DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES IN INSTRUCTION

EPSY 5603
SPRING, 2017
Online

Huiyoung Shin, Ph.D.

Office: 422 Willard Hall, Stillwater
Email: huiyoung.shin@okstate.edu
Office hours: By appointment or via email
Class website: http://oc.okstate.edu

Required Readings

(1) Richard M. Lerner, & Jasna Jovanovic (2016). Cognitive and Moral Development, Academic
Achievement in Adolescence: Routledge

(2) Articles on online.okstate.edu.

Optional Readings

(1) Richard M. Lerner, Marc H. Bornstein, & Tama Leventhal (2015). Handbook of Child Psychology
and Developmental Science, Ecological Settings and Processes: Volume 4. Wiley (7th edition)

Objectives and Overview:

This course will cover basic developmental issues in instruction including students cognitive and moral
development, with special attention to how social interactions with significant others impact students
cognition and academic development. We will consider the role that social interaction plays and the
effects of various domains of socialization (family and parents, peers, teachers, school, community,
culture) on students cognitive development. Although cognitive development across the lifespan will
be considered, most attention will be paid to cognitive development during adolescence.
It is important that students become familiar with theories of cognitive development and the role that
social relationships play in cognitive, moral, and academic developments of adolescents. In addition,
students will come to understand the ways in which socializing agents play a role in cognitive
development, and the ways in which these roles differ.

Structure of the Course: This course is a graduate level course of study with commensurate
expectations. 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. To help your colleagues it will be beneficial if you post your discussion questions early
in the week, and by Thursday morning at the latest, so that they will have responses to comment on.
Late responses are not useful as few will go back and read them. Please note that assignments may
be posted in advance if you know you are going to have time difficulties. 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.

Style/Mode of Teaching: This course is designed as an online asynchronous computer mediated

learning experience. You can login at anytime and participate in the activities. You should write a
reaction paper each week and respond to peers reaction paper that interest you. From time to time, I
will respond to your postings to point out alternative interpretations, other ways in which to view the

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material, to give you a pat on the back, or just to indicate that I have read your material by Sunday
night each week.

Assignments
The assignments are designed to encourage you to think about the course material in a meaningful
and reflective manner. *Late works are not accepted for all assignments,

Posting Reaction Paper (15 points each week)

Each week, I assign a question for a "reaction paper" dealing with a central issue raised by the
readings for that week. This paper should focus on the key ideas in the readings. You may react
to, build on, or analyze key ideas. You are encouraged to use these papers to develop a critical voice,
one that understands the point of view of the authors, but also stands back and evaluates what the
authors have said. No fewer than 500 words

Along with your reaction paper, you should comment at least three of other classmates reaction
paper. Your postings will be graded based on demonstration of knowledge gained from reading,
evidence of critical thinking, coherence, and clarity. Please post your reaction paper by Friday 5pm,
and comment on three of your classmates reflection by Sunday 5pm on oc.okstate.edu each
week.

Mid-Term Activity: Research Article Summary (60 points; 3 article summary + 3 responses to
peers article summary)

a. Article Summary
Find three research articles that are relevant to the topic of the week (of entire semester) from
following journals: Child Development, Developmental Psychology, Journal of Educational
Psychology, American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Early Adolescence, Journal of Youth
and Adolescence, Journal of Research on Adolescence, American Psychologists, Journal of Applied
Educational Psychology, Contemporary Educational Psychology. Provide a summary of the key
points (Background, key literature, research questions and hypotheses, method and research
design, findings and discussion, and a critique of the article). For each article explain how the
article is related to the topic of discussion. Make sure to provide references (APA style) and pdf file for
each article. Summary should be no fewer than 1000 words for each article.

b. Responses to Peers Article Summary

Provide response or feedback to three article summaries posted by peers. Describe what you find
interesting/insightful and problematic about the article. No fewer than 200 words.

Final paper (60 points; research proposal + peer review)

a. Research proposal
For a final paper, you should write a research proposal of your interest that is relevant to class material.
You should (a) review relevant literature, (b) discuss a theory (theories) of your choice, (c) generate
research questions and/or hypotheses, and (d) develop a research design which will allow you to
answer your questions and/or hypotheses. 8-10 page research proposal should include introduction,
literature review, research question(s) and/or hypotheses, data and method, and references.
References are not included for page limit. Papers need to be prepared according to the guidelines
specified in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.).
b. Responses to Peers Research Proposal
Provide response or feedback to two research proposals posted by peers. Describe what you find
interesting/insightful, and provide suggestions. No fewer than 200 words.

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Grading Structure

Course grades can be calculated as follows:

A = 90% or above of all possible points (270-300 points);
B = 80 to 89% (240-269 points);
C = 70 to 79% of all possible points (210-239 points);
D = 60 to 69% of all possible points (180-209 points)
F = less than 60% of all possible points (less than 179 points)

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, it will mean that you will receive one letter
grade decrease in your course grade. The contribution of each requirement to the grade is as
follows.

1. Reflection (15 points x 12 weeks) --------------------------------------------------- 180 points

2. Mid-Term Activity (60 points) --------------------------------------------------------- 60 points

3. Final Paper (60 points) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 60 points

Total : ------------ 300 points

General Course Information

Policy on Incomplete Grades: University policy will be followed. Incomplete grades can only be given
if 70% 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 material. Your products will
be available on the Internet. Everyone who wants will be able to view them.

Link to OSU Writing Laboratory: http://www.writing.okstate.edu/

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

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.

Help Desk: Computer Information Services (CIS) provides a help desk at helpdesk@okstate.edu.
They may also be reached by telephone at 405-744-7836 from 7am-10 p.m. Monday to FridayCIS
will provide help with equipment problems and software problems. The CIS HelpDesk is available to
answer Desire2Learn questions call 1-877-951-4836 (toll free). If you have questions the Help Desk
cannot answer, please call 405-744-2161 or email Ron Payne rgpavc@okstate.edu.

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 COURSE OUTLINE

I. Introduction

January 17-22 Introduction to the Course

Please read syllabus very carefully and familiarize yourself to D2l website.

January 23-29 Features of Adolescents Cognitive Development

Reaction Question: What are the key features of adolescents cognitive development? What do
educators need to understand to best support adolescents in classrooms and schools?

Lerner & Jovanovic (2016)

p. 1 Intellectual Evolution from Adolescence to Adulthood
p. 13 Egocentrism in Adolescence
p. 24 Formal Reasoning Among Pre- and Late Adolescents
p. 32 Formal Operations as Regulatory Context in Adolescence
p. 45 Development of Physical and Social Reasoning in Adolescence

January 30- February 5 Early Adolescence

Reaction Question: Please identify one contemporary or applied issue from popular press
article that is relevant to the topic of this week and discuss in relation to the articles of this
week.

Eccles, J. S., Midgley, C., Wigfield, A., et al. (1993). Development during adolescence: The
impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents experiences in schools and in
families. American Psychologist, 48, 90-101.

Feldlaufer, H., Midgley, C., & Eccles, J. S. (1988). Student, teacher, and observer perceptions of
the classroom environment before and after the transition to junior high school. The Journal
of Early Adolescence, 8(2), 133-156.

Juvonen, J., Le, V., Kaganoff, T., Augustine, C., & Constant, L. (2004). Focus on the wonder
years: Challenges facing the American middle school. Santa Monica: Rand Corporation.

New York Times articles: Trying to find solutions in chaotic middle schools (2007, Jan. 3) and
The preteen: Betwixt and bedeviled (2007, Jan. 7).

February 6- 12 High School and Emerging Adulthood

Reaction Question: Based on the readings of last week and this week, what do you think are
the key critical issues adolescents (or emerging adults) face in relation to the academic
development in current society?

Battistich , V. (2010). School Contexts that Promote Students Positive Development. In J.

Meece and J. Eccles (Eds.), Handbook of research on schools, schooling, and human
development (ch. 8). New York: Routledge.

Benner, A., D., & Graham, S. (2009). The transition to high school as a developmental process
among multiethnic urban youth. Child Development, 80, 356-376.

Arnett, J. A. (2000). A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American
Psychologist, 469-480.

Executive summary and excerpts from: Pathways to Prosperity (2011) Harvard report.
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February 13-19 Teachers and Classrooms

Reaction Question: What are the most critical features of teacher roles in the classroom for
students cognitive and academic development? How can we best evaluate effective
teachers? What kind of support can be provided (or is needed) for teachers in current
classrooms and schools?

Patrick, H., Mantzicopoulos, P. & Sears, D. (2010). Effective Classrooms. In K. Harris, S.

Graham and T. Urdan (Eds.) Educational Psychology Handbook, Vol. 2 Washington DC:
American Psychological Association Publications.

Pianta, R. C., & Hamre, B. K. (2009). Conceptualization, measurement, and improvement of

classroom processes: Standardized observation can leverage capacity. Educational
Researcher, 38(2), 109-119.

Rimm-Kaufman, S. E. & Hamre, B. (2010). The role of psychological and developmental science
in efforts to improve teacher quality. Teacher College Record, 112(12), 2988-3023

Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. C. (2005). Can instructional and emotional support in the first-grade
classroom make a difference for children at risk of school failure? Child Development, 76(5),
949-967.

Patrick, H., Turner, J. C., & Meyer, D. K. (2003). How teachers establish psychological
environments during the first days of school: Associations with avoidance in mathematics.
Teachers College Record, 105(8), 1521-1558.

February 20-26 Peers - Part I (Academic)

Reaction Question: How important are peers for students academic development? Do
students social relationships with peers have significant impact on students academic
adjustment? How adolescents peer relationships are different with the ones of the adults?

Rodkin, P. & Ryan, A.M. (2011). Child and adolescent peer relations in an educational context. In
K. Harris, S. Graham and T. Urdan (Eds.) Educational Psychology Handbook (pp.
363-389). Washington DC: American Psychological Association Publications.

LaFontana, K. M., & Cillessen, A. H. N. (2002). Childrens perceptions of popular and unpopular
peers: A multimethod assessment. Developmental Psychology, 38, 635-647.

Buhs, E. S., Ladd, G. W., & Herald, S. L. (2006). Peer exclusion and victimization: Processes
that mediate the relation between peer group rejection and children's classroom
engagement and achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 1-13.

February 27-March 5 Parents and Family

Reaction Question: What are the key differences of family (or parents) involvement in students
learning in different culture? What are the pros and cons of each? What features of family
relationship and parenting styles are most important for students optimal academic
development?

Pomerantz, E. M., & Kim, E. M. & Cheung, C. S.. (2011). Parents involvement in childrens
learning. In K. Harris, S. Graham and T. Urdan (Eds.) Educational Psychology Handbook
(pp. 417-440). Washington DC: American Psychological Association Publications.

Dearing, E., Kreider, H., Simpkins, S., & Weiss, H. B. (2006). Family involvement in school and
low-income childrens literacy performance: Longitudinal associations between and within
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 families. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 653-664.

Lerner & Jovanovic (2016)

p. 257 Parent Child Rearing and Academic Achievement in Boys
p. 276 The Relation of Parenting Style to Adolescent School Performance

March 6 - 12 Theories of Intelligence or Mindsets

Reaction Question: Do we promote resilience in current schools? What do theories of

intelligence and mindsets tell us in relation to the schooling and instruction?

Yeager, D. S. & Dweck, C. S. (2012). Mindsets that promote resilience: When students believe
that personal characteristics can be developed. Educational Psychologist, 47, 1-13.

Blackwell, L., Trzesniewski, K., & Dweck, C.S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict
achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child
Development, 78, 246-263.

Rattan, A., Good, C., & Dweck, C. S. (2012). Its ok not everyone can be good at math:
Instructors with an entity theory comfort (and demotivate) students. Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology, 48, 731-737.

Dweck, C. (2012). Mindsets and human nature: Promoting change in the Middle East, the
schoolyard, the racial divide and willpower. American Psychologist, 67, 614-622.

March 20-26 Grit

Reaction Question: What is the grit? How can we develop the grit? What the positive aspects of
the grit? Do we have any criticism about the grit? Please search talks by Angela Duckworth
(i.e., TED) and watch at least one of them, and incorporate your reactions in your reaction
paper.

Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and
Passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 1087-1101.

Tough, P. (Sept. 18, 2011). The education issue: When is the secret to success is failure? New
York Times

Duckworth, A.L., Quinn, P.D., Seligman, M. E. P. (2009). Positive predictors of teacher

effectiveness. Journal of Positive Psychology, 19, 40-547.

Yeager, D., Henderson, M., Paunesku, G., Walton, G., DMello, S. D., Spitzer, B., & Duckworth,
A. (2014). Boring but important: A self-transcendent purpose learning fosters academic
self-regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107(4), 559-580.

March 27- April 2. Intervention: Creating Motivating Learning Context

Reaction Question: What are the key aspects of motivating instruction and classroom? How
can we best support students for them to have motivation? How can we best support
teachers for them to create motivating learning environment?

Lerner & Jovanovic (2016)

p. 131 In the Mind of the Actor: The Structure of Adolescents Achievement Task Values and
Expectancy-Related Beliefs

Hulleman, C. S., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2009). Promoting interest and performance in high
school science classes. Science (326), 1410-1412
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Hulleman, C.S., Godes, O., Hendricks, B., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2010). Enhancing interest and
performance with a utility value intervention. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(4),
880-895.

Harackiewicz, J. M., Rozek, C. R., Hulleman, C. S., & Hyde, J. S. (2012). Helping parents
motivate their teens in mathematics and science: An experimental test. Psychological Science,
23(8), 899-906.

April 3 - 9 Mid-term Activity

Article summary (Due March 7th 5pm) + Response to peers article summary (Due March
9th 5pm)

April 10- April 16 Moral Development

Reaction Question: What are the features of moral development during adolescence? What do
you think are the key factors that create individual differences in morality?

Lerner & Jovanovic (2016)

p. 53 Revisions in the Theory and Practice of Moral Development
p. 59 Childrens Reasoning About Interpersonal and Moral Conflicts
p. 75 Prosocial Development in Late Adolescence
p. 95 Socialization of Mothers and Adolescents Empathy Related Characteristics
p. 117 The Youth Charter: Towards the Formation of Adolescent Moral Identity

April 17-23 Peers - Part II (Social)

Reaction Question: How peers affect students morality and social behaviors? What are the
classroom peer dynamics like in classrooms and schools? Are there ways to intervene for
teachers to better support students?

Galvn, A., Spatzier, A., & Juvonen, J. (2011). Perceived norms and social values to capture
school culture in elementary and middle school. Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology, 32, 346-353. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2011.08.005

Dijkstra, J. K., & Gest, S. D. (2014). Peer norm salience for academic achievement, prosocial
behavior, and bullying: Implications for adolescent school experiences. Journal of Early
Adolescence, 27, 1-18. doi: 10.1177/0272431614524303

Chang, L. (2003). Variable effects of children's aggression, social withdrawal, and prosocial
leadership as functions of teacher beliefs and behaviors. Child Development, 74(2),
535-548.

Serdiouk, M., Rodkin, P., Madill, R., Logis, H., & Gest, S. (2014). Rejection and victimization
among elementary school children: The buffering role of classroom-level predictors.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. doi: 10.1007/s10802-013-9826-9

April 24-30 Individual-Contextual Differences

Reaction Question: Write your own.

Stigler, J. W., & Fernandez, C. (1995). Learning mathematics from classroom instruction:
Cross-cultural and experimental perspectives. In C. A. Nelson (Ed.), Basic and applied
perspectives on learning, cognition, and development (pp. 103-130). Mahwah, New
Jersey: Erlbaum.

Lerner & Jovanovic (2016)

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p. 143 Individual-Contextual Relationships and Mathematic Performance
p. 165 Ethnic Differences in Adolescent Achievement
p. 173 Explaining the School Performance of African-American Adolescents
p. 197 The Influence of Perceived Family and Personal Factors on Self-Reported School
Performance of Chinese and Western High School Students

May 1- May 7 Final Paper Activity

Research Proposal (Due May 5th 5 pm) + Response to peers research proposal
(Due May 7th 5 pm)

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