Human Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Human Development - Essay Example It was also interesting to see how human behavior changes through various stages of life and is also affected by genetics and environmental factors. After completing this course, I have developed an appreciation towards the subject that clearly is an important part of human life. Q2. I found chapter 8 on Human Development most significant because I was able to understand and appreciate behavioral changes in my son as he is growing up. It was interesting to know how children progress through life and exhibit various behavioral characteristics based on their changing environment and maturity in life. Where eight-month-old baby smiles and coos when it recognizes familiar faces, the same child exhibits stranger anxiety as a part of its survival strategy when a stranger approaches it. It was also interesting to learn that familiarity is a sign of safety and contentment for children, while young adults are willing to take more risk and explore new areas in their life as they search for the ir identity. Learning about behavioral changes in children as they transition from babies to adults was the most significant learning experience in this course. The various examples that were used to explain the reasons why children behave in a certain way made it very clear to me that it is very important to ensure that children grow up in a healthy and safe environment. I was also able to appreciate the differences in the way boys and girls behave through the examples of learned social behaviors. Q3. I enjoyed learning about our bodies, especially about how the human brain is designed and how each structure within the brain helps to encode, store and retrieve memories. It was fascinating to learn that our brain encodes information and stores it away as sensory, working or long-term memory and retrieves the information when we need it. I was also amazed at how our sensory organs like eyes, ears, and nose transmit information to the corresponding sensory cortices in the brain to sto re the information which may last for only a few seconds, while more meaningful and emotional information is encoded into long-term memory which can last a lifetime. I would have preferred more activities and inclusion of case studies to make this subject more interesting. Q4. In order to improve the way this course is taught, I would include more of hands-on work, games, and activities so that learning becomes more fun filled. That way it would be easier to learn and remember the various topics taught in the class. One thing that would improve student interaction in this course is ‘role play’. Each week a team of 4-5 students is given a small scenario to enact in front of the class. The scenarios or cases should be very specific to the topic being taught in the class.