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Graduate Course Proposal Form Submission Detail - EDF7359
Tracking Number - 2233

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Current Status: Approved, Permanent Archive - 2010-05-10
Campus: Tampa
Submission Type: New
Course Change Information (for course changes only):
Comments: Grad Council approved 2/15/10; SCNS liaison notified 4/6/10; Approved, effective 8/1/2010;


Detail Information

  1. Date & Time Submitted: 2009-11-05
  2. Department: Psychological and Social Foundations
  3. College: ED
  4. Budget Account Number: 172500
  5. Contact Person: Tony Xing Tan
  6. Phone: 46496
  7. Email: tan@coedu.usf.edu
  8. Prefix: EDF
  9. Number: 7359
  10. Full Title: Resilience in Human Development
  11. Credit Hours: 4 hour
  12. Section Type: D - Discussion (Primarily)
  13. Is the course title variable?: N
  14. Is a permit required for registration?: Y
  15. Are the credit hours variable?: Y
  16. Is this course repeatable?:
  17. If repeatable, how many times?: 0
  18. Abbreviated Title (30 characters maximum): Resilience/Human Development
  19. Course Online?: C - Face-to-face (0% online)
  20. Percentage Online: 0
  21. Grading Option: R - Regular
  22. Prerequisites:
  23. Corequisites:
  24. Course Description: This course explores developmental, neuro-psychological, socio-emotional, and cultural perspectives on resiliency in various areas of development (e. g., academic achievement, mental and physical health) from infancy to late adulthood.

  25. Please briefly explain why it is necessary and/or desirable to add this course: Needed to compete with national trends
  26. What is the need or demand for this course? (Indicate if this course is part of a required sequence in the major.) What other programs would this course service? It serves as a cognate for doctoral students in the College of Education. It also serves doctoral Students at FMHI and School of Social Work. It is also a required course for the interdisciplinary doctoral degree offered by Psychological and Social Foundations.
  27. Has this course been offered as Selected Topics/Experimental Topics course? If yes, how many times? Yes, 3 or more times
  28. What qualifications for training and/or experience are necessary to teach this course? (List minimum qualifications for the instructor.) A credentialed faculty member with a doctoral degree in Developmental Psychology, Human Development, or a related field; and a foundational understanding of research in human development.
  29. Objectives: Upon completing the course, the students should be able to

    1-0. demonstrate basic knowledge of scientific methods/tools used in studying resilience in human development.

    2-0. demonstrate knowledge of basic theories (e.g., cognitive development, social-emotional development) that are essential to understanding human development and their application to resilience research.

    3-0. acquire cultural and individual perspectives in understanding the diversity of developmental outcomes.

    4-0. learn to analyze risk and resilience factors in context.

    5-0. learn to design intervention strategies to foster resilience among at-risk population.

    6-0. demonstrate adequate skills in reporting cases and literature pertaining to a specific topic.

  30. Learning Outcomes: Student learning outcomes will be demonstrated and assessed using the following methods:

    Class Participation: A careful reading of the material and enthusiastic classroom participation are essential. Each student is required to complete the readings prior to class meeting and be prepared to contribute to discussions lead by the instructor or/and and another student. Weekly discussion topics are posted on the blackboard.

    Class Activities:

    Throughout the course, students will be required to complete several class activities in pairs or in groups (e. g., conceptualizing adolescence from a resilience perspective; peer-teaching, case analysis). These activities are designed to apply what the students have learned, to demonstrate the students' ability to think creatively and critically, to work in collaboration with colleagues.

    Theoretical Review/Conceptual Paper:

    It is imperative that students in this class be very familiar with the theoretical/conceptual frameworks that resilience research is based on. Students are required to complete a review paper that focus exclusively on this aspect. Because this is a relatively under-studied field, students are required to identify and to articulate the conceptual frameworks that have guided the three main waves of resilience research. They are also encouraged to think about what the next phase of resilience theory might look like.

    Empirical Review:

    Students are required to identify one area of interest (e. g., factors that contribute to at-risk children's academic success) and conduct literature review on empirical students that cover the topic of their choice. Upon completing this assignment, students need to be able to know the current status of knowledge in the topic of their choice and possible future directions.

    Student presentation: Each student will be required to make at least one class presentation. Then lead a discussion.

    Final Exam:

    Students are required to complete a final examination (essay questions) that will be used to determined the students' content knowledge, ability to synthesize, compare and contrast different approaches in resilience research.

  31. Major Topics: 1) Historical context of resilience research/concept of resilience.

    2) Developmental theories on Human Development.

    3) Theories of Positive Psychology.

    4) Neuro-psychological Theories of Human Development.

    5) Culture Theories on Human Development.

  32. Textbooks: No required textbook.
  33. Course Readings, Online Resources, and Other Purchases: Reading package will be available for students to purchase from Pro-copy. The required readings are listed below:

    1. Bauer, P. J., Kroupina, M. G., Schwade, J. A., Dropik, P. L., & Wewerka, S. S. (1998). If memory serves, will language? Later verbal accessibility of early memories Development and Psychopathology, 10, 655–679.

    2. Christianson, S. & Lindholm, T. (1998). The fate of traumatic memories in childhood and adulthood, Development and Psychopathology, 10 (1998), 761–780.

    3. Coll, C. C. & Magnuson, K. (2000). Cultural differences as sources of developmental vulnerability and resources (chapter 5). In J. P. Shonkoff and S. J. Meisels (Eds.). Handbook of Early Childhood Intervention (2nd edition). Cambridge Universty Press.

    4. Edwards, L. M., Rand, K. L., Lopez, S. J. & Snyder, C. R. (2007). Understanding hope: A review of measurement and construct validity research. In A. D. Ong and M. H. M. van Dulmen (Eds.). Oxford Handbook of Methods in Positive Psychology. Oxford University Press.

    5. Kagan, J. & Fox, N. A. (2006). Biology, culture, and temperamental biases. (Chapter 4). In N. Eisenberg (Ed.). Handbook of Child Psychology, 3. (pp. 167-225).

    Kumpfer, K. L. & Alvarado, R. (2003). Family-strengthening approaches for the prevention of youth problem behaviors. American Psychologist, 58 (6/7), 457-465.

    6. Legault, L., Anawati, M., & Flynn, R. (2006). Factors favoring psychological resilience among fostered young people. Children and Youth Services Review, 28, 1024– 1038.

    7. Masten, A. S. & Reed, M. J. (2002). Resilience in Human Development. (Chapter 7). In C. R. Snyder and S J. Lopez (Eds.). Handbook of Positive Psychology. Oxford University Press.

    8. Nakkula, M. & Toshalis, E. (2006). Risk-taking and creativity. (chapter 3). Understanding Youth: Adolescent Development for Educators. Harvard Education Press. Cambridge, MA.

    9. Nelson, C. A., & Carver, L. J. (1998). The effects of stress and trauma on brain and memory: A view from developmental cognitive neuroscience. Development and Psychopathology, 10 (1998), 793–809.

    10. Ogbu, J. (2003). Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb A Study of Academic Disengagement. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Mahwah, NJ. London.

    11. Ou, S. & Reynolds, A. J. (2006). Early childhood intervention and educational attainment: Age 22 findings from the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 11(2), 175–198.

    12. Porter, S. & Peace, K. A. (2007). The scars of memory: A prospective, longitudinal investigation of the consistency of traumatic and positive emotional memories in adulthood. Psychological Science,18(5), 435-441.

    13. Richardson, G.E. (2002). The metatheory of resilience and resiliency theory. Journal of clinical psychology, 58(3), 307-319.

    14. Rutter, M. (1992). The growth of social relationships. (Chapter 4). In M. Rutter and M. Rutter. Developing Minds: Challenges and Continuity across the Life Span. BasicBooks.

    15. Scales, P. & Leffert, N. (1999). (chapter 3). The boundaries-and-expectations assets. In Developmental assets: A synthesis of scientific research on adolescent development. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute.

    16. Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Positive feeling and positive character (chapter 1). Authentic happiness. (pp. 1-16). NY: Free Press.

    17. Skogrand, L., DeFrain, N., DeFrain, J. & Jones, J. E. (2006). It made me a better person. (chapter 8). In Surviving and Transcending Childhood Trauma: The Dark Thread. The Hawworth Press.

    18. Suarez-orozco, C. (2000). Identities under siege: Immigration stress and social mirroring among the children of immigrants. (Chapter 7). In A. C. G. M. Robben and M. M. Suarez-orozco (Eds.). Cultures under Siege: Collective Violence and Trauma. Cambridge University Press.

    19. Tan, T. X., Marfo, K. & Dedrick, R. F. (2007). Special needs adoption from China: Exploring child-level indicators, adoptive family characteristics, and correlates of behavioral adjustment. Children and Youth Services Review, 29 (10), 1269-1285.

    20. Werner, E. (1993). Risk, resilience, and recovery: Perspectives from the Kauai longitudinal study. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 503-515.

    21. Vaillant, G. E. (1993). How can we prove that defenses exist? (chapter 5). The Wisdom of the Ego. Harvard University Press. London, UK. Cambridge, MA.

  34. Student Expectations/Requirements and Grading Policy: Throughout the course, the blackboard will be used for announcement, assignment, discussions and reporting grades. Students are expected to use the blackboard to contribute to online discussions, submitting their assignments and collaborating with class members.

    1. Attendance: 20%

    2. Participation: 10%

    3. Conceptual paper: 15%

    5. Empirical paper: 15%

    4. Presentation: 10%

    5. Class activities: 10%

    6. Final Exam: 20%

  35. Assignments, Exams and Tests: 1. First Assignment: Theoretical/conceptual paper.(Due Date: 9/30 by 5:15pm)

    Our first assignment for this class is a theoretical/conceptual paper on the concept of resilience. While I usually avoid having the entire class work on the same topic, I feel that a solid understanding of this concept is central to this course. I believe a project like this will help all of us gain a deeper understanding of this important concept.

    As this is a theoretical paper, you are not required to cite much empirical evidence (it might not be entirely possible not to mention classical studies, however). Your paper should have the following 4 components:

    1). The concept of resilience. This should be presented in the context of the psychopathological orientation of psychological inquires in human adaptation to adversity;

    2). The operationalization of this concept. This should include both research and practice (e.g., how do resilience researchers operationally define this concept when they try to conduct their research; how do practitioners define this concept in implementing the resilience-based/strength-based strategies); The challenges of measuring resilient characteristics, the challenges of authentically determine at-risk populations’ resilient potentials should also be discussed (e.g., On what basis should we development our expectations over at-risk/high-risk individuals’ potentials).

    3). The advancement of resilience research over time. This should include a delineation of where resilience research has been to, and where it is headed (based on what you know).

    4). A summary of the major characteristics of the concept of resilience, the strengths and weaknesses of using this theoretical framework to understand human adaptation to adversity.

    Your writing should be concise and formal. It should be about 5 pages (double spaced, excluding title page and references), APA format. The first two weeks’ readings provide a lot of information for this paper already. However, I would recommend that you find a couple of more readings to consolidate your paper.

    2. Class Activity Assignment.

    Example 1) The reading for this week is written by another well-respected psychologist/psychiatrist Sir Michael Rutter. Sr. Rutter is probably the best known psychologist in the field of child development and child psychiatry. He is also the only living psychologist who was knighted by the Queen. The chapter is an excellent overview of attachment and its developmental significance. I really think you will enjoy it. The chapter is not as difficult as our last reading . I will be asking the class to talk about the concept of attachment and its significance in human development.

    Example 2) Our next topic for this class is cultural psychology. We will be reading a chapter on immigrant children's adjustment in America. BEFORE you read the paper, I would like you to think about the following questions:

    a. In the process of migrating from their home country to the US, what are some of the major stresses (as well as major benefits) that immigrant children and their family might experience?

    b. In your opinion, how do your friends/families/colleagues feel about the academic performance (as well as overall contribution to the US society) of Asian immigrants, Latin-American immigrants, and Eastern European immigrants?

    c. In your opinion, how do immigrant children feel they are perceived by mainstream Americans in Intelligence, ethics, as well as capability?

    d. What are some of the strengths and vulnerabilities immigrant children might have in learning, socializing and forming identities?

    3. Empirical Literature Review Assignment (due date: Nov. 4th).

    Guideline: For this paper, you are required to complete a review of empirical studies (i.e., empirical review) of a topic of your choice. The topic should be in psychology and preferably in resilience research. It should focus on empirical studies on the topic of your choice. If you have not written any literature reviews, you should talk to me so we can talk about how you can go about it. Your paper should provide the read a good summary of what has been done and what the results are. It should be about 7-10 pages double-spaced. It should include at least 10 peer-reviewed journal articles.

    4. Final Examination (Dec. 10th):

    1). During the past few decades, different types of theories have been used to account for the black-white academic achievement gap. Briefly describe each of these theories (please include major theorists, major argument, major strength/weakness). Ogbu (2003) used a different/new theory to explain why the gap still exists even in high SES racially integrated communities. Briefly describe the theory that emerged from Ogbu's 2003 report. The total page for this question should be no more than 5 double-spaced pages.

    2). Neuropscyhology has recently been used to understand human development (e.g., emotion, memory, and reaction to trauma). Based on what we have read/discussed, provide a summary of what you learned about neuro-psychology and human development. The total page for this question should be no more than 5 double-spaced pages.

    3). In this class, we covered various topics that are relevant to resilience research. Brief summarize the main approaches, then compare and contrast them. The total page for this question should be no more than 5 double-spaced pages.

  36. Attendance Policy: Course Attendance at First Class Meeting – Policy for Graduate Students: For structured courses, 6000 and above, the College/Campus Dean will set the first-day class attendance requirement. Check with the College for specific information. This policy is not applicable to courses in the following categories: Educational Outreach, Open University (TV), FEEDS Program, Community Experiential Learning (CEL), Cooperative Education Training, and courses that do not have regularly scheduled meeting days/times (such as, directed reading/research or study, individual research, thesis, dissertation, internship, practica, etc.). Students are responsible for dropping undesired courses in these categories by the 5th day of classes to avoid fee liability and academic penalty. (See USF Regulation – Registration - 4.0101,

    http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/ogc%20web/currentreg.htm)

    Attendance Policy for the Observance of Religious Days by Students: In accordance with Sections 1006.53 and 1001.74(10)(g) Florida Statutes and Board of Governors Regulation 6C-6.0115, the University of South Florida (University/USF) has established the following policy regarding religious observances: (http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/gc_pp/acadaf/gc10-045.htm)

    In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It’s the responsibility of the student to monitor Blackboard site for each class for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information.

  37. Policy on Make-up Work: Plagiarism is defined as “literary theft” and consists of the unattributed quotation of the exact words of a published text, or the unattributed borrowing of original ideas by paraphrase from a published text. On written papers for which the student employs information gathered from books, articles, or oral sources, each direct quotation, as well as ideas and facts that are not generally know to the public at large must be attributed to its author by means of the appropriate citation procedure. Citations may be made in footnotes or within the body of the text. Plagiarism also consists of passing off as one's own, segments or the total of another person's work.

    Punishment for academic dishonesty will depend on the seriousness of the offense and may include receipt of an “F” with a numerical value of zero on the item submitted, and the “F” shall be used to determine the final course grade. It is the option of the instructor to assign the student a grade of F or FF (the latter indicating dishonesty) in the course.

    The University of South Florida has an account with an automated plagiarism detection service which allows instructors and students to submit student assignments to be checked for plagiarism. I reserve the right to 1) request that assignments be submitted as electronic files and 2) electronically submit assignments to SafeAssignment, or 3) ask students to submit their assignments to SafeAssignment through myUSF. Assignments are compared automatically with a database of journal articles, web articles, and previously submitted papers. The instructor receives a report showing exactly how a student’s paper was plagiarized. For more information about SafeAssignment and plagiarism, go to http://www.c21te.usf.edu . Click on Plagiarism Resources. For information about plagiarism in USF’s Undergraduate Catalog, go to http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/0304/adadap.htm#plagiarism .

  38. Program This Course Supports: Students in Measurement, Counselor Education, FMHI, Instructional Technology, Special Education, Educational Leadership, Secondary Education, Special Education, Gifted Education, and Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program have taken this class.
  39. Course Concurrence Information: Students in Measurement, Counselor Education, FMHI, Instructional Technology, Special Education, Educational Leadership, Secondary Education, Special Education, Gifted Education, and Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program have taken this class.


- if you have questions about any of these fields, please contact chinescobb@grad.usf.edu or joe@grad.usf.edu.