday Center about problems with this Web site, including bad links.
If you have any logistical questions as you work through the course (enrollment, Onyen, credits, withdrawal, and so on), contact the Student Services staff at the Friday Center for Continuing Education (phone 919-962-1134 or 800-862-5669).
Schedule
We follow the UNC-Chapel Hill academic calendar. You are not expected to participate in class on approved holidays or breaks. Pay close attention to the schedule and the calendar. It is crucial to keep up with the reading assignments in order to meet the various deadlines of this course.
Each link below takes you to that week’s lesson page.
| Introductions | |
| Chapter 1 | Child Development: Themes, Theories, and Methods |
| Chapter 2 | Heredity and the Environment |
| Chapter 3 | Prenatal Development and Birth |
| Chapter 4 | Infancy: Sensation, Perception, and Learning |
| Chapter 5 | The Child’s Growth: Brain, Body, Motor Skills, and Sexual Maturation |
| Chapter 6 | Emotional Development and Attachment |
| Chapter 7 | Language and Communication |
| Midterm Exam | on Blackboard, 6 am to 11:59 pm Eastern Time. Answers available on Blackboard Announcements page. |
| Chapters 8 and 9 | Cognitive Development: Piaget and Vygotsky Cognitive Development: The Information-Processing Approach |
| Chapter 10 | Intelligence and Achievement |
| Chapter 11 | The Family |
| Chapters 12 and 13 | Expanding the Social World: Peers and Friends Gender Roles and Gender Differences |
| Chapter 14 | Morality, Altruism, and Aggression |
| Chapter 15 | Developmental Psychopathology |
| Final Exam | The exam will open on Blackboard. You must take and submit the exam by 11:59 pm Eastern Time. Once you open the exam, you must submit it within two hours. |
| Course Evaluation | Please let us know how this course met your needs and expectations by filling out a brief, anonymous online evaluation. |