Instructor: Denise Ann Bodman (Bustamante)

Office: Cowden 101 Telephone: 965-8335 E-Mail: dbodman@asu.edu

Line# 12990; 8:40 to 9:30 MWF; LSE 104

Office Hours: MW 9:30 to 12:30; M 3:00-3:300; other times by appointment

Website: http://www.public.asu.edu/~dbodman

Course Description

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of human development during the adolescent years. Special attention is focused on the development of adolescents within the context of the family and the parent-adolescent relationship.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course students will be able to

a. identify the major theories associated with the study of adolescence, with emphasis on systems theory.

b. describe the major aspects of adolescent development (physical, cognitive, and psychosocial) and the family’s influence on it as well as its influence on the family.

c. describe the influence of the larger society on adolescent development and the family.

d. discuss family stress theory, facts surrounding adolescent suicide, and the effects of divorce on adolescents.

Text and Materials

None

Students will be expected to read articles online. Therefore, students must have a userid for ASU and access http://my.asu.edu. The userid can be obtained through Computing Commons.

Evaluation and Grades

A student’s grade will be determined by his or her performance on four examinations, online reading assignments, an interview/paper, and in-class assignments. The examinations will consist of multiple choice, true-false, and matching; generally, 50 percent of the questions will be taken from the readings and 50 percent will be taken from lecture. Many questions will be application and "real-world" questions.

Your final grade will be based on total number of points. Each exam is worth 50 points (200 pts total), online reading assignments will be worth 24 points, inclass assignments will total 26 points, and the interview paper will be worth 50 points, for a total of 300 points. Thus,

A = 270-300 B = 240-269 C = 210-239 D = 180-209 E = 0 - 179

Students who took this class before said they would like to pass on two pieces of advice to help students this semester: "Read the book and take notes in class! Don’t rely on someone else’s notes."

Interview/Paper. This assignment involves conducting one interview with an adolescent and/or parent, evaluating their responses according to class material and at least one outside source, and writing a 2 to 3 page synthesis of the interview. A photocopy of the outside source/s must be attached (at least the title page and any pages that information was taken from). The paper work MUST be in APA V style. Students will be given a choice of interview topic areas (i.e., cognitive development; peers and family; effects of divorce) and a series of questions to use for the interviews. Students are responsible for finding their own adolescents/parents to interview. The adolescent’s/parent’s responses to the questions must be attached to the synthesis when turned in for a grade. The instructor and TA will be available to assist students in structuring their papers and using APA format. Also, I have provided a link on my website with sample papers and APA V information. Just click "Writing Tips."

The students’ written work will be evaluated not only for content but also for the quality of writing. Written work should flow logically, and be clear in its presentation. Minimum requirements for acceptance include neatness and typing, as well as correct spelling and grammar. Students are NOT allowed to use direct quotes from outside sources; however, at least one outside source should be cited throughout the paper. Plagiarism will result in an automatic failure. My TA and I can meet with you to go over your paper and assist in style, citing, etc. up to 1 week prior to the due date. All papers must be turned in before or during the class period indicated.

Attendance

Students can only expect to do well in this course if they attend class. A substantial portion of the material covered on the test will be dealt with in the lectures. The lectures will often expand beyond the material provided in the readings. Consequently, regular class attendance will be very important. If you miss a lecture, it is your responsibility to get notes and handouts from classmates. Make-up examinations will be given only in extreme emergencies involving personal health or family crises. Class attendance, therefore, is required at all examination times. Any absence from an examination must be approved by the instructor before the examination is given.