Courses and Descriptions
EDPS 500 Cognitive Assessment 3 Credits
This course addresses contemporary intellectual theories and the process and procedure of cognitive assessment. It presents the relevant issues related to intelligence testing and interpretation. Through a variety of pedagogical approaches, students acquire needed skills in administering, scoring, and interpreting results from contemporary tests of cognitive ability.
Prerequisite(s): EDPS 513.
EDPS 502 Psychological Development of the Child and Adolescent 3 Credits
Discusses principles and theories of lifespan development from conception through adolescence. The analysis, interpretation, and practical implications of significant research that has contributed most to the knowledge of human development of the child and adolescent will be presented. Developmental principles/processes in relation to counseling and evaluating children and adolescents as well as an understanding of individual differences and mental health will also be discussed.
EDPS 503 Human Growth and Development 3 Credits
Provides an overview and broad understanding of life span developmental theories and research applied to counseling services with special emphasis on developmental processes, individual differences and mental health. Includes strategies for working with developmental issues across the life span.
EDPS 508 Cognitive Processes and Learning 3 Credits
This course deals with what is known relative to the principles of cognitive psychology and their application to learning. The flow of information is followed from where it begins through the processes of integration and storage. Cognitive principles will be studied relative to concept formation, reasoning, and problem solving. Their relationship to specific educational tasks such as the teaching of reading, writing, mathematics, and other content will be explored and confirmed through empirical evidence.
EDPS 509 Psychoeducational Assessment and Report Writing 3 Credits
This course furnishes students with the clinical, practical, and theoretical sophistication to understand the assessment and report writing process for academic, behavioral, adaptive, and social-emotional concerns. Students are expected to master a wide range of concepts and skills to successfully complete this course including integrating multiple pieces of assessment data for case conceptualization, classification, and treatment recommendation. Students are required to synthesize data from multiple methods of assessment and sources to produce written psychoeducational reports that inform intervention practice.
Prerequisite(s): EDPS 513.
EDPS 510 Assessment of Behavioral and Social-Emotional Functioning 3 Credits
The assessment of behavioral and social-emotional functioning is studied from an empirically based, problem-solving model that links directly to intervention. Students learn to select appropriate assessment tools to match individual referral questions so as to evaluate the behavioral and social/emotional problems of children and adolescents.
Prerequisite(s): EDPS 513.
EDPS 513 Professional Practice of School Psychology: Issues and Historical, Ethical, and Legal Considerations 3 Credits
This course is designed to provide an introduction to school psychology through an analysis of the contemporary roles and functions of school psychologists. Professional issues are explored in the context of the history and evolution of school psychology as a specialty area of professional psychology. In addition, the study of professional ethics, best practices, and standards for delivery of school psychological services that have been adopted by national organizations representing the profession of school psychology will be reviewed.
EDPS 514 Standardized Measures of Academics and Behavior 3 Credits
This course will increase students’ understanding of the standardized assessment process, measurement issues, psychometric properties of assessment instruments, and the role of these instruments in informing academic, behavioral, and social-emotional interventions.
EDPS 515 Curriculum-Based Assessment and Measurement 3 Credits
This course will build upon students’ knowledge and skills in individual-referenced assessment based upon the standards and general curriculum. Students will be able to design, administer, score, and interpret curriculum-based assessment and link these data to intervention.
EDPS 520 Measurement,Tests and Assessments in Counseling 3 Credits
This course covers the use of assessment instruments in counseling practice. Topics include descriptive statistics, reliability and validity, social and ethical considerations in testing, the appropriate selection and usage of standardized tests, and the communication of their results. At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to administer, evaluate and interpret assessment instruments commonly used in the counseling profession.
EDPS 521 Statistics and Quantitative Analysis 3 Credits
This introductory statistics course will cover basic descriptive and inferential statistics for use in counseling, school psychology, and education. Students will learn how to interpret and evaluate statistics in empirical articles and to understand some of the considerations in selecting and using different statistical techniques. In addition, they will learn to analyze data and interpret output using statistical software.
EDPS 535 Biological Basis of Behavior 3 Credits
This course will emphasize a biological approach to the study of psychology and behavior. Topics studied will include the following: 1) the genetics of human psychological differences; 2) the anatomy of the nervous system; 3) psychopharmacology; 4) neuropsychological diseases (e.g., epilepsy, autism, multiple sclerosis); 5) memory and amnesia; 6) sleeping, dreaming, and circadian rhythms; and 7) the biopsychology of mental health difficulties.
EDPS 538 Developmental Child Psychopathology 3 Credits
The course will furnish students with a comprehensive account of the characteristics, correlates, causes, contexts, and outcomes of psychopathology in children. It serves to augment students’ understanding of specific conditions in childhood and adolescence including autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, mental retardation, childhood anxiety/depression, enuresis/encopresis, learning disabilities, communication disorders including selective mutism, and emotional/behavioral disorders. The diagnostic nosologies of the DSM and IDEA will be referenced and thoroughly discussed. A special emphasis upon a developmental-systems framework for understanding child psychopathology will be presented wherein the importance of context and the influence of multiple, interacting events and processes in shaping adaptive and maladaptive development will be investigated.
EDPS 570 Advanced Interventions for Children, Adolescents and Families 3 Credits
This course provides opportunity to expand each student’s knowledge and skills in the development of effective interventions to meet academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs. Currently accepted practices based upon the individual’s referral problem will be explored. Intervention will be approached from a problem-solving model and based on current assessment data. Case studies will be used to link theory and application.
Prerequisite(s): EDPS 513.
EDPS 581 Practicum in Psychoeducational Assessment and Report Writing 1 Credits
This practicum experience provides supervised practice in administering, scoring, and interpreting an array of individually administered assessment instruments for the purpose of producing a written psychological report that is linked to intervention.
Prerequisite(s): EDPS 513.
EDPS 582 Practicum in the Assessment of Behaviorial and Social-Emotional Needs 1 Credits
This practicum experience provides supervised practice using the techniques and methods taught in EDPS 510 Assessment of Behavioral and Social-Emotional Needs. Students will be expected to complete a Functional Behavioral Assessment including recommendations for a behavior intervention plan and a means to monitor and evaluate the target student’s progress.
Prerequisite(s): EDPS 513.
EDPS 583 Practicum in Consultation in School and Agency Settings 1 Credits
This practicum experience provides supervised practice in the study, implementation, and evaluation of a problem-solving model to provide consultation across school and agency settings. Students will be expected to successfully initiate and lead the 4-step consultation process resulting in a databased intervention. The consultation will be documented in a formal report.
Prerequisite(s): EDPS 513.
EDPS 584 Practicum in Curriculum-Based Measures 1 Credits
This practicum provides supervised experience in identifying academic needs of students utilizing curriculum-based assessment (CBA) methods within a problem-solving framework. Students will practice the selection and administration of appropriate CBA tools to match referral question(s) at the individual, class-wide and school-wide levels. Students will also practice assessment of the academic environment by conducting structured direct observation of the classroom. Students will summarize and analyze assessment data, develop goals and objectives and make recommendations for intervention.
Prerequisite(s): EDPS 513.
EDPS 590 Internship in School Psychology I 3 Credits
The student functions as a school psychologist in a 600-hour approved field placement under the supervision of a certified school psychologist. At least 50 percent of the internship must occur in a school setting. Additionally, students attend weekly seminars that deal with issues related to professional ethics, problem-solving and intervention design, and group supervision. The internship occurs at the end of the student’s program.
EDPS 591 Internship in School Psych II 3 Credits
The student functions as a school psychologist in a 600-hour approved field placement under the supervision of a certified school psychologist. At least 50 percent of the internship must occur in a school setting. Additionally, students attend weekly seminars that deal with issues related to professional ethics, problem-solving and intervention design, and group supervision. The internship occurs at the end of the student’s program.
Prerequisite(s): EDPS 590.
EDPS 600 Independent Research and Study in School Psychology 1-3 Credits
Course content varies with the academic research interests of students who wish to engage in independent study related to the overall content of school psychology.