BCS 151: Syllabus

Fall 2012

Time & Location

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 11:05am - 12:20pm, Dewey Hall 1-101

Personnel

Instructor: Dr. Duje Tadin
Office: Meliora Hall 317 (NEW BCS area, just past the Bursar's Office)
Email:
Phone: 585-275-8682
Office hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays after class, or by appointment

TA: Davis Glasser
Office: Meliora Hall 242
Email:
Office hours: Tuesdays & Wednesdays 2pm-3pm, or by appointment

About the Course

This course provides an overview of contemporary theory and research in perception, including related philosophical and biological issues. We learn how animals acquire, process and utilize information about objects and events in the environment, covering vision, audition, taste, smell and touch. A recurring theme in the course is the relation between perceptual experiences and their neural correlates. Lectures are supplemented with demonstrations and exercises.

Prerequisites: BCS 110 or BCS 111/112. These are important because this course assumes introductory knowledge of the organization/function of the nervous system. Exceptions will be made only for students who demonstrate such knowledge.

Materials

Textbook: Sensation & Perception, 3rd Edition, Wolfe et al., Sinauer Associates
Value options (loose-leaf textbook and eBook versions) are available here: http://www.sinauer.com/detail.php?id=5727 - purchase

Student website: The website contains study materials and integrative activities to help you better understand textbook material

Additional readings (required): Articles from the scientific literature that supplement and extend the textbook. Students who are enrolled in the course can download these readings each week from Blackboard (http://my.rochester.edu). The login is your NetID.

Exams

There will be 4 exams and no final exam. All exams will contain multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank and short essay questions. Questions will be drawn from BOTH the lecture and reading material. The emphasis will be on understanding rather than simply recalling course material.

Make-up exams will be entirely essay. Only students who suffer a documented medical or family emergency will be granted the opportunity to take a make-up exam.

Official university events require an advance notice so that an alternative accommodation can be made.

Perception Journal

Each student will be required to keep a "perception journal." It will have a minimum of five entries and 1000 words. Additional details will be provided in the first two weeks of class. | Journal Assignment PDF

Grading

The lowest exam score is excluded. The three remaining exams will each account for 30% of the final grade.
Perception journal: 10% of the final grade
Grades are rounded to two decimal points (89.99 = 89.99; 89.999 = 90.00). There is NO "grade bumping"!
Final grade curve will be applied only if the class average is less than 80%.
Grading scale: (note that 93.00% is A-, and 89.99 is B+)

	87 < x < 90 = B+	77 < x < 80 = C+	67 < x < 70 = D+
x > 94 = A	83 < x <= 87 = B	73 < x <= 77 = C	63 < x <= 67 = D	< 60 = E
90 <= x <= 94 = A-	80 <= x <= 83 = B-	70 <= x <= 73 = C-	60 <= x <= 63 = D-

Learning Assistance

Students who require assistance with note taking, studying for exams, or essay writing should contact Learning Assistance Services in Lattimore 107 (5-9049).

Expectations

By taking this course, you can expect to learn about and be intrigued by the topics we discuss in class. In turn, I expect that you will respect the learning environment and be courteous to your instructor and classmates by:

using the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity (University of Rochester’s policy is available at http://www.rochester.edu/College/honesty/.)
asking for help during office hours or via email if you don't understand something in the lectures or the readings
asking questions in class (if they require a lengthy answer, they may be deferred until after class)

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