Psychology 3442G 001 FW25
Mind, Brain and Education
Western University
London Canada
Department of Psychology
Winter 2025
Psychology 3442G Section 001
Mind, Brain and Education
1 Calendar Description
The course reviews data from recent cognitive neuroscience research on educationally relevant cognitive functions. Discussions will focus on how such studies may be useful to education and how, in turn, insights from education may inform developmental cognitive neuroscience research.
https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/academics/timetables.html
Antirequisite: Not applicable
Prerequisite:Both Psychology 2801F/G (or one of Health Sciences 2801A/B, Psychology 2840F/G, Psychology 2855F/G) and Psychology 2811A/B (or one of Biology 2244A/B, Economics 2122A/B, Economics 2222A/B, Geography 2210A/B, Health Sciences 3801A/B, MOS 2242A/B, Psychology 2830A/B, Psychology 2850A/B, Sociology 2205A/B, Statistical Sciences 2035, Statistical Sciences 2141A/B, Statistical Sciences 2143A/B, Statistical Sciences 2244A/B, Statistical Sciences 2858A/B, the former Social Work 2207A/B), or the former Psychology 2820E, or both the former Psychology 2800E and the former Psychology 2810, and one of Psychology 2040A/B, Psychology 2410A/B, Psychology 2220A/B, Psychology 2221A/B or Neuroscience 2000.
3 lecture/seminar hours, 0.5 course
Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
2 Course Information
Instructor: Daniel Ansari
Office and Phone Number: see Brightspace, 519-661-2111 Ext. 80548
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 11-12 via Zoom: see Brightspace for link
Email: daniel.ansari@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: TBD
Office: TBD
Office Hours: TBD
Email: TBD
Time and Location of Classes: see Student Centre for Timetable
Delivery Method: In-Person
3 Course Materials
The readings, with a few exceptions, will be recently published, peer-reviewed
journal articles or book chapters. For this course to be productive, interesting, and successful it is imperative that you do all the readings. For your convenience I have posted the readings on the Brightspace website https://westernu.brightspace.com/d2l/login for this course. If you have difficulties accessing the materials or if you find that materials are missing from the website, please contact the TA.
4 Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
The aim of this course is to critically review recent evidence from psychological
and Cognitive Neuroscience studies on the development of mental functions that
are important in the context of education. The review and discussion of
evidence will focus on whether or not and by what mechanisms evidence from
behavioral and brain-imaging studies of developmental processes can have an impact on education. In addition, the course will introduce students to the methods currently used to study the development of brain function and structure, thereby providing transferable skills in critical reading of peer-reviewed journal articles. Finally, the aim is to develop graduate-level writing skills.
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.
|
Assigned readings Writing assignments Weekly Lectures
|
Midterm Paper Final Paper Lay Summaries Quizzes Class attendance and participation |
|
Knowledge of Methodologies.
|
Weekly Lectures Assigned Readings |
Midterm Paper Final Paper Quizzes Class attendance and participation |
|
Application of Knowledge.
|
Assigned Readings Weekly Lectures Class Discussions |
Midterm Paper Final Paper Lay Summaries Class attendance and participation |
|
Communication Skills.
|
Assigned Readings Class Discussions Writing assignments |
Midterm Paper Final Paper Class attendance and participation |
|
Awareness of Limits of Knowledge.
|
Weekly Lectures Writing Assignments Class Discussions |
Lay Summaries Midterm Paper Final Paper Class attendance and participation |
|
Autonomy and Professional Capacity.
|
Weekly Lectures Writing Assignments. Class Discussions |
Lay Summaries Midterm Paper Final Paper Class attendance and participation |
5 Evaluation
The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4 and are considered necessary for meeting these learning objectives.
Attendance and Participation (10%)
This course depends on your active participation in the class discussions. It is therefore crucial that you make every effort to attend every class and come prepared to participate. Often the instructor will ask for definitions of terms from a previous class and thereby conduct a mini-review of the preceding class at the beginning of each class. Your active participation is required for this part of each class.
Quizzes. (20%)
Every week, starting the week of January 18th, you will be asked to complete a short quiz at the beginning of class that relates directly to the required readings, lecture and supporting material assigned for that week.
Midterm Paper (30%)
The purpose of this assignment is to give you the opportunity to write a short paper on one of the topics of the first 5 weeks and thereby consolidate your knowledge on this topic. You are required to write a paper of no more than 1000 words (1.5 spaced, 12 pt. font). Longer papers will be penalized. During the second week the instructor will circulate a list of 5 possible essay topics/questions. You are required to pick one of these topics for your midterm paper. In your paper you should not merely rely on the class readings, but go beyond them and do your own independent literature searches. The Midterm paper is due on Friday , February 6th 2026 by 1.59pm EST. Please make sure that you save your midterm in Microsoft Word Format. Please name the file that contains your paper in the following way: Your First_Name_Last_Name_Final_Paper_3442_2026
Final Paper (40%)
To give you the opportunity to review literature in depth and to provide a cohesive summary of conceptual and empirical advances in the study of the Mathematical Brain, you are required to write a final paper of no more than 3000 (1.5 spaced,12pt font). You will have 5 questions to choose from. You may also give the instructor a short plan of your final paper for review at least 3 weeks before the deadline. Your paper should be a critical review of the literature. Your paper should also contain a section on ‘Future Directions’ in which you discuss outstanding questions and ideas for future studies. The Final paper is Sunday, April 5th 2026 by 11.59pm EST Please make sure that you save your midterm in Microsoft Word Format. Please name the file that contains your paper in the following way: Your First_Name_Last_Name_Final_Paper_3442_2026
5.1 POLICY ON MISSING COURSEWORK
Attendance and Participation (10%): Failure to attend class without following the procedures outlined in 11.0 below will result in a 0 grade for class participation for that class.
Quizzes (20%): Failure to complete the quizzes by the indicated deadline will result in a grade of 0.
Midterm Paper (30%): There will be a late submission penalty. Specifically, 5% from the grade will be deducted for every day that the submissions are late.
Final Paper (40%): There will be a late submission penalty. Specifically, 5% from the grade will be deducted for every day that the submissions are late.
The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4 and are necessary for meeting these learning objectives
Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%.
This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty.
The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf
The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses
72% 2100-2999-level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
In the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.
Policy on Grade Rounding
Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered.
6 Assessment/Evaluation Schedule
Every Thursday at the beginning of class starting Thursday, January 15th – Deadline for weekly Quiz.
Friday , February 6th 2026 – 11.59pm – Deadline for Midterm Paper
Sunday, April 5th 2026 11:59pm – Deadline for Final Paper
7 Class Schedule
Thursday, January 8th , 2026: Introduction to the Course
Thursday, January 15th, 2026: Methods & Models in Mind, Brain and Education
(Thomas et al., 2019)
Thursday, January 22nd, 2026: Brain plasticity and Education
(Power & Schlaggar, 2017)
(Casey et al., 2005)
Thursday, January 29th , 2026: Early Experience & Brain Development
(Bick & Nelson, 2017)
(Noble & Giebler, 2020)
Thursday, February 5th: NO CLASS – INSTRUCTOR AWAY
Thursday, February 12th, 2026: Genetics and education
(Harden, 2021)
Thursday, February 19th, 2026: NO CLASS – READING WEEK
Thursday February 26th : The mathematical brain and education
(Vogel & De Smedt, 2021)
(McDonald et al., 2021)
Thursday, March 5th 2026: The reading brain and education
(Ozernov-Palchik & Gaab, 2016)
(Church et al., 2021)
Thursday, March 12th, 2026: The adolescent brain and education
(Foulkes & Blakemore, 2018)
(Dumontheil, 2016)
Thursday, March 19th, 2026: Does brain training work?
(Stojanoski et al., 2021)
(Goffin & Ansari, 2018)
Thursday, March 26th 2026 : Mindset and Grit
(Dweck & Yeager, 2019)
(Credé, 2018)
Thursday, April 2nd, 2026: COVID-19 and Education
(Engzell et al., 2021)
(Orben et al., 2020)
Thursday, April 9th, 2026: Course Review and Discussion
8 Academic Integrity
Scholastic offences are taken seriously, and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
Statement on Use of Electronic Devices
Electronic Devices may be used in class to complete Quizzes and take notes.
Plagiarism Detection Software
All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com.
Use of AI
The use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce written work is not permitted unless permission is granted by the instructor for specific circumstances. Any work submitted must be the work of the student in its entirety unless otherwise disclosed. When used, AI tools should be used ethically and responsibly, and students must cite or credit the tools used in line with the expectation to use AI as a tool to learn, not to produce content.
AI Policy for Psychology:
Responsible use of AI is allowed in Psychology. This includes using AI for brainstorming, improving grammar, or doing preliminary/background research on a topic.
AI is not to be used in place of critical thinking.
The misuse of AI undermines the academic values of this course. Relying on AI to create full drafts or fabricate sources is prohibited. You are ultimately responsible for any work submitted, so it is highly advised that you critically review your Generative AI output before incorporating this information into your assignments.
If you use AI, you must clearly explain its role in your work. All written assignments will require an AI Usage Statement, in which you will indicate what tools you have used, what you have used them for, and (broadly) how you have modified this information. Assignments without an AI Usage Statement will not be accepted.
Violations of this policy will be handled according to Western’s scholastic offense policies.
Multiple Choice Exams
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
Exam Proctoring Software
Tests and examinations for online courses may be conducted using a remote proctoring service. More information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on Western’s Remote
Proctoring website at: https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca.
Personal Response Systems (“Clickers”)
In classes that involve the use of a personal response system, data collected will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed.
9 Academic Accommodations and Accessible Education
View Western’s policy on academic accommodations for student with disabilities at this link.
Accessible Education provides supports and services to students with disabilities at Western.
If you think you may qualify for ongoing accommodation that will be recognized in all your courses, visit Accessible Education for more information. Email: aew@uwo.ca Phone: 519 661-2147
10 Absence & Academic Consideration
Academic Considerations: https://registrar.uwo.ca/academics/academic_considerations/index.html
11 Other Information
- Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca
- Student Development Services: www.sdc.uwo.ca
- Psychology Undergraduate Program: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness@Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you.
If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf. Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal in writing to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).
Copyright Statement
Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
