This website is a collection of links and information related to child development. The site is maintained by the Child Development Institute in California, founded by clinical child psychologist Robert Myers, PhD. Although designed for parents, the site is academic in its presentation and breadth.
Type of Material:
The website is a collection of text-based information and links.
Recommended Uses:
Elements of this site could be used for review and reference throughout a course on development.
Technical Requirements:
None.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
This site is too vast to list every possible learning goal. Some of the major topics covered on this site and about which one could learn by visiting it are: child development basics such as physical development norms; parenting strategies and skills to use in facing particular challenges such as bedwetting; improving children's learning abilities; developmental, learning, & mental disorders of children; health & safety issues; and helping teens make appropriate use of mass media.
Target Student Population:
The site was developed to provide information to parents. In academia, the site would be useful for students in courses dealing with infant, child, adolescent, or lifespan development.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
No prerequisite knowledge or skills are needed.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The content is high quality, with many of the links taking one to articles provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The material is extensive and well-organized. The site was developed by a clinical child psychologist with 20 years of experience in the field. The pages reviewed were factually accurate, research based, and current. As a testament to its quality, the site has been recommended by the American Psychological Association and has received numerous awards from other reputable organizations.
Concerns:
The commercial elements of the site were a distraction.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Website collections such as this one are not the most effective teaching tools as they lack the critical thinking components required for deep processing of the material. However, what this site lacks in depth, it makes up for in breadth. There is a wealth of information on the site and it is an excellent resource for faculty and students in developmental psychology or education courses. I particularly like that the information provided is research based. There are numerous other sites to which students could go for "parenting" information but not all of them provide a scientific viewpoint as this one does. One can choose to review scientific research on a number of topics such as ADD, autism, dyslexia, and language development. The site also includes a "Research Center" which is a jumping off point for parents (and students) to do their own search for additional information. This "center" provides access to a wide range of public, private and government resources related to child development, child psychology and parenting including professional search engines,
links to other sites, and a complete index of all pages internal to this website. One additional nice touch is that the site contains information on how to cite its pages in APA style--what a great addition for students wanting to include the site or one of its pages on a reference page for an APA-style paper.
Concerns:
It would be difficult to use this collection in class limiting its usefulness to out-of-class assignments.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The site is well-organized and easy to navigate. Multiple ways are provided to find information. You can use the menu bar, a search engine, a drop-down menu, the table of contents (site map), or an index to locate topics including hundreds of issues relevant to development, parenting, health, learning, and developmental disorders. Although the site is too massive to review every page, on the pages visited, no dead links were found.
Concerns:
None.
Creative Commons:
Search by ISBN?
It looks like you have entered an ISBN number. Would you like to search using what you have
entered as an ISBN number?
Searching for Members?
You entered an email address. Would you like to search for members? Click Yes to continue. If no, materials will be displayed first. You can refine your search with the options on the left of the results page.
Searching for Members?
You entered an email address. Would you like to search for members? Click Yes to continue. If no, materials will be displayed first. You can refine your search with the options on the left of the results page.
