Overview of PSY 230
The topic of lifespan development is quite broad and thus can be difficult to cover in a one semester course. The aim of this course is to present a broad overview of topics as an introduction to the topics of lifespan development. Thus, this course presents an overview of the total span of human growth and development from conception through old age, finalizing with death and end of life issues. Major theories of human development are examined as they affect individuals across the lifespan with a focus on the examination of the dynamics of human growth in three key areas: physical development, cognitive development and social/emotional development. As students study the various theories in this course, they will come to learn the strengths and weaknesses of each. Of key importance is that each student comes away with an understanding of how these theories are relevant to their own lives and how they can lead to practical applications as they delve into their future endeavors and roles that an individual may pursue throughout his or her life.
The course focuses on three main concepts; understanding the changes over the lifespan, conceptualizing the difference between age related changes, historically related changes and the understanding of the individual and finally the research methods and scientific method used to study human development.
Additionally, there are three key issues that will be woven throughout the topics in this course; understanding nature and nurture and the influence of each as it relates to each aspect of human development, understanding stability and change throughout the lifespan and understanding the amount of continuity and discontinuity throughout development.
Finally, it is expected that students will come to understand that human development does not occur the same for everyone, but that an individual is changing and evolving in a constantly changing world. For instance, a teenager’s development is vastly different from that of his or her grandparent’s development, with many of these differences due in part to the historical and contextual differences in which development has occurred.
Course Objectives:
On completion of this course a student will;
Students have a choice of format in which to take this course.
The traditional format is taught in the classroom with regular lectures, in class discussions and in class activities. The majority of students appear to favor this method of instruction, preferring the face to face contact and the opportunity to interact with both the instructor and with other students. Students are required to take quizzes online so as not to interfere with classroom instruction time. The majority of students respond favorably to this.
This course is also taught in a totally online format. All work for the course is completed online including quizzes, exams, weekly discussions and presentation of course materials. This has proven to be quite a popular choice for many students. I experience overflowing enrollments each semester. As this is a required course for the nursing programs, many students who are burdened with heavy schedules and are comfortable in the online environment choose the format. Student response to this course in this format has been quite positive. I find that students have the opportunity to successfully discuss many topics in lifespan development online that would be more difficult in the face to face classroom format.
Finally, students can elect to take this course in an interactive TV hybrid environment. The course is taught at our main campus, but students are also meeting live in 4 or more off campus centers in our service area. The class meets face to face 50% of the time for overview lectures, questions and some discussion. The remainder of the time is spent online where students are expected to participate in an online discussion on a weekly basis. This is not a particularly popular format, due to the interactive TV environment, however some students prefer this so that they do have the opportunity to take a class when they might not otherwise be able to do so. Student reaction to this format is mixed. They appear to like the hybrid schedule, but are not as self motivated when it comes to online work requirements. In fact, it appears that many of the students see the 50% schedule more as a "day off" rather than a hybrid work environment. As this is a relatively new format at the community college, I will continue to work to provide more structure to the students in order to keep the online work moving at a better pace.