EPSY 512: Life-Span Development
Southern Illinois University – Carbondale
Department of Educational Psychology & Special Education
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Course Description: Investigates physical, intellectual and social development throughout the life span. This course provides information
regarding learner characteristics and transitions. Focus is on applications for education, counseling and related services. Students will
develop competency in application of human development theory and current research to clients and the counseling profession.
Knowledge and Skill Outcomes: Students will learn the following material (knowledge) and be able to accurately apply (skill):
Standard
Demonstration/Application of Knowledge or Skill
1. Theories of individual and family development and transitions across
Grow Your Own Human project (GYOH)
the lifespan; (CACREP II. 3.a.)
Chapter quizzes
2. Theories of learning and personality development, including current
GYOH
understandings about neurobiological behavior;
Chapter quizzes
(CACREP II. 3.b.)
Life Stage Learning Units
3. Theories and models of individual, cultural, and community resilience;
GYOH
(CACREP II. 3.d.)
4. A general framework for understanding exceptional abilities and
Life Stage Learning Units
strategies for differentiated interventions; (CACREP II. 3.e.)
5. Human behavior, including an understanding of developmental crises,
GYOH
disability, psychopathology, and situational and environmental factors that
Life stage Learning Units
affect both normal and abnormal behavior (CACREP II. 3.f.)
7. Theories for facilitating optimal development and wellness over the life
span (CACREP II. 3.h.)
Life stage Learning Units
Methods of Instruction:
Methods of instruction will vary throughout out each class and over the course. Primary methods of instruction will include the following,
but are not limited to: lecture (with and without PowerPoint); instructor and student facilitated discussion of material; application of
material via class activities, case scenarios; weekly quizzes and a comprehensive exam may be included. Analysis and Synthesis of material
will be assessed with the “Grow your Own Human” assignment. Student presentations will also be used to assess student comprehension
and application of developmental stages to counseling practice, and to facilitate peer learning via analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of
material.
Required Text:
Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2012).* Development through life: A psychosocial approach. (11th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
*The 11th edition is the most recent edition. Students may choose to use an earlier edition, but are responsible for chapter/reading
assignment alignment and content for any tests, quizzes or presentations.
Additional readings will be assigned by the instructors, and assignments will require student-selected journal articles.
Student Performance Evaluation Criteria and Procedures:
Quizzes: 120 points
Life Stage Learning Units/Presentations: 80 points
Grow Your Own Human project: 200 points
Attendance & Participation: 50 points
1. Attendance & Participation: Students are expected be on time and prepared for class. Preparation includes reading in advance of class and
completing all homework assignments. A passing grade in this course requires completion of all assignments. Due to the accelerated
summer schedule, students may not miss more than two classes for any reason. If a student misses more than two classes, the student will
receive an Incomplete and may re-take the course in its entirety at a later time.
2. Chapter Quizzes: Each week, students will take quizzes via SIU Online aka Desire to Learn (online.siu.edu) on assigned chapters in the
Newman & Newman text (11th edition), homework, class lectures and discussions. Each quiz will cover that week’s readings (usually 3
chapters) and are worth 30 points. You will have one hour to take a quiz. Quizzes open on
and close on
. Missed quizzes cannot be
made up and will result in a score of zero, no exceptions.
3. Life Stage Learning Units/Presentations: Students will work in teams of two or more to present an interactive learning unit in class, the
subject of which will be a specific developmental stage. Successful presentations demonstrate comprehension through accurate
application of developmental theory and research to counseling practice. The goal of a learning unit presentation is to
help class peers consider the application of developmental theory and/or research to counseling practice.
While a brief overview of content may be a necessary –and focusing- component of a presentation, a learning unit should not be a
lecture covering the text content. The goal of the student-led learning units is to expand our understanding of the topic in some way,
through critical thinking, reflecting, or approaching content in a different or creative manner. Rarely can this be accomplished by
attempting to briefly cover all chapter content in a presentation. Instead, teams will probably have to make decisions about what content to
cover and how to best engage the class in learning more about the chosen topics.
Presenters must prepare for and facilitate discussion related to the topic and the learning unit. To engage the audience in the
learning unit, presenters may consider using role play, video, counseling demonstration, case studies, etc to illustrate theory in action.
Teams will have between 45 minutes and 1 hour for the learning units, including discussion, and are responsible for directing and timing the
entire unit. All team members are expected to have an active role in the development and presentation of the learning unit. Teams must
submit a outline of the learning unit components, indicating the member roles and responsibilities for every component. All team members
must sign the outline prior to the presentation and submit it at the time of the presentation.
Example: Shane and Tilly are conducting a learning unit on preschool age children. They decide to focus their presentation on the
cognitive development of 3 and 4 year olds. However, as a school counselor and clinical mental health counselor, they know they are
not likely to work directly with this age group (without specific, additional training), so they develop a presentation and interactive
exercise for parents of young children.
In class, Shane and Tilly ask 6 peers to volunteer to role-play as parents attending a parent-support group at a local
community center, and ask the remaining peers to observe and make notes on the presentation, guided by two questions they provide.
[Sample question: In what ways was the presentation effective (and not effective) in conveying the necessary information to the
audience?]
In the role play, Shane briefly reviews 6 characteristics of preschoolers’ developing cognitive ability and asks ‘parents’ for
examples they have observed in their own ‘children.’ When one ‘parent’ reports that her child is ‘reading chapter books’, Shane and
Tilly demonstrate their comprehension of the developmental stage- as well as advanced counseling skills- in their appropriate
response. (They affirm the parent of the rarity of such advanced reading and reassure all parents of normal variation among children
within a developmental stage.) They then give each ‘parent’ a ‘tip sheet’ with stage descriptions, additional resources and 5 creative
ideas for encouraging and supporting young children’s cognitive development.
After a brief attempt at ‘parent group’ discussion about the tip sheet, Shane and Tilly close down the role play and begin
processing the exercise. They ask peers who acted as parents and the peer observers to comment on the role play, including their
demonstrated counseling skills. Shane and Tilly add in their own observations and reactions, noting places where they wanted to
make a point, for instance, but were not able to do so.
With 15 minutes left, Shane and Tilly pass handouts to their peers and ask the class to respond to 3 discussion questions about
the developmental stage and future professional practice. Inspired by the previous discussion, however, Tilly says she wants to replace
one of the pre-established questions with a new one. Following up on an observer’s comment that most ‘parent’ examples in the role
play concerned children’s behavior instead of cognitions, Tilly asks the class to consider if this might also be the case with parents who
attend more to their young children’s behavior than to their thinking processes, and what the implications are for counseling
professionals. A lively discussion on the interaction between the social, cognitive and behavioral domains, as well as cultural
differences in parenting expectations, ensues.
Learning units are worth 80 points and will be graded by instructors and peers on planning/organization, demonstrated comprehension of
life stage development theory/research, accurate and useful application to counseling practice, and creativity/interactive engagement with
audience. The team will be graded as a whole, therefore it is in your best interest to work together to increase member performance.
3. Grow your own human: This assignment requires you to create a detailed description of a fictional human being, and develop a narrative
that follows your human throughout his or her life span. The creation of your human being should occur throughout the class and follow
the presentation of material in class. You may be asked to comment on your human being in class. (Assignment adapted from Dr. Crothers,
SIU-C, EPSY 512 syllabus).
Note: The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate your understanding of development across the lifespan through your thoughtful
application of theory and research to a case study of your own creation. While the assignment does allow you to be creative, be careful
not to get so caught up in literary creativity that you lose sight of the academic nature of the paper.
A. Assignment guidelines:
1. Begin by introducing your “human.” Provide demographic characteristics of your human including: gender, socio-economic
status background, ethnicity, cultural background, family composition, parental characteristics, physical and psychological
health of family members. Remember that these demographics characteristics will impact your developing human at each
stage! For example, in the pregnancy and prenatal development, discussion will include, but is not limited to: development
through the trimesters; involvement of the father (however applicable); mother’s emotional state; fetal development; impact
of culture on pregnancy; mother’s health and nutrition; reactions to birth, etc. The same application of the material to your
growing human will take place for each chapter up until the death of your human.
2. Apply the psychosocial stage from each chapter to your developing human. Application includes an accurate description
(brief) of the relevant crisis and the experiences of your human that impact the resolution (positive or negative or somewhere
in between) of that crisis. Be sure to ‘carry through’ the results of a stage’s resolution in a logical manner to later stages, and
explicitly describe the consequences in those later stage sections.
3. Apply other relevant theories and research to your human within each stage. For instance, if you are describing a toddler’s
gender identity development, accurately reference relevant theory or research (as described in our class text, for instance)
when you describe the child’s experiences and parental reactions.
4. Research and apply the concept of resiliency in at least two of your stages of development: one will focus on resiliency in
childhood (< 18 years old), and the second will focus on adulthood (>18 years old). For this specific integration of resiliency,
you will need to reference at least 2 professional journal articles to support you work. Include your articles as an attachment
to your final project submission. As always, use APA style for referencing journal articles.
5. You may find that it is very easy to write a lot of material for this project. A good rule of thumb is to write no more than two
pages per stage.
6. This can be an emotional process, so please keep a record/journal of how this experience has impacted you. This can be
hand written, but please include this journal in your final submission.
7. Option: if you are struggling with the application of the material, it may help to ‘interview’ or talk with someone who is in this
stage or who has a child in the particular stage you are struggling with. If you do this, please be clear with the person you talk
to that this is for an assignment and that you are not using their experience, but trying to get a clear understanding of the
stage of life. Feel free to share with the person the materials from class to let them know what we are discussing. This part is
not to be formally written up for your paper. It is only to help you gain deeper understanding.
The final project is due on the final day of class (date), at the start of class. You must submit an electronic copy of your original
work before 1pm on the date due, AND bring a hard copy to class with you. BOTH the electronic and hard copy versions must be submitted
on time to avoid penalties. Late assignments (either version) will be penalized 10% for each late day. If you do not have both versions to
submit on the due date, that counts as the first late day. BRING YOUR FINAL ASSIGNMENT TO CLASS IN A HARD COPY FORM, WITH
ATTACHED RELEVANT JOURNAL ENTRIES AND ARTICLES. Assignments are to be written in APA 6th edition style. No exceptions. Use
headers and sub-headers to organize your work. Do not be limited to information provided in your text. Consulting the literature can only
strengthen your final project. Include all references. (This assignment is worth 250 points.)
Emergency Procedure
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for study and work. Because some health and safety
circumstances are beyond our control, we ask that you become familiar with the SIUC Emergency Response Plan and Building Emergency Response
Team (BERT) program. Emergency response information is available on posters in buildings on campus, available on BERT’s website at
www.bert.siu.edu, Department of Safety’s website www.dps.siu.edu (disaster drop down) and in Emergency Response Guideline pamphlet. Know how to
respond to each type of emergency.
Instructors will provide guidance and direction to students in the classroom in the event of an emergency affecting your location. It is important that you
follow these instructions and stay with your instructor during an evacuation or sheltering emergency. The Building Emergency Response Team will
provide assistance to your instructor in evacuating the building or sheltering within the facility.
Disability Statement
If you have any type of special need(s) or disability for which you require accommodations to promote your learning in this class, please contact me as
soon as possible. The office of Disability Support Services (DDS) offers various support services and can help you with special accommodations. You may
wish to contact DDS at 453-5738 or go to Room 150 at Woody Hall to verify your eligibility and options for accommodations related to your special
need(s) or disability
Plagiarism Statement
Submitting the work of others as your own, submitting prior work for present assignments without written permission of the instructor, plagiarism in any
form, intentionally using unauthorized materials in an academic exercise, or intentionally helping another to commit an act of academic dishonesty will
result in penalties ranging from a failing grade on an assignment to expulsion from the university depending on the severity of the offense. Refer to SIU
Student Handbook for further clarification.
___/10
20
B. Use of English Language (e.g., grammar, spelling, sentence structure,
punctuation)
C. Organization and Clarity (e.g., visual & content organization, transitional
sentences, clarity of theme)
50
D. Content (e.g., accurate application and understanding of concepts, theory
or research; relevant literature cited; evidence of thoughtful consideration
throughout; overall work meets objectives of assignment)
1 Psychosocial stages (complete & accurate application)
100
2
3
4
30
Resiliency (accurate application; relevant sources)
Reflective journal (included;
demonstrates reflective process)
Option: Age-relevant interview?
1. Theories of individual and family development and transitions across the life
span; (CACREP II. 3.a.)
2.Theories of learning and personality development, incl current
understanding about neurobiological behavior; (CACREP II. 3.b.)
3. Theories & models of individual, cultural, and community resilience; (CACREP II.
3.d.)
4. Human behavior, including an understanding of developmental crises, disability,
psychopathology, and situational and environmental factors that affect both normal
and abnormal behavior (CACREP II. 3.f.)
Total Score
200
Score
A. APA 6th ed. Form
(e.g., margins, headings, references, running head, citations)
Comments
Point
s
EPSY 512 Grow Your Own Human Project
Criteria
EPSY 512 Lifespan Development Life-­‐stage Learning Presentations Peer Evaluation Form TEAM A B C D E (circle one) CONTENT Notes PRESENTATION ____/25 pts. Notes PEER TOTAL Comments: ____/50 pts. Defined life cycle stage or age group; evidence of use of current literature, clinical/therapeutic issue/concerns identified & linked to development. At least one issue identified, counseling/clinical approach(es) described using at least 2 development models. New info included, goes beyond class info, and meets objectives of assignment. Well-­‐conceived presentation with organized, clear PowerPoint slides (20 +4 ok); handout w/ references; useful article included. Engages/involves audience. Professional dress, attitude & language. Evidence of collaboration and communication among members. ____/25 pts.