PSYCHOLOGY 2001

PSYCHOLOGY 2001: CHILD GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

Online Course Welcome Letter

Hello and welcome to PSY 2001: Child Growth and Development Online Course!!

This course focuses on the development of children, from conception to adolescents.

Welcome to Child Growth and Development- This course was designed to provide you with the flexibility to earn college credit by fitting the course into your personal schedule. Using the Blackboard Learning System, students will be participating in online discussion threads, doing the assigned reading in the textbook and study guide, completing assignments, and taking tests. You will be working on your own. This course requires approximately five to six hours per week for reading, discussions and completing the assignments. Below you will find a list of questions most commonly asked by students.

Students will need to complete an Online Course Orientation provided by IVCC either online or on campus. The following link will provide you with further information and dates/times, http://www.ivcc.edu/dl/Orientation/about.html.

There are steps along the way that need to be completed to activate your participation in the course. The first one is the Data Form, complete the online course orientation and discussion thread #1 during the first week of class.

If you have never used Blackboard, go to http://blackboard.ivcc.edu. Your username will be the first three letters of your last name and the last four digits of your social security number. Your password will be the first three digits of your social security number. If you have difficulty please contact the computer resource center, 224-0318.

This course will cover 5 units (3-4 chapters per unit). The course consists of participating in course discussions weekly, doing the assigned reading in the textbook, assignments on line, and taking the tests. You will be working on your own for the most part other than the discussions. The terms that are listed in italicized black on the borders of the text must be understood in order for you to do well and you must thoroughly read the text.

Each week you will have a discussion thread to respond to and you will need to respond to two other students’ responses in depth. A course schedule has been developed. You will need to stay on track.

Check the course schedule to verify when assignments/course requirements are due. By mid-term, each student will need to complete nine discussion threads, three assignments, and two exams. It may be possible for you to be withdrawn from the course if these requirements are not mett. All course requirements must be completed by week 14 and exam #5 needs to be completed according to the schedule or you will receive an incomplete. If work is not completed, the incomplete automatically can change to a (F) for the course on your transcript. If circumstances arise that may keep you from completing this course, please notify the instructor immediately, 224-0429.

Infants, Children and Adolescents- by Laura Berk. All books are available in the IVCC bookstore.

1. Read the textbook/student guide chapters as indicated on your assignment sheet.

You are required to take three-to-five exams (50 questions each) depending on the semester. The tests cover material from the text, study guide, and discussions. Therefore, they all should be reviewed thoroughly. The tests are moderately difficult college-level exams, so please make sure you are well prepared when you take them. They will be timed. You will have 1 ½ hours to complete each exam. Exams will be available over a limited number of days for you to take. These dates will be posted.

Students can complete the timed test from any computer that has internet access.

All exams are due by the scheduled test dates (see course schedule). If no exams are completed by midterm, it is possible for you to be dropped from the course unless you notify me. If you only complete one or two exams and then decided not to complete the remaining exams, you could earn an (I) or an (F) for your final grade. Be aware that an (I) incomplete can eventually turn into an (F) if no effort has been made to complete the remaining assignments/exams. This grade can remain on your permanent record if no effort is made to complete the course.

There will be three major categories of assignments plus the discussion activities. See Assignment Section for complete instructions for each of these assignments.

Assignment #1: Time-line- This assignment has three parts and all three parts need to be completed to earn full credit. Part 1 can be hand written on an 8 ½ X 11 sheet of paper or typed. Part 2 will need to be typed. Part 3 can be printed from the computer and you can attach them. This assignment along with the Student Profile form can be mailed to your instructor during the first two weeks of class to initiate your participation in the course. This is worth 25 points.

Assignment #2: Theory Summary -Select five theories from your text; summarize in a paragraph or two the basic principles of the theory; how it applies to you, your career, to life in general; and the theorist responsible for the theory. This is worth 25 points.

Assignment #3-#8: Learning Activity Observations-You will be provided with observation suggestions in which you will need to select one from each age range, observe/collect information, and write a reflection on your findings. These are to be typed, double spaced, ½-1 page in length (maximum). Content and grammar/punctuation errors will be considered in the grading process. This will be worth 100 points (one each for each unit- 20 points each).

Discussion threads: Each week there will be discussion threads that each student will need to respond to as well as respond to one other student’s comments. The objectives of the discussion threads are to enhance your critical thinking skills; to assure your understanding of the course material; to apply course material; and to strengthen our learning community. In addition, students will benefit by learning from each other and their experiences. A discussion thread rubric will be provided to assure each response is fairly evaluated. Plus, this will serve as a guide to assure that each students response is made in depth with quality that contributes to further exploration of the topic. A point value will be earned for each weekly entrée and student response.

Once the instructor receives your exam, it will be graded and you will be notified via Blackboard of the grade you earned. Please feel free to contact me at any point throughout the semester if you have any questions/concerns.

My office is located in Room D-303 at IVCC, my phone number is 224-0429, or you can e-mail me with your questions/concerns at jill_urbanbollis@ivcc.edu. If you cannot reach me, leave a message and I will call you as soon as I can. If you want me to call at a certain time, please indicate that also. In addition, you can navigate my web page for this course at http://www.ivcc.edu/jurban/psy2001/sg.htm. You can also access the course text web page at http://www.mydevelopmentalab.com.

Successful students are the ones that read the chapters and participate on a regular schedule. In other words, they approach this course much the same way they do their other courses in that they do something each week. For many students the flexibility is an exciting new way to earn college credit, for others it is not workable. If you find you are having difficulty getting work done, give me a call or stop in and see me. I might be able to give you some help. Try to stay on task according to the course schedule. Assignment and exam dates are set to keep you on a schedule to complete the course in a timely manner. If you have a life event that may keep you from taking the exam on schedule, you need to contact the professor immediately prior to the exam.

As you can see, I have set expectations for your success in this course. It is up to you to decide your level of success.

As Elain Maxwell has said, “Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny.”

Hold on and enjoy this course - learn all you can to make a difference in the life of a child!

1	Time-Line	25 pts
2	Theory Summary	25 pts
3-8	Observations	100 points
Weekly	Discussion Threads	150 points