LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT

LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT

a six-unit lesson plan for high school psychology teachers

i Susan Krauss Whitbourne, PhD, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

D(TeOvePloSpSe)doaf nthdePAromdeurciceadnbPystyhcehToeloagcihcaelrsAsosf oPcsiayctihoonl,oDgeycinemSbeecron2d0a1r2y Schools

Life Span Development

a six-unit lesson plan for

iv

high school psychology teachers

This unit is a revision of the original TOPSS Unit Lesson Plan on Development, originally prepared by Lynne Fellers, Nancy Grayson, Michael Sullivan, and Martha Whitacre and edited by Charles T. Blair-Broeker at the Texas A&M-NSF Summer Institute for the Teaching of AP and Honors Psychology in July 1992.

This unit is aligned to the following content standards of the National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula (APA, 2011):

Standard Area: Life Span Development

Content Standards:

After concluding this unit, students understand: 1. Methods and issues in life span development 2. Theories of life span development 3. Prenatal development and the newborn 4. Infancy (i.e., the first 2 years of life) 5. Childhood 6. Adolescence 7. Adulthood and aging

The APA Committee of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) thanks Deborah Caudell, Fred Connington, Matt Heling, Amy Johnson, Kathy Neely, James Stancil, Laura Vrba-Carrick, Ellen Zwarensteyn, and Will Elmhorst for their work on a previous draft revision of this unit lesson plan, along with Laura Berk, PhD, of Illinois State University, for her review and feedback in 2007. TOPSS also thanks James P. Buchanan, PhD, of the University of Scranton (Scranton, PA), Michael Hamilton of Hopkinton High School (Hopkinton, MA), and Sachi Horback, PsyD, of Colby-Sawyer College (New London, NH) for their reviews of and contributions to this unit plan.

contents

1 Procedural Timeline

v

3 Introduction

5 Content Outline

31 Activities

47 References and Resources

53 Discussion Questions

This project was supported by a grant from the American Psychological Foundation. Copyright ? 2012 American Psychological Association.

procedural timeline

1 Lesson 1: Methods and Issues in Life Span Development Activity 1.1: Introductory Survey and Content Discussion Activity 1.2: Nature and Nurture in Development Lesson 2: Theories of Life Span Development Lesson 3: Prenatal Development and the Newborn Lesson 4: Infancy and Childhood Activity 4: Early Motor and Verbal Development Lesson 5: Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood Activity 5: Three Tasks of Adolescent Identity: Cognitive, Moral, and Social Lesson 6: Adulthood and Aging Activity 6: Bridging the Generation Gap: Interviewing a Senior Citizen

About Adolescence

procedural outline

introduction

Developmental psychology is increasingly becoming a psychology of the life

3

span rather than being limited to the psychology of infancy to adolescence. The

goal of this unit plan is to present ideas that will help teachers provide students

with a broad-based, contemporary view of the field that will also give them

an excellent grasp of both the conceptual issues and practical applications of

knowledge about change over the life span.

Students can easily relate to many of the topics covered in this unit. Obviously, they can reflect on their own developmental changes from childhood through adolescence, but they also can relate the material to changes among their families and friends. The content in this unit could be of great help to students as they plan their futures. Themes such as health, identity, relationships, parenting, education, and work have universal significance.

With the growing focus on diversity in the field of human development, the topic also provides an excellent way to incorporate insights from research on cultural, ethnic, geographical, and socioeconomic diversity. Developmental psychology is increasingly taking a contextual approach that places great importance on many types of variations in human growth and change.

Finally, as students prepare for future careers, they will benefit from learning in particular about the field of adult development and aging. Adults age 65 and older constitute the fastest-growing segment of the population, and in many parts of the world, the growth will continue at far more disproportionate rates compared to other age groups in the population.

The topic of life span development also presents valuable opportunities for instruction in the area of research methods. Because age is not a true independent variable, it is not possible to conduct experimental studies. Learning how researchers attempt to overcome this challenge presents interesting ways to engage students' critical thinking abilities. Related to this point is the fact that the age of the individual is confounded with the historical period in which the individual grows older. The so-called "cohort" and "time of measurement"

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download