PSYCHOL 7232 - Psychological Assessment
North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2024
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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 Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N Prerequisites PSYCHOL 7230 and PSYCHOL 7231 Restrictions Available to M Psych (Health) and PhD/MPsych(Health) students only or by permission of Head of School Assessment Assignments Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Dr Alyssa Sawyer
Course Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.
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Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
1. Develop knowledge and clinical skills in the practice of culturally responsive psychological assessment, including with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, in the area of clinical health psychology 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 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) Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth
Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.
1 Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving
Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.
2,3,4 Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills
Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.
4 Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness
Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.
1 Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency
Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.
1-4 Attribute 6: Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competency
Graduates have an understanding of, and respect for, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values, culture and knowledge.
1 Attribute 7: Digital capabilities
Graduates are well prepared for living, learning and working in a digital society.
4 Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.
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Learning Resources
Required Resources
Lecturers will provide reading material which will be made available on MyUni, prior to or at each session.Recommended Resources
Lecturers will provide reading material which will be made available on MyUni, prior to or at each session.Online Learning
This course will use MyUni for the following:
- Communication with students via Announcements and Discussion Board
- Submission of assessment
- Access to resources such as additional readings
- Self-directed learning activities
Link to MyUni: https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au/ -
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 relevant to health psychology.Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
Seminars: 3 hours each week for 11 weeks (and 5 hours for 1 week) = 38 hours
Independent test familiarisation and practice administration: 3 hours per week = 36 hours
Independent reading: 3 hours per week = 36 hours
Assessment: 9 hours (not including preparation time)
Learning Activities Summary
Seminars will be held weekly on a Wednesday morning from 9:30am- 12:30pm (with an additional seminar in week 5 from 1:30-3:30). The following is a provisional program. The final program will be advised at semester commencement.
Disclaimer: This program is provisional and subject to changeWeek Topic Lecture Week 1 Assessment planning and test selection Assessment principles Week 2 Introduction to the Wechsler Scales Assessment of intelligence Week 3 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV Assessment of intelligence Week 4 Assessment of intellectual ability in children and adolescents Assessment of intelligence Week 5 9:30-12:30 Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-V, administration (practical session); 1:30-3:30 Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-V, scoring (practical session) Assessment of intelligence Week 6 Report writing: Planning, organisation, professional standards, legal and ethical aspects Communicating assessments Week 7 Assessment of mental health Assessment of mental health Week 8 Culturally responsive assessment, including with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures Culture and assessment Week 9 Personality assessment Assessment of personality Week 10 Assessment of adaptive behaviours, support needs, systematic observation. Assessment of adaptive behaviour Week 11 Assessment of infant development (structured and therapeutic assessments). Focus on infants Week 12 Assessment of memory (focus on WMS-IV) Assessment of memory
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: http://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/Forms.aspx.
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. -
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 comprises of three assessments as detailed below, and all must be passed to successfully complete the course. Due dates will be provided at the beginning of the course.
Assessment Task Assessment Type Weighting Learning outcome(s) being addressed Administration (OSCI), scoring (test record), and reporting (written report) on a cognitive assessment. Summative NGP 1-4 Assessment Related Requirements
Attendance at all seminars is mandatory to ensure students attain and can demonstrate the relevant required competencies. Should students fail to meet mandatory attendance requirements by being absent this may lead to a fail grade for the course. Exemptions to mandatory attendance requirements may be granted for up to 2 seminars by the Course Coordinator if there are exceptional medical,
compassionate, or extenuating circumstances as defined by the Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy. Students will be required to complete redemption exercises to the satisfaction of the Course Coordinator for any seminars missed.Assessment Detail
Assessment: The assessment for this course involves students scoring a cognitive assessment, and administering an intelligence scale under observed structured clinical exam conditions. Students will then interpret results and write a report for a case study.
Further details of assessments will be provided in class.
Submission
Assignments are to be submitted via 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.Course 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 Access Adelaide.
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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.
Student feedback shows an appreciation for the expertise of our visiting clinical lecturers, but a concern that there is some overlap in content. We have revised the program slightly for 2024 to reduce content overlap and also introduced an additional practical session focussing WISC-V scoring. Student also have appreciated the applied focus of the course assessments, and we will continue to use assessments that are relevant to clinical psychology practice. -
Student Support
- Academic Integrity for Students
- Academic Support with Maths
- Academic Support with writing and study skills
- Careers Services
- International Student Support
- Library Services for Students
- LinkedIn Learning
- Student Life Counselling Support - Personal counselling for issues affecting study
- Students with a Disability - Alternative academic arrangements
- YouX Student Care - Advocacy, confidential counselling, welfare support and advice
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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
- Elder Conservatorium of Music Noise Management Plan
- 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’s disciplinary procedures.
The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.
