I am delighted to be your instructor in this course. I am an instructor at De Anza College and am also currently completing my dissertation for a Ph.D. in Child and Adolescent Development at Stanford University. I have been engaged in the field of developmental psychology for over ten years. I hope you will find this topic and course as fascinating as I do! Email is the best way to contact me if you have any questions or want to set up a time to talk. I hope you find this class to be interesting and informative and that it helps to meet your educational objectives.
Child Development: Middle Childhood and Adolescence covers physical, cognitive, social and emotional growth and development from middle childhood to adolescence. In this course, you will use current and historical theoretical perspectives in developmental psychology to reflect on others' as well as your own development. As all development occurs within a cultural context, attention will be given to diverse perspectives on child development.
The primary content of the course comes from the text, Infants, Children and Adolescents, 7th Ed, by Laura Berk. The online resources MyDevelopmentLab and MyVirtualChild reinforce the material and are included in the textbook package you can purchase at the DeAnza bookstore (ISBN: 9781256341451). I recommend that you purchase your textbook from the DeAnza bookstore as we have obtained a discount on the unbound textbook and extra resources. If you buy your textbook elsewhere you will need to make sure it includes access to MyDevelopmentLab with MyVirtualChild. Alternatively, you may purchase access to MyDevelopmentLab (which includes an e-book, but no hard copy) once you begin our online class for around $80. Instructions will be provided on our class website (Catalyst).
Our virtual classroom is online and is called Catalyst. All assignments and discussion take place on the Catalyst website. Each week, there will be a question posted each week that corresponds to subject matter in the chapter. You must post an answer to the question in the appropriate Discussion Forum by midnight Sunday of the same week. Your responses will count as attendance and participation for the class.
For Week 1: If you do not sign in to Catalyst and answer the first question on the Discussion Forum by Friday, September 28th, by 5:00 p.m., you will be dropped from the course. Login to the Catalyst website at: https://catalyst.deanza.edu to post your responses to the questions, submit your assignments, and take exams. Only registered students have access to Catalyst.
Be prepared to spend a minimum of 15 hours per week using and studying the course materials.
