Clinical Assessment: Psychological Testing

Masters of Science in Education Counseling Track

EDU 525

Breyer State University
Instructor: Jennifer Walters, MS, BS

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to Clinical Assessment: Psychological Testing. This is a Masters level course in the curriculum for the Degree, Masters of Science. I am pleased to instruct you in this course, which will be a foundational course for the remainder of your studies in the Master’s program.

This is a course that will assist Educators and counselors in being a more effective clinician through the use of sound assessments. In order to use assessment techniques appropriately, a counselor needs to have a solid foundation in measurement. Educators and clinicians need to understand the basic types of assessment instruments and methods used in scoring instruments.

This course is also structured to present the foundations by exploring specific methods and areas of clinical assessments. Clinicians can use numerous methods of client assessment, such as interviews, informal tools, and standardized instruments. No matter what type of assessment strategies an educator or clinician select, these tools must be reliable and sound.

I know you will enjoy this course. Please learn as much as you can as you progress through it, as it does lay down a solid foundation for the rest of the curriculum. It is my pleasure to have you in the course.

TIME FRAME: This is a five-semester hour course. This course is allotted ten weeks of time. You must complete all of the requirements for the course successfully by the end of the ten-week period. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course, or the day which you notify me that your textbooks have arrived and you are ready to begin your studies. Please be cognizant of the time frame. It is rare that extensions of time are permitted, unless you have good justification. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be awarded five semester hours of credit.

TEXTBOOKS: There is one (1) required textbooks for this course.

Book 1: Principles and Applications of Assessment in Counseling. Susan Whiston, Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning. 2000. ISBN # 534569757.

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EXAMINATIONS: There are two examinations for this course, a mid-term exam and a final exam. The mid-term exam covers the material in the book (ch1-7). The final exam covers the last half of the book (ch 8-16)

The mid-term examination must be taken by the end of the 5th week in the course.
The final examination must be taken by the end of the 10th week in the course.

Both exams are programmed and are located in the classroom for this course. The examinations are “open book” objective type. You will have one (1) day to complete your exam, once you access it from the classroom. To access the exam, you must send me an email and request to have access to the exam. Upon registration, you will receive your email address. I will then program your access in. You will receive an email back from me telling you that you are now authorized to go ahead and to access your exam. To access, you will come into the classroom, click on testing, and click on the exam you are taking. You will need your User ID and PASS WORD to access the exam. The exam will appear on your screen. Once you access the exam, you have 24 hours to submit your answers. The program provides me the exact date and time that you accessed the exam. The program also notifies me of the exact date and time that you submitted your answers. Thus, the program is timing you. When you are ready, go back into the classroom and click in your responses and then click submit. Shortly, you will receive the exam in your email box with your computed score. You will also know what questions, if any, that you missed, and what the correct answer is. I also receive a copy of your exam and your score.

GRADING: The grading scale for this course is as follows:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
Below 70% = Fail

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me. I am available as a teacher, coach, and mentor to assist you in meeting your goals for this course. Primarily, communication is through email. However, I am also available for conversation by telephone if you would like. Our classroom for this course has a “chat” room. I am also very willing to meet with you one-on-one in the chat room at your request. From time to time, depending on how many students are enrolled in this course at a particular time, we will have some scheduled group chats. You will receive more detailed information at the time such chat sessions are scheduled. Please keep my email address handy so that you can contact me whenever necessary. If at any time during this course you change your email address, please be sure to notify me right away.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS: There are no written assignments for this course. There is a considerable amount of reading involved in this course, and I would prefer you spend your time with the books learning the material.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: Jennifer Walters teachs a Learning Disabilities Master’s program. I received my Bachelor of Science in Social and Rehabilitation Services at University of Southern Mississippi. I did my internship work with the Jones County Youth Court and immediately after, I began my working as a probation and parole officer with the Jones County Youth Court where I am currently employed. I received my Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology at Mississippi State University is currently working on my doctorate of Education degree.

I currently works with the Juvenile delinquent population in Jones County and as a mobile assessor with Alliance Health Care in Meridian, MS. I am trained in crisis management and a licensed counselor. Through this work, I have developed an interest in criminal justice and have a desire to make a change in the young kids lives in Jones County. I am president of the Jones County 4-H Advisory Board. I am a member of the Multi-Agency Task Force, MAP Team and a member of Safe and Drug Free School Council. I have participated in officer training on Juvenile delinquency, juvenile rights, and court procedures. I teach local classes in drug and alcohol through the Jones County School System. I was the instrumental in introducing the Juvenile Case Management System to Jones County. I currently teach several on- line classes through Breyer State and American Military University.

For enjoyment I farm, have registered Santa Gertrudis Cattle and registered Boxer Dogs.

I look forward to guiding all students through an exciting journey of learning. I firmly believe application is the key to effective learning, which I try to incorporate into all my lessons and teachings. Because I enjoy learning, I believe that teaching is a reciprocal process, of which I can also learn from my students as well.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course you will be able to:

1). Understand Assessments and statistics.
2). Evaluate Instrument selection, Administration, Scoring, and Communicating the results.
3). Learn differences between Reliability and Validity.
4). Understand Basic assessment principles.
5). Understand Intelligence and General Ability Testing.
6). UnderstandAssessing in Career Counseling.
7). Understand assessment in Marriage and Family Counseling.
8). Use Assessment in Counseling.
9). Understand Assessment and Diagnosis.
10). Understand Issues Related to Assessment with Special Populations.
11). Acquire Ethical and Legal Paradigms.
12). Learn Technical Applications and Future Trends.

ASSIGNMENTS: For specific assignments, please click on the link “Assignments”

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