Describing the Development of a Developmental Psychologist: An Alternative Term Paper Assignment

Each student taking a sophomore/junior level course in developmental psychology is asked to choose a different developmental psychologist and to read as much of that person's published work as is feasible. Students are encouraged to select articles that range over different research areas and different years of publications. They then write a paper describing the target psychologist's work, focusing on the question, “How has this person's work developed?” The assignment in intended to address a number of goals, including the following: (a) to acquaint students with primary literature in developmental psychology, (b) to provoke critical thinking about the concept of development, and (c) to recognize that the progress of an academic career is seldom linear or preordained. Student reaction and implementation suggestions me discussed.