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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "PS 221"
COURSE NAME: "Child Development"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2022
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Elaine Luti
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TTH 10:00 AM 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 questioning its theoretical premises, and will 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
Becoming ourselves, the secret life of the teenage brain BlakemoreBlack swan isbn this textbook is for the unit on adolescence, almost the whole book is required   
Child Psychology A Very Short Introduction usha goswamiOxford university press isbn this is one of the required textbooks. can be ordered through library as ebook   
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
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, discuss it, and then monitor student responses and discussion to it. If classes are held in person there is the option to do a class presentation if preferred. If you want to do a project alone, you would have to come up with a topic and get it approved. 25%
specific homework assighmentsThese will be assigned during the course and concern specific topics that will be posted on moodle. They should be emailed as WORD DOCUMENTS to me at my address [email protected] 25%
forum participationThe forums are your way of participating in the course. You're expected to engage actively throughout the semester and this will give you a grade. It is a very free way of participating, where you will get credit for participating. There are no bad grades given here, only plusses that will add up to the 25% class participation. (in other words, don;t be afraid of saying something that will give you a bad grade. Your comment might not give you a plus BUT IT WON'T GIVE YOU A MINUS. There are no real deadlines, but if we are talking about unit 5, you should try to comment before we get to unit 8. Don't leave it to the end or they won;t be counted.25%
forum portfolioIn participating in the forums you can say anything you want (if not offensive) but you should also aim to make some really good, well-thought-out comments that reflect the best of your thinking on the topic. Instead of a final exam you will have to submit 6 of the best of your posts, which will be 25 % of the grade. Keep in mind that these are for everyone to read, and should be written as you would write to a colleague. That is, explaining so that someone like yourself will want to read it and to comment back, not as an academic or scholarly post that is intended to impress me. 25%

-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 but there will be some lecture notes available, not for all units.
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 2021 spring child development ps221

Elaine Luti

Note that the units are not necessarily weeks or class meetings.  Some material is very complex and will require more time and some will require less.  

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