Introduction:  

The discussion forum topic is an assignment to be submitted for a grade.  This is the first of ten discussion forum topics to be submitted during the semester.  Read the directions carefully and read the Grading Rubric, which can be viewed by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric, then compose your response and submit your response by clicking Reply.     

Directions: 

You will read about the periods of the human life span in the textbook, and about the main areas of human  development.  Pick one of the periods of the human life span that seems the most interesting to you, that you want to learn more about, and say why that period of the human life span is interesting.  Pick one of the main areas of human development, such as the physical main area, or the cognitive main area, or the social main area, or the emotional main area, and ask one question that you have about that main area of human development in the period of the human life span that you chose. 

Here are the Periods of the Life span:

Prenatal

Infancy and Toddlerhood

Early Childhood

Middle Childhood

Adolescence

Emerging and Young Adulthood

Middle Adulthood

Late Adulthood

Here are the Main Areas of Human Development:

Physical

Cognitive

Social 

Emotional  

After reading the material in Chapter 1, complete the following Tasks in the order in which they appear.  

Tasks: 

1. State which period of the human life span was the most interesting to you.  
2. State why that period of the human life span was the most interesting to you.  
3. State one main area of human development that is of interest to you in the period of the human life span that you chose, such as the physical, the cognitive, the social, or the emotional main area of human development.  
4. Ask one question that you have about the main area of human development in the period of the human life span that you chose.  
5. Reply to two classmates’ responses by asking a question, answering a question, offering a suggestion, giving praise, agreeing, politely disagreeing, providing encouragement, sharing a story, or offering a comment.   

How to Complete the Assignment: 

Read the five task items, and then compose a response to each of the five task items in the order in which they appear.  Be as specific as possible.  The responses should show that you have an understanding of the concepts being addressed. 

How the Assignment will be Scored: 

The assignment will be scored using the Grading Rubric for the assignment, which can be viewed by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric.  The Grading Rubric is based on the Task items, which are aligned with the Learning Objectives of the chapter, which are aligned with the Course Objectives that are on the Syllabus, and which are aligned with the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for the course that are on the Syllabus.  If a response meets the criterion set forth in the Grading Rubric, then the response will earn 1 point.  If a response does not meet the criterion set forth in the Grading Rubric, then the response will not earn 1 point.  Each assignment is scored independently from previous assignments and each assignment is scored independently from future assignments.  

Where to Access the Score:  

The score for the assignment will be visible in the Grades area.  To view how the score was derived, you can view the points earned on the Grading Rubric by clicking the word Show Rubric in upper right hand of the page in the Grades area for this specific assignment.  If there is individual feedback on the assignment, then there will be individual feedback in the Assignment Comments area, which is right hand side of the page. 

Student Success Tip: 

Two Samples of Good Work are provided for students to use as a guide for how to gear their responses.  One sample is in a paragraph format and the other sample is in a numbered format.  Either format is acceptable to use when submitting your response.    

Samples of Good Work: 

Sample 1

Late adulthood is the most interesting period of the life span, to me, because it would be nice to know what is up around the bend, what to expect and what to look forward to and what needs to be planned for in advance.  A main area of human development that is a focus of my interest is the physical main area of human development.  One question about the physical main area of development in the period of late adulthood is:  What is happening in the brains of those who have Alzheimer’s disease?  

Sample 2

1.   The period of the life span that was the most interesting to me was middle adulthood.
2.   The reason why middle adulthood is the most interesting to me is because it would be nice to learn the facts about that period of development based on evidence-based research, instead of anecdotal stories.
3.   The emotional main area of development is the most interesting to me, in the middle adulthood period of development.
4.   A question that has been on my mind about the emotional main area of development in the middle adulthood period of development is how people in that age range feel about aging, for example, do people in middle age feel old?  

Alignment of Assignment to the Course:

This discussion forum topic ties into Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) 1:

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) 1.  Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical constructs among the 4 main areas of human development (Physical, Cognitive, Social, and Emotional) throughout the lifespan.

This discussion forum topic ties into Course Objective 1:

Course Objective 1.  Discuss the classical theoretical approaches to understanding human development across the lifespan.    

This discussion forum topic is connected to Learning Objectives 1, 2, and 3 for Chapter 1:

Learning Objective 1.  Discuss the main areas of human development. 

Learning Objective 2.  Discuss the periods of the human life span.

Learning Objective 3.  Identify influences on human development.

Rationale for the Assignment:

The purpose of the discussion forum topic is to apply the course material to the real world and to your own life by giving examples that are from evidence-based research and that are meaningful to you, and to show an understanding and mastery of the material and concepts being taught.  This is due by Sunday night at 11:59 p.m.  Please see the Grading Rubric for the Discussion Forum Topic, by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric.