Description
Students in HDFS 230 (Child Development) often encounter challenges applying developmental concepts across time or connecting theory to real‑world practice. Integrating AI into the course through a guided, longitudinal child simulation directly addresses these challenges by giving students a coherent developmental case study that grows with them throughout the semester. This allows students to see how early experiences, family context, and developmental domains interact over time.
Students use Copilot and a series of pre-developed prompts to create a fictional child. Over the course of the semester, they develop a portfolio of "snapshots" of the child's development from birth through adolescence, aligned with weekly topics (e.g., cognitive development in infancy, social-emotional development in early childhood). Students complete a structured four-part analysis including developmental evaluation, caregiving decisions, family communication, and ethical reasoning using the textbook and course concepts to correct inaccuracies, identify bias, and apply evidence‑based developmental science.
Students build their portfolio using PowerPoint by adding narration and images to build an ongoing case study of their fictional child, based on AI-generated milestones for the child.
Tags
AI Learning Tool Text Generation Image Generation Critical Thinking Ethical ReasoningLearning Objectives
- Apply developmental theory to realisic scenarios.
- Identify and correct AI-generated inaccuracies.
- Communicate effectively with families.
- Recognize bias and practice ethical reasoning.
- Understand development longitudinally.
- Use AI responsibly and critically.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License with the exception of any images, unless specifically noted.