College Career Compass™
Cognitive Horizon Academy™
Advanced Honors Lifespan Developmental Psychology
A Ph.D.-led live cohort course for motivated high school students ready to study human development at a higher academic level.
Explore how people grow, change, learn, adapt, and develop across the lifespan — from infancy through late adulthood — through rigorous instruction, structured accountability, and CLEP-aligned preparation.
Live Cohort Course | Flipped Classroom | CLEP-Aligned | College-Preparatory
Live cohort instruction begins September 14, 2026.
Fall Term: September 14, 2026 – January 22, 2027
32 total 60-minute instructional blocks
Schedule: Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST
Arkansas EFA | ClassWallet Direct Pay Instructions
College Career Compass™ is an approved Arizona ESA / ClassWallet vendor.
Families using Arkansas EFA funds may request eligible College Career Compass™ courses through ClassWallet Direct Pay / Pay Vendor.
Arkansas EFA families will need to request an invoice first, then upload that invoice in ClassWallet for payment review. Arkansas EFA notes that payment submissions may require an invoice, statement, or supporting document.
💳 Step 1: Request Your Arkansas EFA Invoice
Before submitting payment through ClassWallet, please email:
Include:
Parent/Account Holder Name
Student Full Name
Selected Course Name
Arkansas EFA Student ID, if available
You will receive a detailed PDF invoice for the selected course.
🔍 Step 2: Submit Through ClassWallet Direct Pay
Log in to your Arkansas EFA / ClassWallet account.
Go to Pay Vendor / Direct Pay.
Search for:
College Career Compass™
or
Virtual College Consulting, LLC
Upload the PDF course invoice.
Submit the payment request for review.
Arkansas EFA's ClassWallet information identifies Marketplace and Direct Pay / Pay Vendor as payment pathways for EFA families.
✉️ Step 3: Confirm Your Student’s Enrollment
After submitting the Direct Pay request, please send an email to:
Include:
Student’s Full Name
Selected Course Name
Screenshot of your ClassWallet submission or confirmation, if available
This helps us match your student’s enrollment request with the payment submission.
📬 What Happens Next?
We verify the payment request in our provider/vendor account.
We process your student’s registration.
You receive an email with full course access instructions.
For live cohort courses, you will also receive schedule details, course expectations, and next steps before the course begins.
What Makes This Course Different
Ph.D.-Led Instruction
Students are taught directly by Dr. Leslie Tucker, founder of College Career Compass™ and Cognitive Horizon Academy™.
The course is designed and led by an instructor with deep training in educational psychology, curriculum and instruction, student development, higher education, and college readiness.
This is not a video-only course or a passive content library. Students engage in live instruction, guided discussion, structured learning activities, and academic accountability.
Not just psychology content—college-level thinking
The Advanced Honors Lifespan Developmental Psychology course uses a knowledge-rich, cognitively informed guided-inquiry model to help students understand human development from infancy through late adulthood.
Students first build the foundational knowledge necessary for advanced thinking through concise readings, explicit instruction, retrieval practice, developmental timelines, research-based examples, and embedded comprehension checks.
Live class sessions then engage students in structured inquiry, case analysis, research interpretation, developmental comparisons, and the application of psychological theory to authentic questions about growth, change, continuity, context, and individual differences.
Instruction is carefully scaffolded to respect the limits of working memory while helping students connect biological, cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural influences across the lifespan.
Rather than asking students to form conclusions from personal experience or isolated observations alone, the course equips them with the knowledge, evidence, questions, and analytical tools needed to evaluate developmental claims, recognize patterns, and reach thoughtful, defensible conclusions.
Who This Course Is For
This course is a strong fit for students who:
Are interested in psychology, education, teaching, learning science, instructional design, child development, counseling, coaching, human behavior, student success, or working with people.
Enjoy asking deeper questions about how people learn, grow, stay motivated, solve problems, and succeed.
Are ready for a more rigorous elective experience than a typical high school course.
Can participate in live cohort sessions and complete independent preparation between meetings.
May want to prepare for the CLEP Educational Psychology exam.
Want to strengthen college-level reading, reasoning, discussion, and applied analysis skills.
Flipped Classroom Model
Students prepare before live sessions through assigned content, guided viewing, readings, or Edpuzzle accountability checkpoints.
Live class time is then used for deeper explanation, discussion, applied examples, concept clarification, and higher-level thinking.
This model helps students come to class prepared, stay accountable, and use live instruction for meaningful academic engagement.
Students prepare before live sessions through assigned content, guided viewing, readings, or Edpuzzle accountability checkpoints.
Live class time is then used for deeper explanation, discussion, applied examples, concept clarification, and higher-level thinking.
This model helps students come to class prepared, stay accountable, and use live instruction for meaningful academic engagement.
Structured Accountability
Students are expected to engage with course materials, attend live sessions, participate appropriately, and complete assigned checkpoints.
Accountability may include:
→ Edpuzzle assignments
→ Guided notes or reflection prompts
→ Concept checks
→ Discussion preparation
→ Applied examples
→ Review activities
→ CLEP-aligned practice
This structure helps students build independence while still receiving clear guidance and expectations.
CLEP - Aligned Preparation
This course is aligned with major concepts commonly assessed on the CLEP Human Growth and Development exam.
Students may use this course as preparation for the CLEP exam, which may lead to potential college credit depending on exam score, college requirements, and each institution’s transfer policy.
College Career Compass™ does not award college credit directly. Credit decisions are made by the testing program and the student’s future college or university.
Course Topics
Students will study development across the lifespan, including:
→ Prenatal development, infancy, and early childhood
→ Physical, cognitive, language, and social-emotional development
→ Attachment, temperament, parenting, and early learning
→ Middle childhood and adolescence
→ Identity development, peer relationships, family systems, and motivation
→ Early and middle adulthood
→ Career development, relationships, family dynamics, and cognitive transitions
→ Late adulthood, aging, health, memory, grief, and gerontology
→ Major developmental theories and research perspectives
→ Application of developmental psychology to real-life learning, education, family, and human service contexts
→ CLEP Human Growth and Development review and exam preparation.
16-Week Course Map
Weeks 1–4
Infancy & Early Childhood
Physical, cognitive, language, and social-emotional development
Weeks 5–8
Middle Childhood & Adolescence
Social, emotional, identity, peer, family, and learning development
Weeks 9–12
Early & Middle Adulthood
Career, relationships, family dynamics, parenting, work, and cognitive transitions
Weeks 13–16
Late Adulthood, Gerontology & CLEP Exam Prep
Aging, memory, health, grief, end-of-life issues, and CLEP Human Growth and Development review
Student Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
→ Describe major patterns of human development across the lifespan.
→ Explain key developmental theories and apply them to real-world examples.
→ Analyze how biological, cognitive, social, emotional, family, cultural, and environmental factors shape development.
→ Strengthen academic discussion, applied reasoning, and evidence-based thinking.
→ Develop stronger preparation for college-level social science coursework.
→ Review major concepts connected to the CLEP Human Growth and Development exam.
→ Reflect on how developmental psychology applies to education, healthcare, counseling, family systems, leadership, and future career interests.
Why This Course Matters
Understanding human development helps students understand people.
This course gives students a deeper lens for thinking about childhood, adolescence, adulthood, aging, learning, family systems, identity, motivation, and behavior.
For students interested in education, psychology, healthcare, counseling, child development, therapy, social work, neuroscience, leadership, or human-centered careers, this course provides a meaningful academic foundation.
Students often find the coursework challenging in the best way — rigorous, relevant, and rewarding.
Course Expectations
This course is best suited for students who are ready to:
→ Attend live class sessions consistently.
→ Complete preparation before class.
→ Engage respectfully in academic discussion.
→ Stay organized with assignments and checkpoints.
→ Think deeply about human development and behavior.
→ Take ownership of their learning.
→ Prepare seriously if they choose to pursue the CLEP exam.
Course Entry Recommendation
This course is designed for advanced high school learners.
Students should have either:
Completed an introductory high school psychology course,
or
Received direct instructor approval.
Motivated students with strong academic readiness may be considered.
Important CLEP Note
This course provides CLEP-aligned preparation for the Human Growth and Development exam.
Successful CLEP exam completion may result in college credit depending on the student’s exam score and the credit acceptance policy of the college or university the student later attends.
College Career Compass™ does not guarantee college credit, exam passage, or transfer acceptance.
Have Questions? Email dr.leslietucker@gmail.com
Meet the Instructor
Dr. Leslie Tucker is the founder of College Career Compass™ and Cognitive Horizon Academy™, the advanced academic division of College Career Compass™. She is an educator, researcher, scholar, and curriculum designer with a background in educational psychology, curriculum and instruction, higher education, student development, college readiness, and career exploration.
Dr. Tucker’s work sits at the intersection of learning, development, motivation, identity, and future planning. She has taught and supported students across secondary, college-preparatory, and higher-education settings, bringing both academic training and real-world student-development experience to her courses.
Her teaching is grounded in educational psychology, cognitive science, developmental theory, inquiry-based learning, and applied behavioral science. Rather than asking students to memorize information simply, Dr. Tucker designs courses that help students think critically, analyze human behavior, connect theory to real-life experiences, and develop the habits of mind needed for college-level learning.
Through Cognitive Horizon Academy™, Dr. Tucker offers rigorous, Ph.D.-led psychology and behavioral science courses for motivated high school students. Her courses are designed to challenge students in a meaningful and supportive way while helping them grow as deeper thinkers, stronger learners, and more confident future-ready scholars.
