Required Readings:Â There is no textbook required for this course, however readings, videos, and ancillary materials for this course can be found under the dropdown menu “MODULES.”
Exams: There will be FOUR in-class exams. I will drop the lower of the first three exam grades. The fourth exam is mandatory unless you are notified otherwise.  In order for you to be considered for exemption from the last exam, you must meet all the following requirements: (1) You must have completed ALL your assignments with a grade of 92 or higher (2) You must have completed ALL your quizzes with a grade of 90 or higher (3) You must have no more than 1 absence (for any reason) including the absence you will incur for missing the last exam, (4) You must have no more than 2 lateness’s, (for any reason), (5) you must not have a cell-phone infraction and (6) your grade must be a 93 or higher without rounding.
The format for all exams will be multiple choice questions. Â Under no circumstances are makeup exams given! Â If you miss one of the first three exams, for whatever reason, then this will be the exam that I drop. Â If you miss the fourth exam, that will count as a zero, unless otherwise notified by me.
Exams are given at the beginning of class and the date for each exam can be found on the schedule provided later in this document. If you are more than 20 minutes late for an exam or if someone has finished the exam and left the room (whichever comes first) you will be given a different exam. If you are more than 40 minutes late for an exam, you will not be permitted to take the exam.
Blackboard Assignments: There are 10 Blackboard assignments to complete during the semester.  Each assignment will involve research, and writing. When calculating your final grade, I will drop the lowest assignment grade. Consequently, if you miss an assignment or miss the deadline for an assignment, I will drop that grade.  Each assignment can be found on BlackBoard under the “Assignments” button. Please keep in mind that in lieu of classroom time you are expected to take part in on-line discussions. Therefore, if you do not post on Blackboard by the deadline, you will not be able to make up the work and you will be marked absent for that class day. At the time of grading, if you have no posting, you will receive a grade of zero.
Below you will find a grading rubric for assignments. In addition to the rubric below, assignments also contain additional information on how you will be graded. So, it’s important that you read the instructions for each assignment carefully.
When posting information, under no circumstances are you to copy and paste material without properly citing that information.  Moreover, even if you cite information, you may not copy and paste large chunks of information. If you are going to use large pieces of someone else’s information you must paraphrase.  I will consider the assignment plagiarized if you copy and paste information, or if you do not paraphrase. For more information on Academic Integrity, please see the Academic Integrity statement found below under “Miscellaneous”. Plagiarized assignments will receive a grade of zero.
I will only accept Blackboard assignments that have been posted by YOU. Â You will not receive a grade if you do not post to the Discussion Board. Â I need to know what effort you have put into the assignment. Â In addition, I will not accept an assignment that has been emailed to me, or handed in as a hard copy. Moreover, I cannot post your assignment and will not accept assignments via email.
For some assignments, you will be required to observe infants and/or children. When posting these assignments, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to provide any information that might identify the infant and/or child. Should your posting contain information that might identify the infant/or child, your posting will immediately be taken down.
Quizzes: All quizzes will be given in an on-line format, are open book, and will consist of 10 multiple choice questions. In most cases, you will be required to complete a quiz BEFORE WE MEET TO DISCUSS THE MATERIAL. There are 10 quizzes throughout the semester. If you have done the requisite reading, then you should have absolutely no problem with the quizzes. However, you will have a problem if you have not done a minimum cursory reading of the material.
You will be given three chances to complete a quiz. That is, you can open a quiz for the first time, take some of the quiz, and then go back to the quiz one more time.   I cannot reset a quiz once the close date and time has passed, or if you need more than two opportunities to complete a quiz.  The reason I cannot reset a quiz is because, once I reset a quiz for one individual, it resets the quizzes for ALL individuals. In other words, I cannot simply reset a quiz for one person.  Please note that this includes situations where you open a quiz and the quiz crashes, or something happens where a mistake is made.  You also need to make sure that you SUBMIT the quiz when you are done. If you do not launch the quiz and only save the quiz, it will not be recorded in gradebook and cannot be graded at a later time.  Prior to taking the first few quizzes, please read the detailed description on how to take an on-line quiz found under the button “QUIZZES”. Also, note that quizzes scramble the question order so please make sure that you keep a record of what questions you have correct and incorrect.  You have an unlimited amount of time to take the quiz once it is open or until Blackboard crashes, whichever comes first.  I will drop the TWO lowest quiz grades. Below please find the schedule of when quizzes open and close.
Quiz Schedule[1]
| Date/Time
Open |
Topic | Quiz
Number |
Chapter | Date/Time
Close |
| 1/29at 9am | Introduction: Issues in Child Development | 1 | 1 | 2/7 at 9am[2] |
| 1/29 at 9am | Theories of Development | 2 | 2 | 2/14 t 9am[3] |
| 2/7 at 9am | How we Study Development | 3 | 3 | 2/19 at 9am |
| 2/19 at 9am | How Children Develop: Nature through Nurture | 4 | 4 | 2/28 at 9am |
| 2/28 at 9am | Prenatal Development: Birth and the Newborn | 5 | 5 | 3/7 at 9am |
| 3/5 at 9am | Physical Development: The Body and the Brain | 6 | 6 | 3/12 at 9am |
| 3/12 at 9am | Cognitive Development | 7 | 7 | 3/26 at 9am |
| 3/26 at 9am | Language Development | 8 | 9 | 4/11 at 9am |
| 4/11 at 9am | Emotional Development and Attachment | 9 | 10 | 4/16 at 9am |
| 4/16 at 9am | Identity: The Self, Gender, and Moral Development | 10 | 11 | 5/7 at 9am |
Navigating the Blackboard site:
The following are descriptions of the buttons and features that you will be using on Blackboard for this course: ANNOUNCEMENTS – This is where I will post information about the course as we proceed. For example, I will post reminders about exams, or provide updates to the course.  Please check the announcements at least once a day.
SYLLABUS– The syllabus will be posted here.
LECTURES – The PowerPoint slides for each lecture will be posted here.
ASSIGNMENTS – This is where you can download specific instructions for the Discussion Board Assignments. Please note, you will not post your Discussion Board Assignments here; rather, you will post them to the actual Discussion Board.
ASSIGNMENT HANDOUTS– This is where you will find additional readings, when needed for your assignments.  You should look at the first handout, “How to Structure your Assignment,” as this will provide guidance for how the assignments are to be posted.
DISCUSSION BOARD – This will be our primary meeting place and where you will post your Discussion Board Assignments and reply with comments to your classmates and to me.
QUIZZES – Your quizzes will be available here, and a guide to “How to Take a Quiz” can be found here.
EXAM STUDY GUIDES – Once available, the study guide for your exams will be found here, and the “Grade Calculator” can be found here.
LIBRARY – This will take you to information about the City Tech Library, and provide you with information on how to log into the library from wherever you are.
TOOLS – Here you will find tools for sending e-mails, checking your grades, etc.  You will also find access to the Discussion
Board and Journals here, but this information is repetitive.
BLACKBOARD HELP – Help with navigating Blackboard.
HOME PAGE – Should you choose to, you can use this area for keeping a calendar and as a reminder of when assignments
and/or exams and quizzes are due.
Technology Prerequisites: For you to be successful in this course, you will need to possess the following:
- 1. Access to a reasonably fast computer and reasonably fast internet acces
- 2. An understanding of how to use an internet browser such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Mozz Please note that AOL does not fully support Blackboard.
- 3. Access to your City Tech email account, or knowledge of how to forward information from your City Tech email to another email account
CUNY Portal and Blackboard Access and Help
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CUNY Portal Access and Help:
To access the CUNY portal go to https://cunyportal.cuny.edu/cpr/authenticate/portal_login.jsp . If you like you can access Blackboard from here, however see below for simpler ways.
If you need help with the CUNY Portal, for example, you do not seem to have a CUNY account no Blackboard please contact the Student Helpdesk located on the 1st Floor of the Atrium (A114), inside the Student Welcome Center.  The telephone number is 718-260-4900, or e-mail them at studenthelpdesk@citytech.cuny.edu.
Blackboard Access and Help
You may access Blackboard via the City Tech website (www.citytech.cuny.edu) by clicking on the Blackboard link under “Quick Links.” If you do not have an account, click on Register Now to create a new student account.  Click on Student and fill out the requested information. Type in your user name and password. Once you have logged in, you will find a link on the right side of the page named Blackboard 9.1. When you click on it, you will be redirected to your Blackboard homepage. Then click on
your course.  Alternatively, you can login to Blackboard at www.cuny.edu  scroll down to the end of the page and on the right, you will find a quick-link to Blackboard.
Please do not contact me if you are having trouble logging in. I can’t help with that. However:
    If you need assistance with Blackboard (your Blackboard account is not working properly), contact the Instructional Technology & Technology Enhancement Center 718-254-8565 (ask to speak to Rezual or Evelyn) or e-mail at  ITEC@citytech.cuny.edu. Someone is there to answer your calls until 9pm. You can drop by the student lab, G-600, at any time during its hours of operation.
    Additionally, The Department of Instructional Technology (iTEC) website is quite useful and offers online help with Blackboard. In addition, IT also conducts free student Blackboard workshops during the semester. Here’s the link to the home page: http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/
    If you need assistance with Blackboard (your Blackboard account is not working properly), contact the Instructional Technology & Technology Enhancement Center 718-254-8565 or e-mail at  ITEC@citytech.cuny.edu. Alternatively, drop by the student lab, G-600, at any time during its hours of operation.
    Additionally, The Department of Instructional Technology (iTEC) website is quite useful and offers online help with Blackboard. In addition, IT also conducts free student Blackboard workshops during the semester. Here’s the link to the home page: http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/
City Tech e-mail Access and Help
You must use your college e-mail to communicate in this course.  If you’re having trouble with your Student Email, please contact the Student Helpdesk located on the 1st Floor of the Atrium (A114), inside the Student Welcome Center or visit http://it.citytech.cuny.edu/student-email.aspx . The telephone number is718-260-4900, or e-mail them at studenthelpdesk@citytech.cuny.edu.  In general, a student’s new e-mail address will be their
firstname.lastname@mail.citytech.cuny.edu.
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GRADING FOR EXAMS, QUIZZES AND ASSIGNMENTS
Exams: Exams are multiple choice, will contain approximately 30 to 40 questions, and will be graded from 0 to 100
Quizzes: Each quiz contains 10 questions and is graded from 0 to 100
Blackboard Assignments are graded using the following rubric from 0 to 100. Â However, specific grading criteria are also available for individual assignments and can be found under the instructions for the assignment.
| GRADING | ASSIGNMENT CONTENT | ASSIGNMENT WRITNG STYLE | |
| EXCELLENT
90–100 |
Information was
relevant to the assigned topic and ideas are fully developed. Comments are interesting and provide a unique perspective that made the reader think more about the topic. Details are supported, and examples are clearly relevant to the assignment. |
Observations and critiques demonstrated higher order levels of thinking and were relevant to the discussion. Something original is provided to the reader and the concepts led to additional thought about the topic. Responses addressed questions in a meaningful way and provided the opportunity for further discussion of the topic. | The document was well organized.
Paragraphs were properly constructed and few grammatical or spelling errors were found throughout the document. |
| VERY GOOD
80–89 Â
|
Information was relevant
to the assigned topic and ideas are fully developed. Details are supported, and examples are clearly relevant to the assignment. |
Observations and critiques lacked at least one of
the above qualities, yet made a significant contribution to the overall understanding of the assignment. |
The document was well organized,
but some of the ideas were not fully developed. Â Some grammatical or spelling errors affected the flow of the assignment.
|
| AVERAGE
70–79 |
Information was relevant
to the topic, but ideas are not fully developed. Supporting details are not properly integrated and examples are not clearly relevant to the assignment. |
Observations and critiques lacked two or three of
the required qualities of an A assignment. Critiques were generally based upon personal opinion or personal experience and not scientific reasoning. Responses repeated information that was available. |
The document had some
organization, but some sentence structure, grammatical and spelling errors could be found throughout the document. |
| GRADING | ASSIGNMENT CONTENT | ASSIGNMENT WRITNG STYLE | |
| AVERAGE
70–79 |
Information was relevant
to the topic, but concepts are not fully developed. Supporting details were not properly integrated and a limited number of examples were provided. |
Observations and critiques lacked two or three of
the required qualities of an A assignment. Critiques were generally based upon opinion or personal experience, and not scientific reasoning. Responses repeated information that was available. |
The document had some
organization, but some sentence structure, grammatical and spelling errors could be found throughout the document. |
| MINIMAL
60–69 |
Information was related to
the topic, but no details or examples were provided. Some information may not be accurately presented. |
While the observations and critiques contained
one key point or contribution, responses were simple, such as, “I agree.” Little effort was made to generate further thought regarding the topic. Sufficient time was not given to understanding the material. |
Some attempt to proofread the
document appears to have been made, but the document is disorganized in several places. There were many sentence structure, grammatical, and spelling errors throughout the document. |
| UNACCEPTABLE
0-59 |
Little effort was made to provide information that
related to the topic, and the information was not accurately presented. |
The observations and critiques added little value to the development of the assignment. | There appears to have been little proofreading of the document. Â The
document contained serious organizational problems, and several sentence structure, grammatical and spelling errors were found throughout the document. |
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Calculating Your Final Grade:  Your final grade will be calculated using the values found below.  If you would like to know if you are passing the class at the mid semester point or if you would like to know what score or scores you will need to average a particular grade at the end of the semester, please use the Grade Calculator found on Blackboard under the button “EXAM STUDY GUIDES”. No extra credit assignments, make-up quizzes or exams will be given.
Exam 1 = 15%, Exam 2 = 15%, Exam 3 = 15%: The total value of exams is 45% of your final grade
Assignments = 45% I will only count 9 assignments, so each assignment worth 5% of your final grade.
Quizzes = 10% I will only count 8 quizzes, so each quiz is worth 1.25% of your final grade)
The College’s final grade scale is as follows:
AÂ = 93-100Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â A- = 90-92.9
B+ = 87-89.9Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â BÂ Â = 83-86.9
B-Â = 80-82.9Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â C+ = 77-79.9
DÂ Â = 60-69.9Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â FÂ Â =Â 59.9 and below
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Attendance: Class begins at 10:00 and poor attendance will have a negative effect on your final grade. We will do in-class assignments that are worth extra credit. If you are absent, you cannot take part in the extra credit assignment. In fact, if you are not in the room when the extra credit is handed out, you cannot take part in the extra credit. Attendance is taken at the beginning of class and if your name is called and you are not in the room you will be considered absent. Taking part in, and completing on-line assignments is a requirement for this course.  Should you not contribute and/or post an assignment, I will mark you absent for the day that we meet on-line and you will receive a grade of zero for the assignment. Moreover, should you get up in the middle of class and leave to attend to non-emergency matters, you will be marked late or absent depending on how long you are out of the room. If you are late more than two times that will be considered an absence, and being late more than 45 minutes will be considered an absence.
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Miscellaneous
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Electronic Devices: According to page 73 of the Student Handbook, “The use of cell phones is prohibited in classrooms… [and] any other areas where instruction…is taking place.”  Accordingly, the use of cell phones, smart phones, or any other wireless hand-held device in this class is prohibited.  Consequently, if you are found using your cell phone for whatever reason, during class I will note the infraction. Any infraction over 2 will result in a cumulative 1-point reduction of your overall grade. So, if you have 3 infractions, I will reduce your overall grade by 1 point, 4 infractions will reduce your overall grade by 2 points, and so on.
You are more than welcome to use your laptop during class, to take notes or to follow the lecture. However, if you are found using your laptop for anything other than this class, you will immediately lose this privilege.
Fellow Student’s Information: Please do not ask me to give you anyone’s paper or grades. I also cannot give out any personal information that I might have for another student. If you would like to contact a fellow student, email addresses are available on BlackBoard.
Emails: Please use email judiciously and only for classwork or other serious matters. For example, please do not email me to let me know you are going to be absent or late. Moreover, please check the syllabus before emailing me questions like, “When is the exam?”, “When is the assignment due?”, or “Are we meeting in class today?” I will NOT respond to those emails.
When you email me, please remember to include your first and last name and your class when emailing. I try to respond to emails as soon as I can, but sometimes it might take 24 hours for me to get back to you. Please also remember that if it’s not a weekend before an exam, I probably will not respond until Monday.
Availability of Course Information: If you need copies of any information, for example PowerPoint slides, the syllabus, or study sheets for exams, you can find copies of these on BlackBoard. I will not email any of this information.
Academic Integrity: The college holds the following policy regarding Academic Integrity which must be followed by everyone.
Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions, and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting, and citing sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the College recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion.
If you would like to read the full College Policy on Academic Integrity, please go to: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/academicintegrity/files/2016/10/Academic-Integrity-Policy-Manual-2017.pdf
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Topic, Assignment, and Exam Schedule[4]
| Date | Topic |
| 1/29 | First Day of Class. Welcome. Chapter 1: Introduction: Issues in Child Development[5] |
| 1/31 | Assignment 1: Introduce Yourself and Get to Know Your Fellow Classmates: Due 5:00PM. Please note that this is the ONLY assignment that is due at 5:00PM. All other assignments are due at 8:00AM. |
| 2/5 | Chapter 2: Theories of Development |
| 2/7 | Chapter 3: How We Study Development: Part 1 |
| 2/14[6] | Assignment 2: Careers in Child Development: Â This assignment relates to material found in Chapter 1: Due 8am |
| 2/19 | Chapter 3: How We Study Development: Part 2 |
| 2/21 | Â
Assignment 3: How We Study Development:  This assignment relates to material found in Chapter 2: Due 8am |
| 2/26 | *****EXAM 1***** Chapters 1, 2, and 3 |
| 2/28 | Chapter 4: How Children Develop: Nature Through Nurture Part 1 |
| 3/5 | Â Chapter 4: How Children Develop: Nature Through Nurture Part 2 |
| 3/7 | Chapter 5: Prenatal Development, The Newborn, and the Transition to Parenthood |
| 3/12 | Chapter 6: Physical Development: The Body and the Brain |
| 3/14 | Assignment 4: Genetic Disorders: Informational Flyer: Â This assignment relates to the material found in Chapter 4: Due 8am
|
| 3/19 | *****EXAM 2***** Chapters 4, 5, and 6 |
| 3/21 | Assignment 5: Prenatal Development: Â This assignment relates to material found in Chapter 5: Due 8am |
| 3/26 | Chapter 7: Cognitive Development Part 1 |
| 3/28 | Assignment 6: Physical Development: The Body and the Brain: Â This assignment relates to material found in Chapter 6: Due 8am. |
| 4/2 | Chapter 7: Cognitive Development Part 2 |
| 4/4 | Â Chapter 7: Cognitive Development Part 3 (This lecture will incorporate material from Chapter 8, Intelligence and Academic
Achievement: Please see the Powerpoint Slides for the material to be covered.) |
| 4/9 | Online Assignment 7: Piagetian Tasks:  This assignment relates to material found in Chapter 7: Due 8am |
| 4/11 | Chapter 9: Language Development |
| 4/16 | Chapter 10: Emotional Development and Attachment: Part 1 |
| 4/187 | *****EXAM 3***** Chapters 7 and 9 |
| 4/30 | Online Assignment 8: Evaluating Language Development: Â This assignment relates to material found in Chapter 9: Due 8am |
| 5/2 | Chapter 10: Emotional Development and Attachment: Part 2 |
| 5/7 | Chapter 11: Identity: The Self, Gender, and Moral Development |
| 5/9 | Online Assignment 9: Infant and Childhood Temperament: Â This Assignment relates to material found in Chapter 10: Due 8am |
| 5/14 | Chapter 12: Social Development, and additional reading under Assignment Handouts: Gender Labels and Play
Contribution to Children’s Selection of Playmates |
| 5/16 | Online Assignment 10: The Development of Gender Identity and Play: Â This assignment relates to material in Chapters 11 and 12:Â Â Â Due 8am |
| 5/21 | ****EXAM 4**** Chapters 10, 11, and 12 |
[1] Please understand: Once a quiz is closed, it cannot be opened.
[2] There is no in-class lecture for this class.
[3] This is the ONLY class where the quiz is due after the lecture. Future quizzes are due BEFORE in-class lectures.
[4] Please note that you are responsible for keeping ups with any changes made to the syllabus.
[5] You are responsible for Chapter 1 readings and quiz, but I will not cover this chapter in class.
[6] The college is closed on Tuesday February 12, for Lincoln’s Birthday.
