Rice University’s OpenStax Launches “Lifespan Development,” Expanding Access to Developmental Psychology Resources
OpenStax, the world’s largest publisher of open educational resources based at Rice University, announces the publication of the latest title in its social sciences collection, “Lifespan Development.” This resource is free to anyone interested in learning, upskilling, reskilling or refining their knowledge of developmental psychology.
Like all OpenStax resources, access to “Lifespan Development” is not limited to traditional educators and students in educational contexts. As part of the OpenStax library, users can access this textbook and aligned student and instructor resources completely free online.
“Lifespan Development” is grounded in foundational theories and scientific research ensuring learners understand the core aspects of human development across the lifespan, including physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. The resource openly addresses complex topics to increase equity and inclusion while fostering student engagement by presenting relevant examples and knowledge applications. With a sound foundation in understanding human development, students are able to apply their knowledge to improve their own lives and the lives of others.
This resource is modular in design, allowing instructors to decide what content to include or assign based on their course and their students’ needs. End-of-module exercises are included to help educators evaluate student understanding of the material. Throughout the text, students will benefit from clearly stated learning objectives, key inset features that weave together scientific inquiry with emerging research, condensed section summaries, defined terminology and questions to check understanding.
All OpenStax resources are accompanied by a unique set of student and instructor resources. Starting guides, an instructor’s answer guide, test bank, diversity and representation guidelines and PowerPoint slides will be available in the near future with a free instructor account. To provide additional educator support, OpenStax partners with a wide variety of technology companies that provide low-cost, high-value ed tech tools aligned with its content. The partner portal is available to search here.
“‘Lifespan Development’ was funded through a grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, aimed at expanding the OpenStax liberal arts library,” said Anthony Palmiotto, director of higher education at OpenStax. “The publication of ‘Lifespan Development’ ensures learners everywhere can now benefit from the insights and knowledge that shape the field of psychology. We are thrilled to add this resource to join the other eight titles available in our social sciences collection.”
“Lifespan Development” is now available for free here on the OpenStax website to view online or download as a PDF. For those who prefer print, official OpenStax titles published by Kendall Hunt are available at an affordable price.