PSYCHOL 1006 - Psychology Skills and Applications

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2020

The aim of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to develop an understanding of applications of psychology and to practice applied skills in the broad areas of psychological testing, observation and interpersonal communication. Students will be encouraged to consider career pathways and to develop transferable skills to enhance work readiness.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code PSYCHOL 1006
    Course Psychology Skills and Applications
    Coordinating Unit Psychology
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact 1 hour per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N
    Prerequisites PSYCHOL 1000 or PSYCHOL 1005 or PSYCHOL 1001 (as concurrent enrolment)
    Restrictions Available to B Psych Science students only
    Course Description The aim of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to develop an understanding of applications of psychology and to practice applied skills in the broad areas of psychological testing, observation and interpersonal communication. Students will be encouraged to consider career pathways and to develop transferable skills to enhance work readiness.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Professor Nicholas Burns

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    1 Administer, score and interpret selected non restricted psychological tests. 
    2 Demonstrate an understanding of ethical and practical issues in conducting tests with specific populations
    3 Design an observational study; and analyze and interpret observational data
    4 Demonstrate effective interpersonal communication, reflective listening and oral presentation skills.
    5 Demonstrate knowledge of a specific application of psychological research and practice to address a real-world problem
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1,2,3,4,5
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    2,3,4
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    1,3,4
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    1,2,3,4,5
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    2
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    4
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Curated online resources and specialised online presentations will be delivered via the E-Learning platform, MyUni.
    Online Learning
    The course content is organised into 4 modules.

    Each module includes online presentations, reading lists and links to resources. Each module becomes available as the course progresses. 

    Myuni is used extensively for announcements, discussion board, online lecture content, self directed learning activities, external web-links, details of assessment and assignment submission. 
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    A flipped classroom approach will be used with weekly online lectures to present core concepts. Learning will be supported and opportunities to develop and practice applied skills will be provided in weekly small group workshops. Topics will be presented as modules: Mod 1: Career paths and transferable skills in psychology
    Mod 2: Ethical and practical issues in testing
    Mod 3: Observing, recording, reporting behaviour
    Mod 4: Interpersonal communication
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    Lectures/Face-to-Face Contact Hours:
    1 hours per week in online lectures over a 12 week period (Total 12 hours)
    12 hours per semester in small group worshops as scheduled (Total 12 hours)

    Reading and additional self directed study (Total 72 hours)

    Assessment Tasks:

    Preparation for workshops (6 hours)
    Locating, reading and assimilating background material and preparing written assignment (20 hours)
    Preparing group presentation (10 hours)
    Revision and preparation of modular assessments (24 hours)

    Total time commitment: 156 hours
    Learning Activities Summary
    Workshop participation: students engage in weekly workshop activities involving hands-on activities and group work to develop and practice applied skills.
    Group project and presentation: Small teams of students will work together to identify a topic for an observational analysis, determine the behaviours to be recorded, prepare recording sheets and discuss ethical and practical issues involved in conducting the study. Group presentations of the project will be held in workshop sessions.
    Modular assessments: In class and online assessments of learning for skills introduced in modules 2,3 and 4 (15% each) which would include administering, scoring and interpreting a number of non restricted psychological tests; identifying ethical and practical issues in testing; recording, analyzing and interpreting observational data; identifying microskills necessary for good communication and demonstrating reflective listening skills.
    Written report: Students will address one applied intervention from a shortlist of topics provided  The report will involve describing the intervention, critically evaluating its evidence base and commenting on ethical issues or limitations. 
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task Task Type Weighting Learning Outcome
    Workshop participation   formative and summative  10% 1,2,3,4
    Group project presentation    summative 15% 3,4
    Modular assessments  summative 45% 1,2,3,4
    written report   summative 30% 5
    Assessment Related Requirements
    Workshop Participation: students engage in weekly small group activities involving  Attendance and participation in the Workshop will be recorded.

    Group Project: Students will work in small groups to prepare an observational analysis. Group presentations of the project will be held in workshop sessions.
    Assessment Detail
    Workshop participation: students engage in weekly workshop activities involving hands-on activities and group work to develop and practice applied skills.
    Group project and presentation: Small teams of students will work together to identify a topic for an observational analysis, determine the behaviours to be recorded, prepare recording sheets and discuss ethical and practical issues involved in conducting the study. Group presentations of the project will be held in workshop sessions.
    Modular assessments: In class and online assessments of learning for skills introduced in modules 2,3 and 4 (15% each) which would include administering, scoring and interpreting a number of non restricted psychological tests; identifying ethical and practical issues in testing; recording, analyzing and interpreting observational data; identifying microskills necessary for good communication and demonstrating reflective listening skills.
    Written report: Students will address one applied intervention from a shortlist of topics provided.
    Submission
    Submission of assignments will be via the Myuni portal.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
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