HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE- WEST LOOP CAMPUS
SPRING 2014
________________________________________________________________
Gracie A. Roberts, M.A.
Psychology 2314 Human Growth and Development Lifespan
CRN: 80378 8-WK MW 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
CONTACT INFORMATION
E-mail address: gracie.roberts@hccs.edu
TEXTBOOKS
The textbook is required for this course.
Berger, K. (2010). Invitation to the Life Span. New York: Worth Publishers.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A developmental psychology course designed to provide an understanding of human behavior and
characteristics from conception through death. This course includes information on physical,
cognitive, and psychosocial changes throughout the lifespan. Theory, research, and applications
are covered.
GRADES
Grades will be based upon a point system where you are able to obtain a maximum of 300 points
as follows:
11 Quizzes —200 pts.
1 Observation activity—100 pts.
You will have the option of dropping the lowest quiz grade for a final total of 10 quizzes.
Final grade will be converted into letter grades as follows:
300 – 270 pts. = A
269 – 240 pts. = B
239 – 210 pts. = C
209 – 180 pts. = D
179 pts. & below = F
Quiz 1
Quiz 5
Quiz 9
Observation
Quiz 2
Quiz 6
Quiz 10
Quiz 3
Quiz 7
Quiz 11
Quiz 4
Quiz 8
QUIZZES
For each section listed on the class schedule there will be a quiz. The quizzes will cover only the
section covered the previous week and will be approximately 20 questions. Each question will
require a short answer, rarely more than 2 sentences. The quizzes will come from the outlines for
the section. Anything on the outline should be expected to be on the quiz, so be sure to take very
good notes!
MAKE SURE YOU ARE ON TIME FOR ALL QUIZZES.
***Make-up exams: There are no make-up exams. You will be allowed to drop the lowest
quiz grade in place of a make-up exam.
OBSERVATION ACTIVITY
You will be given 1 observation activity during the semester. For the activity, you will be required to
take notes to write a paper on your observation. In the paper, you must state the age-appropriate
concepts that you observed, including a description of what you observed. You must identify 7
concepts within your paper. The paper must be 1-2 pages in length, typed, double-spaced, 12point font, and with 1-inch margins. You will also need a title page with your name, date, and class
day and time.
NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED!!!
ATTENDANCE AND DROP POLICY
It is very important that you attend and participate in class. If you have to miss a class, it is your
responsibility to get the material/notes that you missed. Please do not contact me for the notes. I
do not give out my notes to students. It is your responsibility to take good notes or obtain them
from another student in the class if you are absent. It is also important that you arrive to class on
time to avoid being marked absent or missing important information or announcements usually
given at the beginning of class. I do not drop students so it is your responsibility to drop the class
if you are unable to continue in the class. The last day to withdraw is NOVEMBER 22, 2013!
PLAGIARISM and HOW TO CITE INFORMATION
Plagiarizing is taking someone’s ideas and/or writings as if they are your own. The penalty for
plagiarizing is an “F” for this course. You must give credit when using someone else’s work. It is
best to paraphrase the quote or place the quote in quotation marks if it is three words or longer.
To avoid any misunderstandings, the best way to cite information for this course will be using APA
format where you give the author’s last name, the year the work was published, and the page
number all in parentheses. When you paraphrase, you are taking the author’s idea or statement
and putting it in your own words. You are not allowed to simply use synonyms in place of the
author’s words. This is still considered plagiarism. It may be best to read the information, and
without looking at the information, put it in your own words. That way you are less likely to repeat
the author’s exact words or wording. Also, even though you paraphrase something, you must
include the citation at the end of the sentence.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1 -
March 17-19
Introduction
Theories of Development
Week 2 -
March 24-26
Quiz 1 – Theories of Development
Heredity and Environment
Quiz 2 – Heredity and Environment
Prenatal Development and Birth
Week 3 -
March 31-April 02
Quiz 3 – Prenatal Development and Birth
Infants and Toddlerhood: The First 2 years
Quiz 4 – Infants and Toddlerhood
Early Childhood: The Play Years (2-6 years)
Week 4 -
April 07-09
Quiz 5 – Early Childhood
Middle Childhood: School Years (6-11 years)
Quiz 6 – Middle Childhood
Adolescence
Week 5 -
April 14-16
Quiz 7 – Adolescence
OBSERVATION PAPERS ON ADOLESCENCE DUE ON THE 14TH AT THE
BEGINNING OF CLASS!!!
Early Adulthood
Week 6 -
April 21-23
Last day to withdraw- April 21st at 4:30 p.m.
Quiz 8 – Early Adulthood
Middle Adulthood
Week 7 -
April 28– 30
Quiz 9 – Middle Adulthood
Late Adulthood
Week 8 -
May 05-07
Quiz 10 – Late Adulthood
Death and Dying
Quiz 11 – Death and Dying
***This schedule is tentative and may be changed during the course of the semester. You are
responsible for getting the changes if you miss a class.***