This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

OCC4131 - Assessment of children: Methods, policy, ethics and issues

6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Organisational Unit

Department of Occupational Therapy

Coordinator(s)

Associate Professor Ted Brown

Offered

Not offered in 2016

Synopsis

This unit will provide an exploration of the issues related to the assessment of children (ethical, legal, professional, educational, clinical). The unit will start by introducing the reasons, uses, and purposes of assessment. Specific methods (e.g., observation, objective performance, parent-report) related to the assessment of children will be reviewed. Particular attention will be paid to issues related to family-centred practice and assessing children in naturalistic environments. Different contexts (e.g., clinic, community, school, home) where assessment is completed, issues related to the assessment of children at different age levels / developmental levels and the evaluation of children with special needs will be discussed. Ethical, policy and legal issues related to the assessment of children will be presented and critiqued. Specific types of assessment tools, scales, and instruments appropriate for use with children will be presented and reviewed. This will provide a broad base of knowledge and skills for occupational therapy students wishing to work with children and families in clinical, educational, home, and community settings.

Outcomes

At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:

Describe the characteristics, types, and methods of assessment best suited for use with children and their families;
Develop and describe assessment approaches appropriate for children at different developmental levels and for children with special needs;
Describe the assessment approaches that best fit with naturalistic assessment and family-centred practice;
Demonstrate knowledge of ethical, policy, and legal issues related to the assessment of children;
Demonstrate knowledge of assessment tools, scales, and instruments used to evaluate the skills, interests, roles, and abilities of children;
Demonstrate competence in searching, describing, summarising, and presenting (verbally and in writing) the evidence from research literature on a specific topic related to child assessment.

Assessment

Participation during class and tutorial group discussions (10%)
Critique and scoping review of an instrument, tool or scale used to assess children (2,500 words) (40%)
Mock assessment report of school-age child & professional reflection (3,000 words) (50%)
Achieving a minimum grade of 50% on the AT4, failure to achieve a grade of 50% or more on AT4 may result in failing the unit (Hurdle)
100% attendance requirements for all tutorials, seminars and practical skills sessions, unless a medical certificate is provided (Hurdle)

Workload requirements

Four hours per week contact time (lectures and tutorials) and 8 hours per week private study (reading, literature review, practicing skills, assignments, and other self-directed learning activities).