Module 1 discussion
Consider these examples, reviewed in Life Span Development
by John Santrock (2008, McGraw Hill, 11e).
“Ted Kaczynski
sprinted through high school, not bothering with his junior year and making
only passing efforts at social contact. Off to Harvard at age 16, Kaczynski was
a loner during his college years. One of his roommates at Harvard said that he
avoided people by quickly shuffling by them and slamming the door behind him.
After obtaining his Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Michigan,
Kaczynski became a professor at the University of California at Berkeley. His
colleagues there remember him as hiding from social circumstances—no friends,
no allies, no networking.
After several
years at Berkeley, Kaczynski resigned and moved to a rural area of Montana
where he lived as a hermit in a crude shack for 25 years. Town residents
described him as a bearded eccentric. Kaczynski traced his own difficulties to
growing up as a genius in a kid’s body and sticking out like a sore thumb in
his surrounding as a child. In 19656, he was arrested and charged as the
notorious Unabomber, America’s most wanted killer who sent 16 mail bombs in 17
years that left 23 people wounded or maimed, and 3 people dead. In 1998, he
pleaded guilty to the offenses and was sentenced to life in prison.
A decade before
Kaczynski mailed his first bomb, Alice Walker, who later won the Pulitzer Prize
for her book The Color Purple, spent her days battling racism in Mississippi.
She had recently won her first writing fellowship, but rather than use the
money to follow her dream of moving to Senegal, Africa, she put herself into
the heart and heat of the civic rights movement. Walker had grown up knowing
the brutal effects of poverty and racism. Born in 1955, she was the eighth
child of Georgia sharecropper who earned $300 a year. When Walker was 8, her
brother accidentally shot her in the left eye with a BB gun. By the time her
parents got her to the hospital a week later (they had no car), she was blind
in that eye and it had developed a disfiguring layer of scar tissue. Despite
the counts against her, Walker overcame pain and anger and went on to become
not only an award-winning novelist but also an essayist, a poet, a short-story
writer, and a social activist.” (p. 4)
Considering that we are all products of both heredity and
environment, analyze these two cases based on what you’ve read in the first two
chapters. Specifically:
Considering the families of theories discussed in Chapter 1,
(biological theories, psychodynamic theories, behavioral theories, cognitive
theories) pick two of the broad theoretical perspectives and describe what they
would say about development as it relates to these two individuals (apply two
theories to both individuals). Be “creative” in your applications. Think of
numerous applications though they may not exactly fit. Use this as an
opportunity to drill down into the theories.
Now, think of the influence of biology (Chapter 2). What
possible hereditary influence may have contributed to the behaviors and life
choices of these two individuals? Stretch on this one.
Module 2 discussion
You read about healthy
development in the three domains of the physical, cognitive, and
emotional throughout this book.
From what you read in the two chapters for this week, pick
out 3-5 factors that contribute to healthy development that were unusual,
unique, or which you had never thought about before. Think creatively and
support your answer. Draw in class text concepts and cite correctly, for full credit.
Show how your main topics actually relate to healthy development.
In your response to your classmates’ posts, challenge your
classmates’ responses as to their uniqueness.
By the way, please review my discussion board expectations
from week one.
Module 3 discussion
Your textbook mentions daycare/childcare in a couple of
sections (you’ll read about it next week as well). After you’ve read all the reading for this
week, answer the following questions. Don’t make this a political response (“I
like . . . don’t like childcare”) but use it as an example to pull together and
apply core concepts from the two chapters for the week.
Divide your answer into three sections (use a heading for
each section)
1. What would be necessary in a childcare setting to stimulate
full development during infancy and toddler hood? Think of physical/motor,
cognitive, language, personality and sociocultural development. Don’t write a
book but pick out main points and make it clear that you are applying text
content.
2. Based on the chapters’ content, what could go wrong in
development because of a daycare setting? What would be the optimum daycare
environment to complete development?
3. What would you as a parent contribute to the development
of your child that daycare can’t?
In your answer, make sure you address all of the questions
asked and draw in text material that applies (cite correctly per APA)
Module 4 discussion
In the chapters for the week, you read about three theories
of cognitive development during the early childhood years (Piaget, Vygotsky,
and the information process approach).
For this discussion board, let’s make some practical
applications of the theories. Make a list of 4-5 actions (what you can
“do”) to enhance cognitive development
based on each of the theories. Then tell us why those actions are important
based on the theory (cite correctly).
So, set it up this way.
Piaget
1.action one (with explanation)
2. action two (with
explanation)
3. etc.
4. etc.
Vygotsky
1. action, etc.
2., etc.
3. etc.
4. etc.
Information Processing approach
1. action, etc.
2.etc.
3. etc.
4. etc.
Make sure to read the text sections thoroughly before
providing your action steps.
Module 5 discussion
The chapters on middle childhood introduce many issues and
problems which can follow a child throughout his/her life (obesity, school
problems, self concept issues, effects of divorce, etc.)
Pick one issue from the chapters and explain 3-5 things you
learned about that issue (new or unique information—not something you knew
already). Then suggest what you could do to make sure the issue did not cause
long term problems for the child. Make sure to draw specific concepts and
findings from the text as you answer this last part. Make a list of suggestions
and cite your support.
By the way, tell us why the information was “new” or
“unique”.
When you respond to classmates’ posts, add additional ideas,
or probe with an insightful question.
Module 6 discussion
After thoroughly reading the chapters for this week, please
consider the following. Note that there are two distinct parts to this
discussion question.
Adolescents tend to engage in riskier behaviors than
individuals at other stages of development.
1. From your text discussion (make sure to draw in text
material) provide an overview of the cognitive/emotional/physical reasons why
adolescents engage in riskier behavior. Make sure to clearly address all three
domains.
2. Then, select a health-related issue from Chapter 11 and
propose a way to prevent with the issue in
adolescents by addressing the underlying problems. In this part, also
make sure to expressly draw in text material and cite correctly. Be sure to include enough detail for your
classmates to evaluate your proposal.
When you respond to your classmates, be sure to critique
their responses as well as make suggestions to improve the suggested
preventions
Module 7 discussion
After reading the
chapters for this week, review
the following questions. CHOOSE ONE but make sure to answer it
completely. Make sure also to INTEGRATE TEXT CONCEPTS and cite correctly.
Review the concept of “midlife crisis” as discussed in the
text and weigh in with your assessment. Is the crisis inevitable? Why or why
not? Make sure you support your answer with solid research and logic, based on
your reading of Berk.
What determines if Middle Adulthood is seen as the best part
of life or as the beginning of decline? List a number of factors based on your
reading.
Review the elements of cognitive decline in middle
adulthood. How can a person best adjust to these changes? Draw from Berk in
your answer.
Review how early habits affect development in Middle
Adulthood. What does Berk say that would apply here?
Why might a job loss in middle adulthood be perceived as a
more serious threat to a person’s self-concept than the loss of a job in early
adulthood? What support can you draw from your reading of Berk?
Analyze an adult you know who is in Middle Adulthood
(yourself, a spouse, a parent, a grandparent) based on the Big Five theory of
personality. Have you seen consistency on these characteristics through the
years?
Module 8 discussion
After having read your text material, discuss what you see
as the most troubling issues to be addressed when considering dying and death
(DNR orders, living wills, euthanasia, palliative care, hospice, quality of
life) and how you would help someone address these issues either personally or
in caring for a family member.
Make sure you inform your responses from your readings; draw in text material and cite correctly per
APA.
Make this thoughtful and reasonably complete
