4.6
stars
234 ratings

dr. Jorg Huijding

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Understanding child development: from synapse to society

Utrecht University

About this Course

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In this course, we dive into the topic of child development. You will learn that child development is complex and is influenced by a surprisingly rich number of factors at many different levels of organization. You will see that development can be studied in various domains and at various levels of understanding, from different angles and disciplines. Importantly, you will come to understand that processes within and between the various domains and levels of organization continuously interact to shape development. This implies that understanding development requires taking an interdisciplinary approach.
In order to help you organize your thinking about this complexity you will learn more about the developmental systems approach and theories related to that. We will look, amongst other things, at the brain and motor development, cognitive, language and social-emotional development and all the factors that have an influence on development.

To illustrate how an interdisciplinary approach helps to understand child development you will see how researchers from various disciplines and backgrounds study child development at Utrecht University. These scientists will give a look in their field of knowledge and their collaboration with colleagues, to illustrate how the theory you will learn translates to practice.

In sum, we invite you to follow us on a journey to understand child development from synapse to society!

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Shareable Certificate

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Beginner Level

Approx. 28 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 28 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.82/5 (78 Ratings)

dr. Jorg Huijding

Associate Professor Clinical Child and Family Studies

Education and Pedagogy

59,184 Learners

1 Course

Offered by

Utrecht University

Founded in 1636 and located in the heart of the Netherlands, Utrecht University is one of Europe's leading research universities, recognised internationally for a high-quality, innovative approach to research and teaching. Studying at Utrecht University means studying at one of the world's best universities, with a total student body of around 30,000 students and 12 Nobel prize winners.Utrecht University offers over 90 graduate programmes (MSc, MA) and 12 undergraduate programmes (BSc, BA, LLM). All programmes are fully English-taught, and cover a wide range of academic disciplines including Natural Sciences, Law, Governance, Life Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences and Earth Sciences.

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(7,078 ratings)

Week

Week 1

6 hours to complete

Introduction to Dynamics of Youth

6 hours to complete

3 videos (Total 23 min), 7 readings, 5 quizzes

3 videos

The developmental systems approach11m

What it takes to study development from a developmental systems approach7m

Introduction to Dynamics of Youth and the cohort studies3m

7 readings

General introduction10m

Short survey10m

Introduction10m

Applying the developmental systems approach to well-being1h

Optional readings on the developmental systems approach1h

Introduction10m

The YOUth cohort studies15m

4 practice exercises

What do you know already?30m

Test your knowledge on the developmental systems approach30m

How can you make it happen?30m

What do you think of Dynamics of Youth and the cohort studies?30m

Week

Week 2

7 hours to complete

Brain and motor development

7 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 35 min), 6 readings, 3 quizzes

5 videos

The early developing brain11m

Growing synapses - Interview with a brain researcher3m

Developing motor skills9m

Interview with a human movement scientist5m

WEIRD science6m

6 readings

Introduction10m

Brain plasticity and behaviour1h 30m

Optional reading on the developing brain1h 30m

Optional reading on brain plasticity15m

Introduction3m

The development of motor behavior1h

3 practice exercises

Test your knowledge on brain development30m

Test your knowledge on motor development30m

What did you learn about brain and motor development?30m

Week

Week 3

4 hours to complete

Cognitive development

4 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 35 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

6 videos

The emergence of thinking and understanding11m

Playing (with) rats - Interview with a neurobiologist3m

Rats and synapses - Interview about interdisciplinary collaboration5m

Experimenting teenagers - Interview with a psychologist3m

Applied geography - Interview with a social geographer3m

Embodied cognition, culture and geography7m

2 readings

Introduction10m

Communication

4 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 27 min), 3 readings, 3 quizzes

5 videos

Speech and language development9m

'Talking' Zebrafinches - Interview with a biologist3m

Talking to babies - Interview with a linguist3m

Language and machine learning - Interview with a brain imaging expert3m

Language, (embodied) cognition and culture6m

3 readings

Introduction10m

Cracking the code of language1h

Media literacy1h

3 practice exercises

What do you know already about language development?30m

Test your knowledge on speech and language development30m

What did you learn about speech and language development?30m

Reviews

4.6

81 reviews

5 stars
74.78%
4 stars
17.94%
3 stars
2.99%
2 stars
0.85%
1 star
3.41%

TOP REVIEWS FROM UNDERSTANDING CHILD DEVELOPMENT: FROM SYNAPSE TO SOCIETY

by IMay 19, 2020

It was not an easy course at all. You need to take it seriously but it was enjoyable for whom the topic is interested

by RRFeb 19, 2020

excellent explanation of the subject. But....... not at all easy... if you want to choose this one, you should be ready to spend more time than prescribed... surely...

HAD FUN LEARNING

by SNNov 27, 2022

The course was interesting and thorough. Tools that can be applied in child development.

by RMOct 13, 2018

I have absolutely loved this course. Challenging but accessible. Every week has been engaging. I enjoyed the variety of research papers, video lectures and interviews.

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

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What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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Understanding child development: from synapse to society

Understanding child development: from synapse to society

About this Course