Course Title: Psychological Assessment

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Psychological Assessment

Credit Points: 12.00

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
BESC1207	Bundoora Campus	Postgraduate	150H Health Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006
BESC1208	Bundoora Campus	Undergraduate	150H Health Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 2 2006
BESC1209	City Campus	Undergraduate	150H Health Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2006
BESC1379	City Campus	Postgraduate	150H Health Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2006

Course Coordinator: Dr. Sharynn Schuster

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 99257364

Course Coordinator Email: sharynn.schuster@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Bundoora

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

BESC 1178 Cognitive Psychology
BESC 1182 Developmental Psychology
BESC 1176 Social Psychology
BESC 1190 Biological Psychology

Course Description

This course introduces students to a range of issues in psychological assessment. Included is the use of normative comparisons, invasion of privacy, testing minority individuals, and professional standards in testing.
Set against this background, assessment procedures need to be judged according to their psychometric properties, such as reliability, validity, and standardisation. Each of these qualities will be discussed using a variety of assessment procedures. The basic types of assessments include the interview, direct observations, criterion referenced, and standardised norm-referenced tests.
One of the major norm-referenced assessments used by psychologists is the Intelligence test. A number of general issues surrounding the assessment of intelligence will be discussed and students will be introduced to the two most commonly used intelligence tests: The Wechsler Scales, and the Stanford-Binet— Fifth Edition.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

At the completion of this course, students are expected to be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of a range of ethical and professional issues related to the assessment of individuals.
2. Describe a variety of assessment types: interview, direct observations, criterion referenced, and standardised norm-referenced tests.
3. Demonstrate the ability to select and evaluate assessment instruments by applying their knowledge of psychometric theory.
4. Demonstrate an awareness of the means of assessing intelligence.

Overview of Learning Activities

Lectures - Students in lectures acquire a framework of relevant knowledge and an understanding of underlying theoretical / conceptual material.
Tutorial exercises - Students completing tutorial exercises engage in a critical analysis of relevant knowledge and underlying theoretical / conceptual material. Students develop responsibility for a synthesis of knowledge and the ability to apply this knowledge to their field of interest. Students finally acquire abilities to develop group and individual problem solving skills.
Role plays - Students engaging in role plays will demonstrate the abilities to convert theory into practice through simulation of real life experiences, will develop skills through practice and feedback in structured environments, and reflect and monitor their own performance.
Seminars / group discussions - Students engaging in seminar programmes will develop responsibility for independent preparation and presentation of seminar material. They will also develop effective communication skills and expose themselves to the experience of public speaking, debating and accountability.
Computer-based learning - The use of computer-based learning, allows students to develop responsibility for their own independent learning, develop skills in problem solving via student-based software, and will develop skills and expertise in working with interactive computer-based technology.
The end of semester examination provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate the consolidation of their theoretical and experiential learning.

Overview of Learning Resources

Cohen, R. & Swerdlik (2005). Psychological testing and assessment: An introduction to tests and measurement (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
BESC1208: Psychological Assessment Tutorial Manual (2006)

Overview of Assessment

Research Methods Assignment
Laboratory Report
2 hour examination