47.501.202

APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Fall, 2004

 

Syllabus

 

Instructor:	Doreen Arcus, Ph.D.	Class time:	Wednesdays 1:00-2:40
Office:	Mahoney 7  (x4172)	Classroom:	MA 215
Office hrs:	MWF 11:00-12:00 or appt.	Web:	http://faculty.uml.edu/darcus

 

Description

 

From the university catalogue:  “Provides a life span developmental perspective on individual and social and research, and illustrates the influences of environmental, social and cultural factors.”

                                   

Communities are comprised of people—people of different ages.  Understanding the levels and tasks of development that characterize various ages helps us to understand the role of individuals as they interact in social contexts as well as the role of social contexts in the lives of individuals.

 

 

Goals

 

After taking this course, students should be able to 

• Identify theoretical bases of observations on and arguments about developmental issues.

• Identify important bio-social-behavioral shifts across development. 
• Apply developmental perspectives to community issues and social policy.
• Present a well-documented paper, written according to the style manual of the APA, addressing age as a source of diversity in discussing the a community level problem and approaches to prevention or intervention.

 

Assignments

 

This course includes a heavy reading component.  You are expected to read all of the material listed for a class date carefully before class and come prepared to discuss, integrate, and challenge.   You might also find it useful to read the material once before class to prime you for discussion and then once again after class discussion to synthesize our discussion with the chapters and articles.

 

We will use an undergraduate lifespan developmental text to cover salient developmental material quickly for the purposes of updating students theoretical and empirical knowledge of the field.  Each week we will also have another chapter or journal article assigned to probe some issue pertinent to the developmental period we are discussing, most of which will draw connections across developmental periods or individuals of different developmental levels themselves.  For the final weeks of the semester, our readings will be organized topically instead of chronologically.  These readings will all be from outside the course texts.  

 

In addition to assigned readings and on dates indicated on the schedule:

 

A.  Each student will also be expected to contribute a reading of his or her own choice to that week’s discussion.  

• Readings should be taken from peer-reviewed professional journals in psychology or closely related fields.  

• A copy of the abstract should be circulated electronically  along with one question for classmates to consider.  

• An e-mail message should also be sent to me by noon of the Monday before class.   Indicate the APA formatted citation for your article and the discussion question you are proposing so that these can be posted on the class website that evening.

• These additional readings should represent various developmental periods (e.g., infancy, adolescence, old age) according to students individual interests.   

• For full credit, students should be prepared to summarize the article in their own words in class and relating it to the topic of the day.

 

or

 

B.  Students will take responsibility for one chapter from the Sattler book.

• Students will sign up for readings in advance

• Each student will summarize and share relevant passages (especially from literary chapters) in class

• Each student will also discuss the relevance of their particular reading to the shared readings and research for the day

• Students are expected to lead discussions, and not simply present monologues or read to the class

 

 

At every class we will discuss implications—both applications and limitations—of the empirical evidence for social action and policy. 

 

You will complete two take home exams, each consisting of short essay questions.  

 

You will also prepare a 12-16 page paper on a topic of your choice (though it must be approved).  Topics should be of the sort addressed by papers in The American Journal of Community Psychology and should bring a multiage perspective to the topic.  More details will be forthcoming.  An oral presentation in the format of a professional conference presentation (approx. 10 minutes) of this material to the class will also be required.

 

Textbooks

There are three books that will be the primary sources for this class.  They will be available at the UML bookstore as well as through many other booksellers.  These books are:

 

            Feldman, R.S. (2003).  Development Across the Lifespan, Third Edition.  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Prentice Hall.

 

Moen, P., Elder, G.H., & Luscher, K.  (Eds.). (1995). Examining Lives in Contest:  Perspectives on the Ecology of Human Development.  Washington, DC:  American Psychological Association.

 

Sattler, D.N., Kramer, G.P., Shabatay, V. & Bernstein, A. (Eds.). (2000).  Lifespan Development in Context:  Voices and Perspectives.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin.

 

 

Grades

 

You will be evaluated on general class participation (15%), contribution of articles and chapters (15%), two take home exams (35%), and the final paper and presentation (35%). 

 

 

Course Website

 

Course information—schedule, assignments, resources—may be found at http://faculty.uml.edu/darcus/47.501.  Students are expected to consult this website regularly and are responsible for information posted there.

 

If you do not have access to the internet at home please stop in the Psychology graduate student office or the UML Library to print copies of the information on these pages.