Adolescent Development: From Puberty to Young Adulthood

Course Description

An examination of development from early adolescence into young adulthood across family, context, and culture. Explores how political, social, and cultural systems shape development of adolescents and young adults from diverse backgrounds.

Syllabus

COURSE-SPECIFIC STUDENT LEARNING Outcomes 

  1. Describe the physical, cognitive, and social aspects of development during adolescence and how they differ based on cultural background.

  2. Demonstrate an understanding of how broad psychosocial contexts shape development during adolescence into young adulthood (e.g., diversity in race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic background, gender, sexual orientation, family structure).

  3. Recognize how “typical” and “atypical” adolescent development emerges within the contexts of the family, peer group, school, and work/leisure and consider how the definitions of “typical” and “atypical” are defined by political, social and cultural systems.

  4. Identify the psychosocial challenges of adolescence; how they are impacted by political, social, and cultural systems; and their implications for adolescent well-being.

MINERVA’S ACADEMIC CURRICULUM CRITICAL THINKING & INQUIRY IN THE SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES

With respect to the study of lifespan development, students will:

  1. Critically analyze claims, arguments, artifacts or information.

  2. Construct coherent, evidence-based arguments.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure

Percentage/Points

Introductory Assignments (3 assignments)

10%

Chapter Quizzes (10 quizzes)

25%

Written Topic Reflection Assignments (5 assignments)

30%

Final Presentation

35%

Activity/Performance Measure

Percentage/Points

Introductory Assignments Total Points

40 points

Chapter Quizzes Total Points

100 points

Written Topic Reflection Assignments Total Points

120 points

Final Presentation Total Points

140 points

Total Points

400 points

FINAL GRADES WILL BE CALCULATED AS FOLLOWS:

Grading Scale

Percentage

Letter Grade

97.5 – 100%

A+

91.5 – < 97.5%

A

89.5 – < 91.5%

A−

87.5 – < 89.5%

B+

81.5 – < 87.5%

B

79.5 – < 81.5%

B−

77.5 – < 79.5%

C+

71.5 – < 77.5%

C

69.5 – < 71.5%

C−

67.5 – < 69.5%

D+

61.5 – < 67.5%

D

59.5 – < 61.5%

D−

0 – < 59.5%

F

Attendance/Participation:

Attendance/participation is not a graded component included in the student's final grade for this course.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

Steinberg, L. (2023). Adolescence (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Scholarly Perspectives

This course engages diverse scholarly perspectives to develop critical thinking, analysis, and debate and inclusion of a reading does not imply endorsement.