DEVELOPMENTAL AND EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Academic Year 2024/2025 - Teacher: Alessandra GERACI

Expected Learning Outcomes

The main aim of this course is to provide the student with the foundational knowledge necessary to reflect in a critical and competent way on the phases, processes and causes of mental development. Our focus will be both on core theoretical issues and on empirical studies on the development of perceptual processes and mental representations, inductive reasoning and early knowledge in some core domains such as physics, biology, language and the social world. The problems of the acquisition of mental capacities and the development of cognitive architecture will be tackled by presenting the classical developmental theories and the most recent models and theoretical perspectives, and also by discussing several experimental studies and the research methods employed in the field. The final goal is to bring about in the students a critical understanding of the main developmental theories. We expect that by the end of the course students will also know several recent progresses in the main areas of develomental psychology.

Course Structure

The lessons will be mainly frontal, but the active participation of the students will be encouraged, who will often be encouraged to interact, comparing their opinions on the problems of mental development, expressing critical comments and asking clarification questions. To better illustrate some research areas, videos will also be used. Some readings of scientific articles will be recommended, offering students group work and classroom presentations.

Required Prerequisites

None.

Attendance of Lessons

Mandatory frequance.

Detailed Course Content

1. Fondamental concepts in developmental psychology.

2. Developmental theories.

3. Biological development.

4. Motor and perceptual development.

5. Socio-emotional development.

6. Piaget and cognitive developmental theories: yesterday and today.

7. Vygotskij, Bruner and information processing approach.

8. Temperament and development.

9. Moral Development.

10. The development of the Self and the acquisition of identity.

11. The family and the peer group: social contexts of development.

12. The development of psychological reasoning: Theory of Mind.

Textbook Information

1. Santrock, J. W. (2021). Psicologia dello sviluppo (IV Edizione). Milano: McGraw Hill Education

2. Surian, L. (2022). L'autismo. Bologna: Il Mulino.

3. Surian, L. (2013). Il giudizio morale. Bologna: Il Mulino.

Course Planning

	Subjects	Text References
1	Developmental Theories.	Santrock, J. W. (2021). Psicologia dello sviluppo (IV Edizione). Milano: McGraw Hill Education
2	Biological, motor and perceptual development.	Santrock, J. W. (2021). Psicologia dello sviluppo (IV Edizione). Milano: McGraw Hill Education
3	Language development.	Santrock, J. W. (2021). Psicologia dello sviluppo (IV Edizione). Milano: McGraw Hill Education
4	Emotional development and temperament.	Santrock, J. W. (2021). Psicologia dello sviluppo (IV Edizione). Milano: McGraw Hill Education
5	The development of the Self and the acquisition of identity.	Santrock, J. W. (2021). Psicologia dello sviluppo (IV Edizione). Milano: McGraw Hill Education
6	Social Contexts of development: family and peers.	Santrock, J. W. (2021). Psicologia dello sviluppo (IV Edizione). Milano: McGraw Hill Education
7	Moral development.	Surian, L. (2013). Il giudizio morale. Bologna: Il Mulino.
8	The development of psychological reasoning: Theory of Mind and precursors of typical and atypical development.	Surian, L. (2015). L'autismo. Bologna: Il Mulino.

Learning Assessment

Learning Assessment Procedures

Written examination with multiple-choice and/or open questions.

Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises

Multiple choice questions, with 4 possible answers:

e.g.) The study by Onishi and Baillargeon (2005) demonstrated the ability of 15-month-old infants to understand false beliefs. Infants have demonstrated:

1. Explicit knowledge;

2. Mixed knowledge (explicit and implicit);

3. No knowledge;

4. Implicit knowledge.

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Open questions:

e.g.) Describe the nativist and social learning theories about the development of language.

Degree Course in

Primary teacher education