University System of Georgia Independent and Distance Learning -> Courses and Registration -> Course Offerings -> Child and Family Development -> CHFD 2100 - Course Overview
CHFD 2100 (UGA)
Development within the Family (3 semester hours)
Web Course Format: ALISSA.
This course can be taken
-> as a web course
-> as a print course
Lessons for this course can be submitted and/or be returned
-> via U.S. mail
-> via fax return from IDL
Begin the registration process for this course
Ecological approach to individual development and interpersonal relationships through consideration of family processes across the life span. Practice in application of principles.
Requirements: Eleven lessons, two examinations.
Instructor: Christine L. Olson, L.P.C., or Valerie Havill, Ph.D., The University of Georgia.
Texts: Lamanna and Reidmann, Marriages and Families: Making Choices in a Diverse Society (8th ed.). Belmont,CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2003.
Required course packet, available through E-Reserves. Access to E-Reserves provided by IDL upon registration.
Optional: Thompson, Study Guide for Lamanna and Reidmann's Marriages and Families, 8th ed., Wadsworth, 2003.
CHFD 2100 - Course Overview Introduction
The goals of this course are to help you better understand yourself and your family situation, appreciate the variety and diversity of families today, and make you more conscious of the personal decisions you must make throughout your life and the societal influences on those decisions.
The family is one of the most complex social institutions. It is affected by biological processes, psychological dynamics, cultural values, market conditions, demographic changes, religious beliefs, government agencies, and historical change (e.g., effects of war, availability of birth control, or increases in longevity). Until recently, much of the sociological and historical writing about families has upheld the simple, uniform model of the American nuclear family. This is both a simplified and idealized notion of the family. One of the most fruitful recent directions of the study of “the family” has been a departure from the quest for uniformity in family behavior, the abandonment of blanket concepts such as “universal” functions of family, and the acceptance of the complexity of families and family structure.
Lesson Preparation
Each of the lessons consists of a reading assignment, a discussion section that emphasizes the most important points in the reading, and a written assignment that you will complete and submit for a grade. There are also objectives for each lesson that will help guide your study.
Begin each lesson by reading the chapter. Be sure that you can define the key terms listed at the end of the chapter. You might want to skim the list prior to reading the chapter. Understanding the key terms is an indication that you are grasping many of the important concepts. You will certainly want to incorporate appropriate terms into your written assignments. You may also want to read the written assignment prior to reading the chapter in order to help organize and focus your answers. Don’t, however, make the mistake of reading just to answer the questions. You are responsible for all of the material presented in the text. I have tried to create assignments that will allow you to integrate and organize some of the major points presented. If you do not read the entire chapter, your answers will often be incomplete.
For those who prefer computer-aided learning, I suggest that you go to the website for the textbook: http://www.wadsworth.com/sociology_d/. This free study guide includes chapter summaries, crossword puzzles, flash cards, and a tutorial quiz. Others may prefer to buy the printed study guide that accompanies the textbook. Both reinforce the learning of key concepts and lesson objectives. You may also want to visit some of the links listed at the end of each chapter, where you can explore issues in more depth and find information on especially interesting topics. Again, these sources will help you learn the material and write better essays.
My goal is not for you to be able to memorize and regurgitate information presented in the text. I hope that by the end of this course, you will be able to analyze critically the information presented,integrate it with information from this and other courses, and apply it in your personal life and career. This course contains several writing assignments for each lesson. Since there are no lectures, discussions, or demonstrations, as there would be in the classroom setting, you must take responsibility for learning and mastering the material. This will require much work and self-discipline on your part. You may, however, progress at your own pace. You may spend more time on lessons that you find difficult. Other lessons may seem easier. I have tried to develop assignments that will provide you with the opportunity to organize the major concepts and to integrate research, theory, and ideas. My assignments do not include multiple-choice, true/false, or fill-in-the-blank questions. These are all well-established methods of evaluating knowledge, but I would be able to score your answers only as correct or incorrect. Such questions provide me with little information about why you chose the answers you did. They are much easier to grade than essay questions, but I would wonder how much you have learned. Writing will take more effort from you, but you benefit because you can show me what you do know. (If you take the practice tests in the study guide, you’ll see how vague some of the questions are.)
When answering the essay questions, be sure to demonstrate understanding of the material presented in the text. You are welcomed and encouraged to bring in information that you obtain elsewhere (e.g., on the web, from other coursework, suggested readings found at the end of each chapter, work or volunteer experience), and you may use examples from your own experience either to support or refute the information presented in this course. Please, do not rely solely on personal experience when you answer the questions. I need to know that you have mastered the required course material. I do, however, encourage you to reflect on your life experiences and see how this information may apply. Some questions you will be able to answer in a brief paragraph, while others will require lengthy essays. Please be sure to answer the question completely. This is your opportunity to demonstrate to me how much you know and understand. Unless the instructions for a given question are different, please write in full sentences. Lists and outlines generally do not provide me with sufficient information to evaluate your knowledge of the material. Please type your lessons. Handwritten lessons need my prior approval.
I will return your work with my comments. Please do not react negatively if you see the margins filled with questions or challenges to your arguments. This does not necessarily mean that I disagree with you; rather, I am attempting to extend your thinking and help you polish your arguments. I will try to address concerns, research, or theory that you did not include in your essays. Even A papers will have many comments.
You are sometimes asked to observe or interview individuals as part of your assignments. Please be sure to protect their identities by creating pseudonyms. I will hold as confidential any information that you provide in your essays.
Examination and Grading
This course has both a midterm and a final exam. The midterm covers Lessons 1 through 5; the final exam will cover Lessons 6 through 11. Although the final exam is not designed to be cumulative, you will find that mastery of prior lessons is necessary for a complete understanding of later lessons. For example, you will often be required to consider research findings by using one or more of the theoretical positions presented in Chapter 3. The exams consist of questions very similar but not identical to the ones that you are asked to answer at the end of each lesson. Your best strategies for preparing for the exams are to review the lesson objectives and key terms at the end of each chapter and to practice answering the short-answer and essay questions at the end of each chapter. If you feel comfortable answering those questions and have reviewed and understood my comments on your written assignments, you will be well prepared for the exam.
Each of the eleven lessons is worth 100 points. The midterm and the final are each worth 200 points. Your written assignments will account for 73 percent of your grade, with the remainder being split evenly between the two exams.
Please note that IDL policy requires that you pass the final in order to pass the course, regardless of grades earned on lessons or the midterm. You are responsible for knowing and abiding by IDL policies and procedures. See your Student Handbook for detailed information.
