42.201 Child Psychology

An introduction to the study of the child from conception to the onset of adolescence. Basic concepts and theories of child development are studied, particularly those relevant to the psychological processes of perception, cognition, social interaction, and affective and moral development.
Prerequisite: Sophomore status or 42.101 General Psychology

Class hours: 11:30 - 12:20 M, W, R, & F

Room: MA 111B

Text: Bee, H. (2001). The Developing Child (9th Ed.). MA:Allyn & Bacon.

Recommended: Companion Website and on-line study guide with practice tests - www.abacon.com/bee

Format: This course will be primarily a lecture format. However, students are expected to have readings and assignments completed before class and to be ready to discuss issues, ask questions, or provide appropriate examples.

Grading: Grades will be based on attendance, exams, and homework assignments. The total number of points is 625. The person receiving the highest number of points will set the curve for the class. From that point, the following percentiles will be applied in determining letter grades: 100-97% = A; 96-93 = A-; 92-90 = B+; 89-87 = B; 86-83 = B-; 82-80 = C+; 79-77 = C; 76-73 = C-; 72-70 = D+; 69-67 = D; 66-63 = D-; <63 = F.

Attendance: Attendance is required. Not all material covered in class is presented in the text. It is the student's responsibility to get notes and information from a classmate when a class is missed. Missing a class is not an excuse for turning in an assignment late or making-up an exam. Attendance will be taken at the start of each class. Anyone not in the classroom by the time attendance begins will be noted as late\absent for the day. Anyone leaving before the end of a class period will also be counted as absent. Students with perfect attendance - that is, no more than one absence/late arrival/early departure - will receive 25 points. Fifteen (15) points will be awarded to students with 2 or fewer misses. Ten points (10) will be awarded for only 3 misses and zero (0) points for 4 absences. After 4 absences, 10 points will be deducted for each missed class and all bonus points will be dropped. It is not necessary to inform the instructor of an expected "absence" due to illness, car problems, appointments, etc. Presentations of doctor’s notes will also not alter the attendance policies. Exceptions will not be made. Total = 25 points.

Exams will be based on readings, videotape, & lecture materials. Each of the three (3) exams will be worth 100 points. The formats will be 50-60 multiple choice questions and non-comprehensive. There are no make-up exams for any reasons. Text review sheets will be provided before each exam. Students scoring 85 or above on Exams 1 & 2 and who have no more than 2 absences may opt to skip the final exam. Total = 300 points.

Survey Homeworks: Approximately 8-10 times during the semester, students will be asked to provide information about their personal experiences as related to course topics. This information will be summarized and incorporated into topic lectures by the instructor. These surveys will be brief and involve primarily “yes/no” type responses. Surveys will be distributed at the start of class and collected 10 minutes later. Students arriving to class late will not be permitted to complete the surveys. Submissions without names will not be credited! Each completed survey is worth 5 points. Total = 50 points.

Lecture Summaries: At the start of each class period, students are to drop-off at the instructors desk, brief lecture summary sheets. Specifically, each student is to summarize 3 to 5 main points covered in the previous day’s lecture. (E.g., Monday’s lecture summary is submitted for grading on Wednesday...). See table below for grading specifics. Late summaries will not be accepted. Each summary will be worth 5 points each (x 48 lectures) for a total of 240 points.
For 3 points, students may opt to complete these summaries based on text information when absences occur. Refer to the syllabus for the day's topic. Similarly, students may e-mail lecture summaries when absent for 3 points.

GRADING OF SUMMARIES will be based on the following:

5 points

A typed paragraph summarizing 3-5 of the main issues/points covered in lecture, submitted in class on the due date. Appropriate grammar (full sentences) and spelling are used. Length is no more than half an 8" X 10" page with minimum print size of 12. Student’s name is clearly identified, the lecture topic/date, and the date of submission.

   -2 points For e-mailed submissions received by noon on the due date.

   -2 points
For text page summary on the appropriate topic (see syllabus topic outline) due to a planned absence.

0 points

Awarded for untyped submissions - lack of time, printer, paper, ink.... are not acceptable excuses for submitting a hand-written summary.

0 points

Awarded for submissions lacking a name & dates.

0 points

Awarded for late submissions - "late" means submitting summaries after the due date.

-5 points

For spelling errors and grammatical errors. Common mistakes made by college students include:

Misuse of then/than, whether/weather, who’s/whose

Incorrect use of possessives (e.g., mother’s as one mother having something and mothers’ to indicate many mothers having something).

Use of incomplete sentences.

Beginning sentences with numerals, But, Because, Then.....

-5 points

For poor formatting:

unclear type.

single spacing or small print size.

BONUS

There are several means of earning extra credit points in this class. One or all may be taken advantage of. All bonus points will be added to a student's grade after the class curve is set. For those opting not to take advantage of these points, there is no penalty in terms of grading. Bonus points will not be counted for anyone missing more than 5 classes for the semester.

A maximum of 20 points may be earned by doing one or a combination of bonus options #1-3:

Bonus #1 - Research Bonus

Students may receive extra credit points by participating in student research projects. Students taking Experimental Psychology or Independent Studies will be invited to class to describe their projects and solicit volunteers. You may also be contacted outside of this course. Participation in each experiment is worth 5 points, to a maximum of 20 points (4 experiments). This means of gaining bonus points is very unpredictable. I cannot guarantee than any volunteers will be needed. No one under the age of 18 is eligible for participation without first getting written parental consent. Be sure to ask for a research receipt (should include your name, researcher's name, date, and supervising professor) and turn in this receipt ASAP. I will not give credit for word of mouth participation or for names on generic lists.

Student researchers will be invited to use the first 15 minutes of class (8:30 to 8:45). If interested in this easy method of earning points, be sure to arrive early. Researchers will be instructed not to distribute surveys after 8:35 so that class may begin on time.

Bonus #2 - Lecture Attendance:

Students may receive bonus points by attending non-course required lectures. Acceptable lectures will be announced in class. As with #1, I cannot guarantee that appropriate speakers will be invited to campus. Students selecting this option must submit, within 48 hours of attendance, title & date of the presentation, the presenter's name, a 1/2 page typed summary of the main points of the talk, and copies of any handouts distributed. Each presentation is worth 5 points.

Bonus #3 - Web or Article Bonus:

Students may receive bonus points by submitting full copies of on-line articles related to course topics. Each "find" will be worth 1 point on a first-come-first-serve basis - that is, if someone else in the class brings in the material first, credit will not be available to others bringing in duplicate information. For credit, a copy of the web information and the exact address (URL) of the site must be provided.

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