Syllabus - Cisco College - 2012
Lifespan Growth & Development
Professor: Robert C. Gates
Abilene Center Office Number: 30
Office hours: Monday & Wednesday: 10:00 to 11:00 am
Tuesday & Thursday: 12:45 to 2:15 pm
Work Phone: 325 794 4400 extension 4427 during office hours only! Please do not leave voice mail. Use e-mail.
Web Page: www.rcgates.com
Psychology 2314: Lifespan Growth & Development
Course Description: Study of the relationship of the physical, emotional, social and mental factors of growth
and development of children and throughout the lifespan. Credit: 3 Semester Hours
Prerequisite: General Psychology ( exception: nursing students ) Transferability: Yes
Course Structure: This course will meet for 1.5 hours twice a week ( days ) or for 3 hours once a week for 16
weeks in a standard semester.
Required Textbooks and Materials: The Developing Person Throughout the Life Span, Berger, 7th or 8th edition
Recommended Optional Materials & Library Resources: Internet search for current concepts
Purpose & Goal of the course as related to the College Mission: To offer a transferable comprehensive course in the social
sciences which helps the student to form the basis of an understanding of individual human behavior.
Learning Objectives: Psychology courses will meet the following expected educational outcomes: The student should be able to:
• employ the appropriate methods, technologies, & data that social & behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition.
• use & critique alternative explanatory systems or theories.
• develop & communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues.
• identify & understand differences & commonalities within diverse cultures.
• use modern computer technology & techniques in the analysis of behavior & the presentation of the results of that analysis.
• know & can explain rules that must be followed as well as the study techniques necessary for the successful completion of the course.
Methods of Assessment / Grading Policy
Average of unit tests(8) - 70% Note: Lowest unit test grade will be dropped.
Unit test format: 50 question multiple choice - Time limit: 30 minutes
Student project - 10%
Final comprehensive exam - 20%
All tests must be completed before a student can take the final.
Doing the self testing on the instructor's web site is an integral part of this course! Always take the
self tests provided for you, it will enhance your chance of doing well on course tests.
Attendance Policy
• Prompt & regular class attendance is considered necessary for satisfactory work. It is the responsibility of the
professor to keep an accurate & comprehensive record of attendance.
• Cisco College recognizes that absence from class may occur due to illness, death or illness in the
immediate family, observance of a religious holiday, or participation in a college-sponsored activity. (Absences
due to participation in a college-sponsored activity must be authorized by the Vice President of Instruction.) When
absences occur due to the above-stated reasons, the student is allowed to make up work missed; the professor
may require the work to be made up within two weeks from its original due date.
• During a regular Fall or Spring semester, the following requirements apply for face to-face classes. For a class
that meets three times per week, a student is allowed six absences. For a class that meets two times per week, a
student is allowed four absences. For a class that meets one time per week, a student is allowed two absences. If
a student misses one more than the allowed number of absences, he/she may be dropped from the class if the
professor deems the student to be failing due to excessive absences and/or failure to make up work due to absences.
• For online or hybrid courses, a student may be dropped after he/she fails to access the course web site and/or
participate in the class for a two-week period, and the professor deems the student to be failing.
• During a Summer I or II regular face-to-face class, a student is allowed two absences. Upon the third absence,
he/she may be dropped from the class if the professor deems the student to be failing due to excessive absences
and/or failure to make up work due to absences.
• For any Minimester or Summer night class, a student is allowed one absence. Upon the second absence, he/she
may be dropped from the class if the professor deems the student to be failing due to excessive absences and/or
failure to make up work due to absences.
• Any student who ceases to attend class without officially withdrawing through the Admissions Office is subject
to a grade of F.
• The student will receive a grade of W for the course if withdrawn before the last day to drop with a W, and an F if
withdrawn after the last day to drop with a W. Three tardies may constitute an absence. Absences immediately before
or after a holiday may be counted as double absences.
Ψ IF you leave class without prior permission while it is in session, you will receive an unexcused absence!
Policy on make-ups, re-tests & extra credit work:
If a student has an absence on a test day, the student will make up the test before the next test is given or
receive a zero for that test grade. No makeup will be allowed during final test week! Make up tests will
be taken in the instructor’s office, by appointment only! A Doctor’s written excuse for the class
day of the scheduled exam must be presented in order to take the make-up test. Note: the 1st test missed
whatever the reason will be considered the low unit test grade (no makeup required or allowed).
Note: Makeup tests will always be alternate versions of the test given to the class.
There is not, nor will there be made any provision for re-tests in this class.
There is not, nor will there be made any provision for extra credit work in this class.
Major Units of Study:
Beginnings, Theories of Development, Heredity & Environment, Prenatal & Birth, Biosocial Development,
Cognitive Development, Psychosocial Development, Death & Dying.
Notices
Course Content: College-level courses may include controversial, sensitive, and/or adult material. Students
are expected to have the readiness for college-level rigor and content.
Academic Integrity: It is the intent of Cisco College to foster a spirit of complete honesty & a high
standard of integrity. The attempt of students to present as their own any work they have not honestly performed is
regarded by the faculty & administration as a serious offense & renders the offender liable to serious consequences,
possibly suspension. All student conduct will support academic honesty. Any student who is cheating on an
exam or uses thoughts or words or works of others without proper citation will receive an F or zero for that
work & may fail the course. The instructional goal is that each student completes his or her own work in order
to master the skills needed to compete in the job market.
Student Conduct Students are expected to take responsibility in helping to maintain a classroom environment
that is conductive to learning. In order to assure that all students have the opportunity to gain from the time spent in class,
students are prohibited from making offensive remarks, reading material not related to the class, sleeping, or engaging
in any kind of distracting behavior. Inappropriate behavior in the classroom shall result, at a minimum, in a request to leave
class. A more detailed list of inappropriate behaviors is found in the current student hand book.
Students should silence all communication devices, which include but are not limited to phones, pagers, recorders,
palm devices, and laptops. No communications devices should be visible on desks during class unless otherwise
directed by the instructor as part of a class activity or approved by the instructor for note-taking. An exception to this
policy may occur due to college-wide emergency notification. If a pressing situation requires communication during
class, notify the instructor before class begins, sit near the door and quietly exit the classroom before answering any
communication. In testing situations, use of any communication, electronic, or data storage device for a reason other
than college emergencies or a use specified by the instructor, may lead to a charge of academic dishonesty.
Changes to the Syllabus The schedule and procedures in this syllabus are subject to change if deemed
appropriate by the instructor.
Students with Special Needs Students who qualify for specific accommodations under the Americans With
Disabilities Act (ADA) should notify their instructor the first week of class. It is the student's responsibility to provide the
necessary documentation to the Special Populations Coordinator.
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Robert C. Gates