PSYC 2314 - Lifespan Growth & Development Course Syllabus

PSYC 2314:

Description

Life-Span Growth and Development is a study of social, emotional, cognitive and physical factors and influences of a developing human from conception to death.

Prerequisites

TSI Reading complete

Credits 3 Lecture Hours 3 Lab Hours 0
Extended Hours
0
Contact Hours
48
State Approval Code
42.2703.51 25
Instructor Name
Michele Gist-Barrow
Semester/Year
Fall 2024
Meeting Time and Location
F2F/Hybrid—students are expected to spend at least 3 hours per week (based on the number of contact hours for the particular course, change the number to reflect that) reading, reviewing, and participating in assigned activities for successful completion of this course.
Alternate Operations During Campus Closure

In the event of an emergency or announced campus closure due to a natural disaster or pandemic, it may be necessary for Panola College to move to altered operations. During this time, Panola College may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include, but are not limited to: online learning management system (CANVAS), online conferencing, email messaging, and/or an alternate schedule. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor Panola College's website (www.panola.edu) for instructions about continuing courses remotely, CANVAS for each class for course-specific communication, and Panola College email for important general information.

Student Basic Needs

Unexpected circumstances may arise, but Panola College offers various resources to support students. If you need mental health services or are facing challenges with transportation, affording class materials and supplies, or accessing food regularly—issues that may impact your class performance—please visit panola.edu/resources.

Class Attendance

Regular and punctual attendance of classes and laboratories is required of all students. When a student has been ill or absent from class for approved extracurricular activities, he or she should be allowed, as far as possible, to make up for the missed work. If a student has not actively participated by the census date, they will be dropped by the instructor for non-attendance. This policy applies to courses that are in-person, online, hybrid, and hyflex.

Attendance in online courses is determined by submission of an assignment or participation in an activity. According to federal guidelines, simply logging into a distance learning course without participating in an academic assignment does not constitute attendance. Distance learning is defined as when a majority (more than 50%) of instruction occurs when the instructor and students are in separate physical locations. Students must engage in an academic activity prior to the course census date. 

When an instructor feels that a student has been absent to such a degree as to invalidate the learning experience, the instructor may recommend to the Vice President of Instruction that the student be withdrawn from the course. Instructors may seek to withdraw students for non-attendance after they have accumulated the following number of absences: 

Fall or spring semesters: 

3 or more class meeting times per week - 5 absences

2 class meeting times per week - 3 absences

1 class meeting per week -  2 absences

The student is responsible for seeing that he or she has been officially withdrawn from a class. A student who stops attendance in a class without officially withdrawing from that class will be given a failing grade; consequently, the student must follow official withdrawal procedures in the Admissions/Records Office.

Please note: Health Science and Cosmetology courses may require more stringent attendance policies based on their accreditation agencies. Please see the addendum and/or program handbook for further information concerning attendance.  

Pregnant/Parenting Policy

Panola College welcomes pregnant and parenting students as a part of the student body. This institution is committed to providing support and adaptations for a successful educational experience for pregnant and parenting students. Students experiencing a need for accommodations related to pregnancy or parenting will find a Pregnancy and Parenting Accommodations Request form in the Student Handbook or may request the form from the course instructor.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Course Policy

Use of generated AI Permitted under some classroom circumstances with permission.

There are situations throughout the course where you may be asked to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to explore how they can be used. Outside of those circumstances, you should not use AI tools to generate content that will end up in any student work (assignments, activities, discussion responses, etc.). In such cases for Option #2, no more than 25% of the student work should be generated by AI. Use of any AI-generated content in this course without the instructor’s consent qualifies as academic dishonesty and violates Panola College’s standards of academic integrity.

Student Learning Outcomes
Critical Thinking Skills – to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry and analysis, evaluation and syntheses of information
CT1: Generate and communicate ideas by combining, changing, or reapplying existing information

Communication Skills – to include effective development, interpretation, and expression of ideas through written, oral, and visual communication
CS1: Develop, interpret, and express ideas through written communication

Empirical and Quantitative Skills – to include the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions
EQS2: Manipulate and analyze observable facts and arrive at an informed conclusion

Social Responsibility – to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities
SR3: Engage in regional, national, and global communities
Instructional Goals and Purposes

The purpose of this course is the study of the physical, cognitive, personality and social development of the individual from prenatal development to death as considered from the context of differing schools of thought in psychology. Emphasis is given to normal development with attention to special topics along the way.

Learning Outcomes

After studying all materials and resources presented in the course, the student will be able to:

  1. Describe the stages of the developing person at different periods of the life span from birth to death.
  2. Discuss the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that affect the development process of the individual.
  3. Identify factors of responsible personal behavior with regard to issues such as sexual activity, substance abuse, marriage and parenting.
  4. Explain the biosocial, cognitive and psychological influences throughout the lifespan as an ongoing set of processes, involving both continuity and change.
  5. Describe the different developmental perspectives of the major theories of development (i.e. cognitive, learning, humanistic and psychodynamic).
  6. Identify examples of some of the cultural and ethnic differences that influence development throughout the lifespan.
  7. Discuss the various causes or reasons for disturbances in the developmental process.
Course Content

A general description of lecture/discussion topics included in this course are listed in the Learning Outcomes section of this syllabus.

Students in all sections of this course will learn the following content:

  1. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the continuity of physical, mental, emotional and social development from birth through death. Definition: The ability to identify major milestones of development throughout the lifespan in a variety of disciplines.
  2. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the major schools of thought in human development. Definition: the ability to identify major theorists, major components and contributions of each to the understanding of human development.
  3. The student will be able to concepts of human growth to everyday life and career options. Definition: The ability to identify how the major concepts in human growth apply to everyday life and possible career choices for the student.
Methods of Instruction/Course Format/Delivery

Instruction will consist of lectures, reading assignments, class discussions, projects and handouts. Classroom questions and discussions are encouraged.

In traditional face-to-face classes instruction will consist of lecture, class discussion and class room assignments. For online class instruction will consist of the student completing the readings and assignments for each chapter. Hybrid classes will be a mixture of class room instruction with online assignments to augment classroom work. Class attendance is required for face-to-face class and hybrid class and will be recorded. For online class it will be determined by number and length of log in’s and submission of assignments.

Course Grade

Grade percentage breakdown for the course will be as follows:
Participation/Attendance: 5%
Assignments: 35%
Quizzes: 20%
Tests: 30%
Final Exam: 10%
 

Late Grade Policy

Deductions of points will be as follows:

  • Within 1 week of due date student will receive 90% of earned points
  • 8-21 days late: Student will receive 75% of earned points. 
  • 22-30 days late: Student will receive 50% of earned points

*A final date of work submission and acceptance will be determine within the course schedule by the professor. 

 

The grading scale for this course is as follows:

  • A=  90 - 100%
  • B=  80 - 89%
  • C=  70 - 79%
  • D=  60 – 69%
  • F=  Below 60%

Major Assignments/Assessments

The following items are assigned and assessed during the semester and used to calculate the student's final grade.

Assignments

Assignments: Each semester there will be projects to allow the student to explore in greater detail presented concepts. An example of this would be that for the chapter on personality the student would complete an online personality assessment and then reflect on how valid they felt the instrument was in describing their personality. Other possible examples could include weekly discussions, chapter exercises or weekly assignments to ensure mastery learning and application. Grading for such projects and assignments generally comes from the quality of the student’s response, accuracy of the concept, and thoroughness of reflection as demonstrated by the length and depth of their response. 

Quizzes: Each chapter will be review with a quiz. The chapters may have quiz banks of study questions students may use for review. The purpose of the quizzes is for students to use them as a study guide. As such, when students are taking the quizzes, open book and open notes are permitted. The chapter quizzes are timed and may be taken up 2-3 times. Your highest score will be the one recorded in the grade book.   
 

Participation/attendance: students will be graded on their attendance and professional student behavior during the course meeting times or within the online learning platform. 

For face-to-face/hybrid classes you are expected to show up for class at the scheduled start
time and if coming in late please do not cause a disruption. Participation in class activities and discussions will be evaluated, therefore questions and comments need to relate to
class material. Disruptive, disrespectful or off-task behavior will result in a point deduction. For example, sleeping in class may be counted as a tardy or absence. Excessive leaving the room to answer your phone or going to the restroom will also count towards absences. Cell phone use is not permitted during class time. If a student needs to have access to their phone during class, the instructor should be made aware at the beginning of the course and the student quietly leave the classroom when necessary to answer an emergency phone call. If the student is off-task or causing a disruption with their phone, points will be deducted. Use of computer during lecture time is only for those using the computer for note taking. At any time, the instructor may request that you allow him/her to view your screen.

For online students, professional student behavior and attendance will be determined by number and length of log in’s and submission of assignments. Simply, logging into Canvas once a week may not constitute full points for participation/attendance. If a student falls behind and is not logging into Canvas to complete work in a timely manner, this may result in point deduction. If a student's submissions reflect incomplete participation in a course activity, this could also result in point deduction. If a student has missed logging in a significant number of weeks, it may be determined that the letter grade at the end of the semester should be reduced. When a student has been absent to such a degree as to invalidate the learning experience, I will give that student a failing grade for the class.

Plagiarism Policy: If it is noted that you have simply found information and pasted it directly into an assignment you will receive a zero for the assignment and not be allowed to resubmit.

It is up to the discretion of the teacher to determine when that has been done to the point that the assignment is compromised. Typically, if there is over 20% indicated by Turnitin, this will result in a 0 for the assignment. It is also considered plagiarism if you just repeat verbatim what the speaker on the video says or if you copy the closed caption.

Assessments

Tests: There are usually between 2 – 4 tests during the semester covering content from the chapters. Online testing will require students to be proctored during the exam using Proctorio. Students may not use course materials, notes, online resources, cell phones or any other additional/outside resources during the tests. 

Final Exam: A comprehensive exam will be given at the end of the semester. During this exam, Students may not use course materials, notes, online resources, cell phones or any other additional/outside resources. 

 

Testing Conditions: 

Testing may be done in the college testing center, or online with the Proctorio app. Online students will be given a range of days to go to one of our testing centers for testing or online with Proctorio. Instructions will be given for how to use this app. If you are asked for a password, usually that means you need to reload the test.  Procotorio will never ask you for the password. Tech support for Proctorio can be found at the chat support website. https://chat.proctorio.com/  

**Please know that the following behaviors/conditions must be met during a test. Any deviation from these or any indication of academic dishonesty by the student could result in a zero for that test.

  • FULL face must be seen in the camera screen during the entire test.
  • Student must be at a desk/table with the desk/table in view to ensure the surface is clear of information.
  • NO use of notes, quiz banks, phones, webpages or access to outside information is permitted during the exams.
  • Eye contact must be kept on screen during test. If it is noted that the student is looking down, or outside of the camera’s view for a significant amount of time, this will result in a zero for the test.
Texts Materials, and Supplies

A Psychological Perspective 2nd Edition by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French funded by a grant from the College of Lake County
Foundation.

Required Readings

A Psychological Perspective 2nd Edition by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French funded by a grant from the College of Lake County
Foundation.

Other