BCS 183: Syllabus

Fall 2012

Time & Location

Mondays & Wednesdays, 2:00 - 3:15 PM, Hoyt Auditorium

Personnel

Dr. Jessica Cantlon (Instructor)
Office: Meliora 319
E-mail:
Office Hours: by appointment

Dr. Kelly Hughes (Instructor)
E-mail:

Tommy Blanchard (TA)
Office: Meliora 323 (cubicles)
Email:
Office hours: Tuesdays, 2-3 pm

Course Description

With intricate cultures, impressive technology, and layered social lives, humans seem to stand apart from their animal kin. However, humans and non-human animals share many aspects of their mental lives, and, upon closer inspection, some animals even reveal cognitive abilities far beyond the capacities of humans. Through comparing and contrasting human and non-human cognition, we can learn about human psychological uniqueness and its evolutionary origins, and fundamental properties of cognitive processes in general. The study of animal minds has a long and fruitful history for the fields of psychology and cognition.

This course uses a comparative cognition perspective to introduce fundamental concepts within the field of cognitive science. These include attention, perception, memory, and reasoning about the physical and social world. This course is introductory level and should be accessible to anyone; there are no prerequisites. By the end of this course, students will understand:

the fundamentals of cognitive science
the evolutionary process and how human &animal minds are the product of it
methods of experimentation in cognitive science & cognitive ecology
how to read and interpret data from graphs
how to critically evalulate observations of animal cognition and "intelligence"

Required Texts

Animal Cognition: The Mental Lives of Animals. Clive D.L. Wynne. 2002. Palgrave MacMillian

Fundamentals of Comparative Cognition. Sara J. Shettleworth. 2011. Oxford University Press.

Clicker Technology: iClicker can be purchased at the university bookstore or online outlets like Amazon.com. "Clickers", or personal responding devices, are small electronic gadgets that allow each student to respond to questions posed during class time, with the results immediately reported to the instructor who possesses the responder. Please bring your clicker to every class. We will conduct quizzes in class. There are many types of clickers on the market, but you must choose the iClicker.

Other Readings: All other required readings indicated on the syllabus will be provided on blackboard.

Grading and Course Components

Attendance is required will be monitored through iClicker.

Lecture slides will be posted on Blackboard. However, slides serve to aid the lectures and are not a replacement for them.

Readings:

Reading is due the day it is indicated on the syllabus. For example, if the syllabus cites Wynne Ch 5 on Oct 3rd, this means you should have competed this reading before this date.

Quizzes (20% of total grade)

Pop quizzes will be administered in class and require the iClicker to respond.

Quiz questions will cover the most recently assigned reading and the day's lecture.
Quizzes with be composed of 3 to 5 questions in a simple format (T/F, multiple choice, etc.).
If you forget your iClicker or miss class for any reason, you cannot make-up a quiz. Instead, you can recover the points by posting on the Animal Minds Blog (see "Quiz Make-up Points" below).
Paper submissions will not be accepted (but see below for Make-up points)

Exams (80% of total grade)

There are four non-cumulative exams.
You cannot make-up an exam without a letter from the dean or a doctor's note.
Each exam is worth 20% of your grade (80% total)
Exams will be in simple format (T/F, multiple choice, fill-in, etc.), with some short written answers
One skill that will be emphasized on the exams is the ability to understand and interpret graphs. Make sure that you understand the graphs from the lecture and text before each exam. Study the PowerPoint slides from lecture in addition to the readings.

Quiz Make-up Points and Extra-credit (maximum 5% toward final grade)

If you have been ill, missed class, forgot your iClicker, or feel that you did not perform your best on a quiz or exam you can make-up lost points by posting on the Animal Minds Blog.
Each posting is worth up to 1/3rd of a percentage point (graded for quality).
You can post as often as you like but you will only get credit for a maximum of 2 blog entries per 2 week (this is to avoid low quality mass postings for "points").
You can earn a maximum of 5% boost to your final grade (which is approximately 15 posts and again, note that these must be spread out over the semester)
The types of posts that are desired on the Animal Minds Blog are described below. Note that you will only receive extra credit points for blog posts that meet certain criteria.

Animal Minds Blog

The purpose of the Animal Minds Blog is to open up a discussion about animals and how they think. Since the general format of the course is introductory lecture style, the blog is meant to serve as a more open forum for questions and discussion. Although we are offering credit for posting to the blog, all students are encouraged to engage with the blog even if they don't "need the points". The blog is supposed to be fun/interesting, not a burden.

You are allowed to post anything (civilized). But here is what you will get credit for:

A video clip of an animal doing something interesting and class-related (must include a caption)
A photo of an animal doing something interesting and class-related (must include a caption)
A recent photo of you at a zoo with an animal that we talked about in class (you have to be in the photo). Include a caption of where and when it was taken.
A fact, observation, or question which includes a cognitive science term from the text or class
A comment on someone else's post which includes a cognitive science term from the text or class

The blog will be monitored by the instructors and TA. Blog posts will be evaluated for substance and will count as make-up points (up to a limit, described above). If one of the instructors or a student comments on your blog post with a question for you, you are expected to respond. That means that you must check up on your posts in the days and weeks following their release.

Study Group

Learning Assistance Services (LAS) will hold a study group for BCS 183. The study group leader, time, and location, will be announced at the LAS website. This is highly recommended, especially for students experiencing difficulties with the course.

Academic Honesty

We expect that all the work which you claim is your own. Plagiarism and academic dishonesty are not accepted at the University of Rochester or in the "real world". However, we recognize that in some situations the answer to what academic honesty means may not be obvious; if you have questions about a particular behavior, ask the instructors or TA, or consult the University of Rochester page on academic honesty. In addition to being honest yourself, you are expected to report any wrong-doing that you have knowledge of or observe.

BCS Major and Research Opportunities

Learn more Brain and Cognitive Science through the undergraduate programs coordinator for BCS: )

The department offers research opportunities in neuroscience and cognitive science, and B.A. and B.S. degrees. To understand what sorts of career opportunities you would have with such a degree, visit: http://www.bcs.rochester.edu/undergrad/lifeafterbcs.html

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