The goal of a service-learning project is to enhance learning by sharing with others and actively reflecting on the process afterward. The community, or "others" involved should also benefit from this interaction. In late March we will interact with eighth-graders from a local middle school (TJR). See below for links to photos from this site visit.
Service-learning projects are one way to apply what we know from research about perception to needs outside the classroom. There are many other areas where applied research is benefitting individuals in society at large. This course will also emphasize such applied areas, and as their first paper, the students will each summarize the current status of an area of applied perception research (see below).
Finally, as part of this course, the students designed and performed an original research project. This year, we examined the relative influence of top-down and bottom-up cues on the first perception of ambiguous figures. A paper compiled from the students' experimental write-ups is available.
Since all of the above will be documented on this webpage, it will be updated as the semester progresses. If you are interested, the webpages from previous classes are also available: 1997, 1998, 1999.
Return to Perception 440 information page.
The Class:
Back Row: Dr. Lauren Scharff, Brian
McDaniel, Emily Douglass, Jeremy Bidwell, Joseph Heggins (Graduate
Assistant)
Front Row: Dixie Morgan, Ashley Dockx, Melanie Lilliston,
Loretta Moss
On April 17th, the class visited TJR Middle School, gave presentations and interacted with eighth-graders in Mrs. Leah Kahn's science class. The interactions involved many demonstrations which helped the students understand some basic principles about perceptual processing and some of the effects of perceptual aging. Click here for photos of our visit.
In order to receive honor's credit for this course, Emily wrote the following story, Only Senses, and incorporated what she had learned this semester into the story. Enjoy!
For some general information on Service Learning and the projects at Stephen F. Austin State University: The Center for Service-Learning and Eldercare