2 About PSY 235 and Our Course Materials
Course Description
The purpose of the course is to provide the student with a comprehensive understanding of the methods, theories and main concepts related to child development. The course offers scientific and practical guidance to those who 1) work with, care for, or raise children, 2) design prevention and health promotion programs for children and 3) provide opportunities for children to thrive. There will be a special emphasis on the theories of development, offering descriptions and explanations of cognitive, motor, social, linguistic, emotional, personality, and moral development. The conditions and environments within which development takes place will be discussed, including an emphasis on those factors which promote positive development. A major goal of the course is for students to demonstrate an understanding of the interaction between the developing child and a continually changing world.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Summarize and explain the major theories of child development (e.g., behavioral, cognitive)
- Identify and explain important topical issues (e.g. family relationships, academic achievement, morality and aggression,
and school readiness) in modern child development - Describe the basic biological and contextual/cultural influences on child development
- Explain the bidirectional interactions between the developing child and a dynamic environment
- Describe and interpret typical and atypical development in cognitive, emotional, social, and moral domains
- Identify the factors that foster development as well as be able to identify factors that are related to less-than-optimal development
- Articulate how social and cultural differences impact child development
About the Authors
The materials utilized in this course were initially developed by various authors and subsequently tailored by NOVA faculty to suit the requirements of students enrolled in PSY 235 at Northern Virginia Community College. We extend our gratitude to these authors for their invaluable contributions to the discipline of psychology and to the advancement of open educational resources.
William Pelz is Professor of Psychology at the Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) of the State University of New York (SUNY). During his more than 40 years at HCCC he has served as Chair of the Humanities and Social Science Division, Director of Distance Learning, and Coordinator of the HCCC Internet Academy. Throughout his career he has practiced his first love – teaching. In 1994 Dr. Pelz received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, in 2003 he won the Alfred P. Sloan International Award for Excellence in Online Teaching, and in 2006 the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities.
Laura Overstreet earned a BA at the University of North Texas, and an MA and PhD at Texas Woman’s University, both in Denton, Texas. She has been teaching lifespan psychology online and on campus since the mid-1990s. She currently teaches lifespan psychology, child development, and general psychology at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Washington. She also teaching courses in family, marital interaction, sexuality, gender, social psychology, and education in the sociology department at Western Washington University also located in Bellingham, Washington.
Open Sources
The images, audio clips, videos, and other materials used within the course are from open sources. There are no copyright restrictions on the materials contained within the course.
