Psychological Development Through Children's Literature

Psychological Development Through Children's Literature

Grant:
Instructional Development Fund (IDF)
Academic Year:
2017 - 2018 (June 1, 2017 through May 31, 2018)
Funding Requested:
$500.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
schreier
Overview of the Project:
This grant will help fund a revision of a special topics and first year seminar course Psychological Development Through Children’s Literature I will be teaching fall term 2018. Funds will help purchase additional books to enhance the educational experience for my students. I am looking to include books that promote empathy and moral development as well as update the picture books that are read in each class about physical and emotional development. Materials purchased will help expand on the young adult novels that students will be reading about resilience, diversity, and social justice. In addition the grant will provide resources expanding active learning activities by adding to my biography collection to include a broader representation of historical and contemporary figures. Finally, the grant will purchase books for a class known as Berenstain Bears Day, where students critically evaluate content in a broad selection of these classic children’s books.
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:

This grant was to support the purchase of children’s books to incorporate into the curriculum of a Psychological Development Through Children’s Literature course. Books that emphasized the development of empathy, resilience, and adaptive coping strategies were selected. Another important objective was to expand course materials to reflect a broader representation of diversity in picture books, biographies, chapters books, and young adult literature.

Project Achievements:

The use of picture books and chapter books that were purchased with this grant have been beneficial to the course curriculum across multiple dimensions. A sample of the course achievements made possible by books purchased through the grant includes:

  • Students evaluated the strengths and limitations of a variety of Berenstain Bears books purchased with grant funds, evaluating shifting societal patterns in their themes, and their continued focus on promoting traditional family structures and roles.
  • Students were introduced to a greater representation of diverse characters in several of the newly purchased Biography Series: Who Am I. While effectively criticizing the limited and inaccurate ways many children’s biographies cover essential elements of history, students identified that having a more diverse sample of biographies provides important benefits for all readers.
  • I incorporated the children’s picture book ONE into the curriculum. The text promotes socioemotional skills, empathy, and coping strategies, highlighting the important role of the bystander in response to bullying. The book also provided scaffolding of complex concepts, and students applied its messages to the chapter book Wonder.
  • Red, a picture book about a crayon that feels it is labeled as the wrong color, added significant value to our discussion of gender. The book facilitated thoughtful discussion about gender role expectations and gender identity in a creative way that served as a constructive lesson in acceptance of self and other.
  • Two copies of One Crazy Summer by Williams-Garcia were purchased to be used as a group presentation text. It is now part of my required curriculum and one of the highest rated books each semester. As part of the required class curriculum, students post discussion prompts about the book. The following are excerpts from students’ reactions to One Crazy Summer:
    • “Telling the story through the eyes of a black girl allows Williams-Garcia to teach readers significant lessons about racism and challenge stereotypes about women by describing the discrimination the three sisters face from Delphine’s point of view…Delphine also serves as a valuable model for young girls, particularly black girls, for whom representation in the media is rare and often underdeveloped. Delphine demonstrates independence, strength, and courage...”
    • “This book was extremely hard-hitting and emotionally evocative for me. I think it would be fascinating to explore the thoughts this novel would produce in 9-12- year-olds…, I’d be interested to ask what ways you think a child reader would react and interpret both the historical integration of the Black Panther movement and the mature responsibilities Delphine takes on at such a young age to be a leader to her sisters?”
Continuation:
The new books purchased with this grant are incorporated into the curriculum for many of the course’s topic areas, and they continue to enhance student learning. Students are encouraged to summarize, criticize, and apply key developmental concepts to these texts and to think about broader issues of changing patterns of diverse representation in children’s literature. Moving forward, I will continue to design learning opportunities incorporating these books to maximize the pedagogical benefits of this grant.
Dissemination:
In addition to their use in this class, several of the books purchased with grant funds are relevant for other courses I teach, and I have created a lecture on children’s books for
my Social Development class. I have also had the opportunity to read Red and One as a guest lecturer for other courses in the Psychology Department.
Advice to your Colleagues:
Research continues to demonstrate the benefits of children’s books for their cognitive and socioemotional development. Children’s books are also a valuable learning tool in a university setting. I strongly recommend that those in a variety of departments explore the beneficial role that children’s books can play in facilitating active learning as they design their curriculum. Students often leave this course saying they never realized how much children’s books can teach them-and how much they enjoyed learning along the way!
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