PSYCHOL 7232 - Psychological Assessment
North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2014
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General Course Information
Course Details
Course Code PSYCHOL 7232 Course Psychological Assessment Coordinating Unit Psychology Term Semester 1 Level Postgraduate Coursework Location/s North Terrace Campus Units 3 Contact Up to 3 hours per week Corequisites PSYCHOL 7233 Assumed Knowledge Psychology Honours degree and relevant undergraduate instruction in the qualities desirable in psychological tests and the statistical measures of those. Restrictions Available to M Psych (Health) and PhD/MPsych(Health) students only or by permission of Head of School Assessment Assignments based on practical exercises Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Dr Jane Mortimer
Other Academic Staff: Professor Helen Winefield - Ph 8313 3172; Email helen.winefield@adelaide.edu.au
School Office: Ms Janine Flory - Ph 8313 1540; Email janine.flory@adelaide.edu.auCourse Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .
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Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
The following learning outcomes are consistent with the APS College Course Approval guidelines for Postgraduate Specialist Courses in Health Psychology (see:
1. Apply knowledge and clinical skills in the practice of psychological assessment for a variety of assessment tasks, across the lifespan.
2. Demonstrate competence in the selection, administration, and scoring of assessment measures
3. Demonstrate competence in drawing inferences from the results within a hypothesis generating and hypothesis testing framework
4. Demonstrate competence in writing a report and letter to a referral source of a professional standard
University Graduate Attributes
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:
University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s) Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised. 1-4 The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner. 1-4 An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems. 1-3 Skills of a high order in interpersonal understanding, teamwork and communication. 1, 4 A proficiency in the appropriate use of contemporary technologies. 1, 2 A commitment to continuous learning and the capacity to maintain intellectual curiosity throughout life. 1, 2 An awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues within a global context and their importance in the exercise of professional skills and responsibilities. 1-4 -
Learning Resources
Required Resources
Lecturers will provide reading material which will be made available on MyUni, prior to or at each session.Recommended Resources
The Library is a major resource centre for students. The Research Librarian for Psychology, Maureen Bell, provides some useful information through the Internet at http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/psychology. The website contains a list of databases, links to tutorials and help with searching methods.
For additional information please refer to the relevant Master of Psychology program handbook at the following link:
Online Learning
This course may use MyUni for one or more of the following:
- Communication with students via Announcements and Discussion Board
- Submission of assessment
- Access to resources such as additional readings
- Self-directed learning activities -
Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
Lecturers will support group discussion related to the lecture content. This will include clinical case scenarios to guide the development of psychological assessment practice. Time will also be spent familiarising students with tests, as well as practice and supervision in administration, scoring and interpreting psychological tests.Students will collect and summarise information about tests for specific health-related conditions and present their findings to the class.Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
Seminars: 3 hrs each week for 12 weeks = 36 hours
Video assessment: 2 hours (not including preparation time)
Independent test familiarisation and practice administration: 3 hours per week
Independent reading: 2 hours per week
Assignment 1: 30 hours
Assignment 2: 20 hoursLearning Activities Summary
Disclaimer: This program is provisional and subject to changeWeek Topic Lecture 1 Assessment planning and test selection Assessment of intelligence 2 Introduction to the Wechsler Scales Assessment of intelligence 3 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV Assessment of intelligence 4 Assessment of intellectual ability in children and adolescents Assessment of intelligence 5 Report writing 1: Planning, organisation, professional standards Communicating assessments 6 Report writing 2: Interview content, legal and ethical implications Communicating assessments 7 Assessment of mental health Assessment of mental health 8 Personality assessment Assessment of personality 9 Assessment of memory (focus on WMS-IV) Assessment of memory 10 Organic screens and medically-used measures Assessment of organic conditions 11 Assessment of health and quality of life Health, wellbeing, health beliefs, disability 12 Assessment of other aspects of health and health behaviour Substance use, pain, sleep, eating and sexual disorders
Specific Course Requirements
On the initial enrolment into this Master’s program, all students (unless already a Registered Psychologist) MUST apply for and obtain provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia. All students are required to provide a copy of their registration details to the Program Administrator on their first day in the Program: this will be required for the Summer School courses Interviewing & Intervention and Evidence-Based Practice. The application form and details of fees payable are available from the PBA website:
Candidates are required to consent to a police check as part of their application to the Psychology Board of Australia for Provisional Registration, a requirement of enrolment in the program. A satisfactory current police check is a mandatory requirement for acceptance to and continuation within the program.Small Group Discovery Experience
Not applicable -
Assessment
The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:
- Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
- Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
- Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
- Assessment must maintain academic standards.
Assessment Summary
Assessment Task Assessment Type Weighting Learning outcome(s) being addressed Administration (video), scoring (test record), and reporting (written report) on a cognitive assessment, with self and peer rating. Summative 50% (NGP) 1-4 Scoring, hypothesis generation and reporting (letter) a mental health assessment Summative 50% (NGP) 1-4 Assessment Related Requirements
Attendance is required for 80% of classes, with attendance lists maintained. Failure to meet this attendance requirement (i.e., absence from three or more classes in the course) may lead to exclusion from the course.Assessment Detail
Assignment 1: This assignment involved students videoing themselves administering an intelligence scale, then scoring the test, interpreting the results and writing a report. Students also complete a self and a peer rating of the administration of the test. The scale is administered to a role played (pseudo) adolescent ‘client’.
Assignment 2: This assignment involves students being provided with test forms, and initial information from which they are required to develop a provisional formulation of a client with a mental health problem and compile this information into a letter to a GP referrer. Further details of both assignments will be provided in class.
For further information re the Assessment Policy please refer to the relevant Master of Psychology Program Handbook at the following link:
Submission
Assignments are to be submitted to the Psychology Office, along with a signed cover sheet (available on MyUni).
Extension of time for an assignment may be granted at the discretion of the Course Coordinator, to whom students should apply in writing (or email) before the due date and time.No requests for extensions will be considered if made after the due date and time.Please refer to the Assessment Policy in the Master of Psychology (Health) Program Handbookhttp://health.adelaide.edu.au./psychology/students/resouce/handboodsforms.htmlCourse Grading
Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:
GS8 (Coursework Grade Scheme) Grade Description CN Continuing FNS Fail No Submission NFE No Formal Examination F Fail NGP Non Graded Pass P Pass C Credit D Distinction HD High Distinction RP Result Pending Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.
Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.
Final results for this course will be made available through .
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Student Feedback
The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.
SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
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Student Support
- Academic Integrity for Students
- Academic Support with Maths
- Academic Support with writing and study skills
- Careers Services
- Library Services for Students
- LinkedIn Learning
- Student Life Counselling Support - Personal counselling for issues affecting study
- Students with a Disability - Alternative academic arrangements
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Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
- Academic Credit Arrangements Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progress by Coursework Students Policy
- Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy
- Copyright Compliance Policy
- Coursework Academic Programs Policy
- Intellectual Property Policy
- IT Acceptable Use and Security Policy
- Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy
- Reasonable Adjustments to Learning, Teaching & Assessment for Students with a Disability Policy
- Student Experience of Learning and Teaching Policy
- Student Grievance Resolution Process
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Fraud Awareness
Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.
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