mas.962 cognition and instruction

Tuesday/Thursday 10:30-12
Room E15-335
12 credits
Prerequisites: A desire to build hardware and/or software prototypes.

Course Description

learning is hard. learning about learning may be even harder.

this course explores some of the fundamental findings in studies of human cognition as applied to learning and instruction. there are numerous theories about how people learn in natural and school settings, and we'll survey a number of these in this course. this will primarily be an overview of findings coming out of the so-called "learning sciences", a recent field involved in studying the relationship between cognition, social contexts, and tool use/design.

in the course, we'll survey findings associated with learning particular domains (e.g.,mathematics, science, reading). as this is the media laboratory, we'll also be developing systems to teach various domains and, hopefully, extend our knowledge about core issues that we'll read about.

The Work

There will be a number of readings in the class, and students are expected to participate in class discussions. There will also be writing assignments. These will generally be responses to questions that I think up in the middle of the night, questions focusing on the representation of cognitive skills. Finally, there will be design assignments. These will let you flex your creative muscles, develop applications to teach various cognitive skills.

At the end of the term, we'll stage an exhibition in the Media Lab atrium. Thus far, design courses are the only ones that display their work to the masses. No reason why there shouldn't be a display of solid projects around learning & cognition. This would give you an opportunity to show your work and also to discuss your rationale for its value for teaching/instruction.

Grading

Your grades will be determined by the following:

Participation	20%
Design Assignments	40%
Writing Assignments	40%

A note on design work. Just as form follows function (or it should), products follow process. For each software/hardware prototype, you will also submit a writeup explaining whyyou built the system as you did. This means being explicit about the learning goals and assumptions embodied in your application. More on this as we get to the assignments...

Readings