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Course Evaluation

The purpose of Psychology 406: Introduction to Theories of Counselling and Psychotherapy is threefold:

1. to expose you to a range of theoretical perspectives on the counselling process and to encourage you to think critically about these approaches.

2. to foster an understanding of how the theoretical perspectives may be applied to particular client scenarios.

3. to facilitate reflection on your own perspectives, values, and beliefs as they relate to human nature, counselling goals, and change processes.

The evaluation processes are designed to address these core purposes, which are represented in the following evaluative sequence: Midterm Exam, Case Study, Personal Reflection Paper, and Final Exam. The Midterm Exam and Final Exam require you to synthesize your knowledge of the theoretical perspectives and to reflect critically on that knowledge. The major assignment, the Case Study analysis, draws on one or more theoretical models and requires you to apply what you have learned to a particular client scenario. Throughout your study, you are asked to keep a journal to reflect on your own values, beliefs, assumptions, and biases. The Personal Reflection Paper, drawn in part from your journal entries, requires you to consider what you have learned about yourself and the implications of that learning for your theoretical perspective.

Review the details of the course requirements early in the course. (Specific grading criteria for each component are provided later in this Manual.) Be sure you follow the Suggested Study Schedule, outlined earlier in this Manual, to stay on track.

Assignment Weights

To receive credit for Psychology 406, you must complete both the midterm exam and final exam and submit all course assignments. You must achieve a grade of at least 50% on the final exam and a composite grade of at least 50% to receive credit for this course.

Overall Grading Taxonomy

Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives provides the framework for evaluating your work in this course. Your tutor will evaluate your performance according to the nature and level of learning required for each assignment and exam.

Cognitive learning is demonstrated by knowledge recall, comprehension of course materials, application and synthesis of ideas, analysis, organization of information, and critical evaluation of concepts. The cognitive domain will be assessed in the short–answer and short–essay questions on the Midterm Exam and Final Exam, as well as in the Case Study assignment. As Figure 1 (next page) shows, each evaluation component targets a different level of cognitive learning. Your tutor will evaluate your work based on the criteria for each level (as indicated in the chart); review these criteria as you complete the components.

The affective domain of learning is targeted through the journaling process. (You will keep a journal throughout the course to reflect on your own values, beliefs, assumptions, and biases.) This domain takes into account emotions, attitudes, preferences, worldview, and values. While this domain of learning will probably be reflected in other components of the course evaluation, it is specifically evaluated only through the Personal Reflection Paper.

Figure 1. Overall Grading Taxonomy

Adapted from Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York: Longmans, Green.