Syllabus
Spring 2012
ICS Research Practicum
CSCI 7412/7422 | EDUC 6506/6516 | LING 7415/7425 | PHIL 7415/7425 |
PSYC 7415/7425
Wed 12:30-14:30
Muenzinger D430
Instructor
Professor Michael Mozer
Department of Computer Science
Engineering Center Office Tower 7-41
(303) 492-4103
Office Hours: Wed 14:45-16:30
Course Objectives
The goal of this course is to support Ph.D. students in Cognitive
Science as you develop the skills you need to conduct interdisciplinary
research. I want to emphasize the word support.
This course is intended to
help you along your research trajectory, not to impose arbitrary
hurdles or busy work. The course will give you the opportunity to talk
about your research to other cognitive scientists, to help crystalize
the specific hypotheses you want to explore and the methodology you
will use to pursue your goals. The course will also emphasize the
difficult challenge of communicating with an interdisciplinary
audience--in writing journal articles, conference papers, extended
abstracts, thesis proposals, grant proposals, and speaking at
professional meetings.
Research goal
In order to best advance your graduate career, it is your
responsibility to come into the class with some notion of a
research goal
for the semester. Students may have distinct goals for Practicum I and
II, or they may declare a year-long goal with milestones for each
semester. The expectation is that achieving this research goal will
help you move forward toward your Ph.D. degree. Typical goals chosen by
students are:
- formulating a research
project: stating a hypothesis, proposing a
methodology, doing background
research on relevant literature and past
approaches
- writing a journal article
(or a substantial refereed conference
paper)
- completing a written prelim
that requires a survey or review of
literature in a field
- putting together a grant
proposal, which includes: stating a
problem, identifying relevant literature, proposing experiments or a
sequence of research activities
What is cognitive science research?
I have a pretty loose notion of what constitutes cognitive science
research. A significant step toward becoming a cognitive
scientist
comes from the mere fact that you are in a class with students from
quite diverse intellectual backgrounds, that you will need to explain
your ideas and work to these students, and that they will undoubtably
suggest relevant ideas from other fields to explore. My expectation is
that each student's goal will include the exploration of methodologies
from a discipline other than their main discipline. For students in
LING, PSYC, PHIL, and SLHS, a key aspect of cognitive science research
is taking a computational, mathematical, or mechanistic perspective on
your problems. For students in CSCI, PHIL, and LING, understanding
experimental data and methodology is often critical to
interdisciplinary research.
Course requirements
The course will be graded on the following criteria:
- articulating and achieving a
research goal
- writing a brief article
about your research or proposed research
area for a general cognitive science article, for possible inclusion in
the ICS newsletter
- presenting a poster at the
ICS poster
session at the end of the academic year
- participating in class and
engaging with other students.
In the spring, the grading breakdown will be
60/10/10/20.
Class schedule
Date |
Activity |
Presenters |
1/18 |
course overview, student
introductions |
all |
1/25 |
student
presentations I: overview of problem, outline of approach (30-45 min
per student) |
|
2/1 |
|
2/8 |
|
2/15 |
|
2/22 |
student presentations II: brief
progress reports |
|
2/29 |
|
3/7 |
|
3/14 |
Ramesh |
3/21 |
discussion of making and presenting posters,
pitching research |
Maha, Ashwini |
4/4 |
student
presentations III: final progress report before completion of project |
Will |
4/11 |
Will, Dean |
4/18 |
Dean (15 min, proposed
experiment, Moshe Bar study); Jing; Ramesh |
4/25 |
prepare for poster session |
Research presentations: Ramesh
(results), Lindsey, Ashwini;
Poster presentations: Maha, Dean, Lindsay |
5/2 |
Research presentation: Maha
(synthesis paper), Jing (simulation results)
Poster presentations: Ashwini, Ramesh, Jing, Will |
Assignments
Additional
information for students (click to read)
Disability issues
Religious
observances
Campus
policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every
effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of
religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments
or required attendance. In this class, {{insert your procedures here}}
See full details at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html.
Classroom behavior
Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an
appropriate
learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral
standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and
sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and
topics dealing with differences of race, color, culture, religion,
creed, politics, veteran’s status, sexual orientation,
gender, gender identity, and gender expression, age,
disability, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to
the instructor with the student’s legal name. I will gladly
honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender
pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so
that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See policies at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html
and at
http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code.
Discrimination
and harrassment
The
University of Colorado at Boulder Discrimination and Harassment Policy
and Procedures, the University of Colorado Sexual Harassment Policy and
Procedures, and the University of Colorado Conflict of
Interest in Cases of Amorous Relationships Policy apply to all
students, staff, and faculty. Any student, staff, or faculty member who
believes s/he has been the subject of sexual harassment or
discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin,
sex, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran
status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH)
at 303-492-2127, or the Office of Student Conduct
(OSC) at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH, the above
referenced policies, and the campus resources available to assist
individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at
http://www.colorado.edu/odh.
Honor code
All
students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for
knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this
institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating,
plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery,
and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be
reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-735-2273).
Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity
policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty
member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to
university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on
the Honor Code can be found at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html
and at
http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/.