The readings
are available on line. Click on the link for the
readings list, and
click on the link for the
study
guide
that should be completed for each reading. The readings will generally be read in order,
but pay close attention to daily assignments.
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Class activities and Grading
The format of the course includes both lecture tutorials and laboratory
sessions. We will have tutorials/lectures on Mondays during our regularly
scheduled class time.
Laboratory
Sessions: Students will be grouped into small groups (approximately
3-5 per
group). Each group will be responsible for conducting daily (Monday through
Friday) experimental sessions with your squad of rats. All members of the group
DO NOT have to attend each daily session. However, I expect that you will work
out a plan to share the work of the daily sessions equally. We will set up a
running schedule for all the groups, and I expect that groups will adhere to the
schedule. Each daily session will take approximately 1 hour (30 minute session,
plus time to get, weigh and return your rats). Your group will be responsible
for presenting data from your project at the end of the semester. Remember,
careful and steady running results in clean and highly valued data!!!
Lecture
Tutorials. The
lectures will be conducted in the classroom on
Mondays. All lab sections/groups meet in the classroom each Monday for
lecture. Lecture attendance is critical- announcements, procedural changes,
deadlines and assignments will be given out during this time. You will be held
responsible for any information disseminated in lecture, whether you attended or
not!
The
lecture tutorials will focus on concepts, techniques, and issues critical to
operant conditioning, the matching law and optimal foraging.
Students are expected to participate in group discussions
regarding the assigned readings during this
lecture/tutorial period.
In addition, each student will be required to submit written
answers to the study guide questions for each reading each week. These written
summaries will be most critical for completing the tests- so keep them.
Written summaries are due NO
LATER than the FRIDAY following the Monday that the reading was discussed in class. For
example, if a reading was discussed on Monday, September 8th, the corresponding
written summary will be accepted until Friday, September 12th. Late assignments
will be accepted for only ONE week past the deadline, at half credit. After
that, no points will be awarded.
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Tests
and Projects
There
will be two tests and one project/presentation required for
this class: The tests will be
given at midterm and approximately two weeks before the end
of the semester. The final project will
include a written APA style research paper and an oral presentation.
Guidelines for the project will be handed out in class.
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Daily
Work/Regular Assignments
There are two types of daily assignments:
1. Daily data collection. Each group must complete
daily data collection
session (Monday through Friday). Individual members of a group who do not
complete their assigned session will be penalized points. Your daily data will
be stored on a file on the computer. The TA will record each session to monitor
your running sessions. You will receive a total of
5 points each week if you have completed your assigned
data collection task. (5 points per week x
15 weeks). If you fail to complete a data collection session or task, you will
lose points for that session unless your absence is excused.
2. Reading summaries. Each student will
complete the assigned reading summary each week, for a
possible total of 5 points.. Each week's
reading summary is posted online. It is your responsibility to
download and read each of the
readings
and complete each summary by the deadline (either handwritten or typed is
acceptable). These summaries will become CRITICAL
for completing both the tests and your final project.
Study
guide for Reading Assignments
are available for each week's readings
here.
Written summaries are due NO
LATER than the following Monday after the reading was discussed in class. For
example, if a reading was discussed on Monday, September 8th, the corresponding
written summary will be accepted until Monday, September 15th. Late assignments
will be accepted for only ONE week past the deadline, at half credit. After
that, no points will be awarded.
Summaries will be graded as:
On time Late
Completed accurately and in detail:
5 pts.
2.5 pts
Completed, with a few corrections needed:
4 pts
2.0 pts
Partially or inaccurately completed, poor detail:
3 pts
1.5 pts
Partially completed or very inaccurate:
2 pts
1.0 pts
Partially completed, no detail, inaccurate:
1 pt
0.5 pts
More
than one week late:
0 pts
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Final Paper
Each group will be given a research project to conduct during the course
of the semester. Because you are less likely to be familiar with the design of an
operant conditioning animal behavior study, I have pre-selected
an eexperiment
that we will conduct across the semester. You will then be responsible for
writing up (in APA style) an appropriate final research paper
which includes: 1) an introduction (with literature
review) to your study; 2) a method
section; 3) the results and data
analysis; and 4) a discussion of your results.
The final project is worth a total of 150 points.
Points for this will be divided
into several categories:
Background literature review: 50 points
Method Section: 20 points
Data Analysis:
30 points.
Discussion: 50 points.
Total points for the project: 150 points
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Final
Grades:
Grades
will be based on the following:
Tests
(100
points each) 200
points
Daily work/observations:
75 points
Final Project
150 points
Tutorials/Lecture presentation
75 points
Final
grades:
A: 460-500
B: 420-459.99
C: 380-419.99
D: 340-379.99
F: 339 or below
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Any cheating will not be tolerated.
Cheating or plagiarism will result in an F in the course and referral to the
Student Code Enforcement Review Board (SCERB)
for disciplinary action. Cheating INCLUDES (but is not limited to): plagiarism
of both published and unpublished written work, having another individual take
or assist you with an online exam, taking an exam for or assisting another
individual with an online quiz, performing or completing a class assignment or
quiz for another individual or having another individual perform or complete a
class assignment or quiz for you. Cheating
is thus defined generally as representing work that is NOT your own as your work
or allowing your work to be represented as another’s' so that individual
receives academic credit. Violators
of this policy will receive a failing grade on that assignment or quiz, a
possible failing grade for the course, and referral to the department chair and
the SCERB for disciplinary action.
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If
you have a disability, if English is your second language, or need other special
considerations, please see me as soon as possible (that's before the first
test!) to work out any special arrangements that might be needed. If you fail a
test, please see me as soon as possible. I cannot help you if you do not contact
me for help!
Please
Note:
According to University Guidelines: Any student needing to arrange a reasonable
accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at 350 Fell
Hall, 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TDD). They are there to ensure that you receive
the help you need!!
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Monday is
generally lecture/discussion day. You should have your reading(s) completed by this day
and be ready to discuss the
reading(s) in class. ALL students are expected to
attend the tutorials.
Each
student is expected to assist with data collection 2 times per week for 45
to 60
minutes each session. You will work in pairs across
your group of 3 to 5 people. Two people
are required for each daily session across 5 days of the week. That typically means each person does 2 data collection
periods per week with their assigned partner(s).
Data will be collected 5 days per week (Monday through Friday).
Thus: you will attend at least one tutorial each week (on
Mondays, generally), and then complete 2 other assigned data collection times.
These times may or may not be during the scheduled class time (we will arrange
this across all students' schedules). Bottom line: We will spend 1.5 hours/week in tutorial, and then you will be responsible for up to
2 hours per
week in assigned lab times, as arranged with your group and partners.
Tutorials meet in FELMLEY ANNEX 327 (one floor above the lab); labs in Felmley 230, unless
otherwise noted. Reading
study guides and a
link to each of the readings
may be found online.
Week 1
: 08/17/09:
Introduction to the
class and instructions for IACUC training
Tour
the lab; begin to form groups
Complete IACUC training on CITI:
http://www.rsp.ilstu.edu/research/ethics/training.shtml
Week 2 : 08/24/09:
Foraging, an
overview
Begin observations and daily data collection:
Week 3: 08/31/09
Basic Operant
conditioning
Baseline data collection: Dominance testing
Week 4: 09/07/09
No lecture, lab
only
Baseline data collection: Foraging
Week 5:
09/14/09 Cognition
for Foraging
Baseline data collection: Foraging
Week 6:
09/21/09 Herrnstein
and the matching law
Baseline data collection: Foraging
Week 7:
09/28/09 Baum's
generalized matching law
Baseline data collection: Foraging
Week 8:
10/5/09 A new
model
Begin Intervention manipulations
Week 9:
10/12/09
Competition
Intervention manipulations
Week 10: 10/19/09
Group Matching
Intervention manipulations
Week 11: 10/26/09
Two Human Examples
Intervention manipulations
Week 12: 11/ 02/09:
Two examples from our lab
Intervention manipulations
Week 13: 11/09/09
Environmental Factors
Intervention
manipulations
Week 14: 11/16/09
Social factors
Thanksgiving Break
Week 15:
11/30/09Data analysis
Final Exam:
TUESDAY December 8th
Final exam: 1-3 pm.
Final laboratory paper due
by 3pm.
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