Required Readings:
1. Flavell, J., Miller, P., & Miller, S. (2002). Cognitive
development, 4th edition. Englewood, NJ: Prentice Hall.

2. Davies, D. (1999). Child development: A practitioner’s guide. NY:
Guilford.

3. Readings to be passed out in class

Course Objectives:
1.  Develop an understanding of the major theories and research in
child development

2.  Develop critical analysis skills

3.  Develop oral and written communication skills

4. Apply research in child development to your profession

Evaluation:

1. Short answer exam - worth 40% of your grade
The exam will focus on the major themes of the course. I will make
it clear to you as we go through the course what questions I am likely
to ask on the exam. I will not test you on minor points, instead I
will emphasize the major concepts of child development.

2. 3 class-discussion papers (see instructions on additional handout)
Each 2-page paper is 5% of your grade.

3. 8-page paper (see instructions on additional handout) 35% of your
grade

4. 10-minute presentation on your paper 10% of your grade
	
Class Schedule and Readings

Jan. 8 Introduction
		
Cognitive Development and Education

Jan. 10	Introduction to Development
Flavell Chapter 1 & pp. 339-351
Be prepared to create a model of a particular aspect of
development based on these readings during class
	
Jan. 15	Infancy		
Flavell Chapter 2 (skip pp. 50-54), Chapter 3, & pp. 236 -240
(on infant memory)
		
Jan. 17	Early Childhood Cognitive Development
Flavell Chapter 4
Davies pp. 240-251

Jan. 22	Early Childhood Cognitive Development
Flavell pp. 139 -144

Jan. 24	Early Childhood Cognitive Development and Early Childhood
Education
Vandell, D. L., Pierce, K., & Stright, A. D. (1997). Child
care. In G. C. Bear, K. M. Minke, & A. Thomas (Eds.), Children’s needs
II: Development, problems, and alternatives. Bethesda, MD: NASP.

Class discussion on what is appropriate education for 2 to 5
year olds	

Jan. 29	Early Childhood Cognitive Development and Television
Critique of Teletubbies Paper due at the beginning of class
Class Discussion on the developmental appropriateness of the
show for 2- and 3-year-olds
	
Jan. 31	Middle and Late Childhood Cognitive Development
Flavell, Chapter 5 (pp. 144 - 176)
Davies - Chapter 10 (pp. 316-321)

Feb. 5  Middle and Late Childhood Cognitive Development
Class discussion on the following article:
Stigler, J. W., & Stevenson, H. W. (1992). How Asian teachers
polish each lesson to perfection. From Stevenson, H. S., & Stigler, J.
S., The learning gap: Why our schools are failing and what we can
learn from Japanese and Chinese education. New York: Summit.

Feb. 7  Cognitive Development, Intelligence, and IQ tests
Demonstration of an intelligence test
Class discussion on intelligence tests and their uses
		
Feb. 12	Motivation and Achievement
Class discussion of the following article: Dweck, C. S.
(1999). Caution: Praise can be dangerous. American Educator.
	
Feb. 14	Implications for Education
Critique of Elementary School Lesson Paper 2 due at the
beginning of class
Class Discussion on the Mammals lesson
		
Language

Feb. 19	Language
Flavell pp. 50-54 (Perception of Speech)
Flavell Chapter 8

Feb. 21	Language
Flavell Chapter 8
		
Socioemotional Development

Feb. 26	Infant Temperament & Attachment
Davies - Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 6 (pp. 172-176),
Chapter 8 (pp. 229-232)

Feb. 28	Attachment
Shore, R. (1997). What have we learned? From Rethinking the
brain: New insights into 		early development. NY:
Families and Work Institute.
Shaffer, D. R. (2000). Early social and emotional development
(Chapter 4 & 5) from 		Social and personality development
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.0
		
March 5	Predicting Children’s Socioemotional Development (Resilience
and Risk)
Davies - Chapter 2 & 3	
			
March 7	Paper 3 due at beginning of class - Class Discussion

March 12 Spring Break

March 14 Spring Break

March 19 Children’s Self-Regulation
Davies - Infants pp. 117-129, 133-137, Toddlers pp. 181-202,
Preschoolers pp. 251-264, Chapter 9, Children pp. 320-334	

March 21 Parenting
Davies Chapter 5 and 7

March 26 Family

March 28 Peers
		
April 2  Aggression and School Violence
Patterson, G. R., DeBaryshe, B. D., & Ramsey, E. (1989). A
developmental perspective on antisocial behavior. American
Psychologist, 44, 329-335.
		
April 4  SHORT ANSWER EXAM

April 9  Presentations

April 11 Presentations

April 16 Presentations

April 18 Presentations	

April 23 Presentations

April 25 Presentations
TURN IN YOUR 8-PAGE PAPER