University of Alberta
PSYCO 354 "Foundations Of Cognitive Science"
Section A1 - Winter 2020
Instructor: Dr. Alona Fyshe Office: BS P-447 / Ath 3-56
(Unless otherwise noted, office hours will be in P-447) E-mail: [email protected]
Web Page: on Eclass
Office Hours: Tuesday 9-10 am, Thursday 3:30-4:30 pm, or email for an appointment Lecture Room & Time: Tuesday/Thursday 2-3:20, BS M 1-45
Course Description: An introduction to the theories and research practices of cognitive science by examining contributions of cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, linguistics, and neuroscience to a variety of research areas.
Course Prerequisites: STAT 141 or 151 or SCI 151 and PSYCO 258
It is important to prepare yourself for this course through a review of the prerequisite material. Students who do not have the required prerequisites at the time of taking this course should not expect supplementary professorial tutoring from the instructor.
Course Objectives and Expected Learning Outcomes:
• To understand the
o history of psychology and foundations of cognitive science o distinctions between the three schools of cognitive science o overlaps between the three schools of cognitive science
• To coherently argue a position using the above knowledge in essay form Lecture Schedule & Assigned Readings:
See the end of this document Required Textbooks:
Dawson, M.R.W. (2013) Mind, Body, World: Foundations of Cognitive Science.
Athabasca University Press, Edmonton, AB
Recommended or Optional Learning Resources:
You may find the previous course website to be of use. Examples of old exams can be found there, as well as links to additional material
http://www.bcp.psych.ualberta.ca/~mike/Pearl_Street/PSYCO354/
Past Evaluative Material:
You can find past exams on the website for the previous offering of the course http://www.bcp.psych.ualberta.ca/~mike/Pearl_Street/PSYCO354/
Grade Evaluation:
EXAMS WEIGHTING DATE
Quizzes 1-10 20% See syllabus
Midterm 30% February 27, 2020
Final Exam 50% April 22, 2020*
@ 9:00 a.m.
*WARNING: Students must verify this date on BearTracks when the Final Exam Schedule is posted’ FYI: The final exam planner is found on the Registrar’s website.
Grades are unofficial until approved by the Department and/or Faculty offering the course.
Format of Exams:
All course evaluations involve written answers. The midterm and final exam both require students to define terms and/or answer other short-response questions. Students are also required to write one long essay answer from a choice of questions. Example exams are available from the course website, but the format of this year’s exams may differ slightly.
The ten minute quizzes are designed to keep students up to date in the required readings.
Students will have 10 minutes to write a short answer to a question presented in class.
The question will be about the assigned reading (see Lecture Schedule below to see what reading is associated with each quiz) or about a guest lecture from the preceding week (when applicable). When scheduled, a ten minute quiz will always be given at the start of a class.
Missed Term Exams and Assignments:
For an excused absence where the cause is religious belief, a student must contact the instructor(s) within two weeks of the start of Fall or Winter classes to request
accommodation for the term (including the final exam, where relevant). Instructors may request adequate documentation to substantiate the student request.
A student who cannot write a term examination or complete a term assignment due to incapacitating illness, severe domestic affliction or other compelling reasons can apply for a deferred midterm examination, deferral of the weight of the missed quiz, and/or the final exam. In all cases, instructors may request adequate documentation to substantiate the reason for the absence at their discretion. The deferred midterm will be February 6, 2020 at 9:00 am.
Deferral of term work is a privilege and not a right; there is no guarantee that a deferral will be granted. Misrepresentation of Facts to gain a deferral is a serious breach of the Code of Student Behaviour.
Deferred Final Examination:
A student who cannot write the final examination due to incapacitating illness, severe domestic affliction or other compelling reasons can apply for a deferred final
examination. Students who failed at the start of term to request exam accommodations for religious beliefs are expected to follow the normal deferred final examination process.
Such an application must be made to the student’s Faculty office within two working days of the missed examination and must be supported by appropriate documentation or a Statutory Declaration
(http://calendar.ualberta.ca/content.php?catoid=20&navoid=4939#Attendance). The deferred final will be April 27, 9:00 am
Deferred examinations are a privilege and not a right; there is no guarantee that a deferred examination will be granted. Misrepresentation of Facts to gain a deferred examination is a serious breach of the Code of Student Behaviour.
Re-examination:
A student who writes the final examination and fails the course may apply for a re-
examination. Re-examinations are rarely granted in the Faculty of Science. These exams are governed by University regulations
(http://calendar.ualberta.ca/content.php?catoid=20&navoid=4939 - Examinations_(Exams)) and Faculty of Science regulations
(http://calendar.ualberta.ca/content.php?catoid=20&navoid=4970#academic-standing).
Misrepresentation of Facts to gain a re-examination is a serious breach of the Code of Student Behaviour.
Student Responsibilities:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: "The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the
provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.governance.ualberta.ca) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University."
All forms of dishonesty are unacceptable at the University. Any offence will be reported to the Associate Dean of Science who will determine the disciplinary action to be taken.
Cheating, plagiarism and misrepresentation of facts are serious offences. Anyone who engages in these practices will receive at minimum a grade of zero for the exam or paper in question and no opportunity will be given to replace the grade or redistribute the weights. As well, in the Faculty of Science the sanction for cheating on any examination will include a disciplinary failing grade (NO EXCEPTIONS) and senior students should expect a period of suspension or expulsion from the University of Alberta.
EXAMS: Your student photo I.D. is required at exams to verify your identity. Students will not be allowed to begin an examination after it has been in progress for 30 minutes.
Students must remain in the exam room until at least 30 minutes has elapsed. Electronic equipment cannot be brought into examination rooms and hats should not be worn.
CELL PHONES: Cell phones are to be turned off during lectures, labs and seminars.
Cell phones are not to be brought to exams.
STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FOR ACCESSIBILITY-RELATED
ACCOMMODATIONS (students registered with Student Accessibility Services - SAS): Eligible students have both rights and responsibilities with regard to accessibility- related accommodations. Consequently, scheduling exam accommodations in accordance with SAS deadlines and procedures is essential. Please note adherence to procedures and deadlines is required for U of A to provide accommodations. Contact
SAS (www.ssds.ualberta.ca) for further information.
STUDENT SUCCESS CENTRE: Students who require additional help in developing strategies for better time management, study skills or examination skills should contact the Student Success Centre (2-300 Students’ Union Building).
RECORDING AND/OR DISTRIBUTION OF COURSE MATERIALS: Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an approved accommodation plan. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose
without prior written consent from the content author(s).
Policy about course outlines can be found in the University Calendar
(http://calendar.ualberta.ca/content.php?catoid=6&navoid=806&hl="syllabus"&returnto=
search - Evaluation_Procedures_and_Grading_System).
Lecture Schedule & Assigned Readings:
This schedule is approximate and subject to change as the course progresses.
Week Date Topic Reading Quiz (Thurs)
1 January 7.
2020 Intro - Psychology is fractured Chp 1 1 January 9.
2020
Brief intro to classical, embodied,
connectionist schools -
2 January 14.
2020 Levels of investigation Chp 2
2 January 16.
2020 Levels of investigation Chp 1
3 January 21.
2020 Classical Chp3
3 January 23.
2020 Classical Chp 2
4 January 28.
2020 Connectionist Chp 4
4 January 30.
2020 Connectionist Chp3
5 February 4.
2020 Embodied Chp 5
5 February 6.
2020
Embodied - Guest lecture Craig Chapman
(Moving is Thinking) Chp 4
6 February
11. 2020 Examples from each of the 3 schools - 6 February
13. 2020
Examples from each of the 3 schools - Guest lecture Rupam Mahmood (Reinforcement
Learning for Robotics) - Chp 5
7 February
18. 2020 Reading Week - -
7 February
20. 2020 Reading Week - -
8 February
25. 2020 Mid term review -
8 February
27. 2020 Mid term - -
9 March 3.
2020 Studying Language Chp 6
9 March 5.
2020 Studying Language -
10 March 10.
2020 Marks of the Classical Chp 7
10 March 12.
2020 Marks of the Classical Chp 6
11 March 17.
2020 Seeing and Visualizing - hybrid theories Chp 8 11 March 19.
2020 Seeing and Visualizing - hybrid theories Chp 7 12 March 24.
2020 Dialectic Chp 9
12 March 26.
2020 Memory Chp 8
13 March 31.
2020 Guest Lecture: Jeremy Caplan 13 April 2.
2020 Memory Chp 9
14 April 7.
2020
Review class Chp 6-9 (***NOTE
this quiz on a Tuesday)
Disclaimer:Any typographical errors in this Course Outline are subject to change and will be announced in class. The date of the final examination is set by the Registrar and takes precedence over the final examination date reported in this syllabus.
Copyright: Dr. Alona Fyshe, Department of Computing Science and Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta (2020)