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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "PS 221"
COURSE NAME: "Child Development"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2020
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Elaine Luti
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TTH 9:55-11:15 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: PS 101
OFFICE HOURS: before and after class and by appointment, live if allowed, or online

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Follows the development of the child through adolescence, with emphasis on the complexity and continuity of psychological development. The course will emphasize the interaction and interdependence of the various systems: biological, genetic, and environmental, as well as the interaction and the interdependence of cognitive and social factors in the various stages of development, from the prenatal period through adolescence. Particular attention will be placed on attachment theory, the development of the self, and possible pathological outcomes of faulty development.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
This course will follow development from birth through adolescence, with emphasis on the developing child in his intersubjective contexts, the interrelationship between different aspects of development (cognitive, physical, interpersonal and emotional and social), and childhood as the foundation of the adult personality.  Particular attention will be given to infant research and the implications of the findings of intersubjective infant researchers on later emerging characteristics of the child, and on attachment theory through all phases of child development. 
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
The student will learn to read professional writing in child development, think about the implications of the findings of researchers in the area and understand the child in the contexts of his physical and mental development, his intersubjective relationships and his social and cultural environment.  The emphasis is on understanding rather than on information. 
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Child Psychology A Very Short IntroductionUsha GoswamiOxford University Press978-0-19-964659-3 this brief introductory book is very well written and will serve as a general introduction and outline for the course. Note that though it is very short, it is extremely concise. Not good for skimming!   
Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage BrainSarah-Jayne BlakemoreBlack SwanISBN-10: 1784161349 ISBN-13: 978-1784161347 since the primary textbook goes only as far as age 10, this will be a basis for the unit on adolescence   
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberComments
becoming attachedrobert KarenOxford University PressISBN-13: 978-0195115017 ISBN-10: 0195115015  
The interpersonal world of the infantDaniel SternroutledgeISBN-10: 185575200X ISBN-13: 978-1855752009  
the origins of attachmentBeebe and Lachmannroutledgeisbn  
the mother infant interaction picture bookBeebe and Lachmannww nortonisbn reserve reading and also included film is required
Infant research and adult treatmentBeebe and Lachmannroutledgeisbn  
scatteredgabor mate'plumeISBN-10: 0452279631 ISBN-13: 978-0452279636  
the drama of the gifted childalice millerinternational journal of psychoanalysis  can also be the book by same name
separation vol 2 of Attachment and Lossbowlbyany edition, any publisherany edition  
Forms of VitalitysternOxford University Pressisbn  
attachment theory across generationssteeledavidson films is a video in the library 
mary ainsworth strange situation test attachment and the growth of lovedavidson filmsdavidson films is a video in the library 

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Forum participationStudents should participate in discussions on forums. It's not necessary to comment on every one, but it is necessary to post on the ones that are also listed as assignments. If you should not feel comfortable posting on forums that everyone will see, you can send your comments or the assignments to me as a word.doc attachment to an email. 30%
presentation in a forum on a topic to be determinedSeveral topics, some involving readings, will be offered, and you should sign up for one. It will be a group project. You will have to describe the reading or the topic, and then monitor student responses and discussion to it. 20%
midterm examThis will be a take home exam, with access to your readings and notes. You will have a couple of days before the deadline to send it in. If your grade on the midterm is less than the final, it will not be averaged in. 20%
final exam 2 and a half hoursThis will be held during the exam time scheduled, whether you are attending in person or at home, written on the computer, and sent as a word doc attachment to an email to me. You will have access to all notes, books, readings and devices. (all essay questions requiring thought)30%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
A Because this course is not about knowledge of facts or even knowledge of the course material, but is about understanding, thinking about and applying the material presented in the course, these will be the criteria for an A. With open-book and open-note exams, it hardly makes sense to give much credit to knowledge as such, since it will be readily available to you. But the understanding of the material - an understanding that shows that you’ve thought about it, can come up with examples or show its application and implications for the field and perhaps outside of the specific field - is the mark of an excellent paper or exam. You will, hopefully, form your own opinions of this material and by no means are you required to agree with the professor. In fact, very often some of the best work students do comes from a critical analysis of the material and positions taken by the professor. However, your critical analysis must necessarily show your understanding of what it is you’re criticizing, as well as clear and reasoned arguments for your opinion. Ideally it should try to anticipate the criticism of the professor’s point of view and answer these potential criticisms. If you agree with the material, then you should be able to show that you’ve thought about it, come up with further examples, considered the implications and thought of possible objections and the answers to them. A paper or exam that shows the above qualities will be given an A
B To receive a B you’ll show good knowledge of the course material and arguments presented, will have some examples of the material but while some will be original, they will be primarily the examples given in class, and you’ll show some sense of the implications but these, too, will be primarily limited to the implications mentioned in the course. Your arguments will be well presented and thought out, but these won’t go very far beyond the actual material of the course.
C To receive a C you’ll show knowledge of the material insofar as it can be found in the readings and lecture notes, but it will often not be complete, and will not show much personal elaboration of the material. Examples and applications of the material will be limited and there will be some concepts that you haven’t clearly understood.
D You’ll receive a D when there’s some indication that you didn’t fully read or understand the material or follow the class lectures and discussions. There will be gaps in what you’ve been able to find in the readings and class notes. You won’t have understood some concepts.
F To fail the course with an F it will be apparent that you haven’t read or understood a large part of the material and can’t find it among your notes or readings, that you haven’t done some of the reading or followed in class and have no understanding of the material that is in the paper or essay beyond relaying some facts.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

 

The student is presumed to be a responsible adult who will attend class and get the notes for classes missed. Therefore there will be no official penalties for absences. However it will be extremely difficult to pass the course without attending class and class material will be drawn on for exams.In the case of group projects, the responsibility of the student is to the other group members, and participation in the group will be part of the grade.  Note that THE CLASS IS IN A LECTURE FORMAT AND PARTICIPATION IS WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED, THERE ARE NO POWER POINTS.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Syllabus 2020fall child development ps221

Elaine Luti

 

unit

topic

Readings

1

Theory, subjectivity, objectivity, intersubjectivity, methods

Lecture notes 1

2

contexts

Lecture notes 2

3

Pregnancy and birth, psychological aspects

Lecture notes 3

4

Infancy – social and emotional development

Lecture notes 4

Stern- Interpersonal world of infant, emergent self ch 3

Stern – Forms of vitality ch 1

Beebe- Origins of attachment ch 2

Film in class

5

Infant cognitive development, self, invariants

Stern Interpersonal life of infant ch 5 core self

Beebe Infant research & adult treatment ch 5 early interactive regulation

Goswami Child development ch 1, 2

6

Infant social and emotional development: attachment

Beebe Mother-infant interaction picture book ch 4

7

Language

Stern Interpersonal world. Ch 8 Sense of verbal self

8

Toddler social and emotional devel. Attachment, and its effects through time

2 films

Beebe Origins of Attachment ch 1

Goswami Child Psych ch 4

9

Early Childhood Social, emotional, cognitive devel.

Goswami Child Psych ch 7, 4

10

Middle childhood, cognitive development

Goswami child psych ch 5, 6

11

Middle childhood, emotional development

Karen avoidant society excerpts

12

Adolescence

Blakemore, Inventing ourselves, ch 1, 3, 4 pg 55-64, ch 5 75-78, ch 7, ch 8 131-2, ch 9

13

Pathological dev

Mate’ Scattered ch 8, 9, 10.

Miller Gifted Child

Bowlby Separation-anxious attachment and phobias of ch

Stern, Interpersonal world ch 9