Course Overview
Cognitive Science is the interdisciplinary study of mind and intelligence. This seminar-style course will discuss topics concerning the nature of human and computational intelligence. Students will engage with established researchers in diverse fields of study through invited research talks, in person and online discussions. Students are expected to participate in discussions, write summaries of readings, and produce a final report and presentation of a research project. Read more details on student expectations and the current list of invited speakers, and watch a video introduction to the class.
Communication
- All communication should take place using the
Slack group. You will receive an invitation to sign up in the first week of class, or you can join here, but make sure you use your uwaterloo.ca account to sign up.
- Public Slack posts are the preferred method for questions about course material, etc. Students can then help each other and instructors can read/reply. There will be a public channel, and a channel for each week's topic. Students can create further channels as needed.
- For communication with the instructor, including submission of deliverables, use the direct message channel to me (jhoey) on Slack
- I will be available each week on Wednesdays from 11:30am-12:30pm in DC2585 (before invited lectures). Students can use this time as an office hour, or to come for a discussion about Cognitive Science with others.
Important Dates
- See Full Schedule for a detailed list of readings for each lecture
- September 7th First class (no summary required)
- September 14th First summaries due (for week 2 lecture)
- October 19th Project proposals due.
- November 16th Draft Project reports due.
- November 23,30th Student presentations.
- December
6th8th Project reports due.
Organization
The course will consist of a series of invited lectures from experts in many areas of cognitive science, who will present discuss their cutting-edge research. In-class and online discussions will complement the invited lectures. Students will complete a project and do a final presentation.
Grading
The grading breakdown is subject to change. Each of these deliverables is described more fully on the
deliverables page
Group projects may be OK by permission from instructor. See
project pages for details
Prerequisites
There are no formal pre-requisites, as the field is inherently multi-disciplinary and requires breadth
across disciplines. Some of the topics may involve some mathematics,
but the students will be given the necessary background during the course. The ideal project is one that
will show how cognitive science can be used in the student's research, regardless of the major area.
Academic Integrity
Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic
integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are
expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and
responsibility. All members of the UW community are expected to hold
to the highest standard of academic integrity in their studies,
teaching, and research. The Office of Academic Integrity's website (
www.uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity)
contains detailed information on UW policy for students and
faculty. This site explains why academic integrity is important and
how students can avoid academic misconduct. It also identifies
resources available on campus for students and faculty to help achieve
academic integrity in and out of the classroom.
Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting
some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable
may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student
Petitions and Grievances, Section 4,
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm
Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes
academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offenses, and to take
responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an
action constitutes an offense, or who needs help in learning how to
avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about rules for group
work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor,
academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct
has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be
imposed under Policy 71 Student Discipline. For information on
categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer
to Policy 71 - Student Discipline,
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm
Avoiding Academic Offenses: Most students are unaware of the
line between acceptable and unacceptable academic behaviour,
especially when discussing assignments with classmates and using the
work of other students. For information on commonly misunderstood
academic offenses and how to avoid them, students should refer to the
Faculty of Mathematics Cheating and Student Academic Discipline
Policy,
https://uwaterloo.ca/math/current-undergraduates/regulations-and-procedures/cheating-and-student-academic-discipline-guidelines
Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision
made under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than
regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline if a ground
for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals,
https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-72