LEARNING & MEMORY (PSYC 291)

SYLLABUS – FALL 2014

GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor: Dr. Wind Goodfriend

Office: SSA 204
Email: goodfriend@bvu.edu
Phone: 749-2108

Office hours: Mondays & Wednesdays, 2:00-4:00 pm

You may also make an appointment to see me.

Class sessions: Monday nights, 6:00-9:00 pm in SSA 218

Required text: Terry, W. S. (2009). Learning and Memory (4th Ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Additional readings will be made available on the Angel website.

Course website: https://lms.bvu.edu/default.asp

Many of the materials posted to this course site are protected by copyright law. These materials
are only for the use of students enrolled in this course and only for the purposes of this course.
They may not be further retained or disseminated.

COURSE GOALS

Learning and Memory are two of the core psychological mechanisms which underlie our ability
to adapt to an ever-changing world. This course will examine the last 100 years of theory and
research in each of these areas. Emphasis will be placed on classical and operant conditioning
and human memory processes. Students will also complete several hands-on learning activities
that apply theoretical concepts to everyday examples.

NO CHEATING OR ACADEMIC DISHONESTY OF ANY TYPE WILL BE TOLERATED.

Accommodations: Buena Vista University provides reasonable accommodations through an

organized process. Students desiring accommodations must follow the University's process.
Forms are available at:
http://www.bvu.edu/departments/academicaffairs/cae/studentaccommodations_sl.asp
Please contact Donna Musel, Director of the Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) to begin
this process.

ROUGH COURSE SCHEDULE

This course will follow the textbook, with about one chapter each week (give or take). Reading
assignments should be done before class, to improve in-class discussion. Specific assignments
will be announced in class.
COURSE EVALUATION
Your grade will be based on three components, and determined via a typical plus/minus scale
where 93-100% = A, 90-92.9% = A-, etc.

1) Exams
There will be 4 exams. The exams will NOT be cumulative; they will cover only the material in
a particular course section. The exams will cover all lecture material, assigned reading, and class
activities for a given course section. Exam dates will be announced in class. Exam questions will
be in a variety of forms, including multiple choice, matching, definitions, and essay. Each exam
will be worth 50 points.
If you will be gone on an exam day, you must inform the instructor at least one week
before the exam. You must provide documentation of why you will be absent and arrange an
alternate time to take the exam. If you miss an exam because of an emergency or illness, you
must contact the instructor that day by 5:00 pm. You will also have to provide written
documentation (for example, a doctor’s note if you are ill. This includes proof of death in the
case of a funeral).You will then have to arrange another time to take the exam as soon as
possible. The format of the exam may change upon the instructor’s discretion.
You may contest an exam grade, but you must do so within 2 weeks of receiving your
grade on that exam (except for the final, which can be contested through 2 weeks of the
following semester). No grades will be changed after this time period.

2) In-Class & Take-Home Activities

You are expected to attend every class. Often, there will be an activity, writing assignment, or
discussion during class time in which you are expected to participate and write a brief statement.
In addition, there will be several short homework assignments announced in class that will
require some outside work. Instructions for each assignment will be provided in class, as well as
point totals and due dates. Each activity will be worth between 5 and 20 points; the total amount
of points coming from these activities will be between 100-200 points. The last time this course
was offered there were 150 points from this part of the grade, to give you a general idea.

3) Service Learning Project

The service learning project will take place at a local animal shelter. Specific instructions on this
opportunity will be provided a few weeks into class, but generally this will include visiting the
animal shelter and teaching dogs do to “tricks” using learning principles. You will also be asked
to keep a journal of the work you do there and how it applies to concepts from class. This project
will be worth 50 points total, and points will come from hours working at the shelter (20 points)
and from the journal (30 points).

Finally, there will be a few opportunities for extra credit.

Grade summary:
Exams – 4 exams, worth 50 points each: 200 points
Homeworks (throughout semester): 150 points (give or take)
Service Learning Project: 50 points

Total: 400 points (give or take),

plus some extra credit