Early Learning and Child Education

Dept. of Psych. and Brain Sciences

Johns Hopkins University
MTThF 10:00-12:00

Intersession 2015

AS.200.129

Instructor Availability:

Course Aims

Jenny Wang
128 Ames Hall
jenny.wang@jhu.edu

Introduction to the central questions about early

learning, and the methods researchers use to ask these
questions.

Examination of different cases of learning and

education, such as math, language and art.

Discussing findings and theories in the fields of

developmental psychology and education.

Linking findings from early learning to child

education from the perspectives of parents, teachers,
and police-makers.

Office hours: Tu 12:00pm-1:00pm

In order to help you enjoy this

course the most, I encourage you to
ask questions in class, to email me
with questions, and to come talk to
me during office hours.
No question is too big or too small!

Student Disabilities
Any student with a disability who may need accommodations in this class must obtain an accommodation letter
from Student Disability Services, 385 Garland, (410) 516-4720, studentdisabilityservices@jhu.edu

Early Learning and Child Education

Intersession 2015

Requirements
Attendance
Lecture attendance is mandatory.
Active participation in class makes a big chunk
of your final grade!
Lecture slides will be posted online in case you
have to miss a class due to unavoidable
circumstances.

Primary Readings

Group Project

Will be available on course Blackboard site

Pick a topic that interests you that relates to

early learning and child education (infants
language acquisition, policy making for
children with learning disabilities, etc.).

Plan to do all of the assigned reading in order to

enjoy lecturing and discussing in class.
Halberda, J., Mazzocco, M. M., & Feigenson, L. (2008).
Individual differences in non-verbal number acuity
correlate with maths achievement. Nature, 455(7213),
665-668.
Baillargeon, R. (1999). Young infants expectations about
hidden objects: A reply to three
challenges. Developmental Science, 2(2), 115-132.
Smith, L. B. (1999). Do infants possess innate knowledge
structures? The con side. Developmental Science, 2(2),
133-144.
Gabrieli, J. D. (2009). Dyslexia: a new synergy between
education and cognitive
neuroscience. Science, 325(5938), 280-283.

Find related materials online (videos, news

reports, opinion articles, etc.) and present
your topic as a group in front of the class
(~30 minutes).
You may use any form of presentation, from
talks with visual aids to mini inprov shows.

Grading
The expected grading breakdown is:
Group Project: 60%
Participation and Attendance: 40%

Academic Ethics
From the JHU Ethics Policy Statement:
"The strength of the university depends on academic and personal integrity. In this course, you must be honest and truthful. Ethical
violations include cheating on exams, plagiarism, reuse of assignments, improper use of the Internet and electronic devices,
unauthorized collaboration, alteration of graded assignments, forgery and falsification, lying, facilitating academic dishonesty, and
unfair competition. Violations can lead to failure of an examination, failure of the course, a notation on the student's transcript,
and/or other actions. Report any violations you witness to the instructor. You may consult the associate dean of students and/or the
chairman of the Ethics Board beforehand. Please consult the Academic Ethics for Undergraduates guide and the Ethics Board
website for more information."

Early Learning and Child Education

Intersession 2015

Class
Schedule

MONDAY

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

1/5

1/6

1/8

1/9

Welcome

Case study:
Math learning: from
infancy to adulthood.

Core theories in
cognitive development.

Art and creativity.

Course introduction

Social and motivational

involvement in learning
and education.

Debate:
Nature vs. Nurture?

Observation and
experimentation in
studying how infants
and children learn.

Reading:
Halberda, Mazzocco, &
Feigenson, 2008

1/12

1/13

1/15

1/16

Group Presentation

Group Presentation

Group Presentation

Controversial issues in
early education.

Communicating science
with young learners.

Case study:
Language learning:
milestones and
disabilities.

Introduction to
education models across Role-play:
the globe.
Roundtable of future
parents, educators and
Assessment of learning
policy makers.
and understanding
individual differences.

Interpreting science as
educators and policy
makers.
Guidelines for reporting
scientific findings.

Reading:
Gabrieli, 2009

Reading:
Smith, 2001
Baillargeon, 2001