1. Basic Course Information
   1. Class name:  Psychology 2314, Life Span Growth and Development  
   2. Days and hours of class meetings: Internet
   3. Last day to drop or withdraw: Students should check with the Registrar of the institution where they enrolled.
   4. Prerequisites: Students need to be TSI complete in reading and writing.  This means the student has passed these sections of the THEA, or alternative test, or are exempt.
   5. Credit hours:  3
   6. Major requirements the course fulfills:  This course can be used as a behavioral science requirement for most majors, including the Associate of Arts degree at most colleges. Check with your college counselor to confirm if this class is needed for your major and your transfer university.Psyc 2314 is a prerequisite for most R.N. programs in Texas.
   7. The course is found on a website called Moodle. To see the class format, go to http://ecampus.wtc.edu/moodle. Then scroll down to the  Psychology and Sociology course listings.  Select Psychology 2314 Lifespan Growth & Development. Log in as a guest. To use the website you will need to set up your own account. Directions on how to do this are available from the instructor.
2. Information about Course Coverage and Objectives
   1. Course description: Psychology 2314 is a study of the developmental stages from birth to death.  There will be an emphasis placed on the relationship of emotional, cognitive, and social factors as they contribute to human growth and development throughout the life span.
3. Information on the Readings
   1. Required book:  Understanding Human Development,  2nd  Edition.       ISBN  10-0205753078, by Grace Craig and Wendy Dunn.  Prentice Hall Publishers. The text can be ordered through most college bookstores.  The Western Texas College bookstore usually has this book in stock and can mail it to you.  Contact them at 325.574.7600 or order from their website.
4. Course Requirements and Grading Standards
   1. Grading: Grades are based on the basic formula of 90-100 is an A, 80-89 is a B, 70-79 is a C, 60-69 is a D, and 59 and below is an F.
   2. Graded course requirements
      1. The following assignments will each comprise 1/6 of the final grade:
         1. Approximately 10 chapter worksheets-exercises
         2. Four interviews of persons at different stages in the life cycle.  The interviews will be reported in essay form.   
         3. Four quizzes.  Each quiz comprises 1/6 of the final grade.  Quizzes consist of about 50 multiple-choice questions. 
         4. Here is a breakdown of how the final grade is assessed:

         Worksheet-exercise average	1/6
         Interview average	1/6
         Quiz 1	1/6
         Quiz 2	1/6
         Quiz 3	1/6
         Quiz 4	1/6

      2. Quizzes are available on-line.  If you need a written test, these can be arranged through your local testing center or counselor’s office.
      3. Worksheets and interviews should be uploaded to Moodle website on or before the due date.  Due dates for each assignment are listed on the course website.   
      4. Discussion section assignments, etc:   Worksheets usually contain one topic that is to be submitted to the discussion forums on the Moodle website. 
   3. Standards by which Instructor will grade quizzes and worksheets:   Multiple-choice and essay items are graded objectively; interviews are graded on a point system including correct content, fullness of content, along with spelling and grammar.  Worksheet assignments will be graded on the number of questions answered fully and correctly; spelling and grammar will also be evaluated.
   4. Study and assignment aids to be distributed:  Some extra credit assignments may be offered.  
   5. Percentage of the grade that each component above will count:   The chapter worksheets and interviews (with essay report) will count a total of 1/3 of the student’s final grade.  The four quizzes will count a total of  2/3 of the final grade.
   6. Course requirements aside from those computed in the grade: None
   7. Any extra credit options:  Bonus points may be available through extra writing samples and essay questions.
5. Course Policies
   1. Policies on missed and late exams and assignments:  Makeup quizzes are given the last week of class only. Chapter worksheets turned in late will have 20% deducted. 
   2. Policies on attendance, tardiness, class participation, and classroom decorum/civility:  NA
   3. Policies on academic integrity, including collaborative work:  Collaborative work for study sessions and assignments is encouraged.  Any collaboration during a quiz is considered cheating, and the tests will receive a zero score.  Interviews and worksheets must be original and of one’s own material.
6. Student Learning Outcomes
   1. Overall, students should be able to evaluate the emotional development of individuals at various stages in life including infancy through preschool, middle school and adolescence, and old age. Students will evaluate this development and show that they can perform such an evaluation through a series of interviews of individuals, or parents of individuals, in each stage. Their ability to evaluate emotional development, or the degree to which the student can be successful in this task, will be measured by the accuracy of their conclusions from interviewing these individuals.  For the infancy through preschool period, students will interview parents of children ages 3-5.  For the middle school through adolescent period, students will interview an adolescent.  For the old age period, students will interview an individual over 75 years of age. For example, in each interview students will compare the individual’s progress within Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stages relating to that age group.   They will identify behaviors that show whether the person is progressing favorably or unfavorably.  The degree to which a student can accurately link behaviors, as outlined by Erikson, to development will determine whether they are achieving success in their evaluations of emotional development at the various life stages. 
   2. Students will be able to recognize temperament and attachment types in infants and toddlers. Students will assess these effects through their second interview with parents of infants and/or toddlers.  They will determine which temperament and attachment type is present in a child through their questioning of the parent.  Students will summarize their findings for the instructor in written form.  The degree that the student is successful in their ability to recognize the type of temperament will be determined by their accuracy in identifying behaviors associated with one of the four kinds of temperament outlined by A. Thomas and S. Chess (1977).  Students’ success in recognizing attachment type will be measured by the accuracy in which they correctly match behaviors of parents and securely or insecurely attached children.  Students will be looking for behaviors in both parents and children that coincide with Mary Ainsworth’s research.    
   3. Also, students will be able to evaluate the effects of different types of parenting styles on the emotional/ social development of children. Students will evaluate the effects of parenting styles in their interview of parents of preschool children.  Students will ask questions about how the parent disciplines the child and identify which style is being used according to D. Baumrind’s (1975, 1980) research.  Students will observe the child for behaviors related to each of these parenting styles.  The degree to which they are able to accurately identify the style based on parental responses will determine how successful they are in performing this evaluation.  The interview is summarized in written form for the instructor.  The students will also note behaviors in the children that result from the different styles.  The accuracy by which students can see these behaviors will determine whether they are able to evaluate parenting styles correctly.
   4. Students will be able to differentiate the identity statuses and cognitive development levels of adolescents and young adults. Students will demonstrate they can differentiate the identity statuses through their third interview, which is with an adolescent.  There are four identity statuses from which they will be selecting, according to James Marcia’s theory (1966, 1980, 1993).  
      Two cognitive development levels will be differentiated, the third and fourth stages of Jean Piaget theory of cognitive development.  Success will be measured by the accuracy of the students’ conclusions from the interviewee’s responses.  Students will summarize their findings in written form, explaining their rationale for assigning the individual to the proper  cognitive level. 
   5. Finally, students will be able to evaluate the degree of adjustment that an elderly person is making to their retirement years and to their eventual passing.  This evaluation will be assessed in the fourth and final interview with a person over 75 years of age.  Students will determine the degree of adjustment based on Erik Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial Adjustment, eighth stage.  Their questions will be directed towards how the individual is resolving the crisis of ego integrity vs. despair.  Students will summarize their conclusions and provide a rationale of how the person is adjusting.  Their accuracy in identifying behaviors demonstrating ego integrity and/or despair, using Erikson’s terminology, will be the measurement of their success in evaluating the person’s adjustment.

   Disclaimer:  Students may vary in their competency levels on these abilities.  You can expect to acquire these abilities only if you honor all course policies, complete all assigned work in good faith and on time, and meet all other course expectations of you as a student.

7. Other Policies
   1. ADA Statement:  Western Texas College does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs or activities.  The college counselors have been designated to coordinate compliance with the nondiscrimination requirements contained in section 35.107 of the Department of Justice regulations.  Information concerning the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the rights provided there under, are available from the college counselors.
   2. Special Assistance:  If, as a result of a disability, a student needs special assistance to participate in a class, contact your local counseling office.
   3. Affirmative Action:  Western Texas College is an equal opportunity institution and is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
8. Course Organization and Schedule
   1. Course “flow”/organization and Instructor’s rationale for it - Tentative Schedule (subject to change):

   Week 1	Chapter 1
   Week 2	Chapter 2
   Week 3	Chapter 3
   Week 4	Quiz I, Interview 1
   Week 5	Chapter 4
   Week 6	Chapter 5
   Week 7	Chapter 6 & 7
   Week 8	Quiz II, Interview 2
   Week 9	Chapter 8
   Week 10	Chapters 9
   Week 11	Chapters 10 & 11
   Week 12	Quiz III, Interview 3
   Week 13	Chapters 12 & 13
   Week 14	Chapters 16 & 17
   Week 15	Chapters 18   Make-up Exams
   Week 16	Quiz IV, Interview 4

   Disclaimer:  “The above schedule, policies, procedures, and assignments in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.”

Last Modified: October 21, 2010