Main Content
Syllabus
PSYCH 212 : Introduction to Developmental Psychology
(3 credits): Developmental principles; physical growth; linguistic, intellectual, emotional, and social development from infancy to maturity.
Overview
This course is designed to survey the basic history, theories, and concepts associated with the field of Developmental Psychology. Specifically, we will study the physical, mental, social, and psychological development of humans from conception up to and including adolescence. The topics we will cover range from looking at biological systems and their effects on our behavior (e.g., how do hormones affect babies or teenagers?) to social and cognitive behaviors that affect how we develop and interact with other people (e.g., Why do babies develop stranger anxiety?). This course is a great way to survey all the topics that are included in understanding how children develop.
Objectives
On completion of this course students should be able to
- Identify the basic principles of developmental psychology that cover conception through adolescence.
- Develop an understanding of how human beings change physically, cognitively, and socially from conception until adolescence.
- Apply what you learn to observations in the real world, including your own life.
Materials
Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.Library Resources
Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can
- access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
- borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
- get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
- much more.
You can view the Online Students' Library Guide for more information.
You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and services. Once you have a Penn State account, you will automatically be registered with the library within 24–48 hours. If you would like to determine whether your registration has been completed, visit the Libraries home page and select My Account.
Technical Specifications
For this course, we recommend the minimum World Campus technical requirements listed below:
| Operating System | Canvas, Penn State's Learning Management System (LMS), supports most recent versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems. To determine if your operating system is supported, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
|---|---|
| Browser | Canvas supports the last two versions of every major browser release. It is highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using. Note: Cookies must be enabled, and pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites. |
| Additional Canvas Requirements | For a list of software, hardware, and computer settings specifically required by the Canvas LMS, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
| Additional Software | All Penn State students have access to Microsoft Office 365, including Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. |
| Hardware | Monitor: Monitor capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution |
| Mobile Device (optional) | The Canvas mobile app is available for versions of iOS and Android. To determine if your device is capable of using the Canvas Mobile App, please review the Canvas Mobile App Requirements. |
Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ)
During the semester you will receive information for completing the Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ). Your participation is an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback on your learning experience. Your feedback is important because it allows us to understand your experience in this course and make changes to improve the learning experiences of future students. Please monitor email and course communications for links and availability dates.
Outreach Help Desk
If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Service Desk.
For registration, advising, disability services, help with materials, exams, general problem solving, visit World Campus Student Services!
Course Requirements and Grading
Activities
Discussions
The discussions are intended to take the factual knowledge and theories from the lessons and extend them into issues faced in the real world. Some discussions will be an application of topics covered in the lesson while others will focus on issues faced by parents, kids, or professionals in the field. A few of the forums do not specifically relate to the lesson they are in, but are important topics of conversation in the field of developmental psychology. There are 15 discussions that you are required to participate in.
In order to receive full credit, you are required to post at least twice using the posted discussion topic as a guide. There is also one 4-part introduction discussion. The primary goal of these postings is for you to “talk” to each other about what you are learning – so it perfectly fine to be conversational and informal (i.e., not formal like the written assignments).
Additional guidelines:
- Appropriate postings include: Responses to the forum question or topic, asking questions of your classmates, discussing topics that are of interest to you that you learned about in the readings and you believe are relevant to the discussion topic, or sharing a relevant website that you found interesting about the discussion topic we are covering at that time.
- Each post/reply should be at least 7-8 sentences in length.
- Posts need to include:
- Responses or comments about the forum topic.
- Comments regarding something one of your classmates has posted.
- View this example post from forum #1 to get an idea of a quality post.
Discussions will be evaluated using the Discussion Rubric. It will be available in each forum and will display your grade along with any individual comments.
Quizzes
Quizzes will be given in each lesson, except Lesson 15, for a total of 14 quizzes. The goal is to make sure you are keeping up with the course readings and understanding the foundational information. The quizzes will consist of multiple choice questions and you will have one attempt with a limited amount of time to complete them. The number of questions and time limit vary based on the amount of content covered in each quiz. You will be able to review the quiz after the due date has passed.
Child Development Assessments (CDAs)
The Child Development Assessments are designed to give you a practical feel for what child developmentalists actually do in our field of study. I think most people have an idea that child psychologists study children and maybe, if necessary, also treat children who have problems, but the actual ‘how’ we do that or in ‘what way’ we do that is not always general knowledge. The CDAs are developed so that you can get a realistic feel for what many developmental psychologists do on a day-to-day basis. The hope and goal is for you to find them informative, interesting, and useful towards deepening your understanding and application of the class material, and hopefully, fun to do! - as you learn more about child psychology.
Grading
Grades will be established based on your performance on discussion forums, quizzes, and Child Development Assessments. See Table 1 below for the point distribution by assignment type. To calculate your grade at any point during the course, divide your points earned by the points possible at that time.
| Assignment Type | Quantity | Total Points | Percent of Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quizzes | 14 | 140 | ~28% |
| Discussions | 15 | 150 | ~31% |
| Child Development Assessments | 4 | 200 | ~41% |
| Total | 33 | 490 | 100% |
Grading Scale
Final grades will be determined by the percentage of total points earned for the course. See Table 2 for the grading scale. You can calculate your grade at any point in the semester by dividing your points earned by total points possible at that point in the course.
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Percentage Of Total Points
|
Letter Grade
|
|---|---|
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93.0–100%
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A
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90.0–92.9%
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A-
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87.0–89.9%
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B+
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83.0–86.9%
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B
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80.0–82.9%
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B-
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77.0–79.9%
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C+
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70.0–76.9%
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C
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60.0–69.9%
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D
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below 60.0%
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F
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Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Undergraduate Courses for additional information about University grading policies.
Deferred Grades
If, for reasons beyond the student's control, a student is prevented from completing a course within the prescribed time, the grade in that course may be deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. The symbol DF appears on the student's transcript until the course has been completed. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested by the student before the beginning of the final examination period. In an emergency situation, an instructor can approve a deferred grade after the final exam period has started. Under emergency conditions during which the instructor is unavailable, authorization is required from one of the following: the dean of the college in which the candidate is enrolled; the executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division or is a provisional student; or the campus chancellor of the student's associated Penn State campus.
For additional information please refer to the Deferring a Grade page.
Submission of Assignments
This is a semester-based course with deadlines. Students are expected to complete work by posted deadlines. Please check the Course Schedule for the times and dates that assignments are due in this course (times are listed in North American eastern time). Please contact your instructor to discuss legitimate and unavoidable situations that may cause lateness (such as illness, injury, or family emergency). If you know that you are going to miss a deadline, please contact your instructor in advance of that deadline to discuss an extension (or if you are not able to contact the instructor before the deadline, as soon as you are able to). Decisions regarding extensions will be made at the discretion of the instructor on a case-by-case basis.
In the absence of a legitimate and unavoidable situation, late work will be accepted at the discretion of the instructor and will be penalized up to 10% of the total assignment points for each day of lateness. Unless there is a legitimate and unavoidable situation that causes prolonged lateness, work more than one week late will not be accepted.
Course Schedule
Note: All due dates reflect North American eastern time (ET).
| UNIT 2: Lesson 03 | Infancy and Toddlerhood - Physical Development |
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| UNIT 2: Lesson 04 | Infancy and Toddlerhood - Cognitive Development |
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| UNIT 3: Lesson 06 | Early Childhood - Physical Development |
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| UNIT 3: Lesson 07 | Early Childhood - Cognitive Development |
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| UNIT 3: Lesson 08 | Early Childhood - Psychosocial Development |
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| UNIT 4: Lesson 09 | Middle Childhood - Physical Development |
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| UNIT 4: Lesson 10 | Middle Childhood - Cognitive Development |
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| UNIT 4: Lesson 11 | Middle Childhood - Psychosocial Development |
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| Unit 5: Lesson 12 | Adolescence - Physical Development |
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| UNIT 5: Lesson 13 | Adolescence - Cognitive Development |
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| UNIT 6: Lesson 15 | Wrap-up |
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Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.
Graduation
Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please go to the Graduation Information on the My Penn State Online Student Portal.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity—scholarship free of fraud and deception—is an important educational objective of Penn State. Academic dishonesty can lead to a failing grade or referral to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to
- cheating,
- plagiarism,
- fabrication of information or citations,
- facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others,
- unauthorized prior possession of examinations,
- submitting the work of another person or work previously used without, informing the instructor and securing written approval, and
- tampering with the academic work of other students.
Students are responsible for maintaining academic integrity. Violations include cheating on exams or quizzes, talking to others during an exam or quiz, getting help from others on exams or quizzes, having notes accessible during exams or quizzes, looking at another student's answers during an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and dishonesty in any aspect of course participation. Also, you may not share any information from this course (including assignments and papers) with others, nor post such information electronically without the permission of the instructor. Violations of academic integrity including charges of plagiarism) and may result in a grade of F for the course as well as other penalties (see Faculty Senate Policy 49-20).
Heads up – several note-taking/note-sharing companies approach students about “jobs” (including Nittany Notes and those that appear to be connected to PSU). If this is something that you want to do, you MUST talk with your instructor first. Unless you have permission, you risk academic sanctions related to charges of plagiarism and disciplinary sanctions.
How to avoid plagiarism in this course
- Always place copied information within quotation marks, cite the source, and include information about the source in a bibliography.
- Always cite paraphrased information and include information about the source in a bibliography.
- When in doubt, cite and include the source in a bibliography.
Please make sure you submit the correct version of your paper. Whatever you hand in will be considered your final version and will be graded, even if you submit a blank document. Please note, claiming that you submitted the wrong file is NOT an acceptable excuse for work containing plagiarism.
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, procedure requires an instructor to notify a student of suspected dishonesty before filing a charge and recommended sanction with the college. Procedures allow a student to accept or contest a charge. If a student chooses to contest a charge, the case will then be managed by the respective college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. If a disciplinary sanction also is recommended, the case will be referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures may vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us.
Additionally, World Campus students are expected to act with civility and personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment of academic integrity is requisite to respect for oneself and others, as well as a civil community.
For More Information on Academic Integrity at Penn State
Please see the Academic Integrity Chart for specific college contact information or visit one of the following URLs:
- Penn State Senate Policy on Academic Integrity
- Turnitin (a web-based plagiarism detection and prevention system)
Accommodating Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has resources for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contacts for disability services at every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the SDR website.
In order to apply for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability resources office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation based on the documentation guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability resources office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
Additional Course Policies
The purpose of course communication tools is to provide students with a quick method for contacting faculty, teaching assistants, and other students of the class, in regards to course related questions, comments, and concerns. Please note that, according to University policy AD95/AD96, course communication tools may not be used as a method for emailing unauthorized content including but not limited to: solicitation for businesses, advertisements, selling or distributing personal or class materials, transmitting offensive, obscene, or harassing materials, chain letters, news posts, or other forms of “spam” email. Doing so will be considered a violation of course and/or University policies, and might also violate the student code of conduct and the expectations expressed in the Penn State Principles. Resulting penalties might include the suspension or termination of system access, as well as disciplinary or academic sanctions. When appropriate, information about violators will be passed on to University Police Services. If you have any questions in regards to whether or not a particular email you wish to send would violate University policies, please check with your instructor before sending messages to others through the University system.
For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.
Counseling and Psychological ServicesIf you have a crisis or safety concern, mental health services are available to you as a Penn State student. Crisis and emergency contacts are available, no matter where you are located:
- Anywhere in the United States: Call the Penn State Crisis Line at 1-877-229-6400 or text LIONS to 741741. You can also contact your local crisis services or hospital for emergencies.
- Outside the United States: Please contact emergency services in your current location. You can also use the International Crisis and Emergency Services listings.
- At University Park: Assistance is available at Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) locations on campus.
- At a Penn State branch campus: You can search for counseling information at your campus.
Penn State takes great pride to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated and can be reported through Educational Equity via the Report Bias webpage.
Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or dependents with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.
Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus are subject to change, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Your instructor will notify you of any changes.