These reflection assignments ask you to apply course material to everyday experiences, and are opportunities for you to practice with the course concepts so that you can increase your understanding and provide a meaningful connection of course material to your life.

To get the most out of these learning opportunities, please take the time to

thoughtfully complete this assignment, including carefully reading the prompt,

mentally reviewing and selecting a concept, and identifying a corresponding personal experience. While completing the reflection, challenge yourself to focus on the application of exactly how the material relates to your life.

Prompt:

For this first reflection assignment, please recall the following topics we’ve discussed so far:

❖ Introduction to Developmental Psychology & Research Methods (Ch. 1)

❖ Prenatal Development (Ch. 3)

❖ Genetics, Environment, & Development (Ch. 2)

❖ Body, Brain, and Health (Ch. 4)

❖ Cognition (Ch. 6)

Next, select a concept (or two related concepts) within one of these topics that

“speaks” to you – something that excited, puzzled, intrigued, or resonated with you when we discussed it. Your reaction indicates that you (likely) made a connection to your own life in that moment – you were excited because the phenomenon reminded you of your own experience, or you were puzzled because you’d had an experience that seemingly contradicted the phenomenon, or you were intrigued because you’d had an experience that you couldn’t previously explain, and wondered if this phenomenon might be the answer. This may be a direct experience of yours, or an experience you observed in a friend or family member. After selection, please write a ½ – 1 page paper describing:

(1) the topic/concept/phenomenon,

(2) the personal experience/observation,

(3) the connection between the concept and your experience, and

(4) any implications for your life or changes to your way of thinking

Be sure that you have clearly, correctly, and thoroughly explained each element, with particular emphasis on what insights you’ve gained as a result.

Additional Instructions:

Papers should be typed (using a word processor like Word, Pages, Google Docs, etc.) and should be between ½ – 1 page (maximum) in length. There are no explicit specifications regarding font size and spacing, as long as the selections are easily readable (e.g., no smaller than single spaced and no larger than double spaced, somewhere between 11 point and 13 point font size (depending on the particular font selected), etc.).

No references are needed/expected, but if you choose to bring in outside sources, you will need to provide source information in proper APA format.

As with all assessments in the course, these assignments must reflect your own work – all ideas, applications, and explanations must be your own.