Instructors: Dr. Sherry L. Willis
Professor of Human Development
This is an advanced-level course on adult development and aging. The course content involves an examination of the research literature on psychological, social, and biological influences that affect the human life course from young adulthood to old age.
Psy 2, statistics, and 6 hours in Human Development and Family Studies, psychology, or sociology.
Schaie, K. W. & Willis, S. L. (1996). Adult development and aging. 3rd edition. New York: HarperCollins.
Copies of the Handbooks of Aging are on reserve in Pattee.
A. Class meetings: The class will meet on Tuesday and Thursday for lecture-discussion.
B. Grading: The final grade for the course will be determined by the student's performance on three in-class examinations, and a chapter critique
Exam I 25% of final grade
Exam II 25%
Exam III 25%
Chapter critique 25%
C. Examinations: There will be three examinations (in class). Each examination will include an objective part (short answer, multiple choice questions), assessing factual knowledge of the course content. There will also be an essay part, testing students' ability to integrate and critically evaluate materials from lectures and readings. Each exam will be worth 25% of the final grade. There will be no comprehensive final. The lecture material and readings to be covered on each exam are included in the course outline.
Students unable to take an exam on the designatcd date must notify the instructor in advance and receive permission to take a make-up exam. Make-up exams will be essay. Failure to notify the instructor will result in a reduction in the grade on the make-up exam.
D. Chapter Critique: The student is to select one chapter from the third edition (1990) of the Handbooks on Aging (see below) and write a 10-page summary and critique (type-written) of the chapter. Copies of the handbooks are on reserve in Pattee. Information to be included in the critique will be discussed in class and is outlined on a page in this syllabus. The chapter critique is due __________. Graduate students will have another option to the chapter critique.
Birren, J. E. & Schaie, K. W. (Eds.) (1990). Handbook of the psychology of aging, 3rd Ed. New York: Academic Press.
Binstock, R. H. & George, L., E. (Eds.) (1990). Handbook of aging and the social sciences, 3rd ed. New York: Academic Press.
Schneider, E. & Rowe, J.. (Eds.) (1990). Handbook of the biology of aging, 3rd ed. New York: Academic Press.
Chap. 1
Chap. 1
Chap. 2
Chap. 2
Chap. 3
Chap. 3
Chap. 4
Chap. 4
Chap. 5
Chap. 5
EXAM I (Chaps. 1-5)
Chap. 6
Chap. 6
Chap. 7
Chap. 7
Chap. 8
Chap. 8
March 7-11 SPRING BREAK
Chap. 9
Chap. 9
Chap. 10
EXAM II: (Chaps 6-10)
Chap. 11
Chap. 11
Chap. 12
Chap. 12
Chap. 13
Chap. 13
Chap. 14
Chap. 14
Chap. 15
EXAM III (Chap. 11-15)
The purpose of this assignment is for the student to become more familiar with the body of literature associated with one topic relevant to the study of adult development and aging. The student is expected to examine the 3 Handbooks of Aging. 3rd Edition: Birren & Schaie (Eds.) Handbook of the Psychology of Aging: Binstock & George (Eds.) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences: Schneider & Rowe (Eds.) Handbook of the Biology of Aging. These handbooks are major reference sources in the field. The student is to select one chapter from one of these handbooks for study and critique. The student's written product should be both a review and a critique of the chapter chosen. The student is expected not only to summarize the chapter, but to do a critique. At least half of the written product should be a critique. The review and critique should be 10 type-written pages in length. The review and critique is due______ . The following topics may be covered in the review and critique.
I. What major topics were covered in the chapter?
Was there breadth in the number and type of topics covered?
Did the author exhibit a bias regarding his/her view of the area by the types of topics chosen for coverage?
What other topics might the author have included?
II. Did the author pose some positions/hypotheses regarding the field of study? (Give examples)
Was the author able to support these positions/hypotheses in the literature review?
Was the selection of literature reviewed biased by the author's positions/hypotheses?
III. Author's interpretation of literature cited in literature review. Select 3 articles cited in the chapter and read the original articles. Did the author interpret and correctly cite these 3 articles in the chapter? (Give examples)
IV. Did the author refer to or discuss certain theories, and concepts covered in HDFS/PSY 445? (Give examples)
V. Did the author discuss the types of methodologies, measures, and instruments associated with research in the area of study? (Give examples)
Did the author critique studies with respect to methodologies, measures, or just with respect to the substance of the studies or their interpretations?
Did the author suggest types of methodologies and measures needed in order to do research in the area?
VI. Did the author have chapter section(s) summarizing the material covered in that section?
Did the author have a concluding section to the chapter, summarizing, drawing conclusions, and suggesting future research directions, or was the reader left to draw his/her own conclusions?
VII. In your opinion was this chapter an adequate review of the literature and discussion of issues regarding the area of study? State reasons for your opinion.
To direct comments about the information contained in these pages, please write to marsiske@ufl.edu