Admission requirements
BSc in biology or related disciplines.
Description
The study of Animal Cognition is a fast growing discipline in the cognitive sciences. With the increased attention and improved experimental designs, previously overlooked and unexpected cognitive abilities of animals are discovered, some leading to spectacular headlines and claims in the media. The aims of this seminar are to provide students with sufficient knowledge on both to the information processing abilities of animals as well as experimental approaches in contemporary animal cognition research to enable them to critically evaluate primary, secondary and popular literature in animal cognition research. We will cover controversial issues of recent years, like whether animals can count, are able of mental time travelling (‘planning for the future’) or whether they have a theory of mind.
Course objectives
After completion of this course, students can:
recall and explain the content of the course book and of selected contemporary primary literature in the field of animal cognition (as indicated by the topics in the reading list).
summarise, present and discuss primary research articles in animal cognition.
critically evaluate experimental designs in animal cognition research.
evaluate and integrate contemporary findings and theories concerning animal cognition.
appraise and reason different viewpoints of key debates within the study of animal cognition.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
For each meeting, participants will be asked to read and prepare one chapter from the book or review article so that they can actively participate during discussions and also chair these general discussions. In addition, per session there will be two student presentations on selected primary literature pertaining to the theme of the week. Each participant is expected to prepare one oral presentation plus a written summary, and to act once as a chairperson during a presentation and ensuing discussion of another person.
Assessment method
Participants will be evaluated based on the quality of their presentation and the summary, their performance as a chairperson, and the quality and quantity of their contribution to discussion sessions.
The final grade consists of the following partical grades:
Presentation + summary 40%
Chairing student presentation + session plan 15%
Chairing session 15%
Discussion contributions 30%
Minimum grade:
Courses require a minimum, unrounded 5.5 grade to complete.
If a course has 2 or more written partial exams, the minimum grade only applies to the weighted average of the exams.
For partial grades from components other than exams (e.g. practicals, seminars, writing assignments), the bottom grade does apply to the individual components.
Please refer to the Student Charter for an overview of regulations.
Reading list
Obligatory reading:
Animal Cognition –Evolution, Behavior & Cognition. 3rd edition. Clive D.L. Wynne, Monique A. R. Udell. Bloomsbury Publishing 2020.
ISBN 9781137611260 https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/animal-cognition-9781137611260/#Selected articles from the primary literature (to be announced on Brightspace)
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Coordinators: Dr. K. Riebel and Dr. M.J. Spierings
Email: k.riebel@biology.leidenuniv.nl; m.j.spierings@biology.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
This course is designed for a maximum of 24 participants. Upon over-registration biology master students will be given priority. Participation in the pre-meeting is obligatory. Failure to appear and commit to a date for a presentation during the pre-meeting will vacate the participant’s place for students from the waiting list.
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.