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EDUC 302: Human Growth & Development

These pages contain resources for Mason Education students to seek multiple sources to use for your EDUC 302 course assignments

EDUC 302 - Begin your research

Welcome to the EDUC 302: Human Growth & Development Infoguide

These pages contain resources for Mason Education students to seek multiple sources to use for your course assignments

  • Select a Topic - Find and narrow your topic
  • Creating Searches - Identify and brainstorm keywords, create searches, types of sources
  • Find Articles - Key databases and journals for human growth and development
  • Find Books - Mason educational law electronic and print books
  • Create an Annotated Bibliography - Describes what an annotated bibliography is and how to create one
  • Find Online Tutorials -   tutorials on beginning your research, finding & evaluating resources, using Zotero to create citations
  • Write & Cite - Information on citing sources using APA format, how to find DOI's, and Zotero
  • Get Help - links to information of citing references using APA format and Zotero

EDUC 302 Assigments

Students will select a peer-reviewed journal article (not a news article) from a variety of topics
provided by the instructor that is related to human growth and development. This activity will
take place during predetermined modules (see course schedule). Presenters will lead a discussion
of their article during the week, and participants will submit a reflection on the article at the end
of the week.

• Presenter’s Responsibilities (7 points)

  • By 11:59 p.m. on day 1 (Monday) of the appropriate module week, presenters will post on Blackboard a two-page explanation of the article they are sharing (e.g., why was it written, what was the outcome, how does it relate to topics currently being explored by the class; also, provide a reference in APA style) (5 points).Presenters will also attach a copy of the full article (e.g., pdf; no link) to their
    explanation post.
  • During the first 6 days of the week (Monday – Saturday), presenters will lead a
    discussion of the article by responding to questions and comments by participants
    (2 points).

This assignment allows students to pursue a topic of their choice and conduct some basic research on the topic. The topic can be anything they are interested in that relates to the content of the course.

Using the research skills demonstrated by the education librarian Anne Melville (adrisco2@gmu.edu) or by the instructor, students are to find at least three scholarly (peer-reviewed) journal articles (including at least 1 empirical-research article) to use in the report that cover their topic of interest that have been published in the past decade. Students are to submit their topic and electronic copies (no links) of the articles for instructor approval prior to writing the paper. If an approved article is changed, students are to submit the new article for approval prior to writing the paper. In addition, they are to submit a brief outline (no more than 1 page) for review before writing the paper, and a final report. The final report should include a literature review and a synthesis. It should also include a reflection guided by the following questions:

  • How is the topic situated in the field of lifespan development? Specifically, o
    • What developmental period is emphasized?
    • What theoretical perspectives inform the research? (Vygotsky, Piaget, Freud, Erikson, etc.)
    • What developmental domains (social and emotional, cognitive, and /or physical) are emphasized?
  • How is this information helpful for practitioners?
  • How is this information relevant for the general population? Students will cite current research from the course textbook and/or other course materials, which may be supplemented with other relevant sources to support their conclusions and assertions.

Students will use in-text citations and include a reference list. The paper will be five to six double-spaced pages plus title and reference pages.

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