Choosing Your Focus

Prior to beginning this assignment, please review all the required
readings from the first three weeks as well as the articles you used in
your literature review in Week Two.

During this course, you have been developing your knowledge in the
area of learning and cognition. In the Week Two Assignment, there was
special focus on the following constructs within learning and cognition:

• The Neurosciences: A Look at Our Brains
• Socio-Cognition: Social Interactions in Learning
• Learning and Literacy: Reading, Writing and Language Development
• Diversity and Culture: The Effects to Learning
• Connectionism and Learning: A Web of Development

These constructs, along with others, influence a wide variety of
disciplines in psychology and other fields. In the final week of this
course, you will develop a handbook based on one of these constructs.
This week, you will choose the construct that you will concentrate on
for this project. The construct you choose should be based on the area
in which you would most like to develop your knowledge. Your choice
should also consider your current interests in psychology and support
your future career goals.

Identify the audience for your handbook and the main construct in
learning and cognition that will provide the focus of your handbook.
Explain your motivation for using the chosen construct as your focus
subject as well as how this construct aligns with your future career
goals. Research five peer-reviewed articles in the Ashford University
Library focusing on your chosen construct. These articles must provide
sufficient information so that they will support your work in the
handbook. See the instructions for the Learning and Cognition Handbook
in Week Six for further clarification. Provide complete references for
each of the five articles. Format your references according to APA style
as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Beneath each reference,
provide an annotation that explains the theoretical perspectives,
historical trends, and/or empirical findings within the article that
describe and define your chosen construct. Provide a concluding
paragraph that synthesizes the cognitive learning principles and
theories found within the articles as they relate to your chosen
construct.

As you prepare this assignment, keep in mind that it is designed to
assist you with beginning the process of drafting your Learning and
Cognition Handbook, which is due in Week Six. The paper should not
include any quotes. It is recommended that your paper be checked in the
Writing Reviser and through Turnitin prior to submission.

The paper:

• Must be two to four double-spaced pages in length, excluding the
  annotated bibliography, and formatted according to APA style as outlined
  in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
• Must include a title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must begin with an introductory paragraph that clearly states the chosen construct.
• Must clearly discuss and explain the chosen construct with critical thought.
• Must end with a conclusion that synthesizes the cognitive learning
  principles and theories found within the articles as they relate to the
  chosen construct.
• Must use at least five peer-reviewed sources from the Ashford University Library.
• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the In-Text Citation Guide (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.