Maintains that medical growth charts that have been created by pharmaceutical companies can be utilized to demonstrate a variety of statistical concepts in psychology. Expounds that the charts are based on data collected from 1963-1975 by the National Center for Health Statistics with a sample of over 20,000 children. Provides teaching activities.…

Describes and evaluates a two-semester college-level course in pediatric psychology involving classroom and hospital experiences. Evaluations indicated that most students were very interested in the course and that many were considering careers involving chronically ill or disturbed children. (DB)

At the beginning of this course in child and adolescent psychology, students are asked to write out one question they wish answered. Using this method, professors can be responsive to student needs without sacrificing the academic integrity of their courses. (CS)

Explains goals, methods, and results of showing video cassettes of children at varying developmental levels in an undergraduate developmental psychology course. The majority of student ratings of the course were high. Suggests ways teachers can develop their own video cassettes. (CK)

Offers six strategies that can be used in human development courses to promote student understanding of the research practice relationship: (1) observation; (2) priming; (3) clarification of tacit assumptions; (4) a life span perspective; (5) the meanings of diversity; and (6) theory as process. (CMK)

Describes the development and implementation of a cross-listed undergraduate and graduate-level child psychology course taught over the Internet. Describes course content and instructional goals. Outlines the opportunities and pitfalls of teaching in a virtual classroom. (CMK)

Describes the use of fictional literature in a college-level developmental psychology class. Focuses specifically on Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and its relation to several child development topics. Contends that literature should be used more often as part of instruction, especially in the sciences. (CFR)

Describes a college-level interdisciplinary honors course on the rights of children. Explains how students review historical and contemporary legal issues from a psychological perspective. Recommends using the method as a separate course or integrated into other psychology courses. (CFR)

Describes a project within an undergraduate developmental psychology course in which students build toys suitable for newborn to four-year-old children. Includes instructional procedures, descriptive examples of toys made during the class, grading procedures, and student evaluations of the project. (CFR)

Describes a course on social and personality development in which students wrote term papers about 10 aspects of child and adolescent development depicted in an animated film of their choice. Students had to provide two examples of each aspect from the films. Student response to the assignment was generally favorable. (MJP)

Describes an undergraduate psychology course focusing on children's social development during the middle childhood years. Students select, view, and analyze a feature film using theory and research presented in the course. Includes a table listing 18 films used in the course. (CFR)

Describes an instructional method where undergraduate child development students and a class of grade school students prepare and exchange written questions and answers. The questions focused on their educational experiences. Discusses advantages of this method over other interactive techniques. This exercise can be adapted for other courses. (MJP)

Describes an in-class activity where children and their parents are invited to an undergraduate child development class. The children's ages match the developmental stages that the class is studying. The parents/children discuss various issues with the students. Briefly outlines some of the discussion patterns that occur. (MJP)

Describes an educational game where students are assigned a hypothetical "lot" representing a life event that centers on a developmental issue. The lot serves as the topic for empirical research and investigations into community agencies. Student research focuses on implications for individual development and the quality of family life. (MJP)

To provide undergraduate and graduate psychology students with exposure to a wide range of parenting perspectives, eight videocassette programs were produced focusing on the child rearing strategies of parents. Described are project background, rationale, activities, materials development, and program implementation and evaluation. (RM)