The Exploration Forums

The Exploration Forums are chance to discuss specific topics related to this course. It is an opportunity to think about how the concepts we cover relate to you and the field of Child Development. It allows you to express your thoughts, expand your thinking, gain knowledge and perspective, share and view resources, and gather ideas about approaching the course assignments. Think of this as “practice time,” where you ponder, apply, and make connections while earning points based solely on participation. Each week, you will be assigned a topic or topics to discuss. There are no length requirements for your posts. Use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Your posts need to be your thoughts and your words. However, if you paraphrase (summarize or reword) information from a source, you must cite and reference your source in APA-style. While you will not be graded on APA-style formatting, these forums provide an opportunity to practice this important skill. Also, please provide a web link when referencing an online source. Please represent yourself honorably. Topic: There are several long-standing issues/debates in the field of Developmental Psychology. These include:

nature vs. nurture,
continuity vs. discontinuity, and
early vs. later experience.
Choose at least one (1) of these debates to discuss.

Education on sexuality

Why is education on sexuality important? Of what benefit is education at each stage of the human lifespan beginning with middle childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood? If you would create and ideal sexuality education program, how would you balance religious beliefs, cultural belies and technical/scientific approaches?

Parenting topics

What ethical and/or practical issues are associated with the following parenting topics: genetic testing, interaction between cognitive and and social/emotional development, use of technology to look inside brain development, media use in children? Select two topics to discuss and provide your viewpoints, but remember to substantiate your views with supportive evidence.

A More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)

 

 

 

 

 

A More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) is a significant part of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. Aside from the teacher, what MKOs might be present in a child’s life? How can you leverage these MKOs to help the child to develop? How might these MKOs inadvertently hinder the child’s development?

Links to help

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development (video) | Khan Academy

Vygotsky sociocultural development (video) | Khan Academy

Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory – Simply Psychology