Rathus Chapter 5: Learning and Exam 1

I flipped the front page to next week early! If you want to go back and work on a past week, or you want to peek forward to future modules, simply visit the Modules page!

Objective

The main goal this week is to learn about the process and and different types of learning, and to explore your own learning style. It's a light week for you, so that you can get caught up on any of the materials you might need to revisit in preparation for next week's exam and paper proposal.

Learning Outcomes

Once you have completed this week, you will be able to:

Define learning
Describe principles and methods of classical conditioning
Describe applications of classical conditioning
Describe principles and methods of operant conditioning
Describe applications of operant conditioning
Discuss cognitive factors in learning

Weekly Due Dates Summary (see To-do List for detail/links)
Wednesday February 17 11:59pm	Saturday February 20 6pm	Sunday February 21 11:59pm
Learning style discussion post	Checking in assignment Learning style discussion reply	Module 5 (Chapter 5) quiz


Monday February 22	Saturday February 27 6pm	Sunday February 28 11:59pm
Exam 1 opens at 12:01am	Peer Reviewed Research Group Assignment	Exam 1 due

To-do List

To navigate the course and complete each module, all you need to do is click through the "To-do List" each week and make sure you complete all the items. Remember to use your planner or calendar together with your syllabus to know what's upcoming in the course! The to-do list is organized in the order I think makes the most sense to complete the work, but you are free to tackle your work in whatever order works for you unless otherwise noted.

Watch the video walkthrough of the week (highly recommended!):
(Optional but recommended) Revisit the Zoom mini lecture, slide 25
Read Rathus Chapter 5, and review the PowerPoint
Watch these vidoes to support your understanding of learning principles:
- This video about the difference between operant and classical conditioning. Make sure you take really good notes about the points the speaker makes about those differences:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6LEcM0E0io
- This video talks specifically about conditioned response, and how we are all susceptible! https://youtu.be/dgCvNSQ82Iw
- You won't be tested on the content of this video, but hopefully it makes you think about how you can help yourself learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vJRopau0g0
- As above, you won't be tested on this video, but it calls back to some of the work we did in earlier weeks around how your brain and cosnsciousness interact to help you adapt and learn better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNHBMFCzznE
Participate in Discussion: Learning Styles, initial posts due Wednesday February 17 and replies due Saturday February 20 at 6pm
Complete the Checking in: The impacts of implementing calendaring, and techniques to improve time and concentration assignment by Saturday February 20 at 6pm.
Complete the Week 5 module quiz by Sunday February 21 at 11:59pm.
Complete your Assignment: Peer-Reviewed Research Presentation (includes link to video walkthrough) due February 27.
Complete Exam 1 between Monday February 22 at 12:01am and Friday February 29 at 11:59pm.

Questions? Come to Zoom office hours Friday from 5 - 6pm (or contact me for another time to meet). The code is 497261 and you will be in the waiting room until I admit you. Typically this will be immediate, but if I am already speaking to someone you will have to wait. I will meet with everyone who is waiting even if we go past 6pm!

Communication Reminders

Active participation

You are expected to be an active member of this class -- that means that you participate as instructed in the required discussions and as needed in the optional ones; it means you complete your assignments fully and promptly; it means that you are checking your e-mail and Canvas regularly so you are aware of changes and announcements; and most importantly, it means you understand that the activities in this class build on each other sequentially, so if you don't understand something you need to reach out and get help before it gets away from you!

In exchange for your active participation in this class, it is my commitment to you to grade your assignments and, most of the time, provide you written feedback on what you did well and what might need improvement at the time they are graded. If I see a pattern or theme emerging in your performance, I will discuss it with you.

Contacting me

Remember that I am here to help you learn! Except for weekends, the maximum response time to your messages is 48 hours... but I definitely try to get to them as soon as I can. Always let me know if there is anything that I can do to help you be successful in this course. You can e-mail me, use Canvas Inbox, post to the weekly discussion (see last item above), or respond to any comment I've made on your assignments.

Connecting with your classmates

For the first few weeks, you will be working with your peers in classwide discussions (both assigned and the weekly ones to help each other out) and have Pronto and Canvas messaging available to you. After we have a bit of work under our belts, you will begin a project that will span the rest of the semester with a smaller group. It will be up to you and your group mates to decide how best to communicate in that context. No matter what, though, your classmates are all around you and are just as willing to support you as you are to support them!

General Information and Support Reminders

Remember that this course includes a General Course Information page where you can find not just information for this specific course (such as links to the syllabus, announcements, and the general Q & A discussion post), but also information about resources available to support you as a student at CCSF (both in-person and virtually), and information about using Canvas and other technology tools.