Childhood Learning and Development in Cultural Context

The goal of this course is to enable students to acquire a knowledge base of developmental processes from birth through adolescence and their implications for classroom practice. Students will examine the central emotional, cognitive, and social issues for each developmental period during childhood. Cultural, socio-economic, and historical influences on development will be integrated within the course. Starting from an ecological perspective, students explore the influences of environmental factors such as family, culture, and economics on the development of the individual. Individual differences, the range of normal development, and strategies for accommodating individual variability in the classroom will be emphasized. This course integrates required fieldwork observation and the use of technology.

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