PSY : Adult Cognitive and Abilities Assessment Fall 2012 W 1:00-3:45 OMH 219

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1 PSY : Adult Cognitive and Abilities Assessment Fall 2012 W 1:00-3:45 OMH 219 Professor: Jon Mandracchia, Ph.D. Office: OMH 213B Phone: (601) Office Hours: T 1-2p & R 10-11a jon.mandracchia@usm.edu Teaching Assistant: Erica Raisanen (erica.raisanen@eagles.usm.edu) REQUIRED TEXTS Lichtenberger, E. O. & Kaufman, A. S. (2009). Essentials of WAIS-IV Assessment. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Lichtenberger, E. O., Mather, N., Kaufman, N. L., & Kaufman, A. S. (2004). Essentials of Assessment Report Writing. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS Protocol packet (purchase for the final assessment only, unless otherwise indicated during the semester) Personal supplies for test administration and scoring, including a stopwatch (that does not make noise), clipboard, pencils, calculator, manila folders (for turning in reports), and any other related supplies needed to properly conduct course assignments COURSE GOALS This course is intended to present students with the opportunity to develop competencies in administering, scoring, interpreting, and communicating the findings of individual cognitive ability instruments. In order to accomplish this goal, the course will focus on topics such as the history of measurement, constructs and theories of intelligence, psychometrics related to testing instruments, and issues of diversity in cognitive testing. This course will focus primarily on assessment of adults. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon successful completion of this course, students will be expected to be able to: 1. Proficiently administer and score assessment instruments of cognitive abilities 2. Incorporate cognitive testing results with other sources of information to obtain a broad conceptualization of overall cognitive abilities 3. Effectively communicate results of assessment findings both verbally and through written reports 4. Understand and comply with ethical standards related to cognitive assessment 5. Demonstrate an understanding of the historical roots of intelligence testing 6. Demonstrate an understanding of test construction and psychometrics These objectives will be assessed through observed test administration, examinations, in-class assignments, in-class presentations, and graded psychological reports. COURSE EXPECTATIONS Unless you have a really good excuse (e.g., documented University-approved event, medical emergency), you are expected to attend every class, and to arrive on time. Please set your cell phone (or other noise-making devices) to a silent setting or turn them off. Please be prepared for class (i.e., read the assigned readings in advance, have assignments that are due ready to turn in, have discussion and presentation materials ready). You are expected to be respectful of the professor, teaching assistant, classmates, testing subjects, and anybody else with whom you interact in relation to this course this includes in-person interactions and in written/electronic communication. This is a time and work intensive course, and you will likely best succeed by initiating test administration and report-writing well in advance of the due date (i.e., procrastination may be your downfall). If you have questions or concerns about any of the course content, your performance in the course, your ability to complete the course requirements, persons involved in this course (i.e., the professor, the teaching assistant, other students), or any other aspects of this course, please talk with me as soon as possible to avoid or reduce any potential negative long-term consequences. PSY 641 Fall

2 GRADING Assignment Points Possible Points Earned Article Discussion Points (8) Proficiency Demonstration Reports 1 4 (x4) Report 5 Report 6 Examination Verbal Feedback (x2) Student Presentation Course Total 80 points (10 points each) 50 points 400 points (100 points each) 150 points 200 points 200 points 100 points (50 points each) 150 points 1330 points A 93% and up B+ 89%-87% C+ 79%-77% D+ 69%-67% F <60% A- 92%-90% B 86%-83% C 76%-73% D 66%-63% B- 82%-80% C- 72%-70% D- 62%-60% *Grades will be rounded to the nearest whole percent (i.e.,.50 or above is rounded up, less than.50 is rounded down) ASSIGNMENTS Article Discussion Points For each article that is assigned for a particular day (see class schedule, last page of this syllabus), you are to prepare five questions, ideas, or other thought-provoking discussion points that relate to the article. Many portions of the course rely on open discussion, and preparing discussion points helps facilitate discussion. Please send these as an to me the night before class (i.e., midnight at the latest). Proficiency Demonstration You will need to demonstrate that you have developed the necessary skills to begin administering cognitive assessment instruments independently (even if most of the reports are just for practice). Therefore, within the first few weeks of the course, you will administer the WAIS-IV to the professor for this course. Your performance on the proficiency demonstration is graded. If you are not initially successful at passing the proficiency demonstration, you will be allowed to repeat the proficiency demonstration at a later date. Your grade on the proficiency demonstration in that case will be the average of the scores. In addition to the benefit of obtaining the highest grade possible, you should also strive to pass the proficiency demonstration on the first try so that you can begin administering the assessment instruments well in advance of the due date of the first report. Reports Report writing is the primary means of officially communicating the results of psychological assessment. As such, striving to create effective and professional reports is an important component of this course. Although a guideline and/or example may be provided to you, the key aspects on which your conclusions are made include a clinical interview, behavioral observation, and assessment results. All reports must be typewritten, double-spaced, and stapled when turned in, and all materials (report, testing materials, notes) should be turned in together in a manila folder. Use the subject s initials (first and last only) or a pseudonym on all protocols and reports except the Informed Consent form. Do not put your name on the report, protocols, other assessment materials (i.e., except for the informed consent form). Use a pseudonym for yourself so that reports can be graded anonymously. Always turn in any other testing materials and behavioral observation notes used during the course of your evaluation along with your reports. Record all of the examinee s responses neatly in the record forms. Be sure to record the examinee's responses in their entirety. Scoring cannot be checked unless the record booklet is complete, accurate, and legible. Reports are due at the beginning of the class session on the date listed in the outline, and all materials except the Informed Consent Form should be turned in together in a manila folder. Grades on late reports will be lowered by the equivalent of one letter grade per day. PSY 641 Fall

3 All testing must be conducted at the university under supervision of the course instructor or teaching assistant until permission to test outside the university is given by the instructor. The observed WAIS-IV administration will be conducted in the Community Counseling and Assessment Clinic. Testing of volunteers should be conducted only when space is available and should not disrupt the normal flow of clients in the clinic. Parents and significant others of subjects are allowed to wait in the waiting room, but are not allowed to accompany the subject during the testing or to observe the testing by any other means. Students are expected to behave in a professional manner in regards to all practice aspects of this course: handling testing materials, administering tests, communication with testing subjects and their associates. This involves not only being courteous and respectful, but also the requirement that students adhere to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists (APA, 1992). Keep testing materials in a safe place where they cannot be seen by casual observers do not discuss details of the testing with your friends, family members, significant others, etc. and do not allow such people to examine or handle the testing materials. Students are also expected to protect the confidentiality of all subjects. Students are NOT allowed to give examinees feedback regarding test results. Failure to meet these requirements may result in dismissal from and failure of the course. If during practice testing you uncover conditions that you believe may require action, please do not take action without consulting me first. We will discuss the situation and decide on the best course of action together. In the event of a critical situation or emergency and I am not around, find the faculty member who is on clinic backup duty. Students will complete one assessment that is coordinated with an outside agency. This assessment will consist of an intelligence test and adaptive behavioral assessment. The appropriate procedures and materials for testing this special population will be the focus of discussion and training during class. These assessments involve actual clients from the community. You will be a representative of the university and the counseling psychology program. As such, you should conduct yourself in a professional manner as if you were conducting an evaluation as part of your employment. Examination There is one examination for this course, and it is comprehensive (i.e., over all the material cover in class as well as the assigned readings). The examination may consist of multiple choice, true/false, matching, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, and/or essay questions. Verbal Feedback Although written reports are the primary means of communicating results of psychological assessments, often times assessment results are also communicated verbally to other mental health professionals, medical providers, the individuals being assessed and/or their associates, or various other people. Therefore, it is important to be able to communicate your findings of assessments clearly and efficiently in a brief, verbal manner. You will provide verbal feedback, with the class as your audience, on the last two reports for this course. As part of your verbal feedback, you should include identifying information, the referral source and/or question, background information, behavioral observations, testing results/interpretations, diagnoses, and recommendations. Be prepared for questions about your evaluation from the audience. Student Presentation There are a multitude of cognitive tests and other related instruments for use by psychologists. This course will focus primarily on providing you with the chance to become knowledgeable about, and experienced in administering, a small number of tests. The student presentations are intended to provide you with a cursory knowledge of some of the other instruments in the field. Each student will give a presentation on three instruments within one category listed in the STUDENT PRESENTATION section below. You should plan on having your presentation last at least 1 hour (including time to set up and for questions from the audience). Although the format for the presentation is open, effective presentations may include Power Point presentations, examples, demonstrations, etc. You are required to prepare and provide a brief handout (not just a copy of your presentation) with key information about each instrument to the instructor and the other students in the class (for others to keep and use as a quick-reference in the future). About halfway through the semester, you are to notify me of what category of test you d like to present on, and you must turn in a list of 5 resources (e.g., empirical articles, etc) you ve identified as potentially useful for your presentation see syllabus for due date for this progress update. PSY 641 Fall

4 TESTING SUBJECTS Although efforts to recruit testing subjects may be established by the instructor (i.e., through Sona or volunteers from other courses), it is ultimately your responsibility to solicit subjects and arrange testing times. Persons you may not solicit as subjects include: (1) Persons who are related to you or with whom you have a close personal relationship. You should not test close friends, relatives, significant others, or students in any of the graduate psychology programs. This does not include persons who may help you practice specific items or subtests (2) Persons (or their parents) who refuse to sign the informed consent form before testing begins (3) Anyone you have reason to believe might need a psychological evaluation or mental health services (4) Anyone who will not agree in advance to forgo all attempts to solicit feedback on any aspect of the test. This will be mentioned in the informed consent form. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES If a student has a disability that qualifies under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies: The University of Southern Mississippi Office for Disability Accommodations 118 College Drive # 8586, Hattiesburg, MS Voice Telephone: (601) or (228) Fax: (601) Individuals with hearing impairments can contact ODA using the Mississippi Relay Service at (TTY) or Suzy Hebert at Suzanne.Hebert@usm.edu. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Plagiarism is the passing off the ideas, words, or writings of another person as your own. If you copy another person s work and pass it off as your own, then you are committing plagiarism even if you have the permission of the person. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense because it undermines trust within the academic community and deters free exchange of ideas. In addition, it is purposely lying about yourself and promoting a falsehood. It is expected that students will take responsibility for doing their own work in an honest manner. Faculty members are expected to enforce rigorously the University's Academic Honesty Policy. You should make yourself familiar with this policy and understand the ramifications of cheating on an exam or assignment or plagiarizing another s work. Given the serious consequences associated with this type of behavior, it is in your best interest to simply complete your own work and give credit when using ideas that are not your own (i.e., using appropriate references). Academic misconduct (e.g., cheating on exams or out-of-class assignments, plagiarism, etc.) will result in a failing grade for that assignment at a minimum and further action may be taken, including (but not limited to) failing the course. ADVICE 1. Do your testing well in advance of when the report is due. 2. This course is time-intensive. Be organized and ready to work hard. 3. Coordinate testing with the other students in the course you will be sharing testing kits, manuals, etc. PSY 641 Fall

5 TESTS ADMINISTERED (NOT INCLUDING THE PROFICIENCY EXAM) After passing the proficiency exam you should administer: 4 WAIS-IVs, 1 WISC-IV, 1 WASI, 1 WIAT-III, and 1 Vineland. These should be written in a total of seven reports. They are due at the beginning of class on the date indicated on the course schedule (last page of the syllabus). Report 1 = WAIS-IV Report 2 = WAIS-IV Report 3 = WAIS-IV Report 4 = WISC-IV Report 5 = WASI & WIAT-III Report 6 = WAIS-IV & Vineland STUDENT PRESENTATIONS Information you should cover should include: history and development of the test (including revision history), current version, description of the test, appropriate population, administration, scoring, interpretation, strengths/weaknesses, relevant research findings (i.e., journal articles, empirical studies). Choose a category of test. The specific tests listed are examples of tests for each category. You may present on these specific tests or find your own for the category you select. Intelligence: (Extensive) Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery Kaufman Adolescent and Adult IQ Test Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (Brief) Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test Shipley Institute of Living Scale Wide Range Intelligence Test (Other) Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Wechsler Memory Scale Leiter International Performance Scales Achievement: Wide Range of Achievement Test Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement Peabody Individual Achievement Test Adaptive Behavior: Scales of Independent Behavior AAMR/AAIDD Adaptive Behavior Scale (Diagnostic Adaptive Behavior Scale 2013 release?) Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales PSY 641 Fall

6 Class Topic/Activities Assignments /Readings Due Week 1 (8/22) Introductions & Syllabus Statistical and Measurement Concepts Week 2 (8/29) Introduction to WAIS-IV Administration, Demonstration, Practice Myers (2008) L & K Ch. 2 Week 3 (9/5) WAIS-IV Scoring & Interpreting Report Writing White (2004) L & K Ch. 3 & 4 Week 4 (9/12) Assessment Process Mental Status Examination Lichtenberger et al. Ch 4 Presentation Progress Update Due Week 5 (9/19) Professionalism & Ethics History and Theories of Intelligence Cates (1999) L & K Ch. 5 Week 6 (9/26) WISC-IV WASI Report 1 Curtis & Glaser (1984) Week 7 (10/3) Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale Lichtenberger et al. Ch 5 Week 8 (10/10) Multicultural Issues in Intelligence Testing WIAT-III Report 2 Sternberg (2004) Week 9 (10/17) Mental Retardation Adaptive Behavior Assessment Kanaya et al. (2003) Lichtenberger et al. Ch. 2 & 3 Week 10 (10/24) Assessing LD, ADHD, and Special Populations Report 3 Buss (1996) Week 11 (10/31) Tests of Effort & Malingering Brodsky & Galloway (2003) Week 12 (11/7) Student Presentations Report 4 Lichtenberger et al. Ch 8 Week 13 (11/14) Student Presentations Lichtenberger et al. Ch 6 Week 14 (11/21) No Class, Thanksgiving Break Be Thankful Week 15 (11/28) Report 5 Verbal Feedback Report 5 Week 16 (12/5) Final Exam Week 17 (12/10) MONDAY; 1:30p Integrative Report Verbal Feedback Report 6 PSY 641 Fall