Mary Baldwin College
Inquiry in Human Growth, Development, and Diversity ED 601C
Fall 2015
Meeting Time:
Monday (9/7, 9/21, 10/5, 10/26, 11/9, 11/23)
6:00–9:00 PM
Classroom Location:
Peabody School
Room 102
Instructor:
Donald L. Roe, Ph.D.
Cell Phone: 540-290-6353
E-mail: droe@mbc.edu
Teacher Partner:
Linda Petzke
E-mail: lspetzke@augusta.k12.va.us
Course Description
It is important for teachers to understand the developmental stages of children in order to comprehend the diverse
nature of individual students in their classrooms. In this course, you will focus on children’s development from
infancy through adolescence and the high school years. You will begin by examining various theories of human
development. You will experience how teachers gain knowledge and understanding of the children they serve in the
classroom through careful and thoughtful observations of individual and group behaviors and interactions. You will
explore biological foundations of development and acquire an understanding of cognitive development, pragmatic
and linguistic aspects of language and socio-emotional well being in childhood. Relevant socio-cultural contexts will
include school, families (e.g., the effects of daycare and divorce), and society as a whole. You will examine overall
patterns of development as well individual differences. You will experience issues in diversity in a number of
additional ways including gender and ethnic differences and special populations of children. You will investigate
ethnic differences and similarities, at-risk populations, and children who are gifted and/or talented. You also will
explore intervention strategies and will learn to apply current research to individual and group settings involving
children (including classroom situations). You will be required to participate in an observation field experience
involving children.
Required Readings:
1.
McDevitt, T.M. & Ormrod, J.E. (2013). Child Development and Education (5th Ed.). Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson/Merrill-Prentice Hall.
2.
Cleary, B. (1981). Ramona Quimby, Age 8. New York: Avon Books, Inc. ISBN: 0-380-70956-2
3.
Curtis, C. (1999). Bud, Not Buddy. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN: 0-385-32306-9
4.
Creech, S. (1994). Walk Two Moons. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Inc. ISBN: 0-06-440517-6
5.
Bauer, J. (2000). Hope Was Here. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN: 0-399-23142-0
6.
Additional readings as assigned.
Course Goals:
1.
You will be expected to verbalize the various theoretical approaches to the study of child psychology and
apply these principles of child development to the lives of children. You will demonstrate knowledge
through class discussions, individual and/or group presentations, an applied school classroom project,
written essays, as well as through mid-term and final comprehensive examinations.
2.
You will be expected to demonstrate the relationship between research and children. This includes
understanding the ethical (e.g., informed consent) and scientific considerations of research on children that
differ from those considerations required in research with adults. You will learn to critically examine
current research on children as it pertains to development and learning. You will be evaluated in this area
through class discussions and examinations.
3.
You will be acquainted with the traditional and current views of child development. You will be expected
to demonstrate an understanding of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and be able to compare and
contrast his theory with the more modern theories of information processing and intelligence. Similarly,
you will be expected to discuss your understanding of important aspects socio-emotional, moral, and
physical development. You will be assessed in this area through class discussion, examinations, and
individual/group projects.
4.
You will learn pragmatic and linguistic aspects of language development. Through class discussion and
assigned written projects, you will demonstrate an understanding of language challenges presented to
teachers by children from minority populations. You will demonstrate ways to differentiate instruction to
special needs populations.
5.
You will understand the differences between “sex” and “gender” and understand how these issues relate to
the lives of female and male students (e.g., same-gender schools, gender roles, etc.). You will be evaluated
in this area through examinations, class discussions, and written assignments.
6.
You will learn current thinking on exceptionality among children for programs for at-risk students to gifted
education programs (e.g., center-based vs. pullout programs). You will use current research and practices
concerning individuals with exceptionalities to differentiate instruction for all children. Your knowledge of
this goal will be measured by class discussion, tests, and projects.
Course Organization
You will experience lectures, discussions, model lessons, and small group interactions throughout the course. Group
activities will provide you with opportunities to be involved in leading discussions, teaching presentations, problem
solving, and role-playing. Active class participation and regular attendance are expected from you and will be
considered in grading. Also, you are expected to complete the required readings before the due date so that you can
be an active contributor to the class.
Honor Code
You are expected to follow the MBC Honor Code as stated in the MAT Student Handbook. All work should be your
own and any source used as a reference or referred to in your writings should be cited according to APA guidelines.
Course Assignments and Grading
Percentage of Grade
Assignment Description
25%
Connections Journal
Keep a Connections Journal to integrate chapter readings from the McDevitt & Ormrod
text. Each journal should by typed or legibly hand-written and contain two paragraphs
answering the following questions regarding the text in your best writing style: 1) What
do I now know about child development that I did not know before? 2) What is the most
important research/practice connection for me in this reading? Each journal is worth
two points. To receive full points for each journal, your responses to the questions
reasonably represent an understanding of the material in the text and show thinking and
reflection on your part. Use complete sentences. Fewer than the maximum points for
each journal means either that you did not complete the journal on time, you did not
complete two paragraphs, or I could not understand the points you were making in the
journal.
25%
Observation Essay
You will make a three-hour (at a minimum) observation of a child or group of children
either in a school setting or another environment approved by the instructor. You will
select the specific age range of the child being observed according to the ages of the
children depicted in the Newberry award books we are reading for the course (e.g., ages
7-8 for Ramona Quimby, Age 8, ages 9-10 for Bud, Not Buddy, ages 12-13 for Walk Two
Moons, or ages 15-16 for Hope Was Here). You should observe the child in the natural
setting and take notes of your observations of behaviors and interactions that the
child/children have in the setting. Your observation will focus on connecting the readings
on development and diversity and the Newberry Award author’s fictional presentation of
the main character with your actual experiences with the child or children in the natural
setting. You will write a five to seven page typed, double-spaced essay about your
observations linking them with the textbook information and comparing/contrasting the
portrait of the child as presented in the selected Newberry award book. (A more detailed
description of the observation essay will be provided to you in a separate handout.)
25%
Diversity Unit and Lesson Presentation
You will develop a unit on some aspect of diversity using one or more of the Newberry
Award children’s books as the focus. The unit will consist of at least five lessons around
a general topic in diversity (with the approval of the instructor) and will include links to
Virginia’s SOLs. You may develop the unit for an age group appropriate to your own
interests. You will give a 25-minute overview and lesson to the class and provide a
handout summarizing your unit for students in the class. (A more detailed description of
the diversity unit and presentation will be provided to you in a separate handout.)
20%
Final Journal
In this final journal there are two sections.
 In the first section, you will discuss the impact of the readings, the guest
speakers, and the videos on your view of child development and diversity.
 In the second section, you will be expected to write about each of the four major
characters in the Newbery novels and create important links to concepts
presented in class answering the following question: Considering issues we have
discussed in this course on child development and diversity, compare and
contrast Ramona (age 8), Bud (age 10), Sal (age 13), and Hope (age 16) with
their age-appropriate peers. Is each child a good representative of the age group?
Why, or why not?
This final journal should be between five and seven pages in length. A more detailed
guideline will be distributed later.
5%
Class Participation and Attendance: In this course, we strive to cultivate a sense of
community, collegiality, and professionalism. In so doing, we maximize available class
time and devote attention to real classroom issues and strategies. For these reasons, you
are expected to attend classes regularly, arrive on time, and become actively involved in
classroom discussions and experiences (see handout).
____
100%
Total
Expectations and Guidelines
You are expected to attend all classes and complete assigned readings prior to class. Your participation is essential
to the learning process. As is typical of courses at the graduate level, not all of the assigned readings will be
discussed in class, requiring you to process and understand material independently. By participating in class
discussions, you will demonstrate an understanding of the concepts presented in the readings. You are expected to
turn in your assignments on time. Late work (except the journal—see noted above) will be docked one percentage
point for every day that it is late (i.e., 1 week late = -7 points from the total course grade). The observation essay and
the critical essay may be revised if the grade was significantly lower than you expected. For reconsideration of the
grade, you must resubmit revised work with the original work within one week after it has been returned to you.
Your final grade for the either essay will be the average of the grades on the original paper and the rewritten paper.
Grades (%)
A
AB+
B
97-100
93-96
90-92
88-89
BC+
C
C-
85-87
83-84
81-82
77-80
Course Schedule
Date
Topics
Assignments
9/7
Course overview
Observing children—Video—“The Developing Child”
Exploring similarities and differences—virtual field trip
Journal 1 Text Chapters 1,2,3, 4 and Laura Berk handout due 9/14 on Blackboard
9/21
Theory and practice in child development
History and theory
Multicultural education and diversity
Observation Essay Due
Journal 2 Text Chapters 5,6, 7 due 9/28 on Blackboard
10/5
Biological beginnings and physical development
Affirming the diversity of each student
Video—“Listening to Children”
Diversity Unit Topic due
Journal 3 Text Chapters 8, 9, 10 due 10/12 on Blackboard
10/26
Cognitive development: Piaget and Vygotsky
Journal 4 Text Chapters 11, 12,13 due 11/2 on Blackboard
11/9
Cognitive development: Cognitive processes
Video—“How Hard Can This Be? (FAT City)
Our classroom community
Intelligence
Journal 5 Text Chapters 14, 15 due 11/16 on Blackboard
11/23
Student presentations
Final Reflection Paper due
Diversity Unit due