In this course, you will extend your theoretical knowledge and skills in psychological assessments.

The course has a strong applied emphasis and you will learn how to select, administer and interpret the results of major standardised tests. You will also acquire advanced skills in interviewing, assessment of risk and the use of taxonomies.

You will learn how to communicate assessment findings, synthesise information from multiple sources and develop formulations that are culturally, socially and developmentally appropriate and which inform intervention planning.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of theory, research and ethical practice in psychological assessment and testing.
2. Reflect critically on psychological assessment, including cultural, social and developmental considerations.
3. Select, administer, score and interpret major standardised tests and assessment techniques commonly used in professional psychology.
4. Communicate findings appropriately in oral and written formats suitable for professional and service user audiences.

Research-Led Teaching

Psychological assessment is a core skill of psychologists. In the first assessment course, you developed the underlying competencies that drive evidence-based psychological assessment. Advanced Assessment draws upon these concepts to inform the administration of three psychological assessments - Andrew, Jessica, and Lily. Each assessment will require different skills, conceptualisations, and approaches. Importantly, you will get to experience all stages of conducting your group based psychological assessment: referral, planning, administration, scoring, and feedback.

Field Trips

NA

Additional Course Costs

NA

Examination Material or equipment

NA

Required Resources

Required resources:

Lichtenberger, E. O., & Kaufman, A. S. (2012). Essentials of WAIS-IV assessment (Vol. 96). John Wiley & Sons.

Zuckerman, E. L. (2019). Clinician's thesaurus: The guide to conducting interviews and writing psychological reports. Guilford Publications.

Morey, L. C. (2003). Essentials of PAI assessment (Vol. 29). John Wiley & Sons.

Suggested resources:

Psychological Assessment (PSYC8413) course content.

Recommended Resources

Recommended student system requirements 

ANU courses commonly use a number of online resources and activities including:

• video material, similar to YouTube, for lectures and other instruction
• two-way video conferencing for interactive learning
• email and other messaging tools for communication
• interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities
• print and photo/scan for handwritten work
• home-based assessment.

To fully participate in ANU learning, students need:

• A computer or laptop. Mobile devices may work well but in some situations a computer/laptop may be more appropriate.
• Webcam
• Speakers and a microphone (e.g. headset)
• Reliable, stable internet connection. Broadband recommended. If using a mobile network or wi-fi then check performance is adequate.
• Suitable location with minimal interruptions and adequate privacy for classes and assessments.
• Printing, and photo/scanning equipment

For more information please see https://www.anu.edu.au/students/systems/recommended-student-system-requirements

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Course Overview, MINI introduction
2	MINI practice, design of assessment approach for Learning Set 1
3	MINI administration and scoring	Team administration of MINI in class. Score and interpret MINI before next week
4	Assessment feedback session and report discussion	Feedback session to Client 1 - Andrew
5	PAI self-completion, reflection, case discussion, and measure selection	First report due before start of this class
6	PAI review, interpretation, design of assessment approach
7	PAI scoring, report writing, and formulation	Score and interpret PAI before next week
8	Assessment feedback session and report discussion	Feedback session to Client 2 - Jessica
9	WAIS introduction	Second report due before this lecture
10	WAIS practice and design of assessment approach
11	Administer WAIS and additional measure/s	Score WAIS before Week 12
12	Assessment feedback session and report discussion	Feedback session to Client 3 - Lily

Tutorial Registration

NA

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Learning Outcomes
Written assessment report 1 (hurdle)	10 %	23/03/2022	2,3,4
Written assessment report 2 (hurdle)	10 %	04/05/2022	2,3,4
Written assessment report 3 (hurdle)	10 %	02/06/2022	2,3,4
Reflective tasks (hurdle)	20 %	04/05/2022	1,2
Simulated psychological evaluations (hurdle)	50 %	02/06/2022	3

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Given the nature of the course and learning outcomes, students will be expected to attend all workshops in line with the standards of a professional training program. Workshops are not recorded and absences without appropriate documentation will result in missing course content. Please contact the course convenor in advance if unable to attend specific workshops.

Examination(s)

Students will be marked in accordance with detailed criteria and/or a rubric for each assessment task. 

There is no exam for this course.

Assessment Task 1

Written assessment report 1 (hurdle)

This written assessment report will be the first in the series of three reports, one for each client. These will be group submissions, one report per assessment team (3 members per team) with a different team member leading each report. Each of the three assessment reports will be evenly weighted (10% per case).

Assessment 1 - M.I.N.I assessment of Andrew

Due 2022-03-23 before start of class (1:00pm)

Value: 10%

Submitted Pieces:

One group report per case. Electronic format (through Wattle portal). Length and structure to be discussed in Week 2

Feedback will be provided in both written and face-to-face format. More detailed information on assessment requirements and marking will be made available on the course site during Week 2.

Assessment Task 2

Written assessment report 2 (hurdle)

This written assessment report will be the second in the series of three reports, one for each client. These will be group submissions, one report per assessment team (3 members per team) with a different team member leading each report. Each of the three assessment reports will be evenly weighted (10% per case).

Assessment 2 - PAI assessment of Jessica

Due 2022-05-04 before start of class (1:00pm)

Value: 10%

Submitted Pieces:

One group report per case. Electronic format (through Wattle portal). Length and structure to be discussed in Week 2

Feedback will be provided in both written and face-to-face format. More detailed information on assessment requirements and marking will be made available on the course site during Week 2.

Assessment Task 3

Written assessment report 3 (hurdle)

This written assessment report will be the third in the series of three reports, one for each client. These will be group submissions, one report per assessment team (3 members per team) with a different team member leading each report. Each of the three assessment reports will be evenly weighted (10% per case).

Assessment 3 - WAIS-IV assessment of Lily

Due 2022-06-02 before close of business (5:30pm)

Value: 10%

Submitted Pieces:

One group report per case. Electronic format (through Wattle portal). Length and structure to be discussed in Week 2

Feedback will be provided in both written and face-to-face format. More detailed information on assessment requirements and marking will be made available on the course site during Week 2.

Assessment Task 4

Reflective tasks (hurdle)

This assessment task provides students with the opportunity to continue developing their self-reflective practice. This task will focus on student's feelings towards their self-completion of the PAI, vulnerability in providing a psychologist with personal assessment results, and how they can be mindful of this.

Length: 750 words.

Due: 2022-05-04

Assessment Task 5

Simulated psychological evaluations (hurdle)

Three simulated assessments and feedback, one per case. These will comprise the MINI, WAIS-IV, and PAI, along with secondary tests. Assessments will be conducted in class time and sections of the assessment divided between the assessment team. These assessments will be recorded by the team members using an appropriate recording device.

Due 2022-06-02

Value: 50% total (10% for each of the three assessments, 20% based on feedback to client and family)

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignments. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

For all course assessment

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Written assignments (Reports and reflections) will be returned electronically through the course wattle site approximately two weeks after the due date.

Feedback on Assessment administrations will be provided in-person in a 1:1 format. More details will be discussed in Lecture 1.

Feedback on your communication of assessment results to the other groups and the simulated client will be conducted during class time.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Grading in the Master of Professional Psychology program reflects achievement of competencies as appropriate to developmental level. As such, students will be provided with grades indicating that competency has been met Course Requirement Satisfied (CRS) or not met (Fail).

Failure to submit an assignment of a high standard which meets requirements for a passing grade (50%) will result in a student receiving feedback on the area/s requiring remediation and one opportunity for resubmission of the assignment to address these issues. This opportunity is provided only in circumstances where a genuine attempt to address the assignment requirements was determined to be made in the first submission. If the resubmission satisfactorily addresses the issues identified, a grade of CRS will be awarded for the task. The need to re-submit the same assignment twice due to inadequate performance will result in overall failure of the assessment piece, and thus the course, which will need to be repeated in a future offering.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students