Dr.
J. Scott Jordan
Office:
DeGarmo 430
e-mail:
jsjorda@ilstu.edu
Office
Hours: M, W, F 11:00-12:00 or by appointment
The
purpose of the course is to introduce the student to the science of learning
and the basic theoretical assumptions underlying the practice of such science. I have approached the topic from many
different levels of scale (e.g., biological, behavioral, perceptual). This is
meant to reflect both the diverse constellation of student interests, as well
as a personal belief that the factors critical to learning depend somewhat upon
the level of scale at which learning is taking place. Over
the course of the semester the student will attempt to integrate the findings
from these various areas of research in order to incorporate them into his/her
own working definition of learning.
The
grade for the course will be determined on the basis of 2 exams, a group
presentation, 2 paper reviews, and a term paper. Points for these items will be
allocated as follows:
Item
Points
Exam
#1 100
Exam
#2 100
Reviews 50
Total 350
The
final grade will be based on a 90, 80, 70, 60 percent scale. This scale will
not be altered.
Exams
will be given in essay format. Students will be given potential questions the
week before the exam, and will write their answers in class the day of the
exam. The grade will be based upon the coherency and the thoroughness of the
answers. Make-up exams are only possible if the student contacts me via phone
or e-mail BEFORE the exam, and the reason for re-scheduling deemed appropriate.
Students
will write a research proposal regarding learning. Specifically, they will
select an area of psychology, and then propose an experiment intended to
investigate learning within that area. Three copies of a first draft will be
due on Thursday, November 7, 2002. The instructor will keep one copy. The other
two will be distributed to students for review. The draft paper should be
typed, double-spaced, written in APA format (5th edition) and entail
a title page, abstract, body of text, and reference section. The body of text
should be no less than 10 pages. A minimum of 5 sources should be cited and
referenced, and at least 3 of these should be research articles that were
published within the last 5 years. These are minimum requirements. Each student
will receive 2 papers to review. The format of the reviews will be discussed in
class. Reviews will be due at the beginning of class on November 21, 2002.
Final papers will be due on December 12, 2002.
http://www.mlb.ilstu.edu Items marked with an asterisk will be
on regular reserve.
Manicas, P. T., & Secord, P. F. (1983).
Implications for psychology of the new philosophy of science. American
Psychologist, 38, 399-413.
Vandervert, L. R. (1999). Maximizing consciousness
across the disciplines: Mechanisms of information growth in general education.
In J. S. Jordan (Ed.), Modeling consciousness across the disciplines (pp. 3-25). Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Topic 2: Biological
learning (September 5 & 12)
Kandel, E. R. (1985). Cellular mechanisms of learning and the biological basis of individuality. In E. Kandell and J. Schwartz (Eds.). Principles of neuroscience (pp. 816-833). North-Holland: Elsevier.
Rosenzweig, M., Bennett, E. L., & Diamond, M. C. (1972). Brain changes in response to experience. Scientific American, 226, 22-29.
Topic 3: Behavioral
learning (September 19, 26 &
October 3)
*Dewey, J. (1896). The reflex arc concept in
psychology. Psychological Review, 3, 357-370. http://www.ilstu.edu/~jsjorda/DEWEY_03.HTML
*Hershberger, W. A. (1989). The synergy of voluntary
and involuntary action. In W. A. Hershberger (Ed.), Volitional action:
Conation and control (pp. 3-20).
North-Holland: Elsevier.
*Clark, A. (2000). Perception, action, and the brain.
In A. Clark (Ed.), Mindware (pp. 84-102). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Vetter, G., Stadler, M., & Haynes, J. D. (1997).
Phase transitions in learning. The Journal of Mind and Behavior, 18(2),
335-350.
Exam 1 (October 10)
Topic 4: Perceptual
learning (October 17 & 24)
*Sekuler, R., & Blake, R. (2002). Learning to see.
In R. Sekuler and R. Blake (Eds.) Perception (pp. 228-250).
Boston: McGraw Hill.
*Koch, I. (in press). Automatic and intentional
activation of task sets. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory,
& Cognition.
*Cooney, J. B. (1999). Stability and instability in
the dynamics of perceptual learning. In J. S. Jordan (Ed.), Systems theories
and a priori aspects of perception
(pp. 337-357). North Holland: Elsevier
*Jordan, J. S. (1998). Recasting Dewey’s
critique of the reflex-arc concept via a theory of anticipatory consciousness:
Implications for theories of perception. New Ideas in Psychology, 16(3),
165-187.
Mander, J. (1992). How to build a baby: II. Conceptual
primitives. Psychological Review, 99, 587-604.
Smith, L. B., Sera, M., and Gattuso, B. (1988). The
development of thinking. In R. Sternberg and E. E. Smith (Eds.), The
psychology of human thought (pp.
366-391). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Thelen, E., Schoner, G., Scheier, C. & Smith, L. (in press). The dynamics of embodiment: A field theory of infant perseverative reaching. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. (http://www.bbsonline.org/Preprints/OldArchive)
Topic 6: Social learning (November 14 & December 5)
Knoblich, G., & Jordan, J. S. (in press). The
mirror system and joint action In M. Stamenov & V. Gallese (Eds.) Mirror
neurons and the evolution of brain and language (pp. 115-124). Amsterdam: John Benjamin.
Barone, D., Maddux, J., & Snyder, C. R. (1997).
The social gestalt and the social learning traditions. In D. Barone, J. Maddux,
and C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Social cognitive psychology: History and current
domains (pp. 27-57). New York: Plenum
Press.
Final Exam (December 12)
Types of activities &
guidelines:
Participation:
Success in this course relies
upon the students' consistent attendance and active participation, both in and
outside of the classroom. Students are expected to attend class
regularly; there is no practical way to make up for missed class discussions,
group work, and in-class activities. Coming to class unprepared, however,
seriously detracts from the group effort expected in class. Accordingly, mere
attendance in class is not enough.
Students are expected to prepare for class by completing the assignments/readings ahead of time. Active participation includes informed and constructive contributions to classroom discussions active listening, taking notes, and so forth.
Academic Integrity:
Academic dishonesty, when
discovered, will result in severe consequences with regard to your overall
grade in this course. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. The
Modern Language Association (MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers) defines plagiarism as follows:
repeating
another's sentences as your own,
adopting
a particularly apt phrase as your own,
paraphrasing
someone else's argument as your own,
presenting
someone else's line of thinking in the development
of
a thesis as though it were your own
Any matters regarding
academic integrity will be handled according to University Policy.
If you need a special
accommodation to fully participate in this class, please contact Disability
Concerns at 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TDD).