This course analyzes seminal work directed at the development of a computational understanding of human intelligence, such as work on learning, language, vision, event representation, commonsense reasoning, self reflection, story understanding, and analogy. It reviews visionary ideas of Turing, Minsky, and other influential thinkers and examines the implications of work on brain scanning, developmental psychology, and cognitive psychology. There is an emphasis on discussion and analysis of original papers; students taking the graduate version complete additional exercises and a substantial term project.

This course provides practical instruction in the fundamentals of analog and digital SLR and medium/large format camera operation, film exposure and development, black and white darkroom techniques, digital imaging, and studio lighting.
This semester we will explore the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences for our theme- and site-specific term project, which provides opportunities to develop technical skills and experimental photographic techniques, and for personal artistic exploration. Final projects will be presented on site in exhibition format.
Work in progress is continuously presented and discussed in a critical forum. Lectures, readings, visiting professionals, group discussions, and site visits encourage aesthetic appreciation of the medium and a deeper understanding of our semester theme, as well as a critical awareness of how images in our culture are produced and constructed.

Lectures and discussions in this course cover the clinical, behavioral, and molecular aspects of the brain aging processes in humans. Topics include the loss of memory and other cognitive abilities in normal aging, as well as neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Discussions based on readings taken from primary literature explore the current research in this field.

Millions of people are on-line today and the number is rapidly growing - yet this virtual crowd is often invisible. In this course we will examine ways of visualizing people, their activities and their interactions. Students will study the cognitive and cultural basis for social visualization through readings drawn from sociology, psychology and interface design and they will explore new ways of depicting virtual crowds and mapping electronic spaces through a series of design exercises.

This interactive activity helps learners visualize the role of electrons in the formation of ionic and covalent chemical bonds. Students explore different types of chemical bonds by first viewing a single hydrogen atom in an electric field model. Next, students use sliders to change the electronegativity between two atoms -- a model to help them understand why some atoms are attracted. Finally, students experiment in making their own models: non-polar covalent, polar covalent, and ionic bonds. This item is part of the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming education through technology.

This course is an introduction to the theory that tries to explain how minds are made from collections of simpler processes. It treats such aspects of thinking as vision, language, learning, reasoning, memory, consciousness, ideals, emotions, and personality. It incorporates ideas from psychology, artificial intelligence, and computer science to resolve theoretical issues such as wholes vs. parts, structural vs. functional descriptions, declarative vs. procedural representations, symbolic vs. connectionist models, and logical vs. common-sense theories of learning.

Humans are social animals; social demands, both cooperative and competitive, structure our development, our brain and our mind. This course covers social development, social behaviour, social cognition and social neuroscience, in both human and non-human social animals. Topics include altruism, empathy, communication, theory of mind, aggression, power, groups, mating, and morality. Methods include evolutionary biology, neuroscience, cognitive science, social psychology and anthropology.

Click for Soft ChalkHere is an extension softcloud for when I teach students how to solve the rubik's cube in Psychology and AP Psychology

In this workshop, participants will learn how to interpret and design cognitive formative assessment with respect to a three-dimensional view of learning. The NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education and the resulting Next Generation Science Standards embody this focus on an integrated three-dimensional view of science learning—as one of the signature features of this new vision. The materials for this resource come from a series of PD sessions on 3D formative assessment developed and provided by Katie Van Horne, Shelley Stromholt, Bill Penuel, and Philip Bell.

UCSD Cognitive scientist Joan Stiles reveals the latest understandings about the intricate relationship between biology and external influences in the development of the brain. (58 minutes)

During the past decade, there have been dramatic advancements in the brain and cognitive sciences. For the first time, understanding how the brain works has become a scientifically achievable goal. In this new lecture series, Grey Matters: Molecules to Mind, San Diego's leading Neuroscientists explore the human brain. The first lecture in this series addresses an issue that has often been absent in these discussions: what role do stem cells play in development of the brain? (59 minutes)

The NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education and the resulting Next Generation Science Standards focus on an integrated three-dimensional view of science learning in which students develop understanding of core ideas of science and crosscutting concepts in the context of engaging in science and engineering practices.How is assessing three-dimensional science learning different than how we have thought of science learning in the past? How can we design assessment tasks that elicit student’s current understanding of specific aspects of the disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts in order to shape future instruction? In this workshop, participants will learn how to interpret and design cognitive formative assessment to fit a three-dimensional view of learning.This resource originates from a series of PD sessions on 3D formative assessment developed and provided by Katie Van Horne, Shelley Stromholt, Bill Penuel, and Philip Bell. It has been improved through a collaboration in the ACESSE project with science education experts from 13 states. Please cite this resource as follows:Stromholt, S., Van Horne, K., Bell, P., Penuel, W. R., Neill, T. & Shaw, S. (2017). How to Assess Three-Dimensional Learning in Your Classroom: Building Assessment Tasks that Work. [OER Professional Development Session from the ACESSE Project] Retrieved from http://stemteachingtools.org/pd/SessionB

This course is designed to provide an understanding of how the human brain works in health and disease, and is intended for both the Brain and Cognitive Sciences major and the non-Brain and Cognitive Sciences major. Knowledge of how the human brain works is important for all citizens, and the lessons to be learned have enormous implications for public policy makers and educators.
The course will cover the regional anatomy of the brain and provide an introduction to the cellular function of neurons, synapses and neurotransmitters. Commonly used drugs that alter brain function can be understood through a knowledge of neurotransmitters. Along similar lines, common diseases that illustrate normal brain function will be discussed. Experimental animal studies that reveal how the brain works will be reviewed.
Throughout the seminar we will discuss clinical cases from Dr. Byrne's experience that illustrate brain function; in addition, articles from the scientific literature will be discussed in each class.

This course focuses on one particular aspect of the history of computing: the use of the computer as a scientific instrument. The electronic digital computer was invented to do science, and its applications range from physics to mathematics to biology to the humanities. What has been the impact of computing on the practice of science? Is the computer different from other scientific instruments? Is computer simulation a valid form of scientific experiment? Can computer models be viewed as surrogate theories? How does the computer change the way scientists approach the notions of proof, expertise, and discovery? No comprehensive history of scientific computing has yet been written. This seminar examines scientific articles, participants’ memoirs, and works by historians, sociologists, and anthropologists of science to provide multiple perspectives on the use of computers in diverse fields of physical, biological, and social sciences and the humanities. We explore how the computer transformed scientific practice, and how the culture of computing was influenced, in turn, by scientific applications.

Why are humans the only species to have language? Is there something special about our brains? Are there genes that have evolved for language? In this talk, Jeff Elman, UCSD professor of cognitive science and co-director of the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, discusses some of the exciting new research that helps us understand what it is about human language that is so different from other animals' communication systems, and what about our biology might make language possible. (58 minutes)

This course will consider the degree and nature of the modular organization of the mind and brain. We will focus in detail on the domains of objects, number, places, and people, drawing on evidence from behavioral studies in human infants, children, normal adults, neurological patients, and animals, as well as from studies using neural measures such as functional brain imaging and ERPs. With these domains as examples, we will address broader questions about the role of domain-general and domain-specific processing systems in mature human performance, the innateness vs. plasticity of encapsulated cognitive systems, the nature of the evidence for such systems, and the processes by which people link information flexibly across domains.

Constructivism has emerged as an influential doctrine in education in the last many decades. As an area of study, it has roots in multiple disciplines, like philosophy, psychology, sociology, education, cognitive science, and cybernetics. Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico, (1668- 1744), proposed a constructivist theory of knowledge.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Diabetic encephalopathy (DE), a complication of type 2 diabetes (T2D), causes cognitive impairment that increases the chance of death. Because DE has no cure, investigating its mechanisms and finding new therapies are crucially important. DE has similar symptoms to Alzheimer's disease (AD), and both involve elevated β-amyloid peptide and hyperphosphorylated tau protein, so finding new therapies for DE could involve using what's already known about AD. The autophagy-lysosomal pathway (ALP) breaks down persistent proteins in cells and helps clear the neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques characteristic of AD, and upstream genes called transcription factor EB (TFEB) and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) regulate ALP. Researchers used both cultured cells and a mouse model of T2D to investigate whether TFEB activation could help alleviate DE. T2D mice showed cognitive impairment and AD-like pathology, which were alleviated when TFEB was activated by either mTOR inhibition or TFEB overexpression..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

The transformation of massive rock to sediment (i.e., gravel) is a process of nature not confined to Earth. A qualitative introduction to the forces of weathering and erosion that control the development of fragment shape in gravel provides insight into fundamental processes spanning planetary bodies in our solar system. A few images and video snips provide visual evidence that students observe to learn about these sedimentary processes. In a short exercise that may be used in lecture or a laboratory session, students make observations, write descriptions, discuss issues with peers, and use hypotheses to extrapolate terrestrial sedimentary science to another planetary body. Questions are arranged in order of, and span, the hierarchy of cognitive skills. This design should make this exercise accessible to students across a variety of levels, from non-science to geoscience majors.