LEARNING AND COGNITION (PSY 339)

Spring 2007

Instructor:  Dr. Nikki Yonts

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Office:  105 Derby           Phone:  698-4285 (office)     612-8840 (home)

Email address: nyonts@lyon.edu   Office Hours: Posted outside office door

Required Texts: Ormrod, J.E. (1999). Human Learning, 4^th Edition.

Suggested Text: APA Publication Manual (5^th Edition)

Additional Required Readings: The remainder of the readings for the course will come from published journal articles and will be available on the Educator website.

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Course Purpose:

The emphasis of this course is on how humans learn. We will examine the major theories of learning and cognition and identify practical applications for these theories. The course will also give students hands-on experience with learning and memory principles, as useful tools in understanding thinking, learning, and teaching.

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Course Objectives:

1.       Provide an introduction into the principles of learning and memory.

2.       Investigate how these principles apply to human learning and behavior.

3.       Provide the students with the opportunity to put theory into practice by hands-on experiences.

4.       Practice and develop critical thinking skills, and written and oral communications skills.

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Expectations:

I expect you to be present, punctual, prepared, and attentive during class. You can also expect me to be present, punctual, and prepared to teach. I expect you to participate positively and constructively in class and be respectful to others thoughts, opinions, and questions. You can expect me to provide a positive learning environment that encourages active student learning and I will be open to all thoughts, opinions, and questions. Finally, I expect you to understand and abide by the information and procedures described in the syllabus.

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Accommodations:

Lyon College complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with disabilities who need assistance should make their requests for accommodations to the Office of Academic Services.

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Course attendance:

As noted above, students are expected to attend all classes. It is also college policy that students can be dismissed from classes in which they have excessive absences. Note that a portion of your grade is determined by participation in learning activities during class. You must be present to receive credit for those activities. If a student misses a class, regardless of the reason, that student is responsible for all material presented in class, any assignments, and any changes to the class schedule.

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Assigned Readings:

Assigned readings must be read prior to the class lecture. We will not cover everything from the readings in class; however, you will be responsible for all material from assigned readings. Some of the test questions may cover material from readings. Besides the textbook, several articles have been assigned and we will use these articles to facilitate discussions. Therefore, it is especially important that you read the material before class. All supplemental readings will be available through Educator.

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Course Requirements:

1.  Exams - There will be three exams, each worth 100 points. The exams will consist of short-answer term identification questions as well as longer essay questions. These exams are self-scheduled but you must pick up the test by 3 p.m. on the scheduled day. There is a two-hour time limit for all exams and this time limit begins from the time you pick up the exam. You are required to take each exam in the Derby Center. If you need to miss an exam for an excused reason, you must notify me before the exam and schedule a make-up date. Make-up exams will only be given for excused absences and must be taken within a week of the original exam date. We will also be discussing memory strategies, including mnemonics, during the last half of the course. As part of our discussion of mnemonic techniques, you will be given a list of words and will be tested one week later over your recall of the words. This test will be taken during class and will be worth 50 points. There will be no make-up of this exam. The exams will be worth a total of 350 points (63% of your final grade).

2.  Writing Assignment – You have two options for the writing component of this course. You can either do a research project or write a literature review. If you choose to do a research project, you will be required to design a small study, collect data, analyze your findings and prepare an APA-formatted research report. The purpose of this option is to give you the opportunity to conduct some actual research on a topic related to learning & cognition. The other option is to do a literature review on any topic of interest to you that relates to learning and cognition. The purpose of this option is to give you the opportunity to understand one topic in depth and to provide practice in understanding, organizing, and reporting material related to psychology. Regardless of which option you choose, your final paper will be approximately 7-9 pages (not counting the title page and references), and must be in APA format. Five (5) points per day (including weekends) will be taken off for papers turned in after the due date. Papers turned in 4 or more days after the due date, regardless of the circumstances, will not be graded. This assignment will be worth a total of 125 points (23% of final grade). You will receive additional handouts on this assignment.

3.  Learning activities. Throughout the semester we will be doing some hands-on activities to help learning. Some of these exercises will be in class and you must be present on those days to receive credit for that day’s activity. Other activities will require you to work outside of the classroom, possibly working with another person. These activities will involve some writing and you will receive additional information regarding each assignment in class. The activities will be worth a total of 75 points toward your final grade (14%). The in-class activities will not be announced so it is to your benefit to attend class regularly. If you are absent on the days that we do an in-class exercise, you will not be allowed to make up the work. Exceptions to this are when students are absent for a school-sanctioned function (athletic competition, conference, etc.). I will not penalize you for missing class for these reasons. However, you must provide advance notice, in writing, from your advisor or coach. No exceptions.

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Honor Code Information:

You should be familiar with and uphold the Lyon College Honor Code (please see Student Handbook if you have any questions). I will not grade any work that is not pledged. There will be no collaboration on exams and all exams are closed-book. Students are encouraged to study together and are free to discuss the chapters and articles they are reading for class assignments. However, assignments must be written without collaboration. In addition, I will be carefully monitoring your term papers for plagiarism, which consists of using someone's words and ideas without proper citation. Ignorance is no excuse for plagiarism. It is your responsibility to know what constitutes plagiarism to avoid making this very serious error in your paper.

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Summary of points:                                                                            

Exams (3 worth 100 each)                            300

Mnemonic test                                                50

Term paper                                                   125

Class participation/In-Class activities                75

TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE                               550

 

If you get 90-100% of the points you will get an A; 80-89% = B; 70-79% = C; 60-69% = D; 59 or less = F. Note for final grades, I will follow the rules of rounding and will only round up if your decimal is .5 or above, so 89.5 would be an A but 89.4 would be a B. There are no exceptions because you will have opportunity to get extra credit points to push yourself into the .5 range.

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Tentative Course Outline