Students learn with their heads and their hearts
In conjunction with the Toddler Center program, 16 students participate annually in a two-semester course on toddler development.
Seminar:
Tuesdays, 12:50pm-2:50pm.
Course requirements include active participation in seminar, a weekly observation journal, weekly readings, participation in the Toddler Center classroom, research projects, and papers
The course involves:
- working as an Assistant Teacher in the Toddler Center one morning per week, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- participating in a weekly seminar on toddler development (Psy BC 3465x, 3466y). This is an 8 credit course. Developmental Psychology is a prerequisite.
NOTE: Students must be able to participate in BOTH Semesters.
The seminar is designed to complement the classroom experience of working with and learning about toddlers. While students experience the process of development firsthand in the Center throughout the year, the seminar provides a theoretical base regarding the development of toddlers. The combination of reading theoretical and research writings in the field of child development provides a unique way to learn about an important developmental period.
Throughout the year, students learn about child observation and development. Readings primarily focus on socio-emotional aspects of development as children move from their primary relationship with their parents into new relationships, including with peers.
Toddlerhood represents a time when children both separate from their primary attachment figures and begin to form new relationships. This period of development allows us to study both separation/individuation and roots of friendship and peer interactions.
