Course Syllabus

Freshman Seminar 24 U

2024

“How did I get here?”—APPRECIATING “NORMAL” CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Laura M. Prager, M.D.

Introduction:

What is “normal” in child development? The four-year-old who can already read chapter books may be struggling to learn to swim. The 11-year-old who is president of his sixth grade class and popular with his classmates may be afraid of the dark and sleep with his parents. The 16-year-old who does extremely well in his academic subjects may repeatedly fail the written test for a learner’s permit test. In order to appreciate why we might or might not need to be concerned about these mismatches between age and stage, we need to understand what is considered “normal” growth and maturation.

This may seem like a relatively easy task at first. We take the nuances of developmental differences for granted because we’re so accustomed to experiencing them. Nevertheless, defining normal (versus abnormal) development is a complex and controversial undertaking. Development involves a tricky intermingling of environmental stimuli, cultural and social expectations, rapid and not always intuitive changes in brain development, temperamental differences, genetic inheritance, and mind-boggling brain plasticity.

The course will start with a consideration of general themes and then move to a chronologic perspective. First, we approach child development as a dynamic force, one which simultaneously engages multiple domains: social/relational, cognitive, physical, moral. We will then switch to examine development as a sequence of stages, using our understanding of neurobiological, physical, cultural, and psychological factors to inform our assessment of how children change over time. Readings will include classic papers on development, chapters that provide overviews of specific developmental stages, recently published research articles on genetic inheritance, selected contemporary children’s and young adult literature, personal memoirs, and short stories written about childhood.

Materials and Access:

Reading materials are listed on the syllabus and posted as pdfs in Course Documents

Starred readings are optional.

Two books are recommended but not required and available at the Coop or on Amazon.

Davies’s Child Development, Fourth Edition: A Practitioner’s Guide. 2020 (hardcover)

Crain, W. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications (6th edition). 2011. Boston: Prentice Hall. (paperback)

Assignments:

Two short response papers and one slightly longer analytical paper.

Field Trips: There will be one field trip to a site on the Harvard campus.

Accommodations for students with disabilities :

Students needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a documented disability must present their Faculty Letter from the Accessible Education Office (AEO) and speak with the professor by the end of the second week of the term. Failure to do so may result in the Course Head's inability to respond in a timely manner. All discussions will remain confidential, although Faculty are invited to contact AEO to discuss appropriate implementation.

Certain assignments in this course will permit or even encourage the use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools such as ChatGPT. The default is that such use is disallowed unless otherwise stated. Any such use must be appropriately acknowledged and cited. It is each student’s responsibility to assess the validity and applicability of any GAI output that is submitted; you bear the final responsibility. Violations of this policy will be considered academic misconduct. We draw your attention to the fact that different classes at Harvard could implement different AI policies, and it is the student’s responsibility to conform to expectations for each course.

Course Schedule:

Course meets every Tuesday from 3:45-5:45 PM from 1/23/2024 to 4/23/2024; class will not meet during Spring Break, 3/19/2024.

Week #1 -- 1/23/2024: How did you get here?

No assigned reading.

Week #2 – 1/30/2024: Nature or Nurture?

There are an uncountable number of factors that dictate our development from conception to adulthood, including (but by no means limited to) genetic code, in utero exposures, the interaction between temperament and parenting styles, socioeconomic status, cultural mores, available learning opportunities and traumatic events. As the celebrated and renowned physician, psychiatrist and social scientist Dr. Leon Eisenberg once asked, “How, then, does our garden grow?” His answer, like development, is deceptively simple: “Seed and soil both matter—and so do rain and sun and parasites and pesticides.”* In this first session, we introduce the ongoing dialectic between genetic inheritance and the environment and the persistent unpredictability of developmental outcomes.

Reading:

Allison, Dorothy. Bastard out of Carolina. Plume 1993, Chapter 8.

Schwartz, Delmore. In Dreams Begin Responsibilities. (1935).

Eisenberg, Leon. Experience, Brain, and Behavior: The Importance of a Head Start. Pediatrics. 1999; 103; 1031.

Dorris, M. The Broken Cord. 1989. New York: Harper Collins. pp. 1-45

**Sameroff, Arnold. (2010) A unified theory of development: a dialectic integration of nature and nurture. Child Development. January/February 81(1), 6-22.

Week #3 – 2/6/2024: An Overview of Normal Growth and Development

When the child was a child

It was the time of the following questions

Why am I me and why not you

Why am I here and why not there

Why did time begin and where does space end

Isn't what I see and hear and smell

Just the appearance of the world in front of the world

--Van Morrison, Song of Being a Child (lyrics by Peter Handke)

This week, we will look at development from 30,000 feet with an introduction to the developmental tasks as identified by several of the major theorists and a glimpse into some of the functional studies of brain development. Figuring out how to link the science and the theory is the focus of most contemporary work in child development.

Reading:

Crain, W. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications (6th edition). 2011. Boston: Prentice Hall. Chapter 12: Erikson

Questions to consider:

It is true that a child must stand before it can walk, but not all children learn to crawl. Are other aspects of development linear, proceeding along a predictable, fixed sequence? As you listen to the talk, also consider whether or not the developmental theorists complement or contradict each other.

Week #4 – 2/13/2024: Attachment

How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough, is forever enough?

- How Long Do you Want to Be Loved, The Dixie Chicks,

There is something biological, measurable, and palpable even, that develops between a primary caregiver and a child. This “attachment” refers to the complex interplay of biologically based communications, cultural expectations, and evolutionary adaptations that characterizes this relationship. The brain of the poorly attached child is different than the brain of one who has made a good attachment. Today’s class--that very appropriately falls on Valentine's Day-- will focus on this very real and yet often poorly described phenomenon.

Reading:

Siegel, DJ (1999) Attachment in The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who we Are. New York. The Guilford Press, pp: 67-120.

Nelson, CA. (2007) A Neurobiological Perspective on Early Human Deprivation. Child Development Perspectives. 1(1) pp: 13-18.

Fraiberg, Selma et al. Ghosts in the Nursery.

Assignment #1: Response paper (2-3 pages double-spaced) due next class by 3:45 PM

“How we come to be the way we are is through the process of development. Generally defined as the lifelong process of growth, maturation and change, development is the product of the elaborate interplay of biological, psychological, and social influences.”

Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General— http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/libaray/mentalhealth/chapter2/se...

In a 2-3 page paper, please answer one of the following prompts:

Who or what have been the most important influences on your development to date? Do you see genetic, shared environmental and/or individual-specific factors that might have either expanded or limited your growth?
Margaret Wise Brown's children's book, Goodnight Moon, has been in continuous publication since 1947. Using what we have discussed in class to date, particularly with regard to early attachment, explain why you think this story has timeless appeal to both young children and their parents.

Week #5 – 2/20/24: Temperament and “Goodness of Fit”

Temperament refers to how a child responds to his/her environment. Researchers have suggested that these unique features of personality are readily apparent as early as the first few days of life. Such responses, modulated by cultural mores, are generally consistent and sustained over time and affect a child’s interaction with caregivers and peers and his/her approach to normal developmental tasks.

Reading:

Rettew, David. Child Temperament. Chapter 2: The Basics of Child Temperament. Norton & Co. 2013.

Chua, Amy. (2011) Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. New York: The Penguin Press. Chapter 3: Louisa pp:10-13 and Chapter 31: Red Square 202-206.

Klein, RG. Temperament: Half a Century in the Journal. JAACAP. 2011. Vol 50(11): 1090-1092.

Davies. Child Development. pp 70-73.

Questions to consider:

Do you accept the notion of temperament? Do people really grow up to be more like themselves? How convincing is the idea of continuity? Can you point to examples of such “continuity of personality” in your own life or in that of those around you?

Week #6 – 2/27/2024: Language and Cognition: Learning as an active process

Don't know much about history

Don't know much biology

Don't know much about a science book

Don't know much about the French I took

--Wonderful World by Sam Cooke

A three-year-old can “master” playing with blocks; a 12-year-old can engage in the scientific method. It only takes nine years to travel from blocks to hypotheses! Imagine the brain growth involved in that trajectory. Cognitive development is separate from moral or emotional development. One can be very emotionally mature and morally astute and nevertheless have a poor grasp of abstract problem solving. In this week, we will start thinking about how to tease out these differences, particularly the false notion that intelligence itself is a one-dimensional construct.

Reading:

Crain, W. Theories of Development. 6^th edition. 2011. Boston: Prentice Hall.

Chapter 6: Cognitive-Developmental Theory

Chapter 10: Vygotsky’s Social-Historical Theory of Cognitive Development pp: 118-156, 224-252.

Pinker, S. The Language Instinct. (2007)

Chapter 9: Baby Born Talking--Describes Heaven pp: 265-301.

Clear, Beverly. Ramona the Pest. (1968)

Chapter 1: Ramona’s Great Day.

Questions to consider:

Characterize the major differences between Piaget and Vygotsky. Are the theories mutually exclusive? Do you agree with Vygotsky’s education strategies or prefer Piaget’s emphasis on “spontaneous learning”?

Week #7 – 3/5/2024: Moral Development

I started as an altar boy working at the church

Learning all my holy moves doing some research

Which led me to a cash box labeled "Children's Fund"

I'd leave the change and tuck the bills inside my cummerbund

I got a part-time job at my father's carpet store

Laying tackless stripping and housewives by the score

I loaded up their furniture and took it to Spokane

Auctioned off every last Naugahyde divan

I'm very well acquainted with the seven deadly sins

I keep a busy schedule trying to fit them in

I'm proud to be a glutton and I don't have time for sloth

I'm greedy and I'm angry and I don't care who I cross

--Mr. Bad Example, Warren Zevon 1991

Reading:

Crain, WC. (2006) Theories of Development 6^th edition. Boston: Prentice-Hall.

Chapter 7: Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development pp: 157-179.

Faulkner, W. Barn Burning

Berriault, G. The Stone Boy

Smith, Greg. Why I am Leaving Goldman Sachs. NYT 3/14/12.

Questions to consider:

Developmentally speaking, could we predict that the young protagonist in Faulkner’s story, Barn Burning, will betray his father? How does our new understanding of moral development shed light on the choices made by these different characters? In The Stone Boy, are society’s expectations of Arnold appropriate? Why or why not? What does Greg Smith’s article teach us about moral development through the life cycle?

Week #8– 3/12/2024: Field Trip!

Assignment #2: Art as a springboard for reflection (due 3/26/24 by 3:45 PM)

Week #9 – 3/26/2024: Culture and Ethnicity

There is much to criticize in what we’ve learned so far. Many cultures focus on intimacy much later or much earlier than Erickson thought the norm for our society. Who was he to dictate when we approach emotional milestones? Furthermore, Western culture itself is heterogeneous. Even in this country, there are profound differences in developmental expectations that are regionally, ethnically and culturally driven. This week we explore some of those differences and consider how they might affect a developmental trajectory.

Reading:

Maschinot, B. (2008). The changing face of the United States:The influence of culture on child development. Washington, DC: ZERO TO THREE.

Tough, Paul. (2008) Whatever it Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s quest to change Harlem and America. New York: Houghton Mifflin. pp 21-52. (Chapter 2: Unequal Childhoods)

Week #10 – 4/2/2024: Infants and Toddlers

Mommy had. A little baby.

There he is. Fast asleep.

He's just. A little plaything.

Why not. Wake him up?

Cute. Cute. Little baby.

Little pee pee. Little toes.

Now he's comin' to me.

Crawl across. The kitchen floor.

Baby, baby, please let me hold him

I wanna make him stay up all night

Sister, sister, he's just a plaything

We wanna make him stay up all night

Yeah we do

--The Talking Heads, Stay Up Late

Doesn’t an infant just sleep and poop? They also cry, but what more? Extremely exciting developments in the study of infancy have emerged in the last 20 or so years. These studies involve many of the concepts introduced already. You need only look at the tragedy of the Romanian orphanages that we read about a few weeks ago to know that just keeping a child fed isn’t enough. But what is the science and the theory behind these empirical findings?

Reading:

Fraiberg, Selma. The Magic Years. New York: Scribner, 2002, pp: 33-99.

Davies, Douglas. Child Development. Chapters 5 and 7.

Gudrais , Elizabeth. Early Learning. Harvard Magazine. January-February 2012.

Fox, SE, Levitt,P and Nelson, CE. How the timing and quality of early experiences affect the development of brain architecture. Child Development, January/February 2010, Volume 81, Number 1, Pages 28–40.

In class:

Fox, Geri. Normal Development DVD Series: A Longitudinal Stimulus Video Resource for Educators. Part Two: Normal Development in Middle Childhood and Adolescence, 2010. Distributed by Child Development Media, Inc, Van Nuys, CA. (Clips)

Questions to consider:

What qualities make an infant a “sophisticated social partner” according to Zeannah et.al? Why is this stage of life so critical to the later years? Drawing on what you have learned so far, what factors might impede development along physical, emotional, or cognitive lines?

Week # 11 – 4/9/2024: The School-Age Child

“It’s not fair,” is the mantra of school-age children. This is the age when everyone wants to play by the rules. How may strikes make an out? How many Yugio cards do you have? Learning, mastering, collecting and differentiating fantasy from reality--these are the tasks of the school aged child.

Reading:

Fraiberg, Selma. The Magic Years. New York: Scribner, 2002, pp:173-186 and 242-272.

Davies, Douglas. Child Development. Chapter 11, pp. 335-388

In class:

Week # 12 – 4/16/2024: Adolescents and Adolescence

Our song is the slamming screen door

Sneakin' out late, tapping on your window

When we're on the phone and you talk real slow

'Cause it's late and your mama don't know

--Taylor Swift, Our Song

Adolescence: a time of physical change, emotional upheaval and shifting social alliances. Most of all, the task of adolescence is to develop a sense of self. Along the way, many engage in impulsive, risk-taking behavior that is both biologically driven, and amenable to environmental, particularly family and peer influences.

Reading:

Casey, BJ, Getz, S, Galvan, A. (2008) The Adolescent Brain. Dev Rev 28(1), pp: 62-77.

Steinberg, L. (2008) A Social Neuroscience Perspective on Adolescent Risk-Taking. Dev Rev 28(1): 78-108.

Steinberg, L. (2001) We know some things: Adolescent parent relationships in retrospect and prospect. Journal of Research on Adolescence. (1) pp: 1-20.

Hazen, Eric, Schlozman, Steven, Beresin, Eugene. Adolescent Psychological Development: A Review. Pediatr. Rev. 2008. 29: 161-168.

Assignment #3: Analytical paper (5-7 pages double-spaced) due date: TBD

Choose one:

Pick a book, any book, which made a big impression on you during your childhood. Using what you have learned about development, explain why this particular book mattered to you so much. Did it, for example, capture a developmental stage, assuage developmentally appropriate fears, create a moral imperative, or pose a challenge to your age and stage? Was it important because you read it to yourself or because someone read it to you? Please refer to one or more of the theorists we studied to inform your argument.
TBD

Week #13 -- 4/23/2024: Adolescence: Other viewpoints/Wrap-up

Not everyone agrees that adolescence must be a time of destructive turmoil. Let’s look at some alternative viewpoints from a psychiatrist, a historian and an educator.

Noam, Gil. The Psychology of Belonging: Reforming adolescent development. Adolescent psychiatry: Development and clinical studies. Vol 24. Horowitz, Harvey A. Esman, Aaron, H. (eds): Flaherty Lois T. (Ed); Mahwah, NJ: Analytic Press. 1999. pp 49-68.

Offer, D., Schonert-Reichl, K A. Debunking the Myths of Adolescence: Findings from Recent Research. JAACAP, 31:6 Nov 1992, pp 1003-1014.