Course credit
3 credit hours
Course description
Understanding contemporary families as they exist in their cultural context. Exploration of how families change and adapt to normative and non-normative challenges. Application of family theory and current research in order to understand family dynamics.
Delivery
This course is available in a web-based format, utilizing web pages and WebCT, a computer conferencing program. WebCT requires Internet access and a web browser — no additional software is required. Students may need access to someone who can assist with computer set-up.
Prerequisites
none
Instructor
Dr. Elaine Eshbaugh, Assistant Professor of Family Studies and Gerontology
Dr. Elaine Eshbaugh has been with the University of Northern Iowa since 2006. She received her MS (2002) and doctoral (2005) degrees from Iowa State University in Human Development and Family Studies. In addition, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, a research institute of the University of Kansas. Classes taught at UNI include Family Relationships, Research Methods in Family Science, Family Perspectives on Adulthood and Aging, and Human Identity and Relationships. She is Certified Family Life Educator and a member of the National Council on Family Relations.
Dr. Eshbaugh’s research focuses on teen mothers and depression, emergent adult sexuality, and loneliness across the lifespan. She has presented at conferences such as the Head Start Research Conference, the meetings of the Society for Prevention Research, and the Early Head Start National Consortium.
Evaluation
13 assignments
Course objectives
Students will—
1. understand how major life events impact relationships of individuals and families.
2. explore individual behavior as a function of family influences.
3. understand how family life and families change across time.
4. investigate terminology and definitions that describe human, marital, and family behavior and interaction.
About the course
This is a course on families. You will be asked to think of family life in perhaps a different way than you have in the past. Having a family does not guarantee you will get an A! Yet applying concepts to yourself and your family may help you to learn the material. This course is for the professional who plans to work with individual and families, and also for any individual who would like more insight on their family and families in general. You will find Family Relationships to be interdisciplinary, meaning that ideas in this course may be from fields such as psychology, sociology, biology, social work, and others.
Course organization
This course consists of 13 assignments. The readings for each assignment include one chapter of the text (Olson, DeFrain, & Skogrund) and one supplemental reading from the Reading Packet.
Written Assignments
The written assignment for each assignment consists of answering two questions. Each question is worth 15 points. Therefore, there is possibility of earning a maximum of 30 points for each assignment.
Your responses to the questions should show that you have thoroughly read and understood the material for the assignment. Your responses should be well-organized and readable. Although I may not agree with all of the thoughts expressed in your responses, I should be able to understand how you came to your conclusions based on the assignment’s readings. Please do not copy information from the readings in your responses. These questions require critical thinking, and simply re-stating information is not appropriate.
I would expect that each response would be about 2-3 paragraphs in length. Therefore, for each unit, you are expected to write approximately 4-6 paragraphs. Please proofread! Although this is not an English course, it is difficult for me to gauge your understanding of the material if your response is plagued by poor writing style. It may be useful to have another person read your response before submitting it. If another person has trouble understanding your response, I may have difficulty as well.
Grading
Please note that UNI Guided Independent Study requires that must complete all 13 assignments in order to pass the course!
Each written assignment is worth 30 points. Therefore, there is possibility of earning a maximum of 390 points for the course. The following grading scale will be used:
90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
59% and below F
(+s and –s will be assigned at my discretion)
Academic dishonesty
It goes without saying that you are expected to avoid plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty. Intentional academic dishonesty will result in an automatic “F.”
Textbook(s)
Olson, D. H., DeFrain, J., & Skogrund, L. Marriages & families: Intimacy, diversity, and strengths. 6th ed. (2007). McGraw-Hill: Boston.
A Reading Packet will also be utilized in this course.
Texts are available from www.bookfinder.com
University Book and Supply carries most books used in guided independent study.
To search for textbooks by course, click on "Select a Campus Term" and select Univ.Northern Iowa - Guided Independent Study
Visit the store at 1009 West 23rd Street, Cedar Falls, IA 50613
Phone: 319-266-7581 or 800-728-7581
Fax: 319-277-1266
E-mail: bookstore@panthersupply.com
To enroll
ONLINE
GIS enrollment information
IN PERSON
UNI Continuing and Distance Education
2637 Hudson Road (corner of 27th St. and Hudson Rd.)
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0223
Campus map (Look for Building 31)
For more information
Cindy Klodt, Guided Independent Study
UNI Continuing and Distance Education
319-273-2123 or 800-772-1746
ContinuingEd@uni.edu