Syllabus for PSYCO 223 (Section X01):
Lifespan Developmental Psychology Spring 2018
Lecture Room & Time: MTWRF 10:30-11:40 a.m. SAB 325 Instructor: Lisa Smithson, Ph.D.
Office: BS-P343
Email: [email protected] (Please put PSYCO 223 in the subject line of your emails) Office hours: By appointment only
Course website: Go to eClass, accessible on the University main page
Textbook (optional): Feldman, R.S., & Landry, O. (2016). Discovering the Lifespan, Second Canadian Edition. Pearson Canada Inc. New Jersey, USA.
Readings (mandatory): Listed in page 2 of this syllabus.
Prerequisites:
PSYCO 104 or SCI 100, and PSYCO 105 or equivalent. Students who have not completed this prerequisite will not be given credit for completing PSYCO 223.
Course Description and Objectives:
This course introduces the biological, cognitive, and social elements of
developmental psychology. Throughout this course we will cover the following topics from a developmental perspective: physical development and health, sensation and perception, cognition and intelligence, language, emotion, identity, sexuality, social networks, and death. The objective of this course is to provide you with the information necessary to develop both a meaningful and relevant understanding of the topics covered.
Lecture Schedule:
70-minute classes are scheduled for five days of the week. I will introduce examples and concepts that are foundational for your understanding of developmental psychology. All of the material discussed in lectures as well as the information contained within the lecture notes and readings may be covered on the exams.
Course outline with midterm dates:
Lecture Date Topic
1 May 7 Introduction
2 May 8 Introduction
3 May 9 The Start of Life Reading 1
4 May 10 The Start of Life
5 May 11 Infancy
6 May 14 Infancy
7 May 15 Infancy
May 16 Midterm #1
8 May 17 The Early Childhood and Preschool Years Reading 2 9 May 18 The Early Childhood and Preschool Years
May 21 Victoria Day – NO CLASS
10 May 22 The Early Childhood and Preschool Years
11 May 23 Middle Childhood Reading 3
12 May 24 Middle Childhood 13 May 25 Adolescence
14 May 28 Adolescence Reading 4
15 May 29 Adolescence May 30 Midterm #2 16 May 31 Early Adulthood
17 June 1 Early Adulthood Reading 5
18 June 4 Middle Adulthood 19 June 5 Middle Adulthood 20 June 6 Late Adulthood 21 June 7 Late Adulthood
22 June 8 Late Adulthood Research Paper Due 12pm
23 June 11 Death and Dying 24 June 12 Death and Dying 25 June 13 Death and Dying
*The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this outline as the course progresses.
Required Readings:
Reading 1 Mills, K.L. & Tamnes, C.K. (2014). Methods and considerations for longitudinal structural brain imaging analysis across development. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 9, 172-190.
Reading 2 Keupp, S., Behne, T., & Rakoczy, H. (2013). Why do children overimitate? Normativity is crucial. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 116, 392-406.
Reading 3 Koolschijn, P.C., & Crone, E.A. (2013). Sex differences and structural brain maturation from childhood to early adulthood. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 5, 106-118.
Reading 4 Scherf, K.S., Behrmann, M., & Dahl, R.E. (2012). Facing changes and changing faces in adolescence: A new model for investigating adolescent-specific interactions between pubertal, brain and behavioural development. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2, 199-219.
Reading 5 Krause, B. & Kadosh, R.C. (2013). Can transcranial electrical stimulation improve learning difficulties in atypical brain development? A future possibility for cognitive training.
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 6, 176-194.
Web Content:
Additional information for the course can be found on eClass
at https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/portal/. The web content will include both lecture notes and an electronic discussion area for the purpose of course questions. Lecture notes will be posted by 6:00 pm the day before the lecture at the latest.
The discussion board is only intended as a forum for posting questions and discussing topics related to the PSYCO 223 course material. Messages that pertain to inappropriate topics such as mark changes, course complaints, or subjects unrelated to PSYCO 223 content will be deleted.
Evaluation:
Midterm #1 Lectures 1-7 and reading #1 25%
Midterm #2 Lectures 8-15 and readings #2-4 25%
Final exam All lecture material and all readings 35%
Research paper Due by 12pm on June 8th 15%
Exams:
Students are responsible for all lecture, reading, and eClass material. Additionally, any content that is covered in class in the form of a demonstration or activity as well as any videos that are played in class, are eligible to be covered on both midterm and final exams. The instructor will not answer any questions regarding what content the students should focus on for the exams.
Each of the two midterms (worth 25% each for a total of 50% of the final grade) will be 60 minutes long and will consist of 30 multiple-choice questions and 2 short answer questions. The final exam (worth 35% of the final grade) will be 2 hours long and will consist of 60 multiple-choice questions and 2 short answer questions. The midterms will not be cumulative. Therefore, Midterm #2 will only cover material learned since Midterm #1. However the final exam will cover material from the entire course.
Research paper:
You will be asked to find a news story (from anywhere in the world) discussing an issue in developmental psychology (from either 2017 or 2018):
1) Provide a summary of the news article (/2)
2) Explain what the issue is and how this issue relates to developmental psychology (/1)
3) Why is this an important issue to remedy? (provide 3 reasons and explain them) (/6)
4) If you were given 1 million dollars to tackle this issue, how would you invest these resources into research and/or application? (support each investment with at least 2 peer-reviewed articles) (/6)
Make sure to include a title page and a references page (in APA format). Word limit is 1000 words (this is a strict word limit and does not include the references page or title page). It does include in-text citations. Please provide a word count on the title page.
Please submit your assignment to your TA via email. Students will lose 15% of their grade on this assignment for each day that the assignment is late.
Assignments due: 12pm on June 8th
Grades:
Final grades will be reported using letter grades. Final grades will be determined after combining scores for all components of the course into a percentage total for each student. This is not a curved course. These percentages will then be converted into letter grades based on the following conversion system:
I will apply adjustments using my expert judgment so that students' demonstrated ability corresponds to the letter grade as specified by Calendar section 23.4(4). Exam grades will be posted under “My Grades” on eClass. Neither the midterm, final exams, nor research papers will be passed back to the students. If students want to see their exam,
they can view it with the instructor during exam viewings (which will be scheduled at a later date) or during office hours with the instructor.
Additional Considerations:
Missed term work: The University considers acceptable reasons for being absent from term work, including midterms, to be an incapacitating mental and/or physical illness, severe domestic affliction, or circumstances described in the University’s Discrimination, Harassment and Duty to Accommodate Policy (including religious conviction). Examples of unacceptable reasons for missing an exam include (but are not limited to) personal events such as vacations, weddings, work, or family travel arrangements. Students are expected to read their syllabi and ensure that they will be able to attend those days when they will be graded. For an excused absence where the cause is religious conviction, a student must contact the instructor(s) within three days of the start of classes to request accommodation for the term (including the final exam, where relevant). Instructors may request documentation from a pastor or imam, etc. to substantiate the student request.
Requests should be made to the instructor as far in advance as possible, but need to be made within 48 hours of the missed work or deadline.
Deferral of term work is a privilege and not a right; there is no guarantee that a deferral will be granted. Misrepresentation of Facts to gain a deferral is a serious breach of the Code of Student Behaviour.
Absence from exams: Students are expected to write all exams as scheduled; see the course outline above for the dates of the midterms and check the university exam schedule to confirm the final exam date. There will be no make-up examinations for the midterms (with the exception of accommodations for religious conviction). If a midterm is missed due to an acceptable reason (as outlined above), the weight of the midterm will be transferred to the final exam. For this to happen, the instructor must be contacted within 48 hours of the scheduled midterm. Failure to do so will result in a grade of zero being applied to the exam. To defer a final exam, you will need to go through the deferral process with your faculty office. The deferred exam will be cumulative, and will consist entirely of short and long answer questions.
Re-Marking: If you believe that an error was made in grading one of your exams, you must discuss it with the instructor, who will make the final decision. Note that your grade may increase or decrease as a result of this review.
Academic integrity: "The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect.
Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.governance.ualberta.ca) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University."
All forms of dishonesty are unacceptable at the University. Any offence will be reported to the Associate Dean of Science who will determine the disciplinary action to be taken.
Cheating, plagiarism and misrepresentation of facts are serious offences. Anyone who engages in these practices will receive at minimum a grade of zero for the exam or paper in question and no opportunity will be given to replace the grade or redistribute the weights. As well, in the Faculty of Science the sanction for cheating on any examination will include a disciplinary failing grade (NO EXCEPTIONS) and senior students should expect a period of suspension or expulsion from the University of Alberta.
Cell phones: Cell phones are to be turned off during lectures, labs and seminars. Cell phones are not to be brought to exams.
Students eligible for accessibility-related accommodations (students registered with Student Accessibility Services – SAS): Eligible students have both rights and
responsibilities with regard to accessibility-related accommodations.
Consequently, scheduling exam accommodations in accordance with SAS deadlines and procedures is essential. Please note adherence to procedures and deadlines is required for U of A to provide accommodations. Contact SAS (www.ssds.ualberta.ca) for further information.
Student Success Centre: Students who require additional help in developing strategies for better time management, study skills or examination skills should contact the Student Success Centre (2-300 Students’ Union Building).
Recording and/or distribution of course materials: Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed ONLY with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an approved accommodation plan. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the content author(s).
Disclaimer: Any typographical errors in this Course Outline are subject to change and will be announced in class. The date of the final examination is set by the Registrar and takes precedence over the final examination date reported in this syllabus.
Copyright: Dr. Smithson Department of Psychology Faculty of Science, University of Alberta (2018)