Developmental Psychology (0310-1020 / CN 16040) Syllabus & Course Information Fall 2018 (2181), T-TH 1:00-2:15, DL 120 Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Ganger Email: jganger@pitt.edu Office location: 3405 Sennott Square (Forbes Ave at Bouquet St) Office phone: (412) 624-3064 (voice only) (email is better) Office hours: Wednesdays 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. & by appointment (watch CourseWeb for updates) Graduate Teaching Assistant: Gabriela Terrazas Duarte Email: gterrazas@pitt.edu Office Hours: Wednesdays 3:00-4:00 & by appointment Office: LRDC 651 Office phone: 412-624-7074 (voice only) Undergraduate Teaching Assistant: (See CourseWeb for study sessions before exams) Cecily Miller clm165@pitt.edu Course Objectives Students will learn about the timeline and processes of normative development, from birth to adolescence, as well as current and long-standing theories of child development. Required Textbook: How Children Develop by Siegler, Saffran, Eisenberg, DeLoache, & Gershoff, 5 th Edition (Worth Publishers). One copy will be placed on reserve at Hillman Library. Launchpad/Learning Curve: If you purchased a textbook in the book store, it came packaged with free access to this resource. You are NOT required to use this website but it may provide some helpful study tools. See Courseweb for more information on how to access it. Grading: 200 points total (Grading scale on reverse) Exams: 150 points. There are four exams, including a final exam, each worth 50 points. However, the lowest exam is dropped, including the final exam. This means the final can be optional if students have taken all three in-class exams and are satisfied with their grades. (See also Exam FAQ below.) Homework Quizzes: 40 points. There is a homework quiz for almost every class meeting (22 total). Each quiz has between five and twenty objective questions and is worth two points. (See Homework FAQ below for more information.) The lowest two scores are dropped. Participation: 10 points. Spoken participation (5 pts): You are expected to participate in class discussions or respond to questions at least one time over the course of the semester. Spoken participation is tracked by the TAs and is worth 5 points. (See Participation FAQ below for more information.) Written participation (5 pts): Worksheets will be distributed during some lectures. At Dr. Ganger s discretion, five of these will be returned and used for the remaining five participation points (1 point each). Page 1
Your responsibilities Students are responsible for checking Courseweb and their Pitt email for announcements and updates to the schedule. Students are responsible for checking the Courseweb gradebook to check that their participation points have been awarded. Disputes over participation points must be resolved within two weeks. Students who miss class are responsible for finding out what they have missed by talking to other students in the class, borrowing other students notes, and/or coming to office hours. If you must miss an exam and wish to take a makeup (essay) exam, you are responsible for contacting Dr. Ganger in a timely manner and providing documentation before the makeup. Expected grading scale: 97-100% A+ 93-96% A 90-92% A- 87-89% B+ 83-86% B 80-82% B- 77-79% C+ 73-76% C 70-72% C- 67-69% D+ 63-66% D 60-62% D- 59% and below: F This scale is expected to result in 15-20% of the class receiving A s; 25-30% B s; 30-35% C s; and 15-30% D s and F s. The scale may be adjusted to achieve this distribution. Course Policies G Grades The G grade represents incomplete coursework. A G may be given, upon request, if a student is unable to complete some coursework due to exceptional circumstances and cannot make up that work during the same term. A G grade may be granted if the student has taken at least two exams and is in good standing in the course (earning at least a C-). The G grade allows up to two additional terms to complete course work. Academic Integrity All students are expected to be familiar with and adhere to the University of Pittsburgh policies on academic integrity, found at: http://www.provost.pitt.edu/info/acguidelinespdf.pdf. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other violation of academic integrity principles will not be tolerated. Any student suspected of a violation will be subject to all disciplinary procedures established by the University. Specifically: Homework: Homework will represent each student s own work. Collaboration is not appropriate and will considered a violation of academic integrity. Completion of homework by anyone other than the student associated with that student s CourseWeb account will be considered a violation of academic integrity. If any of these situations occur, the student will Page 2
receive zero points for the homework in question and may be referred to the University s committee on academic integrity. Exams: Cheating on exams includes copying from someone else s exam; communicating with someone (other than instructors) about exam questions during the exam; taking a picture or making any other rendition of the exam; accessing information concerning the exam (paper or electronic) during the exam period; taking a copy of the exam with you when you leave the exam room; and the policies outlined in the University of Pittsburgh's Policy on Academic Integrity. If any of these situations occur, the student(s) involved will receive zero points for the exam and will be referred to the University s committee on academic integrity. Disabilities: If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services, 412-648-7890 or http://www.studentaffairs.pitt.edu/drs/, as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course. Recording Lectures: Audio and video recording are prohibited without Dr. Ganger s permission. Once made, recordings are for the personal use of the student and may not be distributed to others in any fashion without permission from Dr. Ganger. Dr. Ganger plans to record lectures and make them available using Panopto, but the success and quality of these recordings are not guaranteed. Make-up Exams: Make-up exams will be given only for exceptional circumstances such as documented illness, scheduled intercollegiate athletic events, and documented family emergencies. Make-up exams will be in essay format and will be scheduled individually with teaching assistants within two weeks of the original exam. Students who believe they are eligible to take an essay make-up exam should contact Dr. Ganger directly. Note that since the lowest exam grade of the term is dropped, students do not need to make up an exam unless they miss more than one. Extra Credit: There is no extra credit in this course. Page 3
Exam FAQ What is covered in exams? All material covered in the assigned textbook pages as well as all material presented in class is eligible for an exam unless otherwise noted on the syllabus, in class, or on CourseWeb. Generally, about 25% of exam material is covered only in the text; 25% only lecture; and 50% is covered in both places. Material that arises during in-class discussions may be eligible; ask Dr. Ganger before an exam if you have specific questions about what will be covered. Is there a final exam? Yes but you may choose not to take it, and then drop it as your lowest exam grade. When is the final exam given? During the scheduled final exam period. See Pitt s final exam schedule or the last line of the syllabus schedule below. Is the final exam cumulative? Yes, it is cumulative. However, it is worth 50 points like the other exams. Can students keep exams? No. Students may not keep exams. Exams will be available in Dr. Ganger s office and our Graduate TA s office for review after the scores have been posted. Removing an exam from the classroom or office will be considered a violation of academic integrity and will result in a score of zero for the exam and possible referral to the University committee on academic integrity. Participation FAQ Do I have to participate? Yes (if you want the points). Every student has to speak in class one time to get full credit for spoken participation, and turn in at least five worksheets for written participation. Can I participate more than one time? Possibly, but not for more points. How do you keep track of who participates? You will be given a name tag. When you participate, a TA will collect your name tag and record your spoken participation points. For written participation, the TAs will collect the worksheets and enter points on Courseweb. What counts as participation? Answering a question or sharing information when solicited counts as spoken participation. Asking a clarification or informational question during lecture, unsolicited, does not normally count. You will know immediately if your contribution counted for participation because Dr. Ganger will direct a TA to take your name tag. When are participation points posted? Our TA will post the points on Courseweb about once a week. If you do not see your points appear within one week, contact the graduate TA. Page 4
Homework FAQ: NB: Students are not permitted to collaborate with other students (or anyone else) on homework. Where can I find the homework assignments? The assignments are on Courseweb in the Homework link. The answers must be submitted through Courseweb. Questions are multiple choice or true-false. Homeworks may be completed on a computer or on a smart phone with the Blackboard app How can I complete a homework quiz about a topic before we have class on it? The questions are based on the assigned reading and can be answered from the text book. The goal is for students to come to the class meeting with some background knowledge. When is the homework due? The homework quizzes are due when class begins. No late homework will be accepted. Homeworks may be completed ahead of time. If you have missed homework deadlines because you added the class late, contact to the graduate TA to find out how to complete them. Are there any second chances if I mess up a question? Yes! In fact, you have three chances to complete each homework. You will see which questions you answered incorrectly after each attempt. (Click the OK link at the bottom right of the screen after you submit your homework to see the results.) NB: On subsequent attempts, you have to answer all of the questions again, even the ones you answered correctly the first time. The questions appear in the same order each time, but the answers in multiple choice questions do NOT appear in the same order each time. The highest of your three grades will be used. Are the homeworks tests? Not really, because you may use your textbook and any other materials you like while you are completing them, and you can take as much time as you need. They are called tests in Courseweb only because they contain objective questions and Courseweb refuses to call them anything else. Can I use the homework questions to study? Yes. One week after the drop/add deadline, all previous homework questions will reappear in the Practice Homework link on CourseWeb and subsequent homeworks will appear there after their deadlines. They can be taken again without changing your grade. Note that these questions represent only a portion of the material on exams; other textbook material, as well as lecture material, is also eligible. What is the difference between Homework and Practice Homework? Homeworks are REQUIRED and count toward your grade. Practice Homeworks contain exactly the same questions as the Homeworks you already took, but can be taken again without affecting your grade. Page 5
SCHEDULE Unit 1: FOUNDATIONS Date Reading Topic Tu Aug 29 Ch. 1: 1-25 (no homework due) Introduction to Course; Enduring Issues Th Aug 31 Ch 1: 25-38 Methods Tu Sept 5 Ch 2: 44-59 Prenatal Development Th Sept 7 Ch 2: 59-70; 74-85 Teratogens; Prematurity Tu Sept 12 Ch 3: 92-113 Genetics / Individual Differences Th Sept 14 Ch 3: 113-136 Brain and Body Development Tu Sept 19 Ch 5: 190-208 Perception Th Sept 21 NO CLASS Tu Sept 26 Ch 5: 208-218; Ch 4: 178-182 Motor Development Th Sept 28 EXAM 1 (no homework due) Unit 2: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Tu Oct 3 Ch 4: 142-156; 279-282; 298-300; 308-309 Cognitive Development Theories I (Piaget) Th Oct 5 Ch 4: 156-182 Cognitive Development Theories II Tu Oct 10 No class: Monday class schedule at Pitt Th Oct 12 Ch 6: 240-242; 249-267; Box 6.3 (omit all other Language I Boxes) Tu Oct 17 267-270; 273-274 Language II Th Oct 19 Ch 5: 218-230; Ch 7: 288-293; 310-313; 315-319 Concepts I Tu Oct 24 Ch 5: 230-233; 196-197; Ch 7: 293-305; Ch 10: 428- Concepts II (Theory of Mind) 434 Th Oct 26 Ch 8: 326-350 Intelligence Tu Oct 31 Ch 11: 466-480; Ch 1: 6-7; Attachment Th Nov 2 EXAM 2 (no homework due) Unit 3: EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Tu Nov 7 Ch 9: 374-385; Ch 11: 446-449 Social Dev Theories I: Psychoanalytic, Learning Th Nov 9 Ch 9: 384-495 Social Dev Theories II: Social Cognitive; Ecological Tu Nov 14 Ch 15: 634-654 Social Dev Theories and Gender Development Tu Nov 16 Ch 10 418-431; 435-451 Temperament Th Nov 21 Ch 12: 523-543 Parenting/Family Th Nov 23 THANKSGIVING Tu Nov 28 Ch. 13: 550-565; 572-584 Peer Relationships Th Nov 30 Ch. 14: 590-599; 605-627 Moral Development Tu Dec 5 EXAM 3 Th Dec 7 Exams will be distributed in class Optional review of previous exams FINAL EXAM (OPTIONAL. REPLACES LOWEST GRADE.) Mon, Dec 11, 2:00-3:50 in All material covered during regular classroom semester is eligible FINAL EXAM Page 6