Introducing the platform

How this all works

Each week has a theme that you will learn about through videos, articles and discussion. There will also be other optional tasks and exercises. In addition, each week has a dedicated experiment.

Each week should take you around 4 hours to complete, if you do all the tasks, and there is a quiz or test within each week to give an indication of what you have learnt. In this first week we will provide you with the basic building blocks regarding the nature of experiments and the scientific method. To really appreciate the rest of the course you will need some understanding of this introductory material.

Using FutureLearn

If this is your first FutureLearn course, you may find it useful to read the ‘how it works’ guide. We also recommend reading five tips and tools for social learning on FutureLearn to get the most out of the interactive and social learning features of this course.

Engage on social media

We have a hashtag – #CogPsych – which you are more than welcome to use on social media to talk about the course and to find others who are talking about it too!

Meet the course team

Several members of the Department of Psychology at the University of York have collaborated in developing this course. The content has been provided by Philip Quinlan, Reader in Experimental Cognitive Psychology; Rob Jenkins is the person you will see and hear explaining the material.

To get the most out of the course, we would strongly suggest that you follow Philip to have easy access to comments and contributions. Philip is supported by Maurice Waddle who we suggest you should also follow.

Other members of the Department of Psychology may also be on hand to provide further support as the course unfolds. You can also follow other learners to see their comments and contributions to discussions. To do this click the ‘Follow’ button next to their name (on their profile page).

Discussions

On the FutureLearn platform, engaging in discussions and commenting on course materials are essential parts of the learning experience. When contributing, it’s important that you follow the FutureLearn code of conduct and are respectful of your fellow learners.

If you have already begun to contribute, other learners may have replied to you. You can ‘like’ comments if you agree with what’s been said or if you have found something particularly interesting. You can also click to filter the comments on any step to only see:

• comments by people you are following

• the most-liked comments

• your own comments.

And as a final reminder, when you have finished reading a section, please ‘Mark as complete’, and move on to the next step.