Instructor: Moises F. Salinas, Ph.D. Office: 214 Marcus White

Class Time: Sec 02 T-Th 11:00-12:15 Telephone: 860-832-3104

Sec 03 T-Th 12:30 - 1:45 Web: www.psychology.ccsu.edu/salinas

Office Hours: T 10:00 - 11:00 am. E-Mail: salinasm@mail.ccsu.edu

Th 2:00 - 3:00 pm

=====================================================

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a strong foundation in the development of children from birth through early childhood. The course will begin with a description of predominant theories of child development, fundamental assumptions guiding research and practice in child development, and descriptions of methods for exploring developmental phenomena. The remainder of the course will emphasize normative development across major developmental domains (e.g., cognitive, language, and social-emotional) for three age groupings: infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Educational implications of child development across ages and domains will be discussed throughout the course. A critical theme underlying all class discussions will be the importance of the environment, particularly child-adult interactions, on the development of children.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this course the student will:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of predominate theories of development.
2. Understand influence of environmental factors on the behavior of individuals throughout early childhood development
3. Demonstrate knowledge of major domains comprising development and be able to describe development within these domains for the four major age groups addressed in this course.
4. Access child development research and write three reports describing current research on a specific developmental phenomena (for example, the development of perspective-taking during the second year of life).
5. Apply knowledge of child development to the practice of teaching.

II. COURSE MATERIALS

Required Text: Infants and Children, 3^rd edition. Berk, L. (1999).

How to Write Psychology Papers, Parrot, L. (1999).

III. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION

A. Class Performance and Attendance: Students will be expected to have read the chapters to be discussed in class. This allows the student to become familiar with concepts to be discussed and provides time for forethought in formulating pertinent questions for clarification or discussion during class. Additionally, staying current with the material supports the retention of concepts and information, making the time necessary for exam studying less intensive (e.g., the more you see/hear the information, the more likely you are to remember it when tested on it). Besides, class participation counts 10% of your final grade!

.

F. Evaluation: Your final grade will be based upon the following:

4. COURSE POLICIES

1. Attendance: I do not have attendance requirements. However, bear in mind that if you miss class, your participation will be affected, and more important, you will miss information that will come on the test.
2. Lateness: We will begin class on time. Students coming in late are very disruptive to the classroom, so please attempt to be in class on time.
3. Make up of late work: I do not accept late work except in extreme, justified circumstances.
4. Grade challenge: You have the right to challenge your grade up to a week after the grade is reported. However, I will review the entire work (not just a question or two). In general, about 50% of the grades challenged remain the same, about 25% go up, and about 25% GO DOWN. So remember this before challenging a grade!
5. Changes to syllabus: I reserve the right to change the syllabus if necessary during the semester. However, I will make every possible effort to let you know of any changes in a timely manner.

MOVIES: