Principles
of Child Development (85-221) Fall 2011
GENERATIONS Paper Assignment
DUE 12/6 in class (50
points – 22.5 %)
The
goal of this paper assignment is to identify the mechanisms of child
development that have been a factor in your own family across generations. Specifying these processes can help you
understand how you became the person you are today and help you plan ways to
maximize the positive when it comes to raising your own children.
1)
Talk with family members from different generations about their own development
and the ways that they have fostered others’ development. Discuss at least one issue from two of the following areas: physical,
cognitive, or social development. For example, what abilities do they believe
to be innate or learned? What
child-rearing practices do they view as most and least effective? Do they
believe that children should make their own decisions? Do they believe that
they learn more from peers or more from older children and adults? For older
relatives, what changes have they witnessed across generations? Have they noted any cultural differences? What
is their view on sex-differences? Be sure to ask the same questions to all the
people you talk to, and obtain as much information as possible. Talk to at
least 3 family members across at least two generations. If the appropriate family
members are not available to discuss these issues with you, talk to suitable
adults from other generations (other people’s parents, sibli\ngs who are at
least 10 years older than you, and so on). NOTE: you must talk to people
whose ages span at least 20 years (yours, someone at least 10 years older than
you, and someone at least 20 years older than you).
2)
In an essay, relate the information you gather to the themes and theories of
child development discussed throughout the semester. Feel free to quote from
the people you speak to (if they are short quotes!). Be sure to include the
following themes:
a. themes
·
Nature / Nurture (Genetic and Environmental)
·
Individual differences (you vs. siblings/family
members your age)
·
Continuity/Discontinuity
b. Theories:
·
Choose at least two from Piaget, Vygotsky, behaviorist / social learning,
core-knowledge, information-processing, or any others that we have covered in
class.
3)
Discuss at least three specific ways that you can apply this knowledge of your
family’s child development history to understanding your own personal
history - that is, your development up until this point - and three
ways that you plan to apply it to raising your own children (or facilitating
development of other young relatives).
Your paper
should be 4-5 double-spaced, typed pages, written clearly and concisely in an
organized essay format, without spelling or grammatical errors. Include references for any theories or
research you cite. Feel free to discuss family history with other students, but
all written work should be your own. Papers
are due on Tuesday December 6th in class.
NAME:
Introductory
Components
_____/
2 Clearly
states the purpose of the paper and specifies the particular aspects of
development that are to be discussed.
_____/
6 Includes material from at least
three interviews (unless a clear and reasonable rationale is provided for not
being able to conduct all three interviews- e.g., grandparents deceased, no
contact with parents)
_____/2 States the relationship to each
interviewee (grandmother, father, etc.)
_____/6 Draws comparisons across the
interviews
_____/8 Clearly relates the interview information
to at least two theories of child development and one issue from two of
the following; social, cognitive, or physical development
_____/9 Links are drawn between the interviews
and the following three themes: nature/nurture, individual differences, continuity/discontinuity
Application
_____/6 Discusses three specific ways in which
the interviewees’ perspectives of child development can be applied to the
authors own personal history
_____/6 Discusses three specific ways in which
the author plans to apply this information to the rearing of other children
_____/
3 Writing is clear and concise
_____/
1 Spelling and grammar
_____/
1 References are included
*** Penalty of 2.5 pts
for each page over 5. _____/ 50
TOTAL POINTS