Winter 2002

This information effective for Winter 2002.
Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes.

Psychology

[PSYC 123] [PSYC 140P] [PSYC 161]

123. Behavioral Neuroscience

Winter 2002
Instructor: Bruce Bridgeman
E-mail: bruceb@cats.ucsc.edu
Office: 378 Social Sciences 2
Office Hours: W 1-3 or by appt.
Phone: 459-4005

TA: Jo Ann Sison
Email: jsison@cats.ucsc.edu
Office: 206 Social Sciences 2
Phone: 459-4876
Office Hours: TBA

TTH 12:00–1:45 p.m.
Porter 144

Text: Carlson, Physiology of Behavior 7th edition

Abstract: a 300-word abstract of your paper is due in class Feb. 1. Write it carefully, like an abstract of a journal article.

Paper: Due Thursday, March 13, in class. Length: about ten pages, typed double-spaced or by email or Mac/IBM disc. We stop reading at 12 pages. Optional rough drafts will be accepted on or before Feb. 27; they will be returned with comments, and you will be evaluated only on the final version.

Formats
1. Review Papers: Limit your topic to something that can be handled in a few weeks and define the area of inquiry carefully. Form a hypothesis or generalization and evaluate it on the basis of evidence for and against it before reaching a conclusion. Try to organize around ideas rather than papers.

2. Theoretical Papers: Originate your own theory of some aspect of cognitive neuroscience, cite evidence for and against it from the literature, and propose experiments which might test it further. Compare your theory with others in the same area, if any.

Cite references with parentheses in the text (Aardvark, 1996) and list them alphabetically at the end of the paper. Avoid footnotes.
Evaluation will be on the basis of the two exams, the abstract, the paper, problem sets and lab reports, and section participation.
Computer labs will meet in 135 Social Sciences 1 for simulation-and web-based neuroanatomy and physiology projects.

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For course information, please go to: http://psych.ucsc.edu/faculty/zurbrigg/psy140p/

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161. Fostering Creativity

Winter 2002
Instructor: David M. Harrington
TTH 10:00–11:45 a.m.
J. Baskin Eng 165
Prerequisites: Psychology 3 and 60 or permission of the instructor.

1. General Orientation

This seminar is designed for students who would like to read, think, and talk about ways to foster human creativity and imagination.

This seminar is also designed for students who want to actively shape their educational experience by participating in a seminar in which students play the major roles in choosing specific seminar topics and in leading and sustaining seminar discussions. This is a seminar designed for active participants, not passive observers.

Some students in this seminar will be interested primarily in learning how to foster their own creativity and imagination, while others will be focused on how to foster creativity and imagination in the world more generally. Both perspectives will be welcomed and respected in this seminar.

Seminar members will be encouraged to explore ways to enhance creativity and imagination in any domain that interests them. For example, some students may focus on fostering creativity in the world of work, education, and professional endeavors, while others may focus on enhancing creativity and imagination in the
world of community organizing, avocational activities, therapy, family functioning, or everyday life.

In addition to examining how creativity and imagination can be enhanced in individuals of any age, students also will be invited to think about how creativity and imagination can be fostered at the level of nations, cities, communities, organizations of any form, classrooms, art studios, research laboratories, families, and creatively-active groups.

Students with interests in cross-cultural perspectives will be encouraged to examine ways in which various forms of creativity might be fostered in different cultures or cultural settings.

In general, students will be encouraged to examine ways to foster creativity and imagination in any realm they find particularly interesting or important.

2. How the Course will Proceed

We will meet twice a week for 1 hour and 45 minutes each meeting. I will assign some core readings for the first three or four meetings to give us an overview of approaches to the fostering of creativity and imagination in various domains. With the assistance of the instructor and other seminar members, each student will then identify a sub-topic of particular interest about which they would like to lead a seminar discussion. Students will then locate one or two readings relevant to their
sub-topic and will distribute photocopies of these readings to other members of the seminar in preparation for the seminar discussion they will lead.

Most seminar discussions will be led by one student and will last about 40 minutes, though some may be led by two or more students who share similar interests. In some cases, seminar leaders may supplement their presentations with demonstrations or hands-on exercises. Discussion leaders will not be expected to be experts
about their topics at the time they lead a seminar discussion; they will simply be expected to spark and guide a good discussion. EVERY STUDENT WILL BE EXPECTED TO PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY IN AND HELP SUSTAIN ALL SEMINAR DISCUSSIONS.

Each student will write a 6–10 page final paper as well as a 1–2 page Executive Summary or set of Action Recommendations relevant to their topic.

In the course of this seminar we will accumulate a body of theory, research, resources, references, tools, and practices relevant to the fostering of creativity and imagination in various domains. We may want to discuss and collectively decide whether we would like to preserve the fruits of our scholarly labors in some form that could be useful to other people.

Schedule:

Week 1: Introduction to the topic, discussion of how to create and sustain a good seminar, various approaches to fostering creativity.

Week 2: Continued introduction to various approaches to fostering creativity.

Week 3–9: Student-led discussions of sub-topics which are particularly interesting and relevant to the students leading the discussion. Every student will lead or co-lead a discussion. ALL STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY IN EACH DAY’S DISCUSSION.

Week 10: A summing up and a presentation of Executive Summaries or Action Recommendations. If we decide to try to preserve some of what we have learned in a form useful to others, that form will probably “come together” in the last week of the seminar.

3. How You will be Evaluated

About 2/3 of your evaluation will be based on your participation in seminar discussions, your selection of assigned readings, your leading of a seminar discussion, and your overall contributions to the intellectual vitality and emotional well-being of the seminar.

About 1/3 of your evaluation will be based on your final paper, your final 1–2 page Action Recommendation, and your contribution to the “preserved knowledge” product if we decide to proceed in that direction.

Very important point: You will not be in competition with one another for excellent evaluations in this seminar. Indeed, I believe competition generally undermines the intellectual and emotional health of a seminar. Rather than compare you to one another, I will evaluate you in terms of my own standards for undergraduate performance in a seminar. If you all do excellent work, you will all receive excellent evaluations. I am looking for serious engagement and for a genuine commitment to the intellectual vitality and emotional health of the seminar. If I see evidence of these qualities as well as strong written work, you will receive an excellent evaluation.

4. Final Comment

I am very interested in this topic and I enjoy good undergraduate seminars. I therefore look forward to a stimulating seminar in the company of students who find this topic exciting.

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