his final paper is your “Life Story” from a developmental perspective. In this version of your life story, you must include the theories, concepts, and behaviors for each life stage that are described in the textbook, videos, power points or other outside sources. Please follow the outline below, giving each of the five sections a heading. Within each section you may organize your paper as you wish, but make sure that you address each area (taking into consideration that your parent(s) may not be able to or willing to share information on all questions) and that you follow a clear organizational structure. Feel free to add to the following outline as you tell your story.
Format and length: Your paper must be a minimum of 5-6 pages of word-processed text, written in paragraph form and double spaced (do not write your paper in a question and answer form). If you have any photographs of yourself and other people and aspects of your life that you would like to use to illustrate your story, you are welcome to use these (or to create your own illustrations) These photos should not be added to increase the papers length (Nice try). Images can be used (either from real life or recreated from the internet) to represent important milestones, developmental stages and features of child development.
Stage 1: Prenatal (If you do not have information for the early parts of your life come see me)
How does/do your parent(s) describe your prenatal development? What was your mother’s pregnancy like?
Describe yourself at birth (weight, length, hair, anything else you can find out about your appearance at birth). Also: medical interventions, any complications, where you were born, who was there, what your birth was like.
Did you mother use drugs to relieve labor pain?
How were you described as a newborn? Sleep patterns? Family’s adjustment to you?
Stage 2: 0 – 2 years
Were you breast or bottle fed? What were your mother’s reasons for choosing one over the other?
Who took care of you? Did you stay at home? Did you attend childcare? (Describe details)
Describe your language development. What is your primary language? What was your first word? How old were you?
Referring to the Nature vs. Nurture idea that innate ability and rich linguistic and social environment combine to promote language development, describe your environment and how it could have contributed to your language development
Discuss your development of attachment using the four attachment patterns (Refer to Mary Ainsworth research about attachment).
Describe your temperament (According to Thomas and Chess there are three identified – easy, slow to warm or difficult?).
Stage 3: 2-6 years
Describe your growth during this time. What was your general health like? Describe your motor development.
Use Piaget’s theory as a framework describe your thinking and playing.
Using Vygotsky’s concepts of scaffolding and zone of proximal development how did a parent, teacher or caregiver guide and support your learning. Give examples of a time during this stage of life when someone used scaffolding to help you learn or master a skill. What did they do or provide so you were successful?
Use Vygotsky’s social-cultural theory and describe your language and your schooling during this stage
Refer to the different Parenting Styles (permissive, uninvolved, authoritative, authoritarian), describe the way you were parented?
Describe the formation of your gender identity during this stage. At this time in your life was it influenced by your culture, society or another influence. Do you remember when you realized you were a boy/girl?
Who did you play with? What were you like to play with?
Did you suck your thumb/pacifier or have a favorite “blankie?” When did you give these things up? Was it traumatic for you?
Stage 4: 6 – 11 years
Describe your health, motor development during this stage and play at this stage.
What kind of student were you? Was school a positive experience during this time?
Describe how you used information processing at school.
Refer to your resolution of Erikson’s stage of inferiority.
Describe your friendships and your category of peer acceptance.
Describe family influences on your development (parent(s), siblings and/or other relevant family members).
What do you remember most about this time?
Stage 5: Adolescence
Describe your experiences of puberty and the effects that it has on your life.
Describe how your experiences fit into Erikson’s theory of Identity vs. Identity confusion.
Describe your adolescent identity status according to James Marcia’s theory.
Refer to the imaginary audience and personal fable during your adolescence. Describe an example of how this manifested itself in your life.
Describe and comment on the influence of your peer group.
Did you experiment with drinking/smoking/other drugs? What types of intervention occurred as a result (if any)?
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