BCS 112: Syllabus

Spring 2012

Time & Location

Mondays & Wednesdays 4:50-6:05 PM, Hoyt Auditorium

Personnel

Michael K. Tanenhaus (Primary Instructor)
E-mail:
Office Hours: TBA, Meliora 418

Ting Qian (Graduate Student TA)
Email:
Office hours: TBA

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to basic concepts in cognitive science, adopting the perspective of modern cognitive psychology. The course is intended for students who are not planning to major in BCS; if you think you might major in BCS, you should instead take BCS 111.

Cognitive psychology is a broad field, and the goal of this course is to give you a broad introduction. The lectures will highlight the most important information that you are expected to learn. Students should follow up on the lectures by reading the assigned parts of the textbook, which covers these topics in more detail.

Required Textbook and Supplemental Readings

This class requires a traditional textbook, as well as readings posted in Blackboard.

Reisberg, D. (2010). Cognition: Exploring The Science of The Mind: 4th Edition.

We will also post supplemental, primary source articles. These are required reading.

Exams and Grading

Grades in this class are earned by doing well on exams. Class attendance and completing the assigned readings will not be factored into your grade directly. However, students who choose to attend class and do the reading will almost certainly earn higher grades, and class attendance is strongly encouraged.

Final grades will be based on exam performance.

Exams (100% of final grade): There will be four in-class exams: three throughout the semester and one during finals week. These exams will be closed book, will cover material from the lectures and the assigned readings, and will include multiple choice and short answer questions. The exam during finals week will be comprehensive. All 4 exams are worth the same number of points, however, only your 3 best exam scores will be counted toward your final grade. That means if you are satisfied with your projected grade after the first 3 exams, you won't have to take the final. We record points not letter grades. In order for you to know how your points map onto projected letter grades we will provide letter grade estimates after each exam. The estimates will be based on cumulative point totals because that provides the most accurate snapshot of what your grade is likely to be based on your exam performance.

Due to the large size of the class, there will be no makeup exams, except in cases of serious documented emergencies or religious holidays that fall on the day of the exam. If you need to makeup an exam for one of these reasons, contact me directly (with some kind of documentation). If you need to miss one exam for any non-emergency reason, you do not need to contact me – only 3 of the 4 exams count toward your grade. If you are not sure whether your situation counts as an emergency, please ask.

General Information

Class Guidelines: Students are encouraged to ask clarification questions in lecture. However, due to the large size of the class, more in-depth questions may be better addressed after class or during office hours. In order to give you additional opportunities to ask questions, there will be an in-class review session before each exam. I also strongly encourage students to email me, and Ting, with any questions you have about the course content. In general, we will try to respond to your emails that are directly related to the class within one business day. (Emails that are long, contain a lot of detailed questions, or are not related to this course may take longer to receive a response).

Availability of Course Information: All of the information about the course, including the syllabus and schedule, will be made available to you electronically, through Blackboard. We will communicate with the class regularly through Blackboard. Your exam and homework scores will only be made available to you through Blackboard. Therefore, it is required that you have access to Blackboard for this course!

Academic Honesty: You should be aware of the rules involving academic honesty as laid out in the college website at http://www.rochester.edu/College/honesty/. All cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be reported to the Board on Academic Dishonesty, according to University policy. In general, don't cheat during exams.

University Resources: There are many resources available to students at the University. Some students have found the services below particularly helpful. If you think that you might benefit from either of these services, I recommend that you find out more about them.

Learning Assistance Services: "We offer an extensive study group and Workshop program, individual study skills counseling, study skills workshops and a study skills course, and disability support. We are located in 107 Lattimore Hall on the River Campus. To make an appointment or to learn more about LAS, stop by our offices, call us at (585) 275-9049."

Writing Assistance: The College Writing Center has a variety of free resources, which are available to all students who want to work on improving their writing for assignments of all kinds. These included drop-in writing help, and individual appointments with a writing consultant. You can find out more about the resources that are available to you at the CWC website.

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