Read and learned about the life span of human development.
Directions: Reflect on your personal development from early years to now. You will discuss your earliest memories through adulthood and link them to what you have learned from this course. When you consider late adulthood, you will reflect on your feelings about this stage of life. For all stages, you will discuss and reflect on your physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Points such as siblings/only child, adoption (if you were adopted), changes/losses, etc. you might describe in one section may continue in others as they are ultimately connected.
The following questions should be answered in APA format including level headings.
1. Introduction
2. Early Years – connect this period of life with developmental theories such as Piaget, Erikson, Vgotsky, etc. What about you might be genetics vs. environment? (for this section, make connections throughout a-e with any developmental theories)
a. Describe your earliest memories.
b. Did you meet all your milestones of which you are aware. How did that affect you (positively/negatively).
c. Describe the role of your caregivers and their impact on you
d. Describe the role of siblings/only child/adoption for you
e. School experiences/friends
3. Middle Childhood
a. Describe and analyze your memories of this stage of life. Did you experience peer pressure?
b. How important were the role of peers for you?
c. Describe school experiences that you had: struggles/strengths
d. Describe fears/Anxiety/Self-esteem and other emotional developmental issues
e. Discuss your relationship with your caregivers.
4. Adolescence
a. Describe and analyze your memories from this stage of life.
b. How important were peers at this stage?
c. Describe your school experience.
d. Discuss your relationship with caregivers. Did the relationship change in this stage? (e.g. leaned on peers more than caregivers for “how to be”)
5. Early-Middle Adulthood
a. What was the transition into adulthood like for you? How did you know you were an adult? Was there a ‘rite of passage’?
b. Discuss physical and cognitive developmental milestones as they relate to you. Discuss milestones in your life up to this point.
c. How influential have peers been throughout your adulthood.
d. Discuss relationships (romantic and platonic) at this age for you.
e. Describe emotional development for you at this stage.
f. What are some generational patterns that you are aware of when reflecting on your caregivers. Are there patterns you would like to keep/change? Reflect and discuss.
6. Late Adulthood
a. If you are in this stage currently, discuss physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development.
b. If you are in this stage currently, how does heredity and environment influence you at this point?
c. If you are not in this stage, reflect on what you would like to be like at this stage. What are your fears and what are you looking forward to?
d. Discuss death, dying, bereavement.
7. Overall reflection of your developmental journey thus far as well as your journey in this class. What have you learned and what would you like to know more about? Were there things in which you struggled personally, emotionally, etc.?
