Chapter Assignments

Chapter 1 – Introduction to Life Span Development

Think of other ways culture may have affected your development. How might cultural differences influence interactions between teachers and students, nurses and patients, or other relationships?

What stage of human development are you in, and what are your main challenges/activities? What would you consider the best phase in life? Why? If you were to choose an age group to work with, which one would it be and why? Are there any age groups you would not want to work with? Why not? Post your answer and respond to at least one other post.

Chapter 2 – Developmental Theories

None

Chapter 3 – Genetics, Prenatal Development, and Birth

Buying Eggs or Finding a Sperm Donor or Surrogate on the Internet

Consider the following possibilities: You have been told that you have fertility issues and that you are not likely to conceive a child without help. How far would you go to have a child? What would you do if you wanted a child but could not? Go online to explore your options for becoming parents. In your search, list an agency or website that provides donor eggs or sperm, and note the prices paid for eggs, sperm, fertility treatments, etc. Also, note the time commitment for the woman or man using these options. What are the risks?

To participate in the discussion forums, you must make your initial post on Wednesday by 11:59 p.m. Then, you have until Saturday to reply to the peer’s post. If you do not make your initial discussion forum post by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, you will not earn a grade for the discussion.

Childbirth-Related Policies

Compare the childbirth leave policies with the infant mortality rate and the maternal mortality rate from at least three other developed countries with the United States. What are your thoughts? Do you think there is a connection between the childbirth leave policies and the infant and maternal mortality rates in this country? Explain your position. What are other factors that might explain the increasing infant and maternal mortality rates in the United States?

Bonus question: Use the Internet to find out how old puppies must be before being separated from their parents.

Conception and Pregnancy Worksheet

1. Name the three stages of prenatal development. How long does each stage last? What systems have developed? What is the developing child called? Type your responses into each cell.

2. List four essential components of good prenatal care.

a) ____________________________________________________________

b) ____________________________________________________________

c) ____________________________________________________________

d) ____________________________________________________________

3. Name and describe three prenatal tests.

a) ___________________________________________________________

b) ___________________________________________________________

c) ____________________________________________________________

4. Name four teratogens.

a) __________________________ b) ____________________________

c)___________________________ d) ____________________________

Chapter 4 – Infancy

None

Chapter 5 – Early Childhood

None

Chapter 6 – Middle Childhood

Consider your decision-making processes. What guides your decisions? Are you primarily concerned with your well-being? Do you make choices based on what other people will think about your decision? Or are you guided by other principles? To what extent does your culture guide this approach?

What do you think? What intellectual skills do you consider most important for your success as an adult? Consequently, how would you define intelligence?

Chapter 7 – Adolescence

What are your experiences growing up in Louisiana?

After watching the video below, share with your peers and the instructor some of your experiences as an adolescent in Louisiana.

Three options for this assignment:

1. Be creative and create a group video like the students via YouTube. Use #GrowingUpInLouisiana when sharing your experiences with other Louisianans and people worldwide.
2. Create a Video Discussion Board using Flip, where students can create short video discussions and respond to their peers.
3. Written Discussion Board via Learning Management System

Growing Up as an Adolescent in Louisiana – Developmental Psychology

Growing Up as an Adolescent in Louisiana (YouTube Video) 30 Points.

Assignments’ Criteria

YouTube Group Assignment: Video Class Presentation.

Creating the Video: 25 Points

• Students will create a 3-5 minute YouTube video that will be presented/viewed in class.
• Students will be randomly assigned to a group (minimum of 3-4 students).
• Each student will be given a task to complete the assignment.
• Students will have seven days to complete (inside/outside the classroom).

Presentation Day: 5 Points.

• Students will introduce themselves and explain the part(s) they contributed to the assignment.
• After viewing the video, students will conduct a Q&A (up to 2 minutes) with peers.

Video Discussion via Flip: 25 Points.

• Create a three-minute video for their initial post.
• Must provide a one-minute response to at least two peers.

Written Discussion Board: 25 Points

• The initial response must be 250 words.
• Must provide a 75-word response to at least two peers.

Chapter 8 – Early Adulthood

What’s the Right Career for You?

For a free online career questionnaire, go to the Career One Stop Questionnaire and identify potential careers based on your interests.

Have you discovered anything interesting yet? Consider this activity as a starting point for your career exploration. Other excellent ways for young adults to research careers include informational interviews, job shadowing, volunteering, practicums, and internships. Once you have a few careers you want to learn more about, go to the Occupational Outlook Handbook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. There, you can learn about job tasks, required education, average pay, and projected outlook for the future.

—

In this assignment, you are required to review two videos. In the first video, Dr. Jeffrey Arnett rationalizes the concept of “Emerging Adulthood,” which you can find at the following link: “Why does it take so long to grow up today?” | Jeffrey Jensen Arnett | TEDxPSU. In contrast, Dr. Meg Jay opposes this idea in her video, which can be found in “Why 30 is not the new 20” | Meg Jay. After reviewing both videos, you need to discuss which argument you side with the most OR if you agree with both. Please ensure that you explain your response and write a minimum of 250 words. Additionally, use APA format to reference your sources.

In your response, you must also write a 75-word reply to one peer whose response opposed yours unless you agreed with both arguments. For example, if you decided with Dr. Arnett, respond to a peer who agreed with Dr. Jay.

Chapter 9 – Middle Adulthood

The section “Family Issues and Considerations” briefly discussed how the adult child(ren) is expected to care for their aging parent. In this written assignment, you will interview someone you know or seek out someone who primarily or shares responsibilities in caring for an aging parent. Inquire from them:

• What are the upsides and downsides of taking care of them?
• Any setbacks that were caused in their lives, such as careers, outside relationships, leisure time, etc.?
• How do they take care of themselves? Who is their support system?
• What advice would they like to share with others to ensure a balance between having a personal life and caring for their aging parent(s)?

Written Discussions are a more formal style of writing.

• Five pages long:
  • Cover page
  • Three body pages
  • Reference list page
• Make sure to cite your source using the APA format.
• The word count must be a minimum of 300 words.

Chapter 10 – Late Adulthood

What Is Dementia?

Often, when older adults show signs of cognitive impairment, the assumption is that they have Alzheimer’s. This is not always the case. Several issues, including depression or reactions to a change in medication, can cause cognitive impairment. For this assignment, use the Internet to differentiate between three types of dementia.

What Is Successful Aging?

Think about an older adult you know (or a person in the media) who is an example of successful aging. What qualities do they possess that make them an example of successful aging?

Elderly Stereotypes

A 2007 research study by Tom Robinson found older cartoon characters tended to be angry, senile, crazy, wrinkled, ugly, and overweight. To participate in this forum, search the Internet to find some comic books, cartoons, or Disney movie clips depicting “older adults” and copy them to the forum. Comment on everything you notice about these characters, such as their appearance, emotions, actions, behaviors, etc. What does this teach children about aging or the older adult population? Are we creating a generation afraid to grow up with the so-called “Peter-Pan syndrome”? Comment on at least one of your peer’s posts.

Watch the Grieving: Part 2 Video in My Development Lab and respond to the following questions.

Compare and contrast the differing views of the son and the husband.

The husband states that he did not even acknowledge that his kids had lost their mother until several months after her death. As a family member, how can you use this information to understand better the grieving of others?

You learned that children acquire the ability to see things from another person’s point of view. How would you apply that perspective-taking ability to the emotions discussed in this video?

What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Video Project (50 points):

Students will prepare a video teaching tool (think Public Service Announcement). To do this, you must research one primary disease of old age. Some suggestions include Alzheimer’s disease (and other dementias), Parkinson’s disease, cancer (you may choose a particular type of cancer), coronary heart disease, stroke, and arthritis.

You should include in your report:

• major symptoms
• treatments
• gender or racial/ethnic differences
• risk factors such as habits, heredity, and personality
• preventative measures
• references

You are expected to thoroughly discuss / teach us about the disease of your choice. This must be an original video you created. Your video may contain clips of other videos and research from credible sources like journal articles, but you must create the video. Approach this activity as you would a research paper, but instead of submitting a written paper, you will submit a video. Your video must include a reference page. In the past, students have presented them as rolling credits at the end of a movie. Your video should be between 5-8 minutes long.

You will post your video to YouTube no later than 11:59 p.m. on the due date. To do this, you will select Upload Video and then Click on Unlisted. Next, post the link in the appropriate place on Moodle. Selecting “Unlisted” makes the video available to our class only. Please do not email the link to other students.

If you have never made a video before, DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO DO THIS ASSIGNMENT. You may need time to troubleshoot if you are having technology issues. Excuses around technology issues will not be accepted. Many free video apps are available, so do not feel you need to purchase one. Examples of other students’ work are posted.

Watch the video “How Grief Affects Your Brain and What to Do about It”

Chapter 11 – Death, Dying, and Bereavement

Internet Survivor Support

The purpose of this assignment is to expose students to various resources that are available to help people process their grief.

Directions: Numerous support groups are available to help people process their grief. The Internet can be a valuable resource for those who do not have access to or wish to attend an in-person survivor support group. There are numerous web pages designed to support people by allowing them to share their stories or to read other people’s stories of loss.

To participate in this assignment, search the web to identify three sites designed to relieve survivors of loss. Rate each listing from 1 (useless) to 5 (very good) and give a summary of the information to be found on the site.

You may begin your Internet web search at Web Healing’s “A Place to Honor Grief.”

1. URL: _____________________________________________ Rating: ________

Summary:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. URL: _____________________________________________ Rating: ________

Summary:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. URL: _____________________________________________ Rating: ________

Summary:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Follow this format for each of the three sites that you review.

Photos of Stillborn Babies Comfort Parents

The loss of a child at birth often goes unacknowledged. Many parents have a burial, but seldom do parents celebrate this life that they did not have the opportunity to live. These parents marked the birth of their stillborn babies with photoshoots, as seen on CafeMom.com, to see some of the emotion associated with the loss of a child.

Unrecognized Grief

Let’s talk about one type of grief that often goes unrecognized. Think about the person who has been in a relationship with their partner for 10, 15, or 20 years and the partner dies. The problem is the person who dies was married to someone else. How is the surviving partner supposed to grieve? The surviving wife, husband, and children often know about this “outside” relationship. Does that person attend the funeral or reach out to the kids, or are they expected to grieve alone? Explain your position.

Understanding the Quest to Die with Dignity—and What It Means for Us All

• One woman’s quest to die with dignity and what it means.
• State Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Teen Chemotherapy Case
• Teen Battles Chemo Order

This chapter discusses patient choice based on an individual’s need for control and empowerment. Click on the URLs above in the order that they appear. Notice if you find yourself judging too quickly or harshly the care options and dying styles chosen by someone who is terminally ill. Even though a patient’s choice may seem wrong or odd to you for any number of reasons, it is essential to acknowledge that a critical aspect of such decisions is that they may not be made solely by the healthcare providers or family members.

After reading the articles above, think critically about the information presented in the articles. What are your thoughts on this topic? Should people have the right to decide how or when they die? How does the woman’s journey in the first article differ from the young lady’s journey in the second and third articles? Are these issues legal or moral? Construct a well-written commentary of 350-400 words that addresses both articles and the information in the textbook.

Stages of Grief

The 5 Stages of Grief + a giraffe.