Child Development: An Active Learning Approach

Activate - Engage - Inspire

Within each chapter of this innovative topical text, the authors engage students by demonstrating the wide range of real-world applications of psychological research connected to child development. In particular, the distinctive Active Learning features incorporated throughout the book foster a dynamic and personal learning process for students. The authors cover the latest topics shaping the field of child development-including a focus on neuroscience, diversity, and culture-without losing the interest of undergraduate students. The pedagogical features in this text and the accompanying ancillaries’ package help students discover the excitement of studying child development, enhance their learning, and equip them with tools they can use long after the class ends.

Key Features

• Test Your Knowledge true/false prereading assessments compel students to consider their beliefs about child development-especially in terms of what they may think is “right.”
• Each distinctive Active Learning activity solidifies students’ knowledge by connecting their personal experiences to the materials presented in the book.
• The Journey of Research features provide students with a lens into scientific research, helping them understand that the “facts” as we know them today may change-sometimes substantially-in the future as our body of knowledge grows.
• Accessibly-presented neuroscience coverage throughout reflects its increasing importance in of the study of in child development
• Issues of diversity and culture give the broader picture of how the many different circumstances of children’s lives around the world influence each aspect of development.
• The integrated coverage of psychopathology and developmental differences provides students with a better understanding of the wide spectrum of human behavior.
• The focus on what constitutes evidence explains and then reinforces the importance of convincing evidence within an agreed-upon framework.
• The emphasis on critical thinking and analysis throughout encourages students to become good consumers of information on development
• Best practices in how to learn are addressed throughout the book and online with the inclusion of guidelines, tools, and resources to inspire students to delve further into studying and understanding child development.

Early Praise for Child Development: An Active Learning Approach

"I really like the approach/perspective of this book. I like the idea of ‘active learning to engage students in understanding development through the lens of scientific research.”
-Amanda R. Lipko, The College at Brockport, State University of New York

“The authors can be commended for their ability to explain very complex concepts in a way that almost anyone can understand without oversimplifying or leaving out essential details.”
-Jessica Dennis, California State University, Los Angeles