Child Study (CHLD)

* CHLD 125a / EDST 125a / PSYC 125a, Child DevelopmentAnn Close and Carla Horwitz

This course is first in a sequence including Theory and Practice of Early Childhood Education (CHLD127/PSYCH 127/EDST 127) and Language Literacy and Play (CHLD 128/PSYCH 128/EDST 128). This course provides students a theoretical base in child development and behavior and tools to sensitively and carefully observer infants and young children. The seminar will consider aspects of cognitive, social, and emotional development. An assumption of this course is that it is not possible to understand children – their behavior and development—without understanding their families and culture and the relationships between children and parents. The course will give an overview of the major theories in the field, focusing on the complex interaction between the developing self and the environment, exploring current research and theory as well as practice. Students will have the opportunity to see how programs for young children use psychodynamic and interactional theories to inform the development of their philosophy and curriculum. Weekly Observations:-Total Time Commitment 3 hours per week. Students will do two separate weekly observations over the course of the semester. They will observe in a group setting for 2 hours each each week at a Yale affiliated child care center.  Students will also arrange to do a weekly 1 hour observation (either in person or virtually) of a child under the age of 6. Students must make their own arrangements for these individual observations. If it is not possible to arrange a child to observe, please do not apply to take this course. For a portion of class meetings, the class will divide into small supervisory discussion groups. Priority given to juniors, seniors, Ed Study students.  WR, SO
HTBA

* CHLD 228a / EDST 228a / PSYC 305a, Contemporary Topics in Social and Emotional LearningChristina Cipriano

While our nation's youth are increasingly more anxious and disconnected than ever before, social and emotional learning, or SEL, is being politicized by arguments without empirical evidence. The reality is that due in part to its interdisciplinary origins, and in part to its quick uptake, what SEL is, why it matters, and who it benefits, has garnered significant attention since its inception. Key questions and discourse over the past three decades include if SEL skills are: another name for personality, soft skills, 21st century skills, or emotional intelligence, are SEL skills stand-alone or do they need to be taught together and in sequence, for how long does the intervention need to last to be effective, how do you assess SEL, are SEL skills culturally responsive and universally applicable, and can SEL promote the conditions for education equity? In this seminar, students unpack these key questions and challenge and evolve the current discourse through seminal and contemporary readings, writing, and artifact analyses. Students are provided with the opportunity to engage critically with the largest data set amassed to date of the contemporary evidence for SEL.  Prerequisite: CHLD 125, or PSYC 125, or EDST 125.
T 1:30pm-3:20pm