PSY 202: Developmental Psychology – ADOLESCENCE
Monday 6:00pm – 9:40pm
Spring 2011
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Kenya Malcolm
Office: 5- 332 (shared office)
REQUIRED TEXT:
ADDITIONAL TEXT:
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email: Kmalcolm2@monroecc.edu
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach (4th Edition)
by Jeffrey Arnett - Pearson
Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Childhood and Society by Del Campo and
Del Campo - McGraw Hill
COURSE DESCRIPTION & FORMAT
“A discussion of issues and theoretical perspectives in the study of adolescence, with particular
focus on the physical, cognitive, and social/emotional changes that occur during adolescence.
This includes the examination of identity formation, sexuality, family relationships, peer
relationships, and moral development. This course will also discuss challenges facing
adolescents today. Three class hours. Prerequisite: PSY 101.”
In other words, we will explore a broad range of topics related to the psychological
development of adolescents. We will talk about what is known about how adolescents tend to
think, feel, and act. Equally important, we will also talk about what is not known. An important
overarching theme during this course will be the scientific approach to understanding
adolescents and their development. That is, we will spend time talking about how researchers
learn about behavior through empirical study.
The format of this course consists mostly of structured lectures; however, I encourage
question/answer sessions as well as class discussions. I want to make it very clear that I want
you to feel free to ask questions at any time. Do not be afraid to interrupt me if you would like
clarification. If something discussed in class has not been made clear to you, other members of
the class will undoubtedly have the same questions that you do…so PLEASE go ahead and ask!
Course Learning Outcomes
As a result of this course, students will be able to:
1. Describe the developmental perspective and its relationship to adolescent
development.
2. Compare and contrast the major theoretical approaches used to understand adolescent
development.
3. Relate key concepts of the scientific method to research in adolescent development.
4. Identify how the interaction among various hereditary and environmental influences
impacts normal and abnormal adolescent development.
5. Synthesize how biological, cognitive and social-emotional processes influence
adolescent development.
6. Analyze critical current issues within the field and their impact on the development of
today’s adolescents.
7. Apply principles of adolescent development to practical situations that involve
interacting with adolescents.
REQUIREMENTS
Attendance and Participation
You are expected to attend class, keep current with assigned readings, complete assignments
on time, prepare for and take exams during the time indicated on the syllabus, and to
participate in class discussions. Much of the material to be covered in the lectures supplements
the book and therefore cannot be found in the book. Test questions represent material from both
the lectures and required readings from the text. I cannot recommended regular attendance
strongly enough. Therefore, I have included incentives for your attendance in the grading
system; part of your overall grade will be based on participation and preparation for class.
During some classes, participation points will include small group work with your peers. In
addition, I will take attendance most class days (whenever I remember, in fact!). Also note that
if two (2) or more classes are missed during the first four weeks of class, you may be asked to drop
the course, even if you wish to stay enrolled because too much material will have been missed.
TIP: In order to be prepared for the class lectures, I encourage you to read (or at least preview)
the assigned text material before I begin lecturing on the topic. You will then be able to
understand the terminology, pick out important points of the lecture, and see how the new
material fits with other topics and issues that have been previously considered. You can expect
that we will cover about one chapter per week over the course of the semester.
Examinations
You are required to complete 4 exams as part of this course. The four exams will consist of
short answer explanations of key terms from the textbook, matching, and multiple choice
questions. Material from the book as well as from lecture will be on the exam. A fifth exam, a
comprehensive final, will be given during final exam week. The comprehensive final will be in
the same format as other exams and will serve as the makeup exam if you have missed one of
the other exams (See below).
To help you prepare for the major examinations, "Major Concept Sheets" will be distributed
before each test to facilitate studying. The entries on the "Major Concept Sheet" will
correspond closely to items on the test, so it is critical that you use this study aid wisely.
MAKE-UP EXAMINATIONS
If you must miss an examination due to illness or emergency circumstances, you must
notify me of your absence BEFORE the exam. An optional comprehensive final will be
given during final exam week and will be used in place of any missed or failing exam
grade. Any additional make-up tests (which are strongly discouraged) will be by
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appointment only and may be given in essay format. You are responsible for contacting
me to schedule the make-up. You should do so no later than 48 hours after the
originally scheduled exam. When final grades are computed, a score of 0 will be given
for any missed tests for which a make-up examination has not been taken. Students
who will miss more than two exams should consider withdrawing from the course, but
please talk with me first.
Written Assignments
One of the goals of this course is to provide opportunities to practice your writing skills. Written
assignments guide you through integrating theoretical/ empirical themes related to course
topics and allow you to reflect on real-life developmental issues. There will be one paper
required for this semester. It will follow prompts provided in class and will be worth 75 points
(15% of the total grade). Students can choose to include an additional source to help achieve
maximum points. Writing assignments should be no longer than 3 pages. General guidelines are
on page 4 of this Course Information Sheet.
Papers must be turned in at the BEGINNING of class according to the schedule printed in the
syllabus. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this rule. Papers will be accepted electronically but are
due at the BEGINNING of the class time. Five points will be deducted for each day (that’s actual
days, not class periods) the paper is late. That means that even if you are late, turn it in! Ten
points is better than 0 points!
GRADING POLICY
The four exams will each count 20% toward the course grade. Class attendance, preparation,
and participation will count 10%; the written assignments will count 10%. All exams and
written assignments must be completed to receive a passing grade for the course. An
OPTIONAL comprehensive exam will be given during final exam week and can be used to
replace a missing or failing exam grade. Arrangements for any other make-up exams should be
made prior to the missed exam. If you arrive late to an exam and a peer has already completed
the exam, you will not be allowed to take the exam and must take the optional final exam.
Total Points Possible : 500
Exam 1 100 pts
Paper 75 pts
Exam 2 100 pts
Class Participation 25 pts
Exam 3 100 pts
Exam 4 100 pts
> 450 pt
400 - 449
350 - 399
300 - 349
< 299
A
B
C
D
F
Extra Credit: There may also be some extra points floating around every now and then. At that
time, students in the class will be told of the opportunity, which must always be completed within
the time frame given, which will usually be one (1) week. You must be present when the assignment
is announced to be able to earn these points. Don’t count on these, do your best to get maximum
points for exams and participation.
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NOTE that these are the ONLY ways to get extra credit in this class. I strongly advise taking
advantage of these opportunities when they appear; if you wait until the end of the semester to see
if you “need” them, it will be too late and you will not be able to earn extra credit points.
EXTRA STUFF:
Respect
Being disrespectful to anyone in the class will not be tolerated. People unable to refrain from
rude and/or disruptive behavior will be asked to leave class. I believe that, in general, we will all
agree what disrespectful behavior is. However, I reserve the right to re-define it at any time, to
point it out, and to have people leave class if learning is being negatively affected by someone’s
behavior. Disrespect includes, but is not limited to: yelling, screaming, cursing, cutting people
off, making random disruptive noises, having side conversations during lecture, calling me
ma’am, being aggressive against people or things, using your cell phone in any way, making fun
of or laughing at others, or just being hateful. During class discussions, students are expected to
be respectful of the opinions stated by others and to listen while others students are speaking.
IMPORTANT: Turn phones to SILENT before coming to class and DO NOT TEXT in class.
If you will not be in class for a lecture, you do not need to call or e-mail me to tell me that you
will not be in class. If there will be an extended absence, you should let me know in case
arrangements need to be made for make-up assignments. Also, I am not responsible for making
sure that you receive the lecture notes. You should find a way to get the lecture notes from a
classmate on your own. TIP: Have a note buddy or start a study group!
Finally, you should always feel free to ask whenever you have any questions about course
material, study strategies, test preparation, etc. Please do not wait until final grades are posted
to tell me that you are having trouble with the work. It will be too late.
Academic Honesty
You will be expected to uphold the academic honesty standards detailed in the Monroe
Community College catalogue. Cheating in any form will result in the failure of the assignment
and possibly "F" for the course. Violators of the Code of Conduct may be referred for further
disciplinary action. If cheating is suspected but definitive proof is not available, I reserve the
right to re-administer any examination or assignment in question.
Learning Center Referral Statement
Monroe Community College has a number of Learning Centers at Brighton (for example,
Accounting, Math, Nursing, Psychology, Writing, the Electronic learning Center, etc.) and at
Damon (for example, the Integrated Learning Center, the Electronic Learning Center, and the
Legal Learning Resource Center). Learning Centers are staffed with instructional personnel and
may be equipped with computers to assist students. It is recommended that students use these
Learning Centers to get additional assistance with concepts learned in the classroom. Please
refer to your MCC student email to review your referral and its objectives for your use of the
Learning Center(s).
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Emergency Closings
If the college is closed due to inclement weather or some other emergency, all Rochester area
radio and television stations will be notified no later than 5:30am. In addition, the homepage
on the MCC website (www.monroecc.edu) will display a message indicating the college is
closed. Do not call the College to avoid overloading the telephone lines.
In the event of a college-wise emergency, such as a campus evaluation or closure, severe
weather alert, fire in a building, hazardous material incident, etc, where recommended
proactive actions need to be communicated, the SUNY NY-Alert system will be utilized to
provide immediate notification to all MCC students, employees and visitors who have opted to
receive such alerts. Messages can be received via a variety of communication technologies,
such as email (college and/or personal accounts), audio and/or text message to a campus,
home, or cell phone, fax, etc. For more information please visit
www.monroecc.edu/dept/pstd/NYAlert.htm.
Class cancellation information due to instructor illness, poor travel conditions, or other reasons
is available daily on the web or through the telephone. Simply go to the MCC website
(www.monroecc.edu) and under the "Quick Links" window on the homepage, click on "Class
cancellations". Additionally, class cancellation information is available by dialing 292-2066,
press "1" for the Brighton Campus or "2" for the Damon Campus. If possible, please use the
web as there could be delays in the voice recordings based on the number of cancellations.
TENTATIVE READING AND ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE: SPRING 2011
Date
2/28
3/7
3/14
3/21
3/28
4/4
4/11
4/18
4/25
5/2
5/9
5/16
5/21-26
DUE
TEST 1
Paper Topic
TEST 2
PAPER
TEST 3
TEST 4
FINAL PAPER
Topics
Introduction to the Class and
Review of Psychological Theories
Biological and Cognitive Foundations
Culture and Gender
Gender and the Self
Continued
Family
Friends and Love
SPRING BREAK
Continue: Friends, Family and Love
School and Work
Media and Problems/Resilience
Wrap up
Chapters
1-3
4-6
7-9
10-13
FINAL EXAM WEEK
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