Course Description
Physical, cognitive, and emotional development of children birth through middle childhood.
Athena Title
Intro to Child Development
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in HDFS 2950
Non-Traditional Format
This course will be taught 95% or more online.
Semester Course Offered
Offered summer semester every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Define child and human development, identify factors affecting development, compare and contrast major developmental theories and list research methods for studying children. 2. List the major periods in development, identify changes in the physical cognitive, social and emotional development of children, explain the processes that underlie these changes, and give examples of the interdependency across these domains. 3. Articulate the ways in which context and culture contribute to child development. 4. Apply the knowledge and skills gained in the course to real- life situations.
Topical Outline
1. Principles of development 2. Theories of devleopment 3. Biology and the environment 4. Prenatal development 5. Birth and the newborn 6. Infancy: Physical development 7. Infancy: Cognitive development 8. Infancy: Social/Emotional development 9. Early Childhood; Physical development 10. Early Childhood: Cognition/Information processing 11. Language development 12. Early Childhood: Self and emotional development 13. Early Childhood: Peer relations, morality, gender typing 14. Early Childhood: Child rearing 15. Physical Development 16. Middle Childhood: Cognitive development 17. Middle Childhood: Self and emotional development, perspective taking, moral development 18. Family interactions/Problems in development 19. Peer relations and Gender development
Syllabus