Learning objectives
The course aim to promote the students’ knowledge of the main factors and processes of development and adjustment of individuals in the lifespan, with a specific focus on the period from birth to adolescence. The students will achieve the knowledge of the main characteristics and stages of development in following areas: perceptual, motor, cognitive, emotional, social and communication. Moreover, in the course program will be deepened also the main theoretical model and the study methods of developmental psychology. The course also aims to offer students opportunities to learn the practical implications that the knowledge of developmental psychology can have in different life contexts, such as the family and educational ones. Finally, the course aim to favor in the students some important soft skills, such as: the ability to learn, an autonomy of judgment with respect to the theoretical and methodological issues addressed and a good ability to communicate regarding the aspects discussed and learned.
Prerequisites
The course does not required specific pre-requisites
Course unit content
The course focused various contents organized into the following macro-themes:
1. main models of developmental psychology: development factors and processes
2. main characteristics and stages of development in different areas: perceptual, motor, cognitive, emotional, social and communication.
3. main study methods of developmental psychology
4. from theory to practice: applicative aspects of the knowledge of developmental psychology in life contexts
In particular, following a general introduction, the course program is organized in two modules: module 1: perceptual, motor and linguistic development; module 2: cognitive, emotional, social development.
Full programme
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Bibliography
Santrock et al. (2021), Psicologia dello sviluppo, Mc Graw Hill (CAPP: 2-3-4-7-8)
Teaching methods
The course offers interactive lessons supported by slides and videos. All materials used in class with the integration of additional documents for in-depth analysis will be available to students on the designated platform (elly). Compatibly with the number of students present in the class, active methods will be used during the course which include participation and interactions between students, both on an individual and small group level, and case analysis discussion. Through these different teaching methods, we aim to activate processes of co-construction and acquisition by students of different skills, such as: the ability to learn, to apply the knowledge acquired in real life, to independent judgment and communication skills.
Assessment methods and criteria
The test consists of a written and an oral test.
The written test consists of 60 multiple choice and true/false questions on the various topics of the course program to be carried out in a maximum time of 1 hour. If no more than 15 errors are made in the written test, you can proceed to the oral test. The oral test consists of an interview that starts from the discussion of a topic chosen by the student followed by 3 questions on various areas included in the program. The average duration of the oral test is approximately 15/20 minutes
The student will have to demonstrate that they have mastered the knowledge relating to the requested topics, demonstrating their ability to insert them into the general reference context.
The test evaluation indicators are:
- Ability to present knowledge (20%)
- Ability to connect knowledge (20%);
- Mastery of psychological language (20%);
- Ability to discuss topics (20%)
- Ability to delve deeper into topics (20%).
The answer to each question is evaluated out of 30 based on the criteria set out, and the final grade comes from the average of the scores achieved in the 4 questions. The exam is passed if the student achieves an overall score of at least 18/30 (i.e. reasonably sufficient preparation both from the point of view of the contents and from the point of view of the expository language used).
Other information
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