Course Number: IAT 200
Course Title: Cognition for Design Science
Credit Hours: 3 Vector: 2-0-1
Course Description
The course provides an introduction to cognitive and perceptual processes as foundation to the design of virtual environments for work, learning and play. Students will use problem-solving and collaborative methods to explore a series of design cases on topics in cognitive science. The course will introduce issues of how individuals think, model, and perceive; how groups perceive and collaborate; and how these compare to, and differ from, machine cognition. Drawing liberally from theories in psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, sociology, computer science and education, the course emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to design applications
Prerequisite: Students must have completed at least 24 credits, including TECH 100, TECH 101, CMPT 120, and CMPT 125 or equivalents.
Recommended: TECH 114.
Corequisite: None.
Special Instructions: None.
Course(s) to be dropped if this course is approved:
None.
As one of the core requirements of the Interactive Arts and Technology program, this course provides IAT students with a common theoretical foundation for the design of virtual environments. IAT students will benefit from the specialized coverage of cognitive theories that emphasize application to design. Thus, presentations and assignments will feature cases or problems foreshadowing those students will encounter in later IAT courses and in their professional careers. This course will be required for all IAT students.
Will this be a required or elective course in the curriculum; probable enrolment when offered?
Indicate Semester and Year this course would be first offered and planned frequency of offering thereafter.
Which of your present CFL faculty have the expertise to offer this course? Will the course be taught by sessional or limited term faculty?
Of our present faculty, the following limited term faculty have
the expertise to offer this course.
Tracey Leacock, Assistant Professor
Janet McCracken, Assistant Professor
Mike Dobson, Assistant Professor
John Nesbit, Associate Professor
It is expected that the course will not be taught by sessional
faculty.
Are there any proposed student fees associated with this course other than tuition fees?
No.
Is this course considered a `duplicate' of any current or prior course under the University's duplicate course policy? Specify, as appropriate.
Note: Senate has approved (S.93-11) that no new course should be approved by Senate until funding has been committed for necessary library materials. Each new course proposal must be accompanied by a library report and, if appropriate, confirmation that funding arrangements have been addressed.
Provide details on how existing instructional resources will be redistributed to accommodate this new course. For instance, will another course be eliminated or will the frequency of offering of other courses be reduced; are there changes in pedagogical style or class sizes that allow for this additional course offering.
In the proposed program for the School of Interactive Arts and Technology, this course is one of two lower division courses required for all IAT students. Based on three one-credit courses required by all students in the current program, Critical and Creative Thinking, IAT 209-3, will become an elective course with lower enrollments. It is expected that some library, classroom and other resources currently supporting INTD 213,214,215, the precursor to IAT 209 will be redistributed to IAT 200. There is a need for one third of a person-year to develop the new course materials.
Does the course require specialized space or equipment not readily available in the department or university, and if so, how will these resources be provided?
No.
Does this course require computing resources (e.g. hardware, software, network wiring, use of computer laboratory space) and if so, describe how they will be provided.
No new resources are required that are not anticipated by existing plans for increasing classroom and lab space at the Surrey Campus.
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
Explain and evaluate design decisions in terms of elementary cognitive theories.
Apply current models of individual and group perception to the design of user interfaces and virtual environments
Compare human cognition to models of machine intelligence.
Delivery Model: Presentational Cooperative (PC)
Students will approach the following topics through the lens of design: Cognition as a science; Philosophical theories of cognition; Neural foundations of cognition; Perception, vision and audition; Knowledge representation and shared mental models; Memory and attention; Language comprehension and production; Learning and problem solving; Creativity; Individual differences; Collaborative learning and work. Design is addressed in two ways: (1) Theories of human cognition are contrasted with elementary conceptual models for designing machine intelligence; (2) Theories of human cognition are applied to problems in the design of environments, interfaces and products.
Activities consist of class-based discussion, tutorial sessions, weekly assignments (30%), a mid-term paper (30%) and a final examination (40%).
Dawson, M. (1998) Understanding Cognitive Science. Blackwell. ISBN: 063120895X ($45 Cdn)
Pinker, S. (1999). How the mind works. New York: Norton. ($25 Cdn)