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Course : Human Development

Course Number
COUN 2023
Section Number
X20
Semester
Spring 2021
Location
N/A
Days & Times
Final Exam Day/Time
Monday, April 26, 2021 12:00 am

Core Content, Objectives, and Core Skill

Objectives

Learning Activities

Students understand and think critically about the major theories of children’s physical, cognitive, social, moral, and emotional development. Students will explain how developmental behavior impacts the individual and use empirical data to discuss the impacts that behavior has on the larger society.

discussion questions, lecture and/or guided reading, videos, portfolio, simulations, activities

Students understand and think critically about genetic, prenatal, hereditary, and environmental influences and how these influences and differences prevalent in various global regions impact human development and learning. Students will develop an understanding of the social and personal responsibility of being aware of the

impact of diverse influences on human development across the globe.

discussion questions, lecture and/or guided reading, videos, portfolio, simulations, activities

Students recognize, understand, and think critically about the reciprocal influence of family and culture on human development.

discussion questions, lecture and/or guided reading, videos, portfolio, simulations, activities

Students understand and think critically about the contribution of heredity and environment (both geographic and culturally)

to development and learning.

discussion questions, lecture and/or, guided reading, videos, portfolio, simulations, activities

Students develop an in-depth understanding of human growth and development and the changes that occur from infancy to young adulthood to better understand what makes us human.

discussion questions, lecture and/or guided reading, videos, portfolio, simulations, activities

Students will practice reflective habits regarding human development and

develop an understanding of one’s own development and how that process

impacts one’s approach to children and

adolescents.

discussion questions, lecture and/or guided reading, videos, portfolio, simulations, activities

Students will develop an understanding of the development and maintenance of a healthy self-concept. Students will investigate developmental/environmental-related issues such as stress, risky behavior, gang violence, bullying, poverty, substance abuse, prenatal care, etc., and discuss the impacts on individuals, groups, and institutions.

discussion questions, lecture and/or guided reading, videos, portfolio, simulations, activities

 

 

 

Student expectations and course assignments align with NAEYC standards,  National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Principles of Human Development and Principles of Child Development and Learning and Implications that Inform Practice available on their web site at: NAEYC


 

Written Work

All written work should be completed in a professional style. Using correct spelling and grammar are important writing skills you must know well because your students will learn from you. Therefore, all written assignments will have 10% -20% of the grade based on spelling and grammar. Expectations are for quality work.

 

Desire-to-Learn (D2L)/Brightspace

Extensive use of the MSU D2L program is a part of this course. Each student is expected to be familiar with this program as it provides a primary source of communication regarding assignments, examination materials, and general course information. You can log into D2L through the MSU Homepage. If you experience difficulties, please contact the technicians listed for the program or contact your instructor. All assignments must be submitted to D2L/BRIGHTSPACE for this course and should be in a PDF unless otherwise specified in the assignment guidelines. A minimum of 5% of the total points will be deducted for assignments not submitted through BRIGHTSPACE.

 

Core Assessment

 

The Core Assessment will be conducted in a four-part portfolio project that directly aligns to the core course objectives and demonstrates a student’s understanding of human development and its impact on the individual, society and culture. This assessment also requires students to apply empirical methods to think critically about how human development, behavior, and learning impact and are impacted by cultural differences to further their understanding of what makes us human. The final portfolio includes the following four components: (1.) A research- based brochure students create that will require them to think critically about factors impacting the pre-natal environment and how those are influenced by diverse environments in a global context. A component of this brochure also includes a call to action to highlight social responsibility for a resolution to the issue. (2.) A collaborative project and presentation that requires students to be engaged in the research process that will allow them to analyze and think critically about human development, specifically infancy and toddlerhood, as well as working collaboratively with a class peer in order to develop a presentation for the class. (3.) An observation to collect data that allows students to analyze adolescent behavior and link that to developmental characteristics and discuss how cultural differences impact development.

Additionally, students will analyze interactions of adolescents among groups and discuss subsequent impacts. (4.) A final reflective piece that requires students to critically reflect on each component of the portfolio in order to synthesize and demonstrate an understanding of the social and personal responsibility to the issues in human development from diverse cultures and communities in the US and across the globe. The separate portfolio components will be used as formative assessments during the course and the combined submitted portfolio is summative in nature and will be assessed using elements of the AACU Critical Thinking, Global Learning, Written Communication, Quantitative Literacy, and Oral Communication rubrics. All written portfolio components must adhere to APA 7th edition guidelines.

 

Portfolio Part I: Protecting the Prenatal Environment Brochure

 

To demonstrate your understanding of influences on the prenatal environment and our


personal and social responsibility for awareness and action, you will create a brochure highlighting an issue and provide strategies or solutions. Download and complete the chart entitled, “Protecting the Prenatal Environment” that is located in the Week 3 folder. Using your answers from the sheet consider the following questions: “What did you find most difficult to give up (or avoid)? Why? What was most surprising? Why?” Next, choose one that you found difficult to give up (or avoid) and find a research article from a reputable source exploring this issue in another country. Additionally, you must locate empirical, numerical evidence on the impacts (local, national, or global) of this issue. Create a visually appealing brochure that highlights the challenges of protecting the prenatal environment in this particular area of the world and how that might compare and contrast with the pre- natal environment in a culture specific to the US. Be sure to include the supporting research data and numerical data of the impacts and provide research-based strategies/recommendations/solutions to address this challenge. Additional instructions, guidelines, and requirements are available on D2L/Brightspace in the Week 3 folder.

 

Portfolio Part II: Infancy and Toddlerhood Collaborative Research Project & Presentation

 

To deepen your understanding of human behavior and development, the influence that development has on institutions, other age groups, culture or our society as a whole, you will work with a partner to conduct research and create a presentation describing physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development in infancy and toddlerhood. Include information from the text, videos, simulations, and any supplied readings provided in D2L. You will submit an APA formatted paper, citing all sources, that is no more than 1,000 words as well as a cooperative video presentation that you will upload to YouTube for your classmates to view. You will copy the link on a word doc and turn it in to the drobox. Be sure that you include the following information in your paper. Each of the bullets below can be used as a paragraph topic with the addition of an introduction and conclusion for a complete essay.

  • Physical Development: Discuss gross and find motor skills during this stage of development. How might cultural influences impact development of motor skills? How might delayed motor development impact socialization?
  • Cognitive Development: Use Piaget’s theory to describe the cognitive differences between infants and toddlers. What specific behaviors support your supposition? How might cultural influences impact cognitive development and behavior? How might cognitive development impact further learning? How does cognitive development impact pedagogical and curricular decisions in schools?
  • Emotional Development: Describe fear reactions and discuss when and why they appear in growth. How might cultural influences impact emotional development? How might individuals at this age communicate emotions? How might low or high EI impact an

individual’s interactions with others?

  • Social Development: Discuss self-discovery in infancy and toddlerhood. How might cultural influences impact social development? How might individuals at this age interact and communicate with other individuals?
  • In addition to your choice of one of the above developmental areas, also address the following: How has research furthering our understanding of child development impacted

education, entertainment, retail, and or local, state or national government agencies? Consider Legislative and media impacts as well. Make sure to include statistical data to support the impacts you focus on. For example, you might use a consumer report citing the dollar amount retail allots to market to the parents of this age group to discuss impacts.

  • For the second part of the assignment, choose one of the four areas above and create a 3- 5 minute video presentation going into detail about that area of development during the infancy and toddler period. In the presentation, discuss the most well-known theories about the area you chose from the text. When you record, you may use moviemaker, Screencast-o-Matic, VOKI, or any similar program, but upload it to YouTube and provide the link when you turn in the assignment. The images or voices of all group members must be present on the video.

 

Portfolio Part III: Adolescent Observation and Analysis

 

To gain an understanding of the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development of the adolescent period and their impacts on other groups, you will be observing adolescents in a public place to collect data. You will then analyze aspects of their behavior that are indicative of the unique characteristics of this stage of human development. You will complete an observation protocol sheet and then compose a synthesis paragraph further exploring a behavior you observed and how that is connected with changes associated with this stage and its influences on the adolescent age group itself, institutions such as schools, and the larger culture of our society. The following are possible areas for exploration:

 

  • How might adolescent moodiness contribute to the psychological distancing between parents and children that accompanies puberty? (Consider bidirectional influences in parent-child relationships.) How might cultural differences in child rearing impact development? How might this adolescent characteristic impact the school?
  • How does adolescents’ propensity for risky behavior impact society? School policy? Legislative actions?
  • List various personal and contextual factors that promote identity development. Then, explain how ethnic identity development is achieved for ethnic minority adolescents.
  • How might cultural differences in gender expectations during adolescence impact emotional, physical, social, and cognitive development? How has gender exploration impacted society?
  • How has information furthering our understanding of adolescents and associated developmental characteristics impacted education, retail, media, and legislation?

 

Additional instructions, guidelines, protocol sheet, supplemental articles, videos, and requirements are available on D2L/Brightspace in the Week 14 folder.

 

Portfolio Part IV: Reflection

 

The reflective piece requires you to critically reflect on Parts I-III of the portfolio. You will synthesize the information you have gathered to demonstrate an understanding of human


development and how it impacts individuals, society, and culture. You should address connections among the research-based developmental theories, experiences, and environments across the globe in order to demonstrate an understanding of our social and personal responsibility to grasp the differences in global environments—both the positive aspects as well as challenges your own and other cultures face. The following are possible areas for reflection:

 

  • How has the knowledge of a particular stage(s) of development and behavior impacted your understanding of what it is that makes us human?
  • How has an understanding of behaviors associated with developmental stages allowed you to be more understanding, tolerant, or to take a particular action?
  • How has the knowledge of the impacts of global influences on development impacted your behavior (think about the actions suggested in your brochure).
  • How has research you conducted supported and furthered the knowledge you have about human behavior and development?
  • Why might you feel that it is important to people to understand human development and the associated behaviors?
  • How has research you conducted supported and furthered the knowledge you have about issues pertaining human behavior and development and why society needs to be aware of these issues?
  • Considering the empirical data including quantitative information as well as qualitative data you use to support your opinions, how might this data be interpreted a different way or how might this data be influenced by other factors?

 

The reflection should be at least 500 words and must be submitted as a pdf and uploaded by the date due to D2L/Brightspace. Additional instructions, guidelines, and requirements are available on D2L/Brightspace in the Week 16 folder.

Additional Class Learning Activities

Discussion Questions

 

We will have several online discussions throughout the class. The discussions will occur throughout the semester in which you will explore and think critically about content from the readings and textbook. This will allow you to further explore topics more in depth, making connections among theories, supplemental readings, and comments from your peers. Discussion questions are posted on D2L/Brightspace in advance, so you can post your response at any time. Responses are due on Thursday of the week due and are worth 5 points. You must also post five replies in the discussion board by Sunday of the week due for 5 points each.


Activities

 

The class will feature four formal learning activities worth ten points each that will strengthen your understanding of the main stages of child development. Specifics of each activity will be discussed further in class; however, the completed works will need to be uploaded to D2L/ Brightspace on the given due date.

 

Quizzes

 

There are 10 chapter quizzes throughout the course. These are accessed through your online textbook. They open at the beginning of the week they are assigned and close on the following Sunday.


 

 

Grading

 

Assignments

Points

Portfolio Part I:

25

Portfolio Part II:

25

Portfolio Part III:

25

Portfolio Part IV:

25

Final Portfolio (Parts I-IV combined)

56

Activities (4 at 10 points each)

40

Online Discussion Questions (4 at 5 points)

20

Quizzes (10 at 10 points)

100

Total Points

316

Table 2: Total points for final grade.

 

Grade

Points 316

A

285 or Greater

B

253 to 284

C

222 to 252

D

190 to 221

F

189 or less

 

Instructor Class Policies

Students are expected to assist in maintaining a classroom environment which is conducive to learning. Inappropriate behavior in the D2L online classroom shall result, minimally, in a request to drop the class and a Professional Fitness Form will be filed for review with the college. If the instructor must file a Fitness Alert Form for any reason, including failure to demonstrate appropriate classroom behaviors, the student may receive an instructor drop with an "F" for the course.

 

An instructor may drop a student any time during the semester for failure to participate, for consistently failing to meet class assignments, for an indifferent attitude, or for disruptive conduct. The instructor must give the student a verbal or written warning prior to dropping the student from the class. An instructor’s drop of a student takes precedence over the student- initiated course drop of a later date. The instructor will assign a grade of either WF or F through the first 8 weeks of a long semester, the first 6 weeks of a 10 week summer term, or the 11th class day of a 4 or 5 week summer term consisting of 20 days. After these periods the grade will be an F. The date the instructor drop form is received in the Office of the Registrar is the official drop date.

 

 

Late Work

Assignments are expected to be turned in by the due date. Ten percent of the total points will be deducted per day late, and any assignment submitted more than one week late will not be accepted. Arrangements must be made at least two days in advance for any exceptions to be given.

 

Note: You may not submit a paper for a grade in this class that already has been (or will be) submitted for a grade in another course, unless you obtain the explicit written permission of me and the other instructor involved in advance.

Plagiarism is the use of someone else's thoughts, words, ideas, or lines of argument in your own work without appropriate documentation (a parenthetical citation at the end and a listing in "Works Cited")-whether you use that material in a quote, paraphrase, or summary. It is a theft of intellectual property and will not be tolerated, whether intentional or not.

Student Honor Creed

As an MSU Student, I pledge not to lie, cheat, steal, or help anyone else do so."

As students at MSU, we recognize that any great society must be composed of empowered, responsible citizens. We also recognize universities play an important role in helping mold these responsible citizens. We believe students themselves play an important part in developing responsible citizenship by maintaining a community where integrity and honorable character are the norm, not the exception.

Thus, We, the Students of Midwestern State University, resolve to uphold the honor of the University by affirming our commitment to complete academic honesty. We resolve not only to be honest but also to hold our peers accountable for complete honesty in all university matters.

We consider it dishonest to ask for, give, or receive help in examinations or quizzes, to use any unauthorized material in examinations, or to present, as one's own, work or ideas which are not entirely one's own. We recognize that any instructor has the right to expect that all student work is honest, original work. We accept and acknowledge that responsibility for lying, cheating, stealing, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty fundamentally rests within each individual student.

We expect of ourselves academic integrity, personal professionalism, and ethical character. We appreciate steps taken by University officials to protect the honor of the University against any who would disgrace the MSU student body by violating the spirit of this creed.

Written and adopted by the 2002-2003 MSU Student Senate.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Disability Support Services in Room 168 of the Clark Student Center, (940) 397-4140.

The professor considers this classroom to be a place where you will be treated with respect as a human being - regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, political beliefs, age, or ability. Additionally, diversity of thought is appreciated and encouraged, provided you can agree to disagree. It is the professor's expectation that ALL students consider the classroom a safe environment.

All instructors in the Department have voicemail in their offices and MSUTexas e-mail addresses. Make sure you add your instructor's phone number and e-mail address to both email and cell phone lists of contacts.

All students seeking a Bachelor's degree from Midwestern State University must satisfy a writing proficiency requirement once they've 1) passed the 6 hours of Communication Core and 2) earned 60 hours. Students may meet this requirement in one of three ways: by passing the Writing Proficiency Exam, passing two Writing Intensive Courses (only one can be in the core), or passing English 2113. If you have any questions about the exam, visit the Writing Proficiency Office website at https://msutexas.edu/academics/wpr, or call 397-4131.

Senate Bill 11 passed by the 84th Texas Legislature allows licensed handgun holders to carry concealed handguns on campus, effective August 1, 2016. Areas excluded from concealed carry are appropriately marked, in accordance with state law. For more information regarding campus carry, please refer to the University’s webpage at https://msutexas.edu/campus-carry/rules-policies.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact MSU Chief of Police at police@msutexas.edu.