Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Lorna Peters
Contact via lorna.peters@mq.edu.au
C3A 712
Teaching staff
Sharon Watt
Contact via sharon.watt@mq.edu.au
Teaching Staff
Viviana Wuthrich
Contact via viviana.withrich@mq.edu.au
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MClinPsych or DClinPsych
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit covers the principles and methods of psychological assessment in the clinical context. The unit covers general topics related to psychological assessment: selection of appropriate assessment techniques; administration, scoring, and interpretation of assessment devices; communication of information about assessments (report-writing and feedback to clients); and ethical principles relating to assessment. The assessment tools covered in the course include tests of ability, achievement, memory, personality, and psychopathology.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Pass-out Exams for the WAIS-IV | 0% | Yes | Week 9 & Week 10 |
WISC-V Scoring Task | 40% | No | Week 6 |
WISC-V report | 60% | No | Week 11 |
Due: Week 9 & Week 10
Weighting: 0%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)
Students will be required to reach a satisfactory level of competence in administering the WAIS-IV. In order to assess level of competence, students will participate in “pass-out” exams. Students will be required to administer the WAIS-IV to a supervisor who will role-play as the examinee and also rate performance using a standard checklist, which will be made available to students via iLearn. The pass-out exam will last for 1 hour on a Saturday. All subtests will be tested in that time.
The WAIS-IV pass out exam is a hurdle requirement of this unit (see the definition of a hurdle requirement at http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/schedule_2.html). Consistent with the Assessment Policy of the University, students who make a serious attempt at the pass-out exam but fail to meet the required standards, will be provided with one additional opportunity to pass the exam. Failure of the second attempt will result in a Fail grade for the entire unit (even if the raw mark for the Unit is over 50) and this, in turn, will result in a delay in starting the Clinic placement or further placements.
Note that it is important that you practice administration of the tests to reach a satisfactory level of competence, but it is unwise and unethical to give the results of any practice administrations to the people you test – given the restricted nature of the tests, it is most sensible to practice on fellow classmates who role-play different scenarios. There is space in the Test Library for students to practice in small groups.
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 40%
You will be provided with WISC-V scores for a hypothetical case. Your task will be to score the test according to the methods outlined during lectures.
Due: Week 11
Weighting: 60%
Your task will be to write a psychological report for the hypothetical case scored in the WISC-V scoring task. You will be given further details of the case and the method for writing a psychological report during lectures.
There will be one 2-hour seminar per week, on Wednesday 3-5pm in E5A 140 each week of the session. The two-hour seminar involves theoretical coverage of topics as well as practical skills training. Students will also be required prepare for seminars by completing required readings or listening to recorded material (available via iLearn). Students will have access to the Department of Psychology Test Library (C3A 326).
The schedule of lectures is listed below. There may be slight variations in the schedule due to staff availability.
Week |
Date (Wednesday 3-5pm) |
Topic |
Lecturer |
1 |
1 March |
Introduction to the unit: Assessment in clinical practice & revision of basic psychometrics; Test library orientation |
Lorna Peters |
2 |
8 March |
Assessment of Intelligence: WISC-V – introduction and administration |
Lorna Peters |
3 |
15 March |
Assessment of Intelligence: WISC-V scoring and interpretation |
Lorna Peters |
4 |
22 March |
Ethics of assessment; Report writing and client feedback |
Lorna Peters |
5 |
29 March |
Assessment of Achievement: WIAT |
Sharon Watt |
6 |
5 April WISC-V scoring due in class |
Assessment of Intelligence: WAIS-IV introduction and administration; pick up WAIS-IV kits from the test library today before the lecture |
Lorna Peters |
7 |
12 April |
Assessment of Intelligence: WAIS-IV scoring and interpretation |
Lorna Peters |
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Midsession Break |
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8 |
3 May |
Assessment of Memory: WMS-IV |
Sharon Watt |
9 |
10 May |
Assessment of dementia |
Viviana Wuthrich |
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Saturday 13 May |
WAIS-IV Pass-out Exams |
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10 |
17 May |
Assessment of Personality: Self-report personality inventories: 16PF, NEO-PI, MMPI - Introduction |
Lorna Peters |
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Saturday 20 May |
WAIS-IV Pass-out Exams |
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11 |
24 May WISC-V report due in class |
Assessment of Personality: Self-report personality inventories: 16PF, NEO-PI, MMPI – Scoring and Interpretation |
Lorna Peters |
12 |
31 May |
Evidence based assessment in clinical practice |
Lorna Peters |
13 |
7 June |
General measures of diagnosis and psychological distress |
Lorna Peters |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
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