GDEV 1028 | HUMAN GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT I

Welcome!

Welcome!Meet your facilitator 2

Our learning outcomes 4

Evaluation 5

Schedule 6

Textbooks & other resources 8

A quick tour of your course 9

What’s in TLM? 10

HELP! 11

Some advice from learners 12

Where do I start? 14 Welcome to Human Growth & Development I!

In this course we’ll explore human development across the lifespan – from conception through the

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various stages of childhood.

The emphasis is on applying theories of child development to facilitate understanding early childhood, specifically the physical, cognitive, language, personality, moral, social and emotional development of children aged birth through twelve.

Ready? Let’s get started!

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Meet your facilitator

Glenda LewisFaculty, Early Childhood Education

NSCC Cumberland Campus

Phone: 1.902.597.4424Fax: 1.902.597.8548

glenda.lewis@nscc.ca

You can reach me during business hours Monday – Friday. I try to

respond to email within 48 hours during the work week.

Hi!

My name is Glenda Lewis, and I’m facilitating Growth and Human Development I.

I’ve been with NSCC since 1997, working within the school of Health & Human Services at the Cumberland Campus. I started my career in the Early Childhood Learning Centre as Assistant Director; later I moved on to be the Program Assistant for the Early Childhood Studies Program where I assisted the ECS faculty. Currently, I’m an Early Childhood faculty member. Prior to joining the College; I worked in preschools and daycares as a preschool teacher. I’m a board member of the NSCC Early Childhood learning Centre and the Early Childhood Development Support Centre.

I’m looking forward to the next couple of months learning together.

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picture of Glenda

A couple of things to keep in mind …

The WebBoard is an important “classroom” for us. Each week, I’ll be posting activities for us to explore, and I’ll answer any questions you post there every day or two. I’ll expect you to check the WebBoard at least twice each week.

I will communicate with you through your NSCC email account. It’s your responsibility to check your account every day or two. If you haven’t activated your account, start here: http://onlinelearning.nscc.ca/support/OWA/Wizard/.

Read your assignments carefully! Email or mail them directly to me as you complete them.

I’m looking forward to the next few months.

Remember, if you have a question, I’m just a phone call or an email away!

Glenda

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Our learning outcomesLearners are required to successfully complete each course outcome. In keeping with NSCC’s approach to portfoliolearning, learners will have demonstrated the ability to:

Discuss the factors that influence our understanding of human development from conception to late childhood.

Identify the stages of human development from conception to late childhood.

Develop an understanding of how theories of development help early childhood educators explain and predict development in children.

Explore contexts which influence development.

Demonstrate respective, appropriate professional behavior and effective interpersonal interactions with others in the learning environment in accordance with your standards of

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practice as well as those outlined in NSCC Great Expectations

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EvaluationThere are 5 evaluations in this course:

1. Project: WebBoard Communication 30%You are expected to check email and course pages (including WebBoard) at least twice each week for course information and updates.

2. Assignment 1 20%Developmental Influences

3. Assignment 2 20%Stages of Human Growth

4. Test 30%There will be one open book test which has a time limit of two hours, no proctor needed. This will be a test on Chapters 1 & 2 in your textbook only. Good luck! Please have the test completed by October 12, 2012.

5. Professional Conduct Rubric Pass/Fail

Assignments are to be handed in on or before the specified date, and will incur a late penalty of 10% per day. Late assignments will not be accepted after six days and will result in a 0%.

You’ll find more information about your assignments in The Learning Manager. The pass mark for this course is 60%.

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ScheduleWeek Date Units Assignments

1 September 10-14 Introduction WebBoard post

2 September 17-21 Unit 1 WebBoard post

3 September 24-28 Unit 1 WebBoard post

4 October 1-5 Unit 2 WebBoard post

5 October 8-12 Unit 2 WebBoard post

Test – chapters 1 & 2- Oct. 12

6 October 15-19 Unit 3 WebBoard post

7 October 22-26 Unit 3 WebBoard post

8 October 29 – November 2

Unit 4 WebBoard post

9 November 5-9 Unit 4 WebBoard post

10 November 12-16 Unit 5 WebBoard post

Dev. Influences – Nov. 16

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Week Date Units Assignments

11 November 19-23 Unit 5 WebBoard post

12 November 26-30 Unit 6 WebBoard post

13 December 3-7 Unit 6 WebBoard post

Stages of H. Growth- Dec. 5

14 December 10-14 Wrap up

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Textbooks & other resources

The required textbook for this course is:

Title: Lifespan Development, 4th EditionAuthor: Bee, Boyd and Johnson

Publisher: Pearson CanadaISBN: 978-0-205-75428-1

Additional Resources:

Companion website for your textbook:http://www.pearsoned.ca/bee

If you haven’t already purchased your textbook, you should do it now.

Textbooks for distance courses may be purchased by contacting the NSCC Metro Bookstore (IT Campus) and arranging payment. When the bookstore receives the credit card information, the cheque or the money order, the textbook(s) will be mailed to the address that you provide to the bookstore.

Contact Leslie Moldovan, Bookstore Manager, regarding availability, price, and shipping for textbook purchase:

Phone: (902) 491-4730Fax: (902) 491-4800Email:

metro.bookstore@nscc.ca From September to May you can also order your textbook(s) at the nearest campus bookstore. When the books are available for pickup, the campus bookstore will contact you.

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You will pay for and pick the books up at the campus bookstore.

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A quick tour of your course

In this course we’ll have two “classrooms” that we’ll use to learn:

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TLM (The Learning Manager)http://tlm.nscc.ca/tlm40/ TLM is where you’ll find course materials, handouts, and assignments. If you need to take a test, you’ll find it in TLM.

WebBoardhttp://onlinelearning.nscc.ca/webboardWebBoard is a discussion forum. This is where you post general questions (your facilitator will check every couple of days! And you’ll participate in discussion activities with the other people in the course.

What’s in TLM?

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Course mapThis is the main part of your course. It’s where you’ll find your study guides (or, units), assignments, tests and your marks.

TIP: Print out your units & assignments and organize them in a binder.

TutorialIf you’re new to TLM, start here by clicking the

HandoutsYou’ll find a collection of

PowerPoints here You’ll also find the rubrics used to evaluate your work.

ScheduleTape it to your computer!

Course outline & work plan

Read it carefully!

LinksWhere to go for support Introduction

An overview of your course

HELP!If you need help, here are some places you can go:

GENERAL QUESTIONSThe fastest way to get a response is to post your questions to the discussion board … and if you see a question there you can answer, dive in!

TECHNICAL QUESTIONSIf you have a technical question about Elluminate, WebBoard or TLM (for example, you forgot your password or you can see TLM on your computer), contact Online Learning.

Phone: 491.6774Toll-free: 1-877-491-6774 Email: online.learning@nscc.ca

Also, please take a look at our website for more Frequently Asked Questions by online learners.

http://onlinelearning.nscc.ca/support/faq/faqStudents/#inquiries

YOU’RE HAVING TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING SOMETHINGIf you have a question about course content or course resources -- for example, difficulty with an assignment or understanding course material, or perhaps trouble obtaining a textbook – contact your facilitator. Their contact info is in this guide.

YOU CAN’T REACH YOUR FACILITATORIf you’ve called and/or emailed your facilitator, but they haven’t responded and it’s past the period of time that they’ve agreed to return messages, or if you’ve spoken with your instructor but have an issue you can’t resolve with them, contact the Academic Chair responsible for the online course. You’ll find their contact info in your course outline (on the sidebar in TLM)

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Time Tamers for Online LearnersWe asked learners what advice they’d offer to someone who’s taking an online course. Here’s what they said:

Keep on top of things, or you will get lost!!!”

“Don’t be afraid to try...push the technology to its limits, and you’ll learn a great deal. If you make mistakes...well, you’ll learn from them, too!”

“Set aside a block of time in your calendars to focus on the work that needs to be done. We work best when we set out some milestones and guideposts for ourselves. It works!”

“Set aside a specific time each day to devote to your online course.”

“Be open to the possibilities.”

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“Take it slow but check in every day. Part of my challenge was remembering how to log on and then remembering what to do. Logging on everyday makes it easier. - it gets easier.”

“The array of technology can be overwhelming. Start simple and be kind to yourself!”

“Throw all your fears and anxieties out the window and just do it!”

“As frustrated as you may feel when you get started, don’t give up. It will get easier and make sense as you move along.”

“Time management is key, and if you don’t have the skill, then search out some help to gain the skill.”

“Enter with an open mind, and your fellow group members are an amazing resource.”

“Take 10-15 minutes every other night (if not every night) to read the messages on the WebBoard, this will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.”

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“Participate quickly and as often as you can! I procrastinated at first because of my limited knowledge of technology and my level of discomfort with it. Once I really began to get involved, however, it was much easier than I had expected and quite enjoyable.”

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Where do I start?Here are a few ways you can get started:

1. Introduce yourself on the discussion board.

Log in to WebBoard: http://onlinelearning.nscc.ca/webboard .

Use the username and password sent to you by NSCC Online Learning.

2. Explore TLM. Take a look at your course outline and work plan on the sidebar. Browse through the study guides and assignments. It helps to print them out and organize them in a binder.

3. Check your NSCC email account for messages from your facilitator.

Enjoy the course!

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