Psych 390: Brain and Language Semester 2, 2002/3

This course examines the biological bases of language production, processing and understanding. We will start by examining the basic properties of language, theories of language learning, and the relationship between language and thought. After a brief review of brain anatomy we will then investigate the brain mechanisms involved in language. By exploring the neuro-anatomical bases of normal language production and processing, bilingualism, visual-gestural languages and language impairments such as aphasias and dyslexia this seminar should give you an understanding of how language is organized in the brain.

As this is a senior seminar you should expect to take a very active role in learning the material covered in this class. I see my role of an instructor in this course as that of a resource person rather than a lecturer. That means, that while I provide the materials in the form of the package and the handouts, most of it will be presented by a student and discussed as a group. You will thus learn both from your peers and by teaching a subject yourself. If you have any good ideas for approaches to discussions and presentations please bring them up during class or let me know individually.

We will also watch a number of relevant videos on the subject. These are not meant as "downtime": Much of the material in the videos is directly related to the readings and I expect that you absorb and process their content, integrate it into the rest of the class material and demonstrate this in the class discussions, your presentation and your "integration papers".

Course package (available in the Psychology office) and Handouts

Readings are a combination of journal articles and book chapters. You will receive the 2^nd part of the reading list together with the second part of the package. All readings are to be done prior to class. This is essential as we will rely heavily on discussion of the reading materials.

-A: 93-100%, A- : 90-92%

Participation 20%

Quizzes/ Homework 20% (lowest 2 scores will be dropped)

Presentations (at least 2) 15%

Integration papers (2) 20%

Final Paper 15% (3% for Annotated Reference Report)

Final Presentation 10%

Your active participation in the class is essential to your own and your class mates' learning. Your attendance, preparation and thoughtful contributions are therefore vital. Attendance will be taken in class, and missing class will lower your grade. You are responsible for providing me with documentation for any excused absences (doctor's/ advisor's note). Your preparation (i.e. reading the materials assigned) will be monitored with homework assignments and quizzes. Make-up quizzes or late homeworks for missed classes will only be accepted for excused absences, i.e. those documented by a note from your doctor, advisor etc. Your contributions during discussions will be graded based on their substance, relevance and the level of integrative thinking they show.

Dates for short (5-10 min) quizzes on the assigned readings for that day are marked with an asteriks on the schedule.

On days marked with a #, a 1-page, single-spaced, typed homework is due at the beginning of class. The homework should consist in:

• An integrative summary of the readings for the day (3-4 paragraphs). Relate the main points of the readings to each other (and to previous readings, if possible).
• Your reactions/ comments / critiques of the readings (1-2 paragraph)
• 1-2 creative questions you can contribute to class. These can be open-ended discussion questions, or factual questions that arose from and go beyond the material covered.
• Any understanding/ clarification questions you might have

You will sign up for at least 2 presentations during the term. (Presentations can be given with a partner, but then you will sign up for 4 presentations). In your presentations you should utilize overheads (graphs, figures, illustrations -- keep print to a minimum) and handouts (optional). When giving a presentation you should consider yourself responsible for teaching the material to your peers and for actively involving them in the learning process. Besides lecturing your presentation should also include some of the following: demonstrations, partner exercises, group brainstorming, discussion of questions that either you or your "students" generated etc-- in short try to incorporate some of the tools that you have seen your teachers use during classes. You should plan on a total of 35-40 minutes. I will give you more specific guidelines for presenting as the format of the material can vary from class to class.

You will write two 3-5 page typed papers in which you integrate materials from at least 5 of the readings. You are free to choose the framework for your paper: you can present conflicting viewpoints or findings and compare and contrast them, you can chose one main paper/finding as your focus and illustrate how other studies support the author's main hypothesis, or you can use any other approach that helps you relate the different class materials to each other. You will be given an "integration day" in class as an opportunity to discuss the ways in which themes we have covered relate to each other and to come up with ways to organize your paper.

To investigate a topic in the area of neuro/psycholinguistics in depth you will prepare a final powerpoint presentation (approx. 25 minutes, presented during the last 4 class sessions) and a paper (APA style, 12-15 pages) on a topic of your choice. Your project can be a literature research or an original study (in which case you can work with a partner). It should be an in-depth exploration of your topic and should go well beyond the class material. It should have at least 12 references (excluding websites and textbooks) and should present the most recent state of knowledge in this area.

Note on the schedule that the 2^nd integration paper is due late in the term to give you a chance to draw on a wide range of possible topics. This has the disadvantage that the deadlines for the final paper and the 2^nd integration paper are close together. It is thus very important that you carefully manage your time for completing the final paper.

Now - Week 3: Peruse the course material, websites, textbooks to find topics that interest you. If you have trouble finding resources, talk to me. Do not restrict your topics to the ones covered in class during the first few weeks-- we won't even really start talking about the brain until Week 6!

Week 4: Search the library for papers on your choice of topics. Having reviewed some of the literature available, define your topic more closely.

Week. 6: Topic due Mar 12: Write a 2 sentence statement defining your topic.

Week 8-9: Find both the classic and the most recent literature on your topic and review it. Write an annotated reference report with at least 10 references (excluding websites and textbooks). Report due Apr 11.

Week 10-12: Write a 1^st draft of the paper. I will be happy to review it and give you feedback if you hand it in by Apr 25. Prepare your presentation slides.

Week 13: Practice your presentation on a non-expert audience. Edit your slides according to their feedback.

Week 14-15: Presentations. Finalize paper. Final due date: May 19

• Use powerpoint slides. Keep slides simple and minimize print. Remember that you are now the specialist on your subject, and your audience knows only very little about it!
• Make a handout for audience members (no more than one page) illustrating the main points you want them to learn
• Practice your presentation on a "non-expert" audience; make sure they understand the main points
• Make sure you stay within the time limit (absolute max: 30 minutes)
• When presenting try to speak freely, i.e. avoid reading from your notes.

When writing your papers you must properly cite all your sources, indicate direct quotes, and otherwise follow the St. Olaf Student Handbook regarding plagiarism. You are responsible for knowing and understanding the plagiarism policies of the college, which are available in the St. Olaf Student Handbook and on-line (http://www.stolaf.edu/stnlife/thebook/student/academic/plagiarism.html).

All due dates are indicated on the schedule, so plan accordingly. To give extensions that are fair to the entire class I will use Pam Bacon's idea of giving "extension days" (5) which you can use to extend the deadlines for the integration or the final paper. You can divide them up which ever way you want, just notify me when you are using an extension day.

Important: extension days cannot be used for the presentations, regular homeworks or for the optional 1^st draft due date. No additional extensions will be given, and after you have used your 5 days papers will lose 5% per day.