Here are some links to online references regarding perception and APA style writing / referencing that might also serve as good resources.
How do I check my grades on WebCT?
Instructions for forwarding your titan email to another email account.
Fall 2005
Instructor: Dr. Scharff
Office: EDU 215f
Lab: EDU 117c
Office Hours: MWF 9-10, W 11-12, T 10:30 - 1:00, 3:45 - 5:00, TH
9:30 - 12, or by appointment
Phone: 468-1415
Email: lscharff@sfasu.edu
TEXT: Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See by Donald. D. Hoffman
There will also be readings on reserve at the library and some readings given to you in class. Some class announcements and assignments will be sent to you via email. I will use your titan account that you are assigned through SFASU. It will be your responsibility to check your email regularly. It is possible to forward your titan account email to another account if you prefer (e.g. a hotmail account). I will also send Psychology news updates; these are optional readings unless otherwise noted.
Prerequisites: Nine hours of Psychology, plus one of the following: a course in perception, physiology, or cognition, or consent of the professor.
Objectives and Expectations: This course should provide you with a background of psychophysical and physiological perception research as related to the study of the normal visual system as well as cases where the system has incurred damage, or changed due to aging or disease. Applied perception topics and commonalties with the other senses will be discussed. In order to clarify the material, demonstrations and activities will be incorporated whenever possible. This class will be part lecture, part discussion in format. I expect you to come to class prepared by reading the chapter prior to the discussion period, and by participating in the discussion on discussion days.
Quizzes: There will be no major exams. Instead, there will be a weekly quiz (approximately) given at the beginning of class on Mondays, starting on Sept. 12th. There will not be a quiz on the week of November 28th, due to in-class presentations. The quizzes will consist of short answer questions. The questions will be drawn from the assigned chapters and readings, as well as from the lectures. There will be twelve quizzes and each quiz will be worth 20 points. You will take your best ten quiz grades and add them to create a "final quiz grade". This grade will be 50% of your final course grade.
NO make-ups will be given. You will be able to drop, or choose not to take (for whatever reason), two of the quizzes.
There will be no final exam; however, the twelfth quiz will be given at the time of the final.
Papers / Projects:
You will be required to write three papers for this class. The first two will be 3-4 page topic papers that combine an introduction and reflection paper over some practical application of vision research (e.g. the study of a particular disease, the study of a specific area of human factors, etc.). You should introduce the topic and make the need for research in this area clear, partly by imagining yourself in the position of needing such research to be done and describing your experience. You should include at least three references in each paper, but 2 of these do not need to be journal articles. You will need to use APA-form citations for these references, and include a full reference at the end of the paper. These topic papers will be due at the beginning of class (Sept. 21st and Oct. 19th), and they will each count as 10% of your final grade.
The final paper/project will be a focused research paper and presentation on one of the topics that you wrote about for your first two topic papers. Only one person will be allowed to cover each specific topic. (On Oct. 24th, I will randomly select names to get your topic preferences.) The paper part will be a traditional research paper summarizing the current research on your topic and potential future directions. This research may be related in an applied or theoretical manner to your topic. This research paper should be 10-12 typed pages (double-spaced, 12-pt. font) and include at least 8 references (at least 6 of which must be journal articles); it will count as 25% of your course grade and will be due at the beginning of class on Monday November 28th.
The second part of the project will be a class presentation over your topic. (On Nov. 21st I will randomly select names to determine presentation order.) This presentation should clearly introduce the area and why it is important to study, and then summarize the current research reviewed in your paper. You may want to bring/share demonstrations or "real life" examples to emphasize your points. The presentations will be given in class on Monday and Wednesday (Nov. 28th and 30th), and will count as 10% of your final grade.
References should be in APA style, with a reference page at the end of the paper (not part of the page count). If you are unsure about your topic, please come see me. Journal articles may be from printed or online journals (they must be archived). I have some recent journals that are not available in the library, and will be happy to let you access them. Depending upon the circumstances, I may allow you to substitute specialized text references for journal references (please check with me first).
I will also be happy to review drafts of your paper. My review process requires your presence - I won't be "pre-grading" your paper, but instead will discuss with you your paper's strengths and weaknesses - thus, think ahead and schedule an appointment with me! You must have a documented emergency to get an extension on the paper due dates.
Attendance/Lateness: Attendance will not be recorded. Lateness to class is a pet peeve of your instructor. Late arrivals disrupt the lecture, which is not fair to those students who do arrive on time.
Academic Dishonesty: Cheating on quizzes will result in a grade of zero. Plagiarism on papers will also result in a grade of zero. Any violations will be reported to the dean according to the new SFA policy. Please refer to the SFA Student Handbook/Calendar for additional information on policies concerning academic dishonesty. (This handbook is also a good source of information concerning other policies and facilities at SFA.)
WebCT: All your grades will be posted on WebCT. To access WebCT, you will use your mySFA ID and password. There are further instructions on the class web page. You will also have all your assignments returned to you in class after they have been graded.
Remember: If you have any questions over the course material or the assignments, please come discuss them with me or with the teaching assistant. (It helps to do this before the tests or assignments are due rather than after...) You may also email me at any time.
Course Grade: The final course grade will be determined using the following percentages:
Quiz Total (top 10 of 12 grades) --- 50% of grade
Reflection Topic Papers (2) --- 10% each (total 20%)
Class Presentation --- 10%
Research Paper --- 20%
On a 100 % scale, grades will be determined as follows:
A: 90 - 100% B: 80 - 89% C: 70 - 79% D: 60 - 69% F: below 60%
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August 29 |
M |
Intro / Syllabus / Principles of Perception / Lifespan Issues and Interspecies Comp. |
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August 31 |
W |
Cont. / Start Methods |
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September 5 |
M |
Labor Day Holiday |
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September 7 |
W |
Finish Methods / Discussion |
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September 12 |
M |
Lecture (ambiguity, object perception) |
Quiz 1 |
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September 14 |
W |
Lect. Cont. / Discussion Ch 1 |
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September 19 |
M |
Lecture (depth, illusions) |
Quiz 2 |
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September 21 |
W |
Lect. Cont. / Discussion Ch 2 |
Reflection Topic Paper #1 Due |
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September 26 |
M |
Lecture (brain pathways, Gestalt, agnosias) |
Quiz 3 |
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September 28 |
W |
Lect. Cont. / Discussion Ch 3 (1st half) |
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October 3 |
M |
Lecture (retina, simultaneous contrast) |
Quiz 4 |
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October 5 |
W |
Lect. Cont. / Discussion Ch 3 (2nd half) |
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October 10 |
M |
Lecture (Vision disorders) |
Quiz 5 |
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October 12 |
W |
Lect. Cont. / Discussion |
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October 17 |
M |
Lecture (Attention) |
Quiz 6 |
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October 19 |
W |
Lect. Cont. / Discussion Ch 4 |
Reflection Topic Paper #2 Due |
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October 24 |
M |
Lecture (color, contrast) |
Quiz 7, Pick Research Topic |
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October 26 |
W |
Lect. Cont. / Discussion Ch 5 |
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October 31 |
M |
Lecture (color deficiencies) |
Quiz 8 |
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November 2 |
W |
Lect. Cont. / Discussion |
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November 7 |
M |
Lecture (movement) |
Quiz 9 |
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November 9 |
W |
Lect. Cont. / Discussion Ch 6 |
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November 14 |
M |
Lecture (touch, phantom limbs) |
Quiz 10 |
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November 16 |
W |
Lect. Cont. / Discussion Ch 7 |
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November 21 |
M |
Presentation order, feedback on papers |
Quiz 11 |
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November 23 |
W |
Thanksgiving Holiday |
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November 28 |
M |
Individual Presentations |
Final Paper Due / Presentations |
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November 30 |
W |
Individual Presentations |
Presentations |
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December 5 |
M |
Lecture (consciousness) |
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December 7 |
W |
Wrap-up / Class Evals / Review |
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December 16 |
F |
10:30 - 12:30 |
Quiz 12 |
* All quizzes will be given at the beginning of class and take ~30 minutes