PSY 1054 – Topics in Cognitive Psychology: Mind, Brain & Education
Instructor: Dr. Melissa Libertus
Office: 607 LRDC
Office hours: Tu 11-12 and by appointment
Email: [email protected]
(Please note that I will only respond to emails on the same day if they are sent before 9 PM.)
Phone number: (412) 624-7457
Course meeting time and location: Tu & Th 1:00-2:15 pm in 226 CL
Course description: Mind, Brain and Education (MBE) is an emerging field that bridges
neuroscience, psychology, and education. The field seeks to apply the basic research findings about
the human brain and behavior to educationally relevant questions and to investigate the idea that
educational experiences fundamentally change brain structure and function. Classes will consist of
lectures and discussions and will examine questions like:
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What do we know about how the brain learns?
How do these brain systems get put into place?
How do individual differences in neural circuitry relate to children’s learning success or
difficulties?
What are neuromyths and can we use knowledge of the brain to help improve teaching?
Course requirements: Background in at least one of the following areas: Developmental
Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, or Educational Psychology.
Course materials: Because this course spans multiple content areas and is an emerging field, we will
use recent journal articles and select book chapters. All readings are available on Courseweb. Slides
will be posted after each lecture.
Grading: 300 points total
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Four written assignments (3-4 pages, double-spaced, 25 points each)
1-2 in-class presentations (27 points)
Final debate (20 points)
Final exam (100 points)
In-class participation (2 points each = 50 points)
Three online discussion boards (1 point each)
Description of graded work:
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Four written assignments:
These written assignments are designed to synthesize and reflect upon the content
covered in several classes. Exact topics and instructions will be provided for each
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assignment ahead of its due date. All assignments must be handed in via turnitin. You
will need the following information to find our course on turnitin:
Class ID: 10512674
Enrollment password: MBE2015
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In-class presentation:
Every student will be required to orally summarize a reading once or twice during the
semester. You may use slides if you prefer, but if you do, you will need to email them to
me by 9 am the day of your presentation. You will be graded on the accuracy of the
summary as well as its conciseness. I will present examples of good summaries before it
is your turn to present.
Final debate:
During the second-to-last class period, we will have a debate about the field of Mind,
Brain & Education. Students will be assigned to different perspectives to prepare their
arguments.
Final exam:
The final exam will consist of several long-answer questions. No need to memorize a
long list of facts or minor details of the readings! More information will be provided
toward the end of the semester.
Participation:
o In-class discussion: This is a small class and active participation is mandatory.
There are no stupid questions and we can only learn by asking questions all the
time or commenting on other people’s questions! I expect each and everyone to
participate in every class! Participation will be graded as 0 = no participation or
absent, 1 = minor contributions, 2 = major contributions. If you know you will
be absent during class, please let me know before class to discuss alternative
mechanisms to make up your participation points.
o I understand that some people find it easier to participate in class than others. If
you have been unable to participate in the discussion in class, you may improve
your participation grade by writing a short (0.5 page, one paragraph) reflection
paper about an aspect of the discussion and email it to me by 12 pm the day after class.
You will be able to use this alternative option up to four (4) times during the
semester!
Online discussion board: For the three methods lectures (9/8, 9/10, 9/15), you will be
asked to post one question about the readings to an online discussion board by 11:59 pm
the night before class. These questions will help me determine which aspects of the
methods you are struggling with the most so I can adapt my lecture appropriately.
Late policy:
All assignments must be submitted via turnitin. No email submissions will be accepted. Assignments
handed in after the due date will be counted as one day late. Five points will be deducted from the
grade of any assignment turned in one day late and an additional two points will be deducted for
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each additional day that passes. Extensions must be requested before the day the assignment is due,
and will be granted on a case-by-case basis.
Missing class:
If you have to miss a class, please contact me by email before the class starts. We will discuss how
you can make up missed in-class participation on a case-by-case basis. If you do not contact me
before the class starts, your in-class participation for this class will be zero.
Electronics policy:
This is a small class and active participation is mandatory. Therefore, all phones should be put away
and set on SILENT before the beginning of class. Anyone seen texting or using a phone in any
other way during class will receive a score of zero for the in-class participation grade of the class.
This policy will help you focus your attention during lecture and help your classmates do the same.
Laptops or tablets are permitted for note taking and to access readings as long as they do not
interfere with your participation in class.
To ensure the free and open discussion of ideas, students may not record classroom lectures,
discussions, and / or activities without the advance written permission of the instructor, and any
such recording properly approved in advance can be used solely for the student’s own private use.
Academic honesty and plagiarism policy:
Students are expected to adhere to the principles of academic integrity policies set forth by the
University of Pittsburgh. Violations include but are not restricted to 1) the use of materials, sources
or devices not authorized by the instructor during an academic evaluation, 2) providing or receiving
assistance during an academic evaluation to or from another person in a manner not authorized by
the instructor, 3) any form of deceit in an academic evaluation proceeding, and 4) the presentation
of the ideas, representations, or words of another person or persons as one's own, for academic
evaluation, without customary and proper acknowledgment of sources. For more information, see
http://www.as.pitt.edu/fac/policies/academic-integrity
Disability Services:
If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are
encouraged to contact me and Disability Resources and Services (DRS), 140 William Pitt Union,
(412) 648-7890, [email protected], (412) 228-5347 for P3 ASL users, as early as possible in the
term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.
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Course calendar:
Date
Tu,
9/1
Th,
9/3
Tu,
9/8
Th,
9/10
Tu,
9/15
Th,
9/17
Tu,
9/22
Th,
9/24
Tu,
9/29
Th,
10/1
Tu,
10/6
Th,
10/8
Tu,
10/13
Th,
10/15
Tu,
10/20
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Topic
1) Getting into the
right mindset
2) What is MBE? The
road ahead
3) Methods in MBE 1:
EEG / ERP / NIRS
4) Methods in MBE 2:
MRI / fMRI / DTI
5) Methods in MBE 3:
Ed Psych
6) Neuromyths 1
Readings
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Assignments
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1) Fischer et al. (2007). Mind, Brain & Education
2) Rose et al. (2011). Mind, Brain & Education
1) Educational Neuroscience, Chapter 2, p. 13-28
2) Temple & Posner (1998). PNAS
1) Educational Neuroscience, Chapter 2, p. 28-38
2) Libertus et al. (2009). Neuroimage
1) Educational Neuroscience, Chapter 5
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1) Miller & Robertson (2010). Brit J Ed Tech
7) Neuromyths 2
1) Pasquinelli (2012). Mind, Brain & Education
2) Scott et al. (2007). Curr Dir in Psych Sci
1) Dekker et al. (2012). Frontiers in Psychology
2) Geake (2008). Educational Research
1) Kuhl (2011). Mind, Brain & Education
Methods assignment due at 11:59 pm
on Wednesday, 9/16!
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8) Neuromyths 3
9) Language
development
10) The literate brain
11) Bilingualism
12) Dyslexia and the
brain
13) Basic number
processing
14) The mathematical
brain
1) Barde et al. (2012). Dev Cog Neuro
2) Ouellette & Senechal (2008). Child Dev
1) Barac & Bialystok (2012). Child Dev
2) Mondt et al. (2011). Mind, Brain & Education
1) Gabrieli (2009). Science
2) Temple et al. (2003). PNAS
1) Berger et al. (2006). PNAS
2) Lipton & Spelke (2005). Child Dev
1) Rosenberg-Lee et al. (2011). NeuroImage
2) Ischebeck et al. (2007). NeuroImage
No class – Monday schedule
Online discussion board
Online discussion board
Online discussion board
-Neuromyth assignment due at 11:59
pm on Monday, 9/28!
-Student presentations
Student presentations
Student presentations
Student presentations
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Date
Th,
10/22
Tu,
10/27
Th,
10/29
Tu,
11/3
Th,
11/5
Tu,
11/10
Th,
11/12
Tu,
11/17
Th,
11/19
Tu,
11/24
Th,
11/26
Tu,
12/1
Th,
12/3
Tu,
12/8
Topic
15) Dyscalculia and the
brain
16) Executive function
Reading
1) Price et al. (2007). Curr Bio & supplements
2) Kaufmann (2008). Educational Research
1) Olesen et al. (2003). Nature Neurosci
17) Social-emotional
development
18) Intelligence & the
brain
19) Arts, education and
the brain
20) The adolescent
brain
21) Lifelong learning
1) Iacoboni & Dapretto (2006). Nature Reviews Neurosci
1) Gray & Thompson (2004). Nature Reviews Neurosci
2) Farah et al. (2004). Nature Reviews Neurosci
1) Moreno et al. (2011). Psych Sci
2) Vaughn & Winner (2000). J of Aesthetic Education
1) Sebastian et al. (2010). Brain & Cognition
2) Blakemore & Robbins (2012). Nat Neurosci
1) Macedonia & Knoesche (2011). Mind, Brain & Education
2) Horvath (2014). Mind, Brain & Education
No class – Instructor out of town
22) Exercise and
learning
23) School start time
and sleep
1) Erickson et al. (2011). PNAS
2) Kubesch et al. (2009). Mind, Brain & Education
1) Valdez et al. (2014). Mind, Brain & Education
2) Owens et al. (2014). Mind, Brain & Education
No class – Thanksgiving break
24) SES and brain
development
25) Different ways of
learning
26) MBE – What have
we learned?
1) Mackey et al. (2015). Psych Sci
2) Neville et al. (2013). PNAS
1) Carpenter et al. (2012). Ed Psych Review
2) Pashler et al. (2008). Psych Sci in Public Interest
1) DeSmedt et al. (2010). Ed Research Review
2) Turner (2011). Ed Research Review
3) DeSmedt et al. (2011). Ed Research Review
1) Bruer (1997). Educational Researcher
Assignment
Student presentations
Language & math assignment due at
11:59 pm on Monday, 10/26!
Student presentations
Student presentations
Student presentations
Student presentations
Student presentations
Neuroethics assignment due at 11:59
pm on Monday, 11/16!
Student presentations
Student presentations
Student presentations
-Final debate
Th,
27) Final exam
12/10
Note: This calendar may be subject to change. Please consult Courseweb for an updated calendar.
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