Syllabus
The Cognitive Psychology course provides an overview of some of the most important research in educational psychology over the past 25 years. We explore a subset of cognitive psychology research: the body of research exploring effective learning strategies. The course provides instruction in three areas: strategies for learning, thinking like a researcher, and making connections between theory and practice.
Beyond the basic cognitive psychology content the course additionally provides a basic introduction to statistics using an intuitive approach, plus makes nine suggestions on how to become a great doctoral student.
While this syllabus provides essential information it is incomplete. Please refer to relevant pages on the course website for details. All the learning materials for each module/class are given in the Modules area of the website. Details about other components of the course are provide in the Resources section. This includes the syllabus, the research paper, about the instructor, and resources for learning to use both the iThoughts and UpNote applications.
Modules
We explore several topics in this course. All the specific learning materials will be posted on the relevant page in the course website's Modules area. Learning materials include a variety of of things such as research articles (in PDF format), audiobooks, book readings, videos, and web articles.
Modules begin on a Monday and end on a Saturday. For a typical two-week module it starts on a Monday and ends on a Saturday 13 days later. You will have a variety of learning materials (readings and various presentations) to use before a teaching weekend. In addition you will typically have one or more assignments to complete before the teaching weekend.
In the table above I refer to a specific module by M#, so for example M5 is the fifth module. Please notice that:
- There is preparation work to be done before our first meeting on Aug 21
- There is 1 week between Modules 1 and 2
- Module 9 lasts through the due date for your final paper. Don't worry the last class is Dec 03.
Website
This course does not use the Canvas LMS. Instead I have created a dedicated website. The course website address is:
Please bookmark this website in your browser. You will need to request login access to enter the website. I will email the class with details about the login form and getting formal access to the website. Most pages on the website are privacy protected where only students in the course will get access. There are two exceptions: both the Home and Syllabus pages can be accessed by anyone.
The course website serves several purposes including:
- Providing a way to download/view all learning materials
- Links to essential software and other resources
- An easy way for all of us to interact via electronic discussions
This syllabus provides an introduction to the main issues and expectations of the course. You will find extended and detailed information, plus all the learning materials, at the course website.
Instructor
The instructor is Mathew Mitchell. I have taught a variety of courses in the Learning & Instruction doctoral program including: Cognitive Psychology, Multimedia Learning, Motivation, and Creativity. I served as the Co-Director of USF's Center for Teaching Excellence for 5 years. Currently I am retired but still happy to teach a couple of courses a year.
Email, Slack, Web Comments
You can contact me in several ways. My email address is: mitchellm@usfca.edu. However you will get a quicker response if you DM (direct message) me via our course Slack workspace. I will respond to Slack DMs within 24 business hours. Emails have a longer response time. On many web pages at the course website you can post comments. Those comments are automatically emailed to me (and other students in the course): like Slack I will respond to them very quickly.
Office Hours
For informal and quick help the best approach is to contact me via Slack. I respond to Slack issues the quickest as it's easy to use on my phone: and my phone is always with me even when away from my office.
If you want a formal, longer meeting then this is easy to do via Zoom. It’s best to prearrange a meeting with me. The only days that are difficult for me to meet are the Friday of a teaching weekend and the Monday following a teaching weekend. Optimal times for me to do a meeting are Tuesdays and Thursdays between 2 and 5 p.m.
You can download your own copy of Zoom (professional license for free) at: usfca.zoom.us.
Outcomes
In this course students will …
- Demonstrate reflective thinking by thoughtfully responding to the learning materials (both readings and presentations) via written reflections.
- Demonstrate synthesized thinking by creating a series of mind maps that show the various cognitive theories and their implications for educational practice.
- Demonstrate research savvy by identifying a specific cognition research area, become familiar with that research, and writing a research paper.
Below I provide more detail about each learning outcome as implemented in this course.
Reflections
For modules 2 through 9 you will write a reflection about the preparatory learning materials. Reflections include what you learned (i.e. what stood out the most), what are potential connections to your practice, and any confusions/curiosities that remain after using the learning materials.
Mind Maps
For modules 2 through 9 you will create a mind map. Each module looks at a specific research area in cognition. Each mind map will be independent of one another as they deal with different topics, but you are always welcome to make connections between topics when relevant.
Research Paper
You'll write a paper that addresses 2 specific research articles in your specialization topic area. The paper should be between 14 to 20 pages in length. You will identify a specific area of cognition research that you specialize in. I suggest specializing in one of the 9 module topics as this will make life easier for you. You will find more details about this paper in the Research Paper section of the website and later in this document.
Grading
Grading is straightforward in this course. There are a 100 points total for all of the required activities. 90+ points puts you in the “A” grade range and 80+ points puts you in the “B” range. Here is a summary of the course assignments and their grading weights:
- Participation & Timeliness: 18%
- Reflections: 24%
- Mind Maps: 24%
- Research Paper: 34%
There are 100 points total for the course, thus grading weight (i.e. percentage) and points are exactly the same.
Participation and timeliness have to do with punctuality and participation for all assignments. Products in the course (e.g. reflections) are sensitive to time deadlines: if you miss a deadline you may get a deduction both for lack of timeliness and on the assignment itself.
Participation
18 points. Attendance and participation are necessary in this course. There are several aspects of the course experience that will happen uniquely during the class sessions. If you miss two class sessions you will fail the course. Miss one class session and you will receive a point penalty. There is no “extra credit” or makeups for missing a class session in this course. As long as you are present and participating you will get full points here. This should not be a problem at all for folks. I will keep in touch with small group leaders around participation.
Reflections
24 points. During class sessions 2 through 9 you will be asked to write reflections. The main purpose of a reflection is to encourage students to look beneath the surface of the learning materials they are using.
Feedback: I will not provide direct 1-to-1 feedback on individual reflections unless there is a problem with your reflection. If you don't hear from me then the reflection gets full points. The main purpose of the reflections is for me to get a good sense of collective ideas and confusions about each module's learning materials. I will pull out the most relevant points I want to highlight in a presentation responding to the collective reflections.
Mind Maps
24 points. For almost every learning module you will need to submit a mind map showing your understanding of the topic on the Friday before our Saturday class. You will not be graded on correctness or cool design. Instead the purpose is to provide me with some insights into how you are viewing the concept under study and the kinds of connections you are making. In turn this should help me tweak the class activities/presentations a bit to better fit the collective needs of students.
Feedback: As with the reflections I will only provide feedback if there is something lacking in your individual mind maps. I primarily use them to get a sense of how students are making sense of course materials. I won't always create a presentation about student maps but I sometimes will create a mini-presentation response.
Research Paper
34 points. The purpose of the paper is to immerse yourself in a body of research, refine your ability to communicate the essence of a theory, the most salient aspects of research studies, and to make reasonable implications for educational practice based on the evidence accumulated so far.
Research Paper
You'll write a paper that addresses 2 specific research articles in your specialization topic area. The paper should be between 14 to 20 pages in length: not including the cover page and reference pages. You will identify a specific area of cognition research that you specialize in. I highly suggest specializing in one of the 9 module topics as this will make life easier for you.
There are a variety of ways to dig deeper into the area of cognition. But in this course the approach taken is to have each of you identify a specific area of research. Any research readings you use in your paper need to be different from those considered required reading in our course. However you can use required articles we've used in class within your overview section of the paper. One of your chosen articles can be from the "optional" articles provided during your downloads. At least one article (out of the two) needs to be found via a library search.
The final research paper will have this general structure:
- Overview: covers the theory/research background. In addition describe why you choose your two specific research articles of focus in 1 or 2 paragraphs.
- Review of Article 1: concise review of the article that includes methods and results
- Review of Article 2: concise review of the article that includes methods and results
- Connections: address what seem to be reasonable implications for instructional practice based on your exploration of this topic.
The research paper allows you to demonstrate your ability to communicate the most important aspects of your specialization area. The paper will focus on two specific original research articles. Please note that eligible articles could use quantitative methods, qualitative methods, or both (i.e. mixed methods). However, you can not use literature reviews or think pieces as part of your two chosen articles.
You will be provided with a rubric and example exemplary papers from past students to help you better understand, and meet, the expectations for this research paper.
The research paper needs to be written using the American Psychological Association format (7th edition) using grammar and syntax appropriate for and expected of doctoral-level students. The table below shows the key events and deadlines for creating your research paper.
By the end of September you will have chosen an area of specialization for your research paper. It is likely there will be more than one person exploring the same topic as your choice. That's fine. The key constraint is that the specific research papers used within each student paper have to be different. Each research paper will report on two studies in detail. For example, if there are three students sharing the same specialization area then collectively they will report on 6 different studies.
Research: Finding & Understanding
I am assuming (incorrectly in some cases) that students in this course are in their first year as a doctoral student. Due to this factor a decent amount of emphasis is given to students learning to research original research, to using appropriate databases, to understanding the findings, and developing the ability to communicate to others the essence of a research study.
Databases & Library Support
You will need to make good use of the PsycINFO and ERIC databases. Links to both are provided below. You need to use PsycINFO, but it's wise to double-check with ERIC findings for the same search terms: sometimes a hidden gem will turn up by using both databases. To access key library support use these links:
Research Readings
You will download a complete set of research articles for each of the class sessions. Some articles are required, others are optional reading. All of these articles are downloadable in PDF format and can either be printed out or read on your computer or tablet.
Research Alouds
One pedagogical tool used in this course to develop these skills is the research aloud. Research alouds are multimedia learning packages that help guide you through specific research articles. This is done using audio presentations combined with PDF handouts. The purpose is to provide you with the scaffolding many new doctoral students need in order to become more effective and efficient readers of research.
As an example, you will read articles about research into cognitive load. One of those articles will come in the form of a research aloud package. The package contains:
- an audio presentation
- the original article
- a special annotated version of the article
The longest audio presentation is 53 minutes, the shortest is 28 minutes. Each audio presentation goes over the structure of the article including:
- the structural and writing approaches used in good research articles
- relevant design or statistical topics
- provides strategies for efficient reading
While the audio presentation will indirectly address the content of the article, the focus is on how the researchers designed the study and then communicated their results. This means you’ll need to read the article yourself for content.
Readings
Your readings in the course will come partly from original research articles that you'll read in a PDF format. However, there are two "theory into practice" books that we'll use and need to be purchased before the semester beings. The books are:
The books are not long, and both come in "regular" and Kindle book formats. Purchase these books as soon as possible. The links above go to Amazon. Total cost of the two books is $28, though somewhat cheaper if you get the Kindle/ebook versions.
Software Tools
There are several software tools we use in the course. Below are brief explanations of each one. In particular, iThoughts, UpNote, and Zotero are important enough that the course website has dedicated pages for each product. The total cost of software in this course is $50 ($25 for iThoughts and $25 for UpNote).
iThoughts
iThoughts is a mind mapping software program. It runs on both Macs and Windows. You will get an educator's discount: the usual cost of the software is $50, but you'll be able to purchase for $25. (Note: if you purchase at the Mac App Store then you can not get the discount.)
You can find out more about the software at: the iThoughts software website:
Two questions may come to mind: can we use something else and how do we learn the software? First, no you can not use another product. If after the course ends you want to use another product for mind mapping that's fine. But it's important that everyone is using the same product in this class. Second, I'll be providing instruction on how to use the software. At our first learning module I'll provide video tutorials that you can use. At subsequent class meetings I'll add nuance to our collective skill for using iThoughts.
UpNote
UpNote is the note taking app we'll use in this course. Using a savvy dedicated note-taking app allows students to acquire doctoral-level habits and practices for taking notes over the course of a doctoral career. The issue is not about taking individual notes, after all you could do that in MS Word or Google Docs. The issue is having linked notes, automated table of contents (when notes are long), bi-directional links, collapsible sections, and more.
Over the years there have been many students who have told me they've had a hard time keeping all their notes and thoughts coherently organized. This wasn't a statement about the Cognition course but more about the cumulative impact of several courses, exploring research on their own, and more. Done well a good note-taking app can be the integrative tool that helps you pull together your thoughts and put you in a more powerful position to do a quality dissertation study in a timely manner. Towards this end, UpNote will be used to help set you up for long-term success.
Zotero
There are several reference apps for collating the research studies you've found. These apps are, in essence, database programs. You do not need bibliography software for this course. That said, I'm recommending that you get Zotero because it's:
- free
- works on Macs and Windows
- is powerful
- does a great job with PDF annotations
You can choose to download and start using Zotero in this course. I encourage it. But if you choose not to use it then plan on starting to use it during your summer break. Learning to use bibliography software early in your career will save you pain and tears as you near the dissertation stage.
Personally I use Bookends. But ... it's a Mac-only app and costs money (although the costs are reasonable). Despite my own choice, even if you are a Mac-user I suggest starting with Zotero, then moving over to Bookends if you find Zotero limiting for your needs.
Slack
We will use Slack as our collaboration tool in this class. It is free and you will receive an invitation to join the Cognition2022 Slack workgroup via email before the first class. You can use Slack via a webpage, Mac app, Windows app, Android app, and iOS app. The mobile app versions are great: I use the phone version more than my computer version.
APA Style
The research paper in this course needs to be written using the American Psychological Association format (7th edition) using grammar and syntax appropriate for and expected of doctoral-level students. We will go over the bare-bones basics of APA Style in the course so that students can write a good research paper. I will share a variety of handouts and "tips" that APA and others have created on a special page at our course website.
Students may wish to obtain editorial assistance with grammar, syntax, and style, which is acceptable. Editorial assistance for content is unacceptable. If you need help with the former, the Writing Center is located in Cowell Hall 227 on the main campus. Phone (415) 422-6713 to arrange for an appointment. The Writing Center will arrange for a writing coach to work with you at no cost.
Disabilities
Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, students with disabilities who will need reasonable accommodations for this course should contact Disability Related Services at (415) 422-2613 within the first two weeks of this course. Students with Learning Disabilities may contact Learning Disability Services at (415) 422-6876.
ADA Considerations
This website tries to meet ADA standards, specifically to adhere to the suggested guidelines provided by the National Center on Universal Design for Learning. These ideas are referred to as UDL guidelines.
There are two situations where it is not affordable for me to be UDL compliant. They are: (1) audio-only presentations and (2) video presentations. It is easy to have the audio transcribed and videos transcribed or close-captioned. The problem is the process for doing this costs a lot of money for an individual (i.e. me). There are cases where videos created by me can be uploaded to YouTube and close captioned for free. If this would help you then please let me know. Normally I upload videos to Vimeo which does not offer a free close-captioning service.
USF Student Disabilities Services is set up to solve needs for audio and video transcriptions (plus a lot more). I'll be glad to work closely with the Student Disabilities Center and supply needed materials. If you are personally impacted please make sure to set up an appointment with them as soon as possible and request these services.