COURSE NUMBER: PP7370

COURSE NAME: Cognitive Assessment

TERM:Fall 2007

INSTRUCTOR:

Arthur Preston

PHONE:

773-427-7064

EMAIL:


FAX:

773-427-7064

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Title / Assessment of Children. Cognitive Applications
Author(s) / Jerome Sattler
Copyright / 2001
Publisher / Sattler
ISBN / 0-9618209-7-7
Edition / 4th Edition
Title / Assessing Adolescent and Adult Intelligence
Author(s) / Alan Kaufman & Elizabeth Lichtenberger
Copyright / 2006
Publisher / Wiley & Sons
ISBN / 13 978-0-471-73553-3
Edition / 3rd Edition

Any other special testing materials, etc? YES

Purchase from the library:

WAIS-III: 2 record forms and 2 response booklets

WISC-IV: 2 record forms, 2 response booklets #1, and 2 response booklets #2

This Course Requires the Purchase of a Course Packet: NO

ArgosyUniversity

COURSE SYLLABUS

PP 7370

Cognitive Assessment

Fall 2007Tuesday 12:30-3:15

Faculty Information

Faculty Name: Arthur Preston, Psy.D.

Campus: Chicago

Contact Information: 773-427-7064;

Office Hours: By appointment

Short Faculty Bio: Interests include psychological assessment, individual psychotherapy, medical rehabilitation.

TA: Valerie Luxon, 248-506-2727;

Course Description: This course addresses the theory, administration, scoring, and interpretation of various cognitive and intellectual tests. Particular emphasis is placed on the Wechsler instruments for assessing intelligence and drawing inferences about personality. Basic report writing skills are developed. Cultural and racial factors in test usage are also discussed.

Course Pre-requisites: See academic catalog.

Required Textbooks:

Jerome Sattler. (2001). Assessment of Children. Cognitive Applications, 4th Edition.

Publisher: Sattler. ISBN: 0-9618209-7-7.

Alan Kaufman & Elizabeth Lichtenberger. (2006). Assessing Adolescent and Adult Intelligence, 3rd Edition.

Publisher: Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 13 978-0-471-73553-3.

Required Purchases:

Purchase 2 record forms and 2 response booklets for the WAIS-III.

Purchase 2 record forms, 2 response booklets #1, and 2 response booklets #2 for the WISC-IV.

These materials can be obtained from the library.

Test kits will be checked out from the ISPP library and returned as indicated in the course schedule below. Students are not allowed to pick up or deposit their test kits with the librarian outside of the assigned times noted in the class schedule.

Technology: The use of test scoring and interpretation software is not permitted on any assignments or exams. In addition, class exams must be hand written and not computer generated. No lap tops are permitted during the exam.

Pentium III CPU/ Windows 98; 128MB RAM printer; Microsoft Office: Acrobat (full version); Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 (PC), 5.0 (MAC), or Netscape Navigator 4.08; Norton Antivirus.

Course length: 15 Weeks

Contact Hours: 45 Hours

Credit Value: 3.0

Course Objectives: The principle objective of the course is for students to develop an understanding of the proper use of cognitive tests, and to acquire proficiency in the administration, scoring, and interpretation of these instruments.

Course Requirements:

- Administer 2 WAIS-III & interpret 2 WAIS-III protocols provided to you.

- Administer 2 WISC-IV & interpret 2 WISC-IV protocols provided to you.

It is the student's responsibility to secure 4 subjects for testing. Write-ups of protocols given to you must be typed, DOUBLE SPACED, and turned in as assigned. Late reports will not be accepted. Include the informed consent form provided to you with your administrations. Also, be sure to use a pseudonym in the report to protect the subject's anonymity.

- Complete midterm and final exams. The exams are in-class and require that you score and interpret a Wechsler protocol.

Assignment Table

Date / Topics / Readings / Assignments
09/04 / WAIS-III Administration / Check out WAIS-III test kit.
09/11 / WAIS-III Scoring / WAIS-III administration manual chapters 3 & 4; appendices A & B / In class WAIS-III scoring exercise (bring manual to class)
09/18 / WAIS-III Interpretation Overview. Report Writing / Kaufman chapters 11 & 12.
Sattler chapter 21 / In class WAIS-III interpretation exercise
09/25 / Interpretation continued / Kaufman chapter 10 / #1 WAIS-III administration and write-up due (protocol FM)
10/02 / Interpretation continued / Kaufman chapters 5 & 6 / #2 WAIS-III administration and write-up due (protocol XY)
10/09 / Interpretation continued / Sattler chapters 1, 2, & 7 / In class WAIS-III interpretation exercise
10/16 / Midterm Exam / Return WAIS-III test kit & check out WISC-IV test kit after exam
10/23 / WISC-IV Administration / WISC-IV administration manual chapters 2 & 3; appendices A & B
10/30 / WISC-IV Scoring / WISC-IV technical & interpretative manual pp 5-18, 99-109 / In class WISC-IV scoring exercise (bring manual to class)
11/06 / WISC-IV Interpretation / Kaufman chapters 8 & 9
11/13 / Brain Damage / Sattler chapter 5 / #1 WISC-IV administration and write-up due (protocol DD)
11/20 / Learning Disabilities, Mental Retardation & Cultural/Racial Issues / Kaufman chapters 2 & 4 / #2 WISC-IV administration and write-up due (protocol MJ)
11/27 / Other Measures of Intelligence / Sattler chapters 16, 17, & 18
12/04 / Final Exam / Return WISC-IV test kit after exam

Grading Criteria

Midterm Exam / 50%
Final Exam / 50%
100%

The WAIS-III and WISC-IV assignments (practice administrations and interpretations) are not formally graded but reviewed with corrections and comments provided to help you acquire clinical proficiency. Note, however, that students who exhibit strong scoring skills and report writing abilities on these assignments may receive a higher course grade if they are in a borderline grade situation at the end of the semester.

Library

All resources in ArgosyUniversity’s online collection are available through the Internet. The campus librarian will provide students with links, user IDs, and passwords.

Library Resources:ArgosyUniversity’s core online collection features more than 21,000 full-text journals, 23,000 electronic books and other content covering all academic subject areas including Business & Economics, Career & General Education, Computers, Engineering & Applied Science, Humanities, Science, Medicine & Allied Health, and Social & Behavior Sciences.All electronic resources can be accessed through the library’s website at User IDs and passwords are distributed during orientation, but can also be obtained at the circulation desk, calling 312-777-7653, or by e-mail at .

In addition to online resources, ArgosyUniversity’s onsite collections contain a wealth of subject-specific research materials searchable in the Library Online Catalog. Catalog searching is easily limited to individual campus collections.Alternatively, students can search combined collections of all Argosy University Libraries. Students are encouraged to seek research and reference assistance from campus librarians.

Information Literacy: ArgosyUniversity’s Information Literacy Tutorial was developed to teach fundamental and transferable research skills, including selecting sources appropriate for academic-level research, searching periodical indexes and search engines, and evaluating and citing information. In the tutorial, students study concepts and practice them through interactions. At the conclusion of each module, they can test their comprehension and receive immediate feedback. Each module takes less than 20 minutes to complete. Please view the tutorial at

Academic Policies

Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: In an effort to foster a spirit of honesty and integrity during the learning process, ArgosyUniversity requires that the submission of all course assignments represent the original work produced by that student. All sources must be documented through normal scholarly references/citations and all work must be submitted using the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition (2001). WashingtonDC: American Psychological Association (APA) format. Please refer to Appendix A in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition for thesis and paper format. Students are encouraged to purchase this manual (required in some courses) and become familiar with its content as well as consult the ArgosyUniversity catalog for further information regarding academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

Scholarly writing: The faculty at ArgosyUniversity is dedicated to providing a learning environment that supports scholarly and ethical writing, free from academic dishonesty and plagiarism. This includes the proper and appropriate referencing of all sources. You may be asked to submit your course assignments through “Turnitin,” ( an online resource established to help educators develop writing/research skills and detect potential cases of academic dishonesty. Turnitin compares submitted papers to billions of pages of content and provides a comparison report to your instructor. This comparison detects papers that share common information and duplicative language.

Americans with Disabilities Act Policy

It is the policy of ArgosyUniversity to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If a student with disabilities needs accommodations, the student must notify the Director of Student Services. Procedures for documenting student disability and the development of reasonable accommodations will be provided to the student upon request.

Students will be notified by the Director of Student Services when each request for accommodation is approved or denied in writing via a designated form. To receive accommodation in class, it is the student’s responsibility to present the form (at his or her discretion) to the instructor. In an effort to protect student privacy, the Department of Student Services will not discuss the accommodation needs of any student with instructors. Faculty may not make accommodations for individuals who have not been approved in this manner.

TheArgosyUniversity Statement Regarding Diversity

ArgosyUniversity prepares students to serve populations with diverse social, ethnic, economic, and educational experiences. Both the academic and training curricula are designed to provide an environment in which students can develop the skills and attitudes essential to working with people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Program Outcomes:The Doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at Argosy University Chicago Campus is an APA accredited program (APA, 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC20002, 202-336-5500). This program is designed to educate and train students so that they may eventually be able to function effectively as clinical psychologists. To ensure that students are prepared adequately, the curriculum provides for the meaningful integration of theory, training and practice. The Clinical Psychology program at Argosy University Chicago Campus emphasizes the development of attitudes, knowledge, and skills essential in the formation of professional psychologists who are committed to the ethical provision of quality services. Specific objectives of the program include the following:

  • Goal 1: Prepare professional psychologists to accurately, effectively, and ethically select, administer, score, interpret, and communicate findings of appropriate assessment methods informed by accepted psychometric standards and sensitive to the diverse characteristics and needs of clients.
  • Objective 1a: Accurately and ethically administer and score various psychodiagnostic instruments.
  • Objective 1b: Accurately interpret and synthesize assessment data in the context of diversity factors, referral questions, and specific objectives of the assessment, and organize and communicate results in writing and orally.
  • Objective 1c: Examine psychometric properties of psychological assessment instruments, and use that knowledge to evaluate, select, administer, and interpret psychological tests and measures appropriate for the client, the referral question, and the objectives of the assessment.
  • Goal 2: Prepare professional psychologists to select, implement, and evaluate psychological interventions consistent with current ethical, evidence-based, and professional standards, within a theoretical framework, and with sensitivity to the interpersonal processes of the therapeutic relationship and the diverse characteristics and needs of clients.
  • Objective 2a: Synthesize the foundations of clinical psychology, including psychopathology, human development, diagnosis, diversity, ethics, and various therapeutic models in clinical applications.
  • Objective 2b: Select, plan, and implement ethical and evidence-based interventions with sensitivity to the diverse characteristics and needs of clients.
  • Objective 2c: Demonstrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes to effectively implement and participate in psychological consultation and supervision.
    Objective 2d: Demonstrate personal development and self-reflective capacity, including growth of interpersonal skills, and therapeutic relationships.
  • Goal 3: Prepare professional psychologists to analyze the complexity and multidimensionality of human diversity, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to understand diverse worldviews and the potential meaning of social, cultural, and individual differences for professional psychological services.
  • Goal 4: Prepare professional psychologists to examine the historical context and the current body of knowledge of biological, cognitive, affective, developmental, and social bases of human functioning.
  • Goal 5: Prepare professional psychologists to critically evaluate the current and evolving body of scholarly literature in psychology to inform professional practice.