200053 VU Developmental Psychology (2023S)

Participants will be required to prepare a flash talk (in pairs) about a paper selected from a list provided at the beginning of the course. In the flash talk, they will be expected to contrast or build up on the selected paper based on another paper, freely chosen by them (from a scientific journal). They will also be required to prepare 2-3 questions for discussion.

In addition to the flash talk, participants will have to write two short essays/articles (~1 page each) choosing two out of the four possible topics:

1) Which finding about learning in early development surprised you most and why? Contrast your previous beliefs with what you’ve learned about learning in early development in class.
2) Write a popular science article (think: blog for parents, popular magazine etc.) about one of the topics we’ve covered. Use any forms of visualization you want (video clips/gifs/memes encouraged).
3) Pick a method used in early development research (e.g. eye tracking/EEG/behavioural coding etc.) and describe what kind of insights into early learning it allowed for, and what its limitations are, using examples from the topics we’ve covered.
4) Imagine you are in charge of creating an exhibition on learning in early development at a science museum (with unlimited resources!). Describe one or two interactive exhibits you would include in the exhibition, and how they would illustrate selected phenomena covered in class to a lay person.

Only two out of the four topics have to be selected (in any order).

Deadlines for submission on Moodle:
Part I: Essay/article based on Lecture 1 – Exercise 3: May 19
Part II: Essay/article based on Lecture 4 – Exercise 7: July 7

In addition to the essays/articles, one 15-minute flash talk on a research article has to be prepared and presented in pairs.

The grade will be based on the two essays/articles (2 x 25%, 50% in total), the flash talk (30%) and engagement in discussions and activities in the sessions (20%).