Introduction:

The discussion forum topic is an assignment to be submitted for a grade.  This is the ninth 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: 

The material in Chapter 9 Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood, covered two main areas of human development, namely, the physical main area and the cognitive main area.  The age range for middle childhood is age 6 to age 11.  Think of the material that you have just learned, and complete the following tasks.    

Tasks: 

1.   Identify one line, or statement, or concept from the material on physical development from Chapter 9 that struck you as important, or meaningful, or interesting. 
2.   Explain why the material about the physical development in middle childhood that you identified is important, meaningful, or interesting. 
3.   Identify one line, or statement, or concept from the material on cognitive development from Chapter 9 that stood out as being important, or meaningful, or interesting.  
4.   Explain why the material about cognitive development in middle childhood that you identified is important, meaningful, or interesting.  
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

Nutrition in middle childhood stood out to me as being extremely important, because if a child has proper nutrition, then it will maximize the potential for the child to be healthy.  In the cognitive realm, the concept of creativity seemed meaningful, because it would be nice if children were encouraged to develop their creative side, as that is one of the features that makes a person unique.  

Sample 2

1.   The concept of sleep stood out to me as being important in middle childhood.  
2.   The reason that the concept of sleep stood out to me as being important in middle childhood is because if a child does not get a good night’s sleep, then he or she will be tired during the day, and may fall asleep during class, and will miss out on learning information in school.  
3.   Educating gifted children. 
4.   Some children during middle childhood have wisdom and academic knowledge beyond their years, and it would be interesting to know if they prefer enrichment programs or acceleration programs to promote their educational growth.  

Alignment of Assignment to the Course:

This discussion forum topic ties into Student Learning Outcome (SLO) 1:

Student Learning Outcomes 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 Objectives 1, 3, 4, and 8.  

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

Course Objective 3.  Discuss key features of physical development across the lifespan, such as prenatal factors, heritability, puberty, hormonal changes, physical health, and biological aspects of mental health.

Course Objective 4.  Explain and discuss the four stages of cognitive development proposed by Jean Piaget.  

Course Objective 8.  Discuss the various theories in intelligence and changes in intellectual abilities that occur across the lifespan. 

This discussion forum topic ties into Learning Objectives 1, 2, 3, and 4 for Chapter 9: 

Learning Objective 1. Identify components of physical development in middle childhood.

Learning Objective 2.  Identify components of cognitive development in middle childhood.

Learning Objective 3.  Identify theories of intelligence.

Learning Objective 4.  Explain concepts of language development in middle childhood.  

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.  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.        

Support 

Student Support Services:  

If you need help completing this assignment, then here are links to student support:  

Pierce College Library (Links to an external site.), Center for Academic Success (Links to an external site.), and NetTutor.  

Technical Support 

If you have technical difficulties and need technical support, then contact the following two offices for free technical support.  You can also click the last icon on the Course home page in the left margin that is a question mark inside of a circle, and a menu will appear that says Help and then look for Pierce College Canvas Support to see the phone numbers.          

PierceOnline

PierceOnline (Links to an external site.)  

Email:  onlinehelp@piercecollege.edu

Phone:  (818) 788-5834 M –Th 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and F 8:00 a.m. -3:30 p.m.

Canvas Support

Phone:  (844) 303-5589 M-F 5:00 p.m.- 8:00 a.m. and weekends