Semester 2

All students will be assigned to one of two groups (to be determined). Each group will (mostly) alternate having presentation days and discussion days.

• Classroom locations, assigned presenters, and PDFs of readings will be posted to Learn.

Semester 1

All students are assigned to one of two groups: Sharks or Dolphins (see Learn for group assignments). Each group will (mostly) alternate having presentation days and discussion days.

• Click on a topic to view the assigned reading(s) and presentation papers.
• Classroom locations, assigned presenters, and PDFs of readings can be found on Learn.

Course components

Seminars

Slides of lectures will be made available via links on this website.

Each lecture/seminar will include 1 or more required readings, to be completed by students prior to coming to class. PDFs of all readings can be found on Learn.

Laptop Policy

(Note: These guidelines have been revised after the first week of the semester.)

On discussion days:

• During the reading response, you may use your laptop/tablet if that is where you have your copy of the required paper, including your own notes about the paper. However, you should not be accessing the Internet, ChatGPT, or any other sources during the reading response.
• During the group discussion activities, you may find it useful to have your laptop/tablet so you can access the discussion activity on Learn and contribute to typing out your group’s response.

On presentation days:

• During the reading response, you may use your laptop/tablet if that is where you have your copy of the required paper, including your own notes about the paper. However, you should not be accessing the Internet, ChatGPT, or any other sources during the reading response.
• During presentations, you are encouraged to NOT have any devices out on your desk. This will help you stay focused, by removing distractions. However, this is not a strict policy; we will leave it up to you.

Required Background

The course assumes knowledge of cognitive science and, by the second semester, knowledge of probability theory (discrete and continuous univariate random variables, expectations, Bayes rule), basic linear algebra (vectors/matrix multiplication, orthogonality, eigenvectors), statistics (linear/logistic regression) and model evaluation as would be acquired in Computational Cognitive Science.

Data visualisation and programming experience will be useful but there is no required programming.

Assessment

The assessment for this course consists of:

• a portfolio of weekly in-class engagement responses to readings and in-class discussions (30%);
• an essay due early in Semester 2 (at the end of January) (40%); and
• a presentation in the second semester (30%).

Students will also be required to make a presentation in the first semester and will be provided feedback.

Communication

When you sign up for the course, you will have access to:

• this website, with schedule, syllabus, and assessment instructions.
• the Learn page of the course, with PDFs of all readings, student assignments for groups and presentations, announcements used for all essential communication, and discussion forums used for group activities and other course discussions.

For general questions, please use the Learn discussion forums. If you have specific questions for the teaching team, please email the course organizer Maithilee Kunda, making sure to include “SCM” in the subject line.

Policies

Collaboration policy

Individual assignments must be completed individually, you may not directly share or discuss answers / code with anyone other than the instructors and tutors. You are welcome to discuss the problems in general and ask for advice.

Certain assignments may allow collaboration, only when explicitly allowed in the assignment instructions.

Academic integrity

The University takes academic misconduct very seriously and is committed to ensuring that so far as possible it is detected and dealt with appropriately. Find out more about the University’s official policies around academic misconduct here.

Cheating or plagiarising on assignments, lying about an illness or absence and other forms of academic dishonesty are a breach of trust with classmates and faculty, violate the University policies, and will not be tolerated. Such incidences will result in a 0 grade for all parties involved. Additionally, there may be penalties to your final class grade along with being reported to the School Academic Misconduct Office.

Late work, extensions, and special circumstances

All work is due on the stated due date. Due dates are there to help guide your pace through the course and they also allow us (the course staff) to return marks and feedback to you in a timely manner. However, sometimes life gets in the way and you might not be able to turn in your work on time.

Extensions: The University has an extension policy whereby you can request an extension for certain assignments where late work is accepted. If your extension request is approved, you can turn in the assignment late and not incur the late penalty.

In this course, you can request an extension for the essay. To request an extension you must visit the Extensions website and Apply for an extension there. Note that decisions are made by an external committee, not the course teaching staff, so requests for extensions must go through this form and not through course organisers and lecturers.

Portfolios (reading responses and group discussions) are not eligible for extensions. However, we have a generous policy of dropping a number of portfolio entries each semester; see the Portfolio section for details.

Presentations are also not eligible for extensions. If you are ill, you get one chance to reschedule.

Special circumstances: You can think of special circumstances as one level above an extension request, where there is a documented reason why you’re unable to complete any assignment in the course. Special circumstances decisions are made at the end of the semester by an external committee. To request a special circumstances waiver you must visit the Special Circumstances website and Apply for special circumstances there.

If you’re not sure whether your personal circumstance should be filed under an extension or special circumstances, we recommend you reach out to your Cohort lead and/or Student Support Team (inf-sst@inf.ed.ac.uk).

Diversity & inclusion

It is our intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well-served by this course, that students’ learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that the students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength, and benefit. It is our intent to present materials and activities that are respectful of diversity: gender identity, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, and culture. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Please let us know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally, or for other students or student groups.

Furthermore, we would like to create a learning environment for our students that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives and experiences, and honours your identities (including gender identity, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, and culture). To help accomplish this:

• If you have a name that differs from those that appear in your official University of Edinburgh records, please let us know!
• Please let us know your preferred pronouns.
• If you feel like your performance in the class is being impacted by your experiences outside of class, please don’t hesitate to come and talk with us. We want to be a resource for you. If you prefer to speak with someone outside of the course, your personal tutor or cohort lead is an excellent resource.
• We (like many people) are still in the process of learning about diverse perspectives and identities. If something was said in class (by anyone) that made you feel uncomfortable, please talk to us about it.

Do I need to pass the assignments to pass the course?

No – you will pass if (and only if) your combined mark is above 40%.

What if I have another required course that overlaps with part of our seminar class schedule?

Please email the course organiser (Maithilee Kunda), with “SCM COURSE CONFLICT” in the subject line, and include the following information:

• what course it is,
• when it meets, and
• if it is a one-semester course or a full-year course If the overlap is small (e.g., 1 hour out of the whole week), we will try to accommodate this.

Please email this information as early in the semester as possible, and no later than the end of week 2.

Can I get an extension for an assignment?

For the portfolio, there are no extensions. You can miss a few entries per semester, no questions asked; see the Portfolio section for details.

For the presentation, there are no extensions. If you are ill, you get one chance to reschedule. That said, special circumstances happen and are handled by the ITO.

For the essay, the ITO is responsible for granting extensions. They can grant extensions that are requested BEFORE the assignment deadline.

For more information, see the school’s guidance on late coursework and extension requests.

I accidentally submitted the wrong file(s) for an assignment. Can I send you the correct file after the deadline?

If you submitted a partially complete assignment before the deadline, that is what will be marked. If you submitted an empty assignment or the wrong file before the deadline, you can submit after the deadline but it will be treated as a late submission. After you submit an assignment, download and open what you submitted to be sure you submitted the correct file.

Do we have to buy any books?

No.

All of the readings are be available online via the course Learn page.

There are lots of pages of readings. Are they all required?

Yes. This is a seminar course 😀

You need to show up to class ready to discuss the readings. That doesn’t mean you have to understand everything or have a strong opinion about it.

This website was prepared with accessibility in mind. Accessibility was assessed using WAVE on multiple browsers. Of course standards are not perfect and we aim to make this course accessible to all students. Therefore, please email the course organizer (Maithilee Kunda) if you have any accessibility issues that we can try and address.