Issues in Adolescent Development

EPSY 5403
ONLINE SYLLABUS
Fall 2015

How to Use This Syllabus: Read the whole syllabus carefully. All of the information needed for
success in learning in this course is included in the syllabus or in the pages linked to the syllabus.
The references to all of the readings for the course are at the end of the syllabus. For information
on Desire2Learn go to http://oc.okstate.edu.

Instructor Information
Instructor: James R. May, Jr., Ph.D., e-mail james.r.may@okstate.edu.

Electronic Office Hours: I will try to answer all e-mail at least once a day except on weekends
and when I am out of town.

Instructor's Home Telephone Number: (918) 254-2230. Calls accepted between 8 a.m. and 10
p.m. seven days a week, with voice mail available if Im busy or out of the office.

Departmental Office Telephone Number: (405) 744-6040. Calls accepted 8-12 a.m. and 1-5
p.m. weekdays, with voice mail available at all other times.

Course Description
School and Program Goals: The mission of the School of Applied Health and Educational
Psychology is to foster the development, integration, and application of empirical knowledge,
theory, skills, and experiences to promote social, physical, psychological, educational, and
environmental health. Consistent with the goals of the Universitys Professional Educational
Councils Core Concepts and Goals Statement, the faculty strives to demonstrate and perpetuate
teaching based on theory and research-driven educational practices.

The goal of the Educational Psychology Program is to promote autonomous learning models for
school and community personnel who facilitate learning, holistic growth and development for
learners of all ages. Students in the program are people who are empowered to become creative
problem solvers, innovative leaders, insightful inquirers, and compassionate advocates in their
field of study and practice. The philosophic foundation of this course is constructivism; you will
be an active participant in the construction of your personal knowledge base and understanding.

1 EPSY 5403: Issues in Adolescent Development

University Catalog Description: Current issues in adolescent development in an educational
context and culture, including self, family, peers, school and work relationships. Gender
differences within culture, race and class examined. Current dilemmas explored using critical
theory and action research.

Textbooks:

Ferguson, A. A. (2001). Bad boys: Public schools in the making of black masculinity.
Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Kindlon, D., & Thompson, M. (2000). Raising Cain: Protecting the emotional life of
boys. New York, NY: Random House.

Lesko, N. (2001). Act your age! A cultural construction of adolescence. New York, NY:
RoutledgeFalmer.

Pipher, M. (1994). Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. New York,
NY: Putnam.

Course Objectives:
1. To understand the nature of developmental issues in adolescence and how these interact with
the education system.
2. To develop a critical perspective on the role of education in identity construction.
3. To critique and evaluate the way that education operates on individuals from diverse ethnic
and cultural backgrounds.
4. To critique and evaluate the role of education in gender and sexual identity development and
formation.
5. To crucially evaluate the interaction of educators personal characteristics, behaviors, and
teaching style with the identities and issues of students in adolescence.
6. To understand the construction of adolescence in modern western culture, and the influence
such constructions have on the educational environment.
7. To understand and implement the critical research process in the education system.

Rationale for this Course: Every educated person should be a critical thinker in the sense that
information can and should be scrutinized, analyzed, and evaluated. Often theory is accepted as
fact, especially in an institutional setting. This course will support the student in the process of
critiquing and deconstructing knowledge. Socially and culturally organized frameworks of
meaning will be analyzed, allowing for a new synthesis of knowledge, while informing new
levels of understanding.

Knowledge Base: The knowledge base for this class has been identified within numerous
psychological, sociological, and educational fields of study in theory, research, and practice. This
course has been designed to reflect and analyze knowledge about adolescent development.

Structure of the Course: The purpose of this course is to review, explore, and extend your
understanding basic research and general theories of adolescent development. The role of the

2 EPSY 5403: Issues in Adolescent Development

teacher as facilitator of knowledge acquisition through higher levels of thinking will be
practiced. This course is a graduate level course of study with commensurate expectations. The
course is organized so that you have a shared responsibility for learning the content of the course.
Readings are assigned on a scheduled basis so that you may maximize your participation in
online discussions. It is important that you post your assignments online in a timely manner.
When you fall behind, it's a double loss: you lose the benefit of your classmate's feedback on
your work, and they lose the valuable insights you bring to the course. The course is designed for
the motivated and curious adult learner who is willing to be an active participant in the learning
process. Options for decision-making and self-directed learning are intentional. The course is
structured so that you have the freedom to learn as deeply and as broadly as you choose. You
will be invited to collaborate in the process of student evaluation and will have an opportunity to
continue to improve any professional product you are developing for this class. Negotiation for
alternative course products is welcomed, but must be planned beforehand with the instructor.

Style/Mode of Teaching: This class is built on a constructivist and social learning model,
wherein students are expected to learn from the textbook, from the instructor, and from each
other. This is accomplished through a reciprocal social interaction process where students
contribute their understanding and knowledge to each other, thus enhancing the overall
understanding of everyone in the class and allowing everyone to construct a more solid base of
knowledge than would otherwise be possible.

This course is designed as an online asynchronous computer mediated learning experience. A

threaded database and e-mail are provided to foster asynchronous discussion. You can login at
anytime and participate in the activities. When you read the material please take notes on any
area that you do not understand or upon which you would like further discussion. I will provide
some discussion questions for each chapter but I will not try to cover all of the important
material with discussion questions. Respond to the questions and to the discussion question
responses that your classmates make that interest you. I will respond to your postings to point out
alternative interpretations, other ways in which to view the material, to give you a pat on the
back, or just to indicate that I have read your material. If you have additional questions you can
post them to the Water Cooler forum in the Discussion section of Desire2Learn.

Attendance Policy: You will be expected to logon to Desire2Learn at least two times a week.
Note that your attendance is automatically recorded. To help your colleagues, it will be
beneficial if you post your discussion question responses in the Discussion Forums early in the
week, and by Friday at the latest, so that they will have responses to comment on. Late responses
are not useful as few of your classmates will go back and read them. Minor performance
delinquencies (like not responding in time to the discussion questions or being late in
responding) will be forgiven up to three times. For each discrepancy over three you must
complete an additional performance objective. Please note that assignments may be posted in
advance if you know you are going to have time difficulties.

It is vital that if you fall behind in weekly assignments, you contact the instructor
immediately. The further behind in assignments you get, the more difficult it is to design a plan
for you to get caught up in the courseso be sure to maintain good communication, even if you
are having trouble completing assignments.

3 EPSY 5403: Issues in Adolescent Development

Reading Peer Responses: I expect that you will try to read the responses that your peers
make. The purpose for this requirement is to show you a diversity of responses and to help you
more fully understand the content of the chapter. The Desire2Learn software allows me to see
which responses you have read, so I will spot check occasionally to insure that all are doing the
appropriate response reading. Remember that without this collaborative reading you will not gain
full value from the course.

Course Assignments
Introduction Post: In the first week, you will post an introduction to tell your classmates about
yourself, who you are, your background, and what experiences you bring with you to the class.
This simple exercise is meant to build a sense of community among the class and help everyone
feel more comfortable in course discussions. Feel free to share your educational information
(major, year, etc.), career goals, as well as any personal information you feel comfortable telling
your classmates about yourself so they will know you a bit better in this online classroom
environment.

Discussion Questions: You are expected to respond to at least three discussion questions
each week. Please try to post your responses by Thursday of the week in which the reading is
assigned. This assignment will be worth 30% of your final grade. The Discussion Questions
are meant to help you think through the ideas and issues raised in the readings and to spark
discussion among the class members. The point of this assignment is to create an ongoing
conversation among the members of the class, so that each of you can crystallize your own
understanding of the readings, can clarify and correct your own misunderstandings of the
readings, can discover other peoples perspectives on the readings, and can receive feedback
from your peers. Your responses to the Discussion Questions should draw upon the readings, but
should not be confined to the readings. You are welcome to draw upon outside sources, as well as
your own personal experiences. In other words, your responses should take you beyond the
readings, even though they should be based on the readings. You don't need to cite or quote the
textbooks in your responses to the Discussion Questions, but you should provide references for
any outside sources you use. Your responses don't have to be particularly formal or polished,
though they should be thoughtful (thought-filled). Most Discussion Questions will require a
response of 2-3 paragraphs.

In other words, your responses should be reflective. Reflection is a process of thinking about
one's thinking. Many students have never had this explained to them nor have they developed the
idea on their own. But, to understand what went right or what went wrong and why this
happened, you must think about it. You are encouraged to retrace your steps to generate new
understandings and to modify conclusions about previous events. This is a metacognitive or
high-order thinking activity. You will be asked to be experimenters and to collect and process
information and to draw conclusions based on your own discourse history. You will be asked to
create your own knowledge. Reflection ...reveal(s) to us aspects of our experience that might
have remained hidden had we no taken time to consider.... Past experiences are considered in the
light of new information. Reflection allows us to draw conclusions about our past experience and

4 EPSY 5403: Issues in Adolescent Development

develop new insights that we can apply to our future activities. It is not simply a description or a
review of what you have read.

Your responses to the Discussion Questions may include statements reflecting your
personal experience and personal opinions, but these statements should be supported by
evidence (facts) and be grounded in theory. These facts should be documented and should
come from your texts, other readings, or other classes. Citations are required. Unsubstantiated
opinions and implications must be clearly designated as such and should not make up the
majority of your responses. Statements concerning your personal experience should be used to
illuminate and illustrate your point of view, so that others in the class may better understand and
appreciate your perspective. These statements should provide an example of how the current
topic relates to your previous work.

Responses to Others Postings: You are expected to reply to at least three Discussion
Question Responses posted by your classmates each week. These responses should be posted
by the end of the week in which the reading is assigned. This assignment will be worth 30% of
your final grade. You should try to add to what your colleagues have posted, or you may want
to take the opposite tack and disagree with them if you believe that other implications are
warranted. You should not simply say, Good answer! Good answer! Instead, your feedback
should specify what it was about the posting that was helpful to you. . . . what it was that offered
you a new way of looking at the current topic. . . . what it was that provided you with new ideas
and insights. Your peer response might also include recounting a personal experience that
supports (or calls into question) the position taken in the original post. Remember, the purpose of
the assignment is to create a conversation among the members of the class about the current
readings, so that each of you can crystallize your own understanding of the readings, can clarify
and correct your misunderstanding of the readings, can discover other peoples perspectives on
the issues and ideas in the readings, and can receive feedback from your peers. Accordingly,
your peer responses should not be limited to a couple of sentences, but should fill at least
several paragraphs. Single sentence responses are never acceptableunless your sentences
are a whole lot longer than mine!

Try to augment (not refute) the implications drawn by your peers in their discussion question
responses. If you strongly disagree with a posting and feel that you must confront its author,
please send a private e-mail response to the author (but do not post it online). Send a separate
copy of your e-mail to me so that you can receive credit for your response. If as a response
author you receive a private e-mail and if you think it is worthy and contributes to the discussion,
you may post it to the Desire2Learns Discussion section. The general thought here is that you
should not say anything to a classmate in a public, and permanent, forum which you would not
like to hear about yourself.

Issues in Adolescent Development Annotated Bibliography: Together as a class, we will

compile an annotated bibliography of books concerning Issues in Adolescent Development. You
are expected to contribute at least five entries to that annotated bibliography. This
assignment will be worth 20% of your final grade. These books should be books appropriate
for a professional or academic library that reflects an understanding of the full variety of issues
in adolescent development. This restriction means that the books should be addressed to

5 EPSY 5403: Issues in Adolescent Development

professionals involved in facilitating adolescent development, and should have a basis in
developmental theory. Your entry should include full bibliographic data and a description the
content of the book so that your classmates can determine whether or not they would be useful
personal acquisitions. Your annotation should be more than just the abstract for the book
found in an online database. You do not have to read the book completely in order to provide
an entry to the annotated bibliography, but you should look for and cite published book reviews
of the book in your annotation. Further details will be provided online. Your contributions to
the annotated bibliography will be due October 17, 2014.

Create an Annotated Bibliography of Research Articles: You are expected to create an

annotated bibliography with 15 or more journal articles related to some issue in adolescent
development. This assignment will be worth 20% of your final grade. This project would be
the first step toward creating a review of the literature on a particular issue in the field of
Adolescent Development that could be used in a journal article, a thesis, or a dissertation. All
articles must be drawn from peer-reviewed journals. Remember that journal articles can be
accessed online through the Journal Articles search feature of the online OSU Library Catalog
at http://osucatalog.library.okstate.edu/. Your entry should include full bibliographic data and a
description the content of the article. Your annotation should be more than just the abstract for
the book found in an online database. Annotated bibliographies should be at least 5-6 double
spaced pages in length not including references (in APA style). Please provide links to the
articles you read if they are available online. Your annotated bibliography of journal articles
will be due November 14, 2014.

Grading Requirements
You will have several opportunities to demonstrate your understanding of the course objectives.
With 100 total points possible for the class, your grade will be assigned as follows:
A = 90 100 points
B = 80 89 points
C = 70 79 points
While there will be assigned due dates for the course assignments, you will be allowed to edit
and improve your course products up until the end of the semester.

Use a realistic estimate when predicting the time you will need to complete the course activities
and requirements. Although the option of taking an incomplete ("I") is available to you at the
end of the semester should you encounter an emergency or other unexpected events, you will
receive one letter grade decrease in your course grade.

Discussion Forum Requirements:

Course requirement: respond to 45 questions in the Discussion Forum, three per week. 30
points
Course requirement: respond to 45 peer answers in the Discussion Forum, three per
week. 30 points

6 EPSY 5403: Issues in Adolescent Development

Course Assignments:

Course requirement: contribute at least five entries to the class annotated bibliography of
books. 20 points
Course requirement: annotated bibliography of research articles. 20 points

Completed Assignment Table: At the end of the semester, please send me a table showing your
completed assignments once you have finished your work in this course. This will help me track
your work and assign your final grade for the class (I will also do a search by each student's
name, which will list all of the posted assignments for that student for the semesterand I will
check that list against the table you turn into me for accuracy). A suggested format for the
assignment table is provided in the document entitled Assignment Table in the Contents
section of Desire2Learn. I am not concerned that you use this specific format as long as you
supply me with this information in some easy-to-read format. The basic idea is this: I suggest
that you create a table with columns with the headings corresponding to the assignments in the
course and other pertinent information: Week, Date Completed, Reading Assignment, Discussion
Questions, and Response to Peers. Then list the appropriate information regarding your
completed assignments in those columns.

General Course Information

Policy on Incomplete Grades: University policy will be followed. Incomplete grades can only
be given if 50% of the course products have been completed prior to the end of the grading
period.

Policy on withdrawals: University policy will be followed.

Make up Policy (Examinations, Assignments, and Classes): As there are no synchronous

activities except those scheduled by peer groups, there is no formal make up policy.

Statement on Academic Integrity: Please cite sources if you use other's authors material. Use
APA Style Manual, 5th edition when you cite sources. You also should read and be familiar with
the OSU Handbook of Academic Integrity located at http://academicintegrity.okstate.edu/.

I will respect OSUs commitment to academic integrity and uphold the values of honesty and
responsibility that preserve our academic community. Oklahoma State University is committed
to the maintenance of the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct of its members. This
level of ethical behavior and integrity will be maintained in this course. Participating in a
behavior that violates academic integrity (e.g., unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism, multiple
submissions, cheating on examinations, fabricating information, helping another person cheat,
unauthorized advance access to examinations, altering or destroying the work of others, and
fraudulently altering academic records) will result in your being sanctioned. Violations may
subject you to disciplinary action including the following: receiving a failing grade on an
assignment, examination or course, receiving a notation of a violation of academic integrity on
your transcript (F!), and being suspended from the University. You have the right to appeal the

7 EPSY 5403: Issues in Adolescent Development

charge. Contact the Office of Academic Affairs, 101 Whitehurst, 405-744-5627,
http://academicintegrity.okstate.edu.

Link to OSU Writing Center: http://osuwritingcenter.okstate.edu/.

Link to Student Support Services: http://studentaffairs.okstate.edu/

Syllabus Attachment: Each semester the Academic Affairs office provides a syllabus
attachment which lists important dates, holidays, procedures for getting help with math, writing,
add/drop policy, library hours, etc. This page is located at
http://academicaffairs.okstate.edu/sites/default/files/Fall%202015%20Syllabus.pdf.

Special Accommodations: If any member of this class feels that he/she has a disability and
needs special accommodations of any nature whatsoever, the instructor will work with you and
the Office of Disabled Student Services, 326 Student Union, to provide reasonable
accommodations to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform in this class. Please advise
the instructor of such disability and the desired accommodations at some point before, during, or
immediately after the first week of class.

Directions for Sending E-mail: When you use e-mail, always use the return receipt requested
feature. This will show you that your message was received even if the person you sent it to is
too busy to reply immediately.

Help Desk: The OSU Computer Information Services (CIS) HelpDesk provides help with both
hardware problems and software problems. They may be reached at helpdesk@okstate.edu or by
telephone at 405-744-7836 from 7 AM to 10 PM. Monday through Friday. If you need face-to-
face contact, the HelpDesk is now located in 403 Classroom Building and is open from 8 AM to
10 PM. If you have questions that the HelpDesk cannot answer, please e-mail Ron Payne at
rgpavc@okstate.edu or call 405-744-2161.

The CIS HelpDesk maintains a separate, toll-free phone line to answer Desire2Learn questions
(1-877-951-4836). If you have questions that the HelpDesk cannot answer, please e-mail Aarond
Graham at aarond.graham@okstate.edu or call 405-744-8010. If you have course-related
content or format problems, ask your peers first by posting a query to the Water Cooler section of
Desire2Learn and, if you get no useable response, e-mail james.r.may@okstate.edu.

Please feel free to contact the instructor over any issue, large or small. I am here to assist
you and am happy to have a phone call or office visit. It is my job, so take advantage of any
assistance you may need.

8 EPSY 5403: Issues in Adolescent Development

 Weekly Readings

Week One

Introductions

Week Two

Lesko: Introduction, Chapters 1 & 2 (pp. 1-90)

ArticleThe acquisition of a child by a learning disability

Week Three

Lesko: Chapters 3, 4, & 5 (pp. 91-148)

Week Four

Lesko: Chapters 6, 7, & 8 (pp. 149-248)

Week Five

Ferguson: Chapters 1 & 2 (pp. 1-48)

Week Six

Ferguson: Chapters 3 & 4 (pp. 49-100)

Week Seven

Ferguson: Chapters 5 & 6 (pp. 101-196)

Week Eight

Ferguson: Chapters 7 & 8 (pp. 197-236)

Week Nine

Articles: Banal multiculturalism and its opaque racism

Youth participatory action research as critical pedagogy

Week Ten

9 EPSY 5403: Issues in Adolescent Development

 Pipher: Introduction, Chapters 1-5 (pp. 1-114)

Week Eleven

Pipher: Introduction, Chapters 6-10 (pp. 115-202)

Week Twelve

Pipher: Introduction, Chapters 11-15 (pp. 203-294)

Week Thirteen

Articles: Lip gloss and goin with: Becoming teens

Constructing teen pregnancy as a problem
Toward a genderful pedagogy and the teaching of masculinity
A feminist reframing of bullying and harassment
Becoming a gendered body

Week Fourteen

Kindlon and Thompson: Introduction, Chapters 1-4 (pp. 1-93)

Week Fifteen

Kindlon and Thompson: Chapters 5-8 (pp. 94-175)

Week Sixteen

Kindlon and Thompson: Chapters 9-12 (pp. 176-258)

Created August 5, 2015 by James R. May, Jr.; james.r.may@okstate.edu

10 EPSY 5403: Issues in Adolescent Development