Contemporary Issues In Adulthood And Aging

Contemporary Issues In Adulthood And Agingpsy 34001cuny Sps Online

Contemporary Issues in Adulthood and Aging PSY 340.01 CUNY SPS, Online B.A. Psychology Spring 2020 Instructor: Dr. Giselle Gourrier Email Address: [email protected] Office Hours: Mondays, 2:00pm – 3:00pm Required Text: Mason, Marion (2011), Adulthood and Aging. Allyn & Bacon. ISBN: There will be additional resources posted online such as videos, articles, and blogs. These will be posted in the weekly assignments. Course Description: Study of current theories and research on physical, intellectual and social-emotional growth and change across the adult years will be the central focus of this course. Key roles of family and friendship, work and retirement, as well as broader social, economic and legal factors are examined, along with race, culture, class, and gender differences. Implications of research findings for optimizing adaptation to normal development change and crises are considered. Psy101 is the prerequisite for this class. Course Objectives: Students will: 1) Study current theories and research on physical, intellectual and social-emotional growth and change across the adult years will be the central focus of this course. 2) Explore key roles of family and friendship, work and retirement, as well as broader social, economic and legal factors such as race, culture, class, and gender differences. 3) Examine the implications of research findings for optimizing adaptation to normal development change and crises are considered. Learning Outcomes: Students will: 1) Clearly articulate and understanding of the main concepts and theories within the field of psychology and aging 2) Demonstrate how concepts and theories of aging are applied to “real-world†situations and current events. 3) Critically analyze, compare, and contrast seminal perspectives within the field of psychology and aging. 4) Realize the unique experience of the aging individual and its multifaceted complexities that include such layers of identity as: race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, class, etc. 5) See how the ideas presented in this course overlap with many other courses and disciplines. How This Online Course Works This course is being offered in a fully online format. This means that all of your course activities will take place within the Blackboard course. There will not be any specific times when you will have to be online with your instructor or your classmates during the semester. This gives you the flexibility of doing your assignments at times during the day when you can be at a computer and work without distractions. For some students this is early in the morning and for others late at night. An advantage of online study is that your classroom is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Because of this schedule flexibility, time management is always a challenge for students in fully online courses. Be sure you set aside times to work online each week and wherever possible maintain a regular study schedule. Students are required to be at work in the course site at least three times each week and may be dropped from the course if they are absent for any extended period of time and have not contacted the instructor about any emergency. Check immediately to make sure that you can access the CUNY Portal and the Blackboard course. If you have any difficulties, contact the SPS Help Desk immediately at (Monday-Thursday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM EDT) or [email protected]. If you are new to online study using Blackboard, our course management system, there are User Guides for Students on the page you see when you log into Blackboard from the CUNY Portal. Roles of Students and the Instructor Your instructor is responsible for supporting your work in the course so you can complete all the required work, master the learning objectives and be well-prepared for more advanced courses in the Psychology program at SPS. However, the primary responsibility rests with you, the student, to use the course schedule in planning your participation, submit assignments on time, ask questions whenever something is not clear to you, and to take full advantage of the many support services SPS offers its online students through the library, tutoring center, and other areas. If you and your instructor communicate with one another often, especially by taking advantage of the Asking Questions links on the Discussion Board, you will be able to progress through your assignments and complete the course successfully. Your instructor will be online in the Blackboard course site frequently through the week and will check in on the Discussion Board and other active work areas on at least 5-6 days each week. You will receive a response to Discussion Board posts and email messages within 24-36 hours. Homework and other assignments vary in their length and complexity, so the time to get feedback from your instructor may vary. However, you will receive a grade on each major assignment before the next one is due. All scores will be posted in the Blackboard Grade Center, so be sure you check there first before contacting your instructor. mailto: [email protected] Requirements & Evaluation: Projects (3 @ 10 pts.) – 30pts. (30%) Quizzes (2 @ 10 pts.) – 20 pts. (20%) Group projects (2 @ 5 pts.) – 10 pts. (10%) Interview Paper – (1 @ 12 pts.) – 12 pts. (12%) Discussion Board participation (14 @ 2 pts.) – 28 pts. (28%) TOTAL – 100 pts. (100%) Projects: There will be three projects, one requiring you to conduct observations, another will be a media analysis, and the last will be to create a healthy living brochure. Quizzes: There will be two quizzes that have around 5-7 open-ended questions requiring the student to write a couple of paragraphs for each answer. Group projects: The online environment poses a challenge to working in groups, but the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The group projects will require significant time and coordination. The assignments will be based on online collaboration, with expectations for active participation and communication among group members. Interview Paper: For this assignment, you must interview two individuals and compare their experiences, either contrasting older-old (75+) with younger-old (60-75) or comparing experiences of a man and a woman of similar age. The paper should connect interview findings with relevant theories and concepts from the textbook and additional research. It must be approximately 1,300 words, double-spaced, with 12-point font, 1-inch margins, and include interview questions on the last page. Discussion Board Participation: Engagement on the Blackboard discussion board will substitute for classroom interaction and is crucial for success. You are expected to post a minimum of four posts weekly—one original thread and three responses to peers—with the first post due by Thursday. Posts should be relevant, well-organized, respectful, and free of personal attacks. Late posts will not be accepted. Online etiquette rules must be observed. Grading will follow the rubric posted in Blackboard. Late Policy: Assignments are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on their specified dates. Each day late results in a 10% deduction, with no submissions accepted after five days. Quizzes and discussion posts, however, are not accepted late. Students should plan accordingly to meet deadlines or communicate in advance with the instructor about emergencies. References should be credible, properly formatted, and attached in the References section below.