Infant and Early Childhood Cognition
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this introduction to cognitive development, centered on how infants and young children understand objects, agents, and causality. The course builds skill in evaluating experimental design and connects developmental findings to philosophical questions about the origins of knowledge, the appearance-reality distinction, and the problem of other minds. Coursework includes critical reviews of journal papers, a literature review, and an original research proposal, giving students practice in the written communication expected in cognitive science research. Students also prepare a poster presentation of a journal article, developing oral communication skills used in academic settings. Materials are drawn directly from MIT's Brain and Cognitive Sciences curriculum and are free to access under an open license, though no certificate is offered through OCW.