Syllabus

BCSC 111: Syllabus

Fall 2025

Time & Location

Tue/Thu | 3:25 PM - 4:40 PM
Room: Hutchison Hall 141

Instructor

Dr. Martin Yang
Office Hours: Mon/Wed 10:30 – 11:30am (in person and on Zoom)

TAs (in alphabetical order):
Rhea Guo
Paul Jolly
Alicia Markovich
Naima Petersen
Luxi Wang

Course Description

The goal of this course is to introduce you the field of cognitive science, with a strong focus on cognitive psychology. Topics to be covered in this course include a brief history of cognitive science, memory, attention, cognitive development, cognitive neuroscience, language, individual differences, and cultural factors.

This course follows the College credit hour policy for four-credit courses. This course meets twice weekly for 3 academic hours per week. The course also includes independent out-of-class assignments (complete the required readings) for at least 1 academic hour per week.

Recommended Textbook

Cognitive Psychology: In and Out of the Laboratory, 6e by Galotti. Also available as eBook online.
Supplemental readings will be posted on Blackboard. Please check the course site regularly. Announcements will also be made when new materials are posted.

Lecture recordings of both lectures in a week (either from the current or previous semester) will be uploaded to Blackboard by the end of every weekend.

Course Requirements

  1. Participation (9%): Active participation in discussions is expected, some of which may require you to turn in a short summary or post something on Blackboard. The basic info survey is worth 1%. Each graded discussion is worth 2% of the course grade. There will be 4 graded discussions throughout the semester (these will be only graded as Complete/Incomplete - no partial credits, and late submissions will be graded as “Incomplete/0”.)

    If you have any questions about the course materials or lecture, please do feel free to ask for clarification in class, ask us after class, email us, or come to our office hours. We are all friendly and eager to help!
  2. Quizzes (22%; 5.5% each): Four closed-book quizzes, which include multiple-choice and true/false questions, will be administered on Blackboard in class (in person). Please bring your laptop or tablet (no smartphones!) to take the quizzes only in our regular lecture hall. (Blackboard will record your IP address!) The purpose of these quizzes is to assess how much you understand the course topics and readings.
  3. Homework Assignments (18%; 6% each): Due dates can be found in the course schedule below. Late submission will NOT be accepted unless you have medical or family emergencies (see course policies #2 below).
  4. Midterm (25.5%) and final (25.5%): A paper closed-book midterm and final exam will be administered in class in person. The dates can be found in the class schedule below. The final exam is NOT cumulative. Study guides will be provided and posted on Blackboard.