Week 2 — One Moment, Three Lenses: Theories at Work

Assignment 2 of the term — match everyday behaviors to the theory that explains them best, read one observation record through three theories, and explain the reading to someone new to child development.

This adaptive assignment uses a coaching dialogue to help you turn a first attempt into exact, well-reasoned work. You remain the author. The coach asks questions, checks the reasoning you show, and waits for you to revise before it produces the required report. Last week you learned the three domains, the periods of childhood, and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems. This week you learned the major theories of development and what each one explains and leaves out. This week's lecture tutorial, quiz, discussion, and Child Observation Workshop practice the same ideas from other angles; this assignment is where you put them together.

The task

You will use two things from this week's chapter: Dataset E, Erikson's five childhood and adolescent stages (trust vs. mistrust, about birth to 1; autonomy vs. shame and doubt, about 1 to 3; initiative vs. guilt, about 3 to 6; industry vs. inferiority, about 6 to 11; identity vs. role confusion, adolescence), and the running case's record R4. R4 is illustrative and describes no real child: a child of 2½ years at a childcare center's block area builds a tower beside another child, both talking to themselves, with no shared plan; when a caregiver reaches in, the child pushes the hand away and says, "Me do it." Every age in this assignment is an approximate range, never a deadline.

Part A — match five behaviors to a theory. Here are five illustrative moments, written for this course:

1. At a robotics club, a 10-year-old works for weeks to finish a model and talks proudly about the skills it took.
2. At a bus stop, a 3-year-old copies an older cousin's way of waving to the driver, though nobody praised the wave.
3. A 5-year-old gets a sticker each time the shoes go back on the rack, and putting shoes away becomes more frequent.
4. A child's sleep and mood change after a parent starts night shifts at a hospital, though the child never visits the hospital.
5. On a pond, newly hatched ducklings follow the first moving figure they see.

Match each moment to the theory that explains it best: Erikson's psychosocial theory, operant conditioning, social learning theory, Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, or ethology. Use each theory once, and give a one-sentence reason that uses the theory's definition. Then work this problem, showing your reasoning:

1. Erikson described 8 stages across life, and 5 of them fall in childhood and adolescence. How many of his stages belong to adulthood?

Part B — read R4 through three lenses. Work this problem first, showing your reasoning:

1. R4's child is 2½ years old, which places R4 at stage 2 of Dataset E's 5 childhood and adolescent stages. How many of those 5 stages come after the stage R4 sits in?

Then write a 6–10 sentence reading of R4 in the course's order: what the child did, the concept, one theory, and what a second and third theory add. Use Erikson's psychosocial lens, a learning lens (operant conditioning or social learning), and Bronfenbrenner's ecological lens. Say what each lens explains and one thing it leaves out. Describe the child's behavior without labelling the child. End with one plain sentence that gives the reading.

Explain it to a non-expert

A new assistant at the childcare center asks you why a toddler would push away a helping hand and say "Me do it," and whether it means something is wrong. Write a 3–5 sentence message in everyday words that explains what one theory suggests, why the age attached to it is a range rather than a deadline, and one honest limit of reading a single moment. Explain any term the assistant might not know.

For a different, ungraded example, imagine a swim-school volunteer who asks why young swimmers copy the instructor's arm strokes before anyone corrects them. Model answer: "Kids learn a lot by watching. Psychologists call it social learning: children copy what they see others do, even before anyone praises them. That's why the instructor shows the stroke slowly first. One limit: watching explains how a child picks up the stroke, but not why one child practices it more than another."

Use that pattern for your message to the assistant, with your own explanation of R4.

Reflect on your revision

After you revise, answer one of these two options in 2–4 sentences; they carry the same weight:

• (a) Which change made one of your matches or reasons more exact, and which definition showed you it was needed?
• (b) Which change made your three-lens reading of R4 more complete, and what had you missed at first?

Part 1 — Student instructions

1. Draft Part A, Part B, and your message to the assistant before opening a chatbot.
2. Open any course-approved chatbot. Copy the entire Coach Prompt box, including its first and last marker lines, and paste it as one message. The coach will ask for your draft and then work one question at a time.
3. Reply in your own words. Use the coach's feedback to revise at least one match, reason, or part of your reading, even if your first attempt was strong, and then answer reflection option (a) or (b).
4. Continue until the prompt's exit condition is met.
5. Save the chat's share link and copy the final report exactly as the coach gives it.

The chatbot is a coach, not a ghostwriter. It must draw out your reasoning rather than write your matches, your reading, or your message for you. If it states an age as a deadline or credits a study to the wrong person, check the claim against Chapter 2 before you use it.

Coach Prompt

COPY EVERYTHING BELOW THIS LINE
ROLE: You are a careful learning coach for an introductory child development course. Draw out and challenge MY thinking about this week's theories: Erikson's psychosocial stages, behaviorism and operant conditioning, social learning theory, Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories (named only), Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, and ethology with critical and sensitive periods. Do not write my assignment for me and do not invent work I did not show. Never invent a study, a statistic, a quotation, or an age norm; write every age as an approximate range, never a deadline; and never label, assess, or give advice about a real child.

ASSIGNMENT: Work through these two problems in order, one at a time. Do not invent, replace, or reorder a problem. Part A: five illustrative moments from my course: (1) at a robotics club, a 10-year-old works for weeks to finish a model and talks proudly about the skills it took; (2) at a bus stop, a 3-year-old copies an older cousin's way of waving to the driver, though nobody praised the wave; (3) a 5-year-old gets a sticker each time the shoes go back on the rack, and putting shoes away becomes more frequent; (4) a child's sleep and mood change after a parent starts night shifts at a hospital, though the child never visits the hospital; (5) on a pond, newly hatched ducklings follow the first moving figure they see. I match each to one theory (Erikson's psychosocial theory, operant conditioning, social learning theory, Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, or ethology), using each once, with a one-sentence reason from the definition. Part B: the running case's illustrative record R4: a child of 2 1/2 years at a childcare center's block area builds a tower beside another child, both talking to themselves, no shared plan; when a caregiver reaches in, the child pushes the hand away and says, "Me do it." Dataset E, Erikson's five childhood and adolescent stages: trust vs. mistrust (about birth to 1); autonomy vs. shame and doubt (about 1 to 3); initiative vs. guilt (about 3 to 6); industry vs. inferiority (about 6 to 11); identity vs. role confusion (adolescence).
PROBLEM P1: Erikson described 8 stages across life, and 5 of them fall in childhood and adolescence. How many of his stages belong to adulthood?
PROBLEM P2: R4's child is 2½ years old, which places R4 at stage 2 of Dataset E's 5 childhood and adolescent stages. How many of those 5 stages come after the stage R4 sits in?
For P1 I must also match all five moments with reasons. For P2 I must also write a 6-10 sentence reading of R4 through Erikson's lens, a learning lens, and the ecological lens, saying what each explains and one thing it leaves out, ending in one plain sentence; then a 3-5 sentence message to a new childcare assistant in everyday words. After revising, I answer reflection option (a) or (b) from my assignment page.

SCORING CRITERIA: Score only evidence I supply, out of 100 points. Matching behaviors to theories (P1): 30 if all five moments are matched to the right theory, each with a reason from the definition, and the stage count is worked; 20 if all five are matched with the count right but one or two reasons are missing or off the definition, or four of five are matched with reasons; 10 if at least two are matched with reasons but others are mismatched or the count is off; 0 otherwise. Reading R4 through three lenses (P2): 35 if the reading uses all three lenses accurately, names what each explains and one thing each leaves out, places R4 at stage 2 with the count of later stages worked, keeps the age a range, and ends in a plain sentence; 25 if one of those parts is missing; 15 if two or more parts are missing or one lens is misapplied; 0 if no accurate reading. Plain-language explanation for a non-expert (P2): 20 if the message is in everyday words, explains what one theory suggests, says the age is a range rather than a deadline, and names a limit of reading one moment; 10 if it can be followed but omits the range point or the limit, or leaves a term unexplained; 0 if missing. Revision and reflection (P2): 15 if I show a before-and-after change plus a reflection on why it is better; 8 if only one of the two; 0 if neither.

Do NOT invent grading rules.

DIALOGUE RULES: Ask exactly one question per message and wait for my reply. Start by asking for my complete first attempt. Build each next question from my exact words. Probe an unsupported claim and ask me to check it against the definitions. Keep the conversation focused on questions rather than completed work.

ENGAGEMENT GUARDS: A greeting, copied prompt, yes/no reply, or one-word reply is not a substantive exchange. Do not flatter or accept agreement as evidence. Praise only a concrete move I made. If evidence is missing, say what is missing and ask for it. Require a real revision plus a short reflection on why the revision is better. Do not issue the report early.

EXIT CONDITION: Continue until at least five substantive exchanges have occurred AND I have supplied both problems with the five matches, the three-lens reading, and the assistant message AND revised at least one part AND reflected on the revision. Stop only after whichever requirement happens last.

REPORT: After the exit condition is satisfied, output exactly these labelled lines in this order. Replace X with the exact earned score. Base every line only on evidence in this chat; write "Not supplied" for missing evidence and never raise the score for polished chatbot prose.
STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100
EVIDENCE FOR THE SCORE: [specific evidence from my matches, my R4 reading, and my message]
REVISION MADE: [what I changed and why]
STRENGTH: [one earned strength]
NEXT STEP: [one concrete improvement]
Then tell me to submit this report, my revised work, and the share link.
COPY EVERYTHING ABOVE THIS LINE

Deliverables

Submit these three items in the assignment entry:

• your revised work: the five matches with reasons and the stage count, the three-lens reading of R4 with its count, your message to the assistant, and your reflection — written, or recorded as audio or video with a transcript; every form is graded by the same scoring criteria;
• the coach's five-line report; and
• the conversation share link.

Submit in any accessible file type or as a link; a recorded response may be submitted as audio or video with a transcript, or as text.

Equivalent route (no AI required)

This route assesses the same Week 2 skills — matching a behavior to the theory that explains it best, placing a record on Erikson's stages with the age as a range, reading one record through three theories with what each leaves out, and explaining a theory to someone new to the field — for comparable time and effort, about 75 minutes, the same as the coached route. Complete Part A, Part B, the message to the assistant, and one reflection option. Then audit your own first draft against the attached scoring criteria, criterion by criterion: for each match, underline the word in your reason that comes from the theory's definition; tick each lens in your R4 reading that names both what it explains and what it leaves out; and check that your message calls the age a range, not a deadline. Write a second draft. Add a 150–200 word revision memo that names one change you made, the definition or detail that prompted it, and one question you still have. Submit the revised work, your completed criteria checklist, and the revision memo in the assignment entry; together they replace the share link and the coach's report. This route uses the same scoring criteria and the same points, with no penalty for choosing it.

How you'll be graded

The full analytic rubric is attached to this assignment in Canvas.

Academic integrity and AI use

The matches, reasons, R4 reading, message, revision, and reflection must be your own words. Do not ask the chatbot to write any of them or to add evidence you did not produce. Submit an honest share link from your own dialogue. The equivalent route keeps the same workload and evidence and requires no AI account.

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