Psychology 351Developmental PsychologyAssignment 2 ...



Psychology 351Developmental PsychologyAssignment 2: Children’s Toys and DevelopmentDeadline: Tuesday, March 20th (in hard-copy at the beginning of class)Worth: 10% of final gradeLength: 2 pagesStyle: Paragraphs double spaced (No extra big gap between paragraphs. No subheadings)Times New Roman Size 12 Font1 inch MarginsStaple in upper left cornerNo folders/binders/duotangsFor this assignment, you are required to find, assess, describe, and critique three children’s toys for their developmental advantages. Toys can include playsets, dolls, musical instruments, puzzles, building sets, art sets, electronic toys, and more. Toys can be aimed at fostering physical, cognitive, linguistic, or socio-emotional development. 1 toy must be aimed at infants or toddlers (ages 0-2). Examples include Little Tikes activity tables, Little Einstein, ring stackers, shape sorters, xylophones, plush toys, and blocks. 1 toy must be aimed at preschoolers (ages 2-5). Examples include Fisher Price Little People, toy pianos, and drums, read-a-long books, Vtech, Mega Blocks, and race car sets. 1 toy must be aimed at elementary aged children (ages 5-9). Examples include science kits, magic kits, jewelry making kits, art kits, sports games, musical instruments and more. For each of the three toys, take careful notes. How big is the toy, and how easy could children handle it? Does it feel interesting or fit in little hands? Are there fun buttons, switches, snaps, or other characteristics that can improve fine motor skills? Are the colours and layout attractive? Does it teach about farm animals, shapes, numbers, or other categories? Does it assist with language development and vocabulary? Does it help children to understand their world better, and understand social roles? Does it assist with coordination and balance?In the essay, you are required to briefly describe each toy, and provide a critique for how educational the toy is. What are some strengths, and weaknesses of the product? Is the product attempting to train a skill that is beyond a certain age group? For example, is the product attempting to teach numbers to infants or chemistry to preschoolers? Is the product too basic and is the educational component over exaggerated? Finally, how enjoyable does the product seem, is it too boring and academic? Does it actually do what the product is advertised in doing? Does it perform the task well? Is it over-hyped? Does it have any potential dangers? Use your knowledge particularly from Growth & Health (physical development), Piaget, Vygotsky, theory of mind (cognitive development), linguistic development, and social modeling to interpret how well the toys would facilitate development. At the end of the essay, you should write a paragraph to about what you feel makes a good toy which is educational, age appropriate, and fun or engaging. Use this space to synthesize information from across all 3 toys and to provide your insights in how better toys could be designed, or qualities that are persistent across well-designed toys. The top-rated essays tend to talk about the fine and gross motor, cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional benefits of the toys, rather than just focusing on one component in-depth. You may include an optional appendix of photographs of the toys. This may be in colour or black and white and has no required page length. The purpose of this appendix is to provide visual representation of the toys so that your writing can be focused on the educational components of the toys. Writing TipsThe format of this paper is 2 pages, double spaced, using Times New Roman, size 12 font with one-inch margins in the page layout. The essay should be written in paragraph form, which means that multiple paragraphs can be used for each section, but that each paragraph should be indented (like on this page). Paragraphs should be between 3 to 6 sentences long on average. Do not put extra large spaces between the paragraphs, as that will reduced your essay length. For the same reason, do not use headings or subheadings. Make sure to proofread your paper carefully. Spelling and grammar mistakes will lead to a deduction in grade. Sentences should be straight forward, not flowery. Sentences should be no longer than 2.5 of text (at maximum).Formal grammar is expected. Contractions (can’t, doesn’t, he’ll) are not appropriate for academic writing. First person is expected and permitted, but keep informal slang (e.g., “I hit up the toy store to check out the games”) to a minimum. For the same reason, please proofread spelling, grammar, capitalization, etc. References are not required, and quotes are unnecessary, unless quoting something that an electronic toy says, but paraphrasing is also preferred in this case. Avoid a lengthy introduction to the topic. A grade of weak would be given for a very brief or vague description of a toy with a lack of criticism or reflection, or an analyses that has major structure and grammar errors. Example: “For the first age group, I studied alphabet blocks. The blocks will teach kids about letters and words, also colours and shapes.”A grade of moderate would be given for an analyses that is either too focus on description (and too light on criticism), or too simplistic (focuses on one type of development and fails to mention other developmental domains or components). A grade of moderate might also be given for an analysis that has lots of ideas, but lacks grammar, structure, or organization, an analysis that is too wordy or requires being read multiple times to under the meaning.Example: “For the 0-2 age group, I examined toy blocks to promote early literacy skills. There were 26 blocks in total, each with letters on two sides, and animal faces on 4 sides such as a frog for “F” and a kitten for “K”. Also, each block had a different primary colour, yellow, blue, and red. The blocks were about 2 inches large in all dimensions and made of solid wood. The blocks could be stacked or held, or used to spell and create words. The blocks could also be used to learn about animals that have names that begin with the corresponding letter. It makes sense to me that this would be a good toy for learning about the alphabet, and it looks fun too. ”A grade of excellent is given to analyses that possible well rounded descriptions and critics. These analyses will be based on several dimensions of development and will only contain the most relevant information. Excellent entries will also provide insightful criticisms and opinions that move beyond pure description.Example: “For the 0-2 age group, I examined alphabet blocks. The wooden blocks were about 2 inches large in all dimensions which made them ideal to be held by infants with a whole hand grasping motion. This size and weight also allowed the blocks to be easily stackable, as compared to smaller or lighter blocks. Overall, this product is excellent for fine motor development. Also, the bright primary coloured alphabet letters may help foster early development of symbolism and recognition of ABC’s; and pairing the letters with animal names may assist with vocabulary and linguistic development. Finally, being able to stack blocks may facilitate self-confidence and knocking over blocks may teach cause and effect. Although these blocks are advertised for teaching early literacy, I am doubtful that letters would facilitate understanding of phonetics at such as young age. As the wood was sanded smoothly, not particular hazards were noted with this toy. Overall, this toy seems engaging and likely to promote prolonged play and discovery.”Marking RubricFor each section of the marking rubric, your will be given a mark between 0 and 5 points. There is a total of 40 possible points. Each area you will be graded in will be:None Element completely missing from paper0 ptsWeak Minimal work, extreme brevity and inappropriate format2 pointsModerate Consistent writing errors, unclear thoughts, awkward style3 points Strong Minor errors, solid writing that only marginally awkward or non-perfect4 points Excellent No spelling or grammar errors, smooth writing style, good concepts5 points Description of Toy Ages 0-2Critique of Toy Ages 0-2Description of Toy Ages 2-5Critique of Toy Ages 2-5Description of Toy Ages 5-9Critique of Toy Ages 5-9Conclusion Paragraph Overall ConclusionsFormatting, Font, Spacing, and Length of EssaySubtotals _______ __________ _________ _________ _______Total ____________/40 Divide by 8 for a grade out of 10 = _____________ / 10Late Penalty______ days late for a deduction of 10% per day (including weekends & holidays). Penalty = ________%Final Grade ___________/ 10 ................
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