EDUC 345 Child Growth and Development

Description: 

This course deals with the influence of Christian family relationships on child development. Emphasis is on basic principles and skills for parent effectiveness, the developing nature and needs of children, and how they learn. Upon completion, students should be able to identify and demonstrate knowledge of major areas of child growth and development and effective Christian parenting.

Overview: 

This course offers an overview of the development and needs of children from birth through age ten. Physical, emotional, as well as spiritual needs of the growing child will be discussed throughout the course. EDUC 345 is designed to offer support to current or future parents of young children and aide them in understanding the development of their child as well as parenting factors that influence that development. Through this course, students will explore basic principles and skills for parent effectiveness, the developing nature and needs of children, and how they learn.

Prerequisites: 
There are no Prerequisites or Corequisites for this course.
Prospectus: 
PDF icon EDUC 345 Prospectus Rev.2017.pdf
Instructor: 

Ginn, Kristine M.

Adjunct Assistant Professor in Education
Part Time
Degrees: 
B.S. Ed. (2000), M. Ed. (2004),Valdosta State University.
Subject Matter: 
Professional Education

Kristine Ginn holds a Master's in Early Childhood Education with a Reading Specialist certification. She was an elementary classroom teacher for ten years before becoming a home school teacher for her children, and now has returned to the public education classroom. She received training in working with exceptional children and taught for several years in a co-teaching atmosphere with a Special Education co-teacher. During her time in public education, Mrs. Ginn led committees to design a system-wide curriculum, served on committees to develop system-wide testing instruments, and obtained certification to train other educators in Best Practices modules. Working with teachers in the Metro-Atlanta area, Mrs. Ginn helped train teachers in the implementation of research-based teaching strategies in the classroom, and served on the Superintendent's Advisory Council as a liaison between teachers and system policy makers. She is currently continuing her teaching experience in Florida where she, her husband, and young adult children live.

Course Credit: 
Three (3) semester credit hours
Instructional Objectives: 

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Identify the correlation between parenting principles and the development of the child.
  2. Discriminate between parenting styles and determine specific parenting skills that are linked to positive development as outlined by the Bible and science.
  3. Classify characteristics of the stages of growth and development in children from birth to age ten.
  4. State current findings in the area of child development and critically evaluate the information using biblical principles.
  5. Identify and demonstrate knowledge of various aspects that affect child development such as: environment, nutrition, physical activity, relationships, critical skills, and education.
  6. Demonstrate an understanding of the process of learning in young children.
Required Texts: 
  • Galinsky, Ellen. Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills every Child Needs. ISBN 978-0061732324. 
  • LCG Booklet Successful Parenting:God's Way Dr. Jeffrey Fall
Additional Readings: 

Various PDFs posted in the lessons

Lectures: 

Lectures will be provided for most lessons. It is recommended you watch these before working through the reading or assignments. The intent of the lectures is to provide background and to expound on the information that you will encounter in the rest of the lesson. Visuals and different teaching strategies will also be incorporated into the lectures to provide added instructional material.

Course Calendar: 
Week Topics Assignment
1 Introduction, Review Course Requirements
Prior Knowledge Assessment		 Forum post
Icebreaker
2 Overview of Child Development Stage 1 (Birth to age 18 months): growth, brain development, nutrition, emotional development, language development, spiritual development Forum post
3 Essential Life Skill: Communicating Forum post
4 Essential Life Skill: Focus/Self-Control Project 1
Forum post
5 Recap of Lessons 2-4
Development and Parental Roles from Birth to 18 Months		 Quiz 1
Forum post
6 Overview of Child Development Stage 2 (18 months-36 months): growth, brain development, nutrition, emotional development, language development, spiritual development Forum post
7 Essential Life Skill: Perspective Taking Forum post
8 Essential Life Skill: Taking on Challenges Forum post
9 Recap of Lessons 6-8
Development and Parental Roles from 18 Months – 36 Months		 Quiz 2
Forum post
10 Overview of Child Development Stage 3 (36 months - 6 years): growth, brain development, nutrition, emotional development, language development, spiritual development Forum post
11 Essential Life Skill: Making Connections Forum post
12 Essential Life Skill: Self-Directed Engaged Learning Forum post
13 Recap of Lessons 10-12
Development and Parental Roles from 36 Months – 6 Years		 Project 3
Forum post
14 Overview of Child Development Stage 4 (6 years -10 years): growth, brain development, nutrition, emotional development, language development, spiritual development Forum post
15 Essential Life Skill: Critical Thinking Quiz 3
Forum post
16 Recap of Lessons 14-15
Development and Parental Roles from 6 years -10 years		 Forum post
Course Requirements: 

Due Dates:
Assignments can be submitted any time before and up to the due date. To keep on track with the class, no late or make-up assignments will be allowed except for extreme circumstances. If there is such a circumstance get in touch with the instructor as soon as possible. Students must complete the course by the last official day of instruction as set forth in the academic calendar.

Weekly Assignments:
Assignments are broken into weekly lessons. Be sure to read the assignment all the way through before beginning the reading for the week. Be sure to watch any lectures included with the lesson as well.

Icebreaker Forum Post (20 points):
All students are required to post a brief biography to the forum. This will be used as a confirmation of your participation in this class. Please give a short introduction to yourself that should include the items below. You can also ask questions of your classmates in an effort to get to know them.

Items to include:

  •  Area in which you live
  •  If you presently have children, their ages
  •  Why you chose to take this class
  •  (optional) Any story about your children you want to share (funny, exciting, nerve racking…)

Prior Knowledge Assessment (20 points):
Fill in the chart attached to Lesson 1 detailing what you already know about the topics covered in this course, as well as what you would like to learn from the course.

Discussion Forums (50 points collectively):
Students are expected to participate in class discussions by posting weekly comments and questions they might have on the discussion forum (see the link on the course web site). Each week’s lesson will include a discussion item or a question to be answered. It is suggested that students wait until after completing the lecture and reading assignment(s) to post on the board so information from the lesson can be incorporated and discussed. In addition to your post, you will need to interact with at least two of your classmates by reflecting on their posts as well. The intent of this interaction is to encourage conversations that will give you another place for resources, ideas, and support. Points will be calculated by multiplying the scale score by ten. Below is the rubric that will be used for the participation grade.

Scale Criteria
5 Required items are always posted according to the lesson’s instructions. Evidence is always apparent that the student thought through the assignment and reflected on how it effects his/her personal situation. A thorough summary or response to the discussion question is always given. Every week the student reflected on at least 2 classmates’ posts with something helpful or thought provoking.
4 Required items are frequently posted according to the lesson’s instructions. Evidence is somewhat apparent that the student thought through the assignment and reflected on how it effects his/her personal situation. A thorough summary or response to the discussion question is frequently given. Most weeks the student reflected on at least 2 classmates’ posts with something helpful or thought provoking.
3 Required items are frequently posted according to the lesson’s instructions. Evidence is not apparent that the student thought through the assignment and reflected on how it effects his/her personal situation. A summary or response to the discussion question is given, but may not cover the subject effectively. Most weeks the student reflected on at least 2 classmates’ posts.
2 Required items are sometimes posted according to the lesson’s instructions. Evidence is not apparent that the student thought through the assignment and reflected on how it effects his/her personal situation. A summary or response to the discussion question is sometimes given, or does not cover the subject. Some weeks the student reflected on at least 2 classmates’ posts.
1 Required items are seldom posted according to the lesson’s instructions. Evidence is not apparent that the student thought through the assignment and reflected on how it effects his/her personal situation. A summary or response to the discussion question is seldom given, or is off topic. Seldom does the student reflect on at least 2 classmates’ posts.

Projects (60 points each):
Throughout the semester students will be given three projects to complete. Each project will come at the end of a group of related lessons. They will serve as a recap of the covered material and an opportunity for the student to demonstrate understanding of what was covered. These projects are intended to provide opportunities for students to make connections and relate ideas within the content for a higher level of critical thinking. Below is an overview of each project. More detailed instructions and rubrics for scoring the projects will be provided in the lessons before the due dates.

Project 1: Due During Lesson 4
Graphic Organizer

  • Use a picture of a group of children in the age range of newborn to 18 months old. This can be an actual photo, drawing, cut out from a magazine, or clip-art.
  •  Place the picture in the middle of a piece of paper.
  •  Use the space around the picture to summarize the development of children in this age range as well as give specific examples of how parents can aid the child in this stage through nutrition, exercise, attending to emotional needs, giving spiritual guidance and foster essential skills such as communicating and focus/self-control.
  •  Include some non-examples and label them as such (examples that can hinder development during this stage).

A written summary and personal reflection of the concepts covered will accompany the graphic organizer.

Project 2: Due During Lesson 9
Workshop Presentation: You have been asked to present information to a group of parents at a workshop in your area. The workshop is for parents who have a child in the age range of 18 months to 3 years old. The organizer of the workshop would like you to share information with the parents about the growth and development of their children and what types of things they can do as parents to foster positive growth in these areas. The information should include:

  •  a summary of what is going on with the child's body at this stage
  •  how the parent can aid the child in this stage through nutrition, exercise, attending to emotional needs, giving spiritual guidance
  •  how the parent can foster essential skills at this age such as perspective taking and taking on challenges
  • an explanation of how different parenting styles can help or hinder at this age

The information can be presented in your choice of (choose 1 way to present your material):

  •  brochure (or other type of hand-out material)
  •  PowerPoint
  •  Prezi presentation
  •  video
  • a text version of the speech you would give

Project 3: Due During Lesson 13
Visual Representation

Make a visual representation of children in the age range of 3 to 6 years old. This can be a collection of photographs, clip-art images, cut outs from magazines, or drawings. Each image should contain a caption explaining why it is included in the collage. A written summary and personal reflection of the concepts covered will accompany the visual representation.

Images should demonstrate:

  •  what is going on with the child's body at this stage
  •  what children require at this stage in areas such as nutrition, exercise, emotional needs, spiritual guidance
  •  how the parent can foster essential skills at this age such as making connections and encouraging self-directed learning
  • how different parenting styles can help or hinder at this age

Quizzes (30 points each):
There will be three quizzes throughout the semester. Each will be over specified lessons. These will be open book/notes.

  • Quiz 1: Covers lessons 1-5
  • Quiz 2: Covers lessons 6-9
  • Quiz 3: Covers lessons 10-15

Final Exam (100 points):
There will be one exam at the end of the course. This exam will be cumulative over all material covered in the lessons. Questions will be similar to those found on the 3 quizzes. This exam will be open book/notes.

Summary of Course Requirements Point Value   Letter Grade Total Points
Icebreaker 20   A 409 or more points
Prior Knowledge Assesment 20   B 358-408 points
Projects (60 points each) 180   C 307-357 points
Three Quizzes (30 points each) 90   D 256-306 points
Class participation and forum posts 50   F 255 points or below
Final Exam 100      
Total 460      

Students With Disabilities
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities have a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. Students having a disability requiring an accommodation should inform the instructor by email (on the “Course Info” page click on the instructor’s name and then select “Send Email”).

Technology Access
This course requires web access and the student has to have an established e-mail account. The Adobe Acrobat Reader is necessary to view documents that are PDF files. One can download the reader free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

Course Evaluation
Student input is welcome for improving this course. Making suggestions by e-mail is helpful. Our goal in this course is to facilitate the successful achievement of all instructional objectives by all students. At the end of the course students have the opportunity of assessing the course. We want to make e-learning courses as effective as we can. We may also ask some other questions concerning a student’s experience in distance learning to help us improve our program. We appreciate students letting us know how we can improve our products and services for them and other distance learners.

Withdrawing From or Dropping This Course
It is the responsibility of a student to drop a course if he or she cannot meet the requirements of the course. Any student who stops attending a course without officially withdrawing from it risks receiving a punitive grade for that course. Withdrawal requests may be conveyed in any manner to the course professor, Registrar, or Vice President of Academic Affairs. This action is sufficient for ensuring any refund owed you. Please note the following: If a student drops a course on or before the “Last day to withdraw from a course without a grade penalty” as published in the University Academic Calendar, even if his or her work is not of a passing grade, then a “W” is recorded. If a course is dropped after that date, but before the last 21 calendar days of the semester, then the instructor determines the grade. The faculty member will at this time record a grade of “W” if passing (not computed in GPA) or “WF” if failing (computed in GPA). Students who drop a course, yet remain in one or more other courses during the last 18 calendar days of the semester, will receive a grade of “WF.” Students who completely withdraw from the University at any time during the semester may be given a grade of “W” on all courses. If students do not initiate the withdrawal process, the instructor is required to initiate the administrative process and to record a grade of “W” or “WF” for the course depending on the date the faculty member drops the student from the course. Students who register for a course as an audit, but then withdraw will be assigned a grade of “W” for the course.