Child Development: An Active Learning Approach

In the Third Edition of the topically organized Child Development: An Active Learning Approach, authors Laura E. Levine and Joyce A. Munsch invite students to take an active journey toward understanding the latest findings from the field of child development. Using robust pedagogical tools built into the chapter narratives, students are challenged to confront myths and misconceptions, participate in real-world activities with children and independently, and utilize video resources and research tools to pursue knowledge and develop critical thinking skills on their own. This new edition covers the latest findings on developmental neuroscience, positive youth development, the role of fathers, and more, with topics of diversity and culture integrated throughout. More than a textbook, this one-of-a-kind resource will continue to serve students as they go on to graduate studies, to work with children and adolescents professionally, and to care for children of their own.

Laura E. Levine received her PhD in developmental and clinical psychology from the University of Michigan. After working with children and families at the Children’s Psychiatric Hospital and in private practice in Ann Arbor for 10 years, she moved to Connecticut and was a stay-at-home mother of her two children for 6 years. She returned to academia in 1994 and taught child psychology and life span development for 20 years at Central Connecticut State University, where she is currently a professor emerita of the Department of Psychological Science. She has received three university teaching awards, and her research on the social development of young children and on the relation between media use and attention difficulties has appeared in journals such as Developmental Psychology, the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Infant Mental Health Journal, Infant and Child Development, Computers and Education, and CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

Dr. Levine has been very active in promoting excellence in college teaching. She was involved in the creation of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Central Connecticut State University and served on the board of the Connecticut Consortium to Enhance Learning and Teaching. She created numerous programs for faculty both at her university and at regional and national conferences. Her work on the scholarship of teaching and learning can be found in New Directions for Teaching and Learning, College Teaching and the International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Joyce Munsch received her PhD in human development and family studies from Cornell University. She was a faculty member in human development and family studies at Texas Tech University for 14 years, where she also served as associate dean for research in the College of Human Sciences for 2 years. In 2002, Dr. Munsch went to the California State University at Northridge as the founding chair and professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Development. She currently is an emeritus professor in the Department.

Dr. Munsch’s research has focused on adolescent stress and coping and social network research. Her work has been published in the Journal of School Psychology, Adolescence, The Journal of Early Adolescence, the Journal of Research on Adolescence, and the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Throughout her career, Dr. Munsch administered grants that supported community-based programs. She was the codirector of the Early Head Start program at Texas Tech University and co–principal investigator for three Texas Youth Commission (Department of Juvenile Justice) grants. At Cal State Northridge, she administered the Jumpstart program for over 10 years. Her commitment to community service learning was recognized in 2005 when she was awarded the CSUN Visionary Community Service Learning Award. In 2012, her service to the County of Los Angeles was recognized by a commendation from the County Board of Supervisors. At Texas Tech, she was the College of Human Sciences nominee for the Hemphill-Wells New Professor Excellence in Teaching Award, the Barnie E. Rushing Jr. Faculty Distinguished Research Award, the El Paso Energy Foundation Faculty Achievement Award, and the President’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and she received the Kathryn Burleson Faculty Service Award and the College of Human Sciences Outstanding Researcher Award.