Psychology 2042B 001 FW23
Exceptional Children: Behavioural Disorders
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
WESTERN UNIVERSITY
LONDON CANADA
Department of Psychology
2023 - 2024
Psychology 2042B Section 001
Exceptional Children: Behavioural Disorders
- CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
This half course will cover theory and treatment related to major psychological disorders of childhood, including depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder, conduct problems, and the impact of child maltreatment.
Antirequisites: Psychology 2041, 2320A/B, 3320F/G, 3434E
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. If you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.
Prerequisite: Not applicable https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/academics/timetables.html
3 lecture hours on campus; Course Weight 0.5
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Jeff St. Pierre, C.Psych.
Contact: jstpierr@uwo.ca (please use Psych2042B in the subject line).
All general questions should be posted to the course to the OWL Psych2042B website Forum https://owl.uwo.ca/portal rather than e-mailing Dr. St. Pierre, so all students can benefit from the Q&A. Dr. St. Pierre typically checks the OWL Forum each morning.
Delivery Method: In person, main campus.
Office Hours: I will be in class before and after each lecture.
Virtual online office hours may be offered occasionally - times tba.
Teaching Assistant: Lisa Zhu
Office Hours: tba
TA Email: lzhu343@uwo.ca
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness @Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
Please contact the course instructor if you require tests or material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also contact Accessible Education at aew@uwo.ca or 519-661-2147.
2.1 Online Learning Notice:
Please note: For courses delivered in an online format, include an online component, or are required to pivot online, students must have a reliable internet connection and computer that are compatible with online learning system requirements. Some courses may also require the use of a remote proctoring platform to ensure assessments are taken fairly in accordance with Western’s policy on Scholastic Discipline for Undergraduate Students and Scholastic Discipline for Graduate Students (see Sections 10 and 12 below).
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Custom E-Textbook – Mandatory reading.
University of Western Ontario*Custom eBook: Abnormal Child Psychology, PSYC 2042B, (365 Days/One Year Access) $46.00.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES & LEARNING OUTCOMES
The objective of this course is to introduce students to the study of psychopathology in children and adolescence. An overview will be provided of several major behavioural and emotional disorders of childhood and adolescence, including their prevalence, characteristics, causes, and current approaches to assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge. Define terminology in social science and clinical psychology. Recognize the main symptoms of a range of psychological disorders and state the prevalence of these disorders. Explain current approaches for the assessment, prevention and treatment of psychological problems amongst children and youth. |
Study assigned readings. Study lectures. |
Measured through multiple choice or short answer tests. |
|
Knowledge of Methodologies. Differentiate evidence-based assessment and treatment strategies from unproven methods. |
Study assigned readings. Study lectures. |
Measured through multiple choice or short answer tests. |
|
Application of Knowledge. Apply DSM-5 criteria to provide the most plausible diagnosis for a set of psychological symptoms. Identify and contrast current scientific theories (e.g. biological, psychological) on the etiology and treatment of psychological disorders. Apply the theories of child development to case examples of normal versus abnormal coping and interpersonal functioning. |
Study assigned readings. Study lectures. |
Measured through multiple choice or short answer tests. |
|
Awareness of Limits of Knowledge. |
OWL assignment. |
Participation assessment as outlined in lecture. |
5.0 EVALUATION
Exam 1: 32% of grade. 75 questions - multiple choice with a few short answer test.
Exam 2: 32% of grade. 75 questions - multiple choice with a few short answer test.
Exam 3: 32% of grade. 75 questions - multiple choice with a few short answer test.
Participation: 4% of grade. Assignments submitted on OWL. Content and submission deadlines announced in lectures. Simple pass/fail 1% for each submission. You will have six chances to earn the four marks.
The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4.0 and are considered necessary for meeting these learning objectives. Student evaluation will be based on three in-person exams with equal weighting along with participation marks. Each exam is focused on one third of the course, with 75 multiple choice/short answers, 2 hours to complete. Exams 1 and 2 are during class, the Final Exam is scheduled by the University. Each exam will focus on material from that section of the course, however some cumulative knowledge will be assessed, for example the basic concepts of child development you learn in section 1 will be applied in the next 2 sections. The first month of the course is the most demanding for students with no psychology course background. Questions on each exam will be based on information contained in the assigned text chapter readings and any supplementary readings assigned on the course website, lecture material, and audio-visual presentations. Power Point lecture slides used in class are posted on OWL class Resources tab prior to the Thursday lecture each week, no additional Professor lecture notes are available.
Because each brief participation mark allows one week for completion, is worth only 1% of your final grade in the course and you may miss 2 without penalty, extensions will not be accepted. You will receive a score of 0 for any missing assignment below 4. Hint – students who do poorly in this course typically skip class and cram for exams. These marks are meant as incentive to keep up with readings and lectures and not cram for exams. If you require a longer-term accommodation for a health or wellness concern lasting more than a week, please seek official accommodation by submitting your documentation to the academic counseling office in your home faculty.
5.1 POLICY ON MISSING COURSEWORK
Make-up exams may be permitted only with approval from your Academic Counsellor for illness or compassionate reasons (as per Section 11 below).
The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses
72% 2100-2999-level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines, which are as follows (see: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf)
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
Note that in the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.
Policy on Grade Rounding: Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered. To maximize your grade, do your best on each and every assessment within the course.
6.0 ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE
Most students finish the 75 MC/short answer questions well before the two hour time limit. Students on special Accommodation (e.g., extra test time) must arrange well in advance their own proctoring through Accessible Education Services, so AES can obtain the exam from Professor St. Pierre.
February 8: Test 1. In class 3pm to 5pm. (study content details below)
March 14: Test 2. In class 3pm to 5pm (study content details below)
Date TBA: Test 3. Time and location set by registrar April 11 – April 30, 2024. Same format, two hours, focused on the last third of the course.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE 2024
Ten weeks of lectures, 30 hours total, in NCS-1 Thursdays 2:30 – 5:30. Check OWL Resources each week for PowerPoint, readings or links.
January 11: Lecture Week 1, Introductions and Course Overview, Child Development
January 18: Lecture Week 2, Theories and Causes. Assessment of Child Psychopathology.
January 25: Lecture Week 3, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
Feb. 1: Lecture Week 4, Conduct Behaviour Problems
February 8: Exam I in class. Two hours focused on the science and theory of typical and atypical child development, ADHD and behaviour disorders.
Students who miss this exam due to illness should contact the Academic Counselling Office of their Faculty immediately with appropriate medical/supporting documentation: https://registrar.uwo.ca/academics/academic_considerations/index.html. Then contact your TA ASAP to inquire regarding the date and location of the group Make-up Exam.
February 15: Lecture Week 5, Depressive and Bipolar Disorders.
February 22 No class (Feb 19-23 WINTER READING WEEK)
February 29: Lecture Week 6, Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders.
March 7: Lecture Week 7, Anxiety and Mood Disorders, evidence based treatment, clinical case examples, assigned video and OWL reading. No new textbook reading.
March 14: Exam II in class. Two hours focused on Mood and Anxiety Disorders.
Students who miss this exam due to illness should contact the Academic Counselling Office of their Faculty immediately with appropriate medical/supporting documentation https://registrar.uwo.ca/academics/academic_considerations/index.html. Then contact your course TA ASAP to join the group Make-up Exam.
March 21: Asynchronous Video lecture. Lecture Week 8 is posted on OWL. Child Maltreatment and Attachment Disturbance (do not go to class this week – watch PPT online).
March 28: Lecture Week 9, Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders, PTSD.
April 4: Final lecture Week 10, Risk and Protective Factors in Developmental Psychopathology
Exam date: TBA 2 hour final set by the Registrar April 11-30 (focused on the last third of the course, Trauma readings and videos + lectures. Same exam format as previous two exams).
8.0 LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Attawandaron peoples, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum.
With this, we respect the longstanding relationships that Indigenous Nations have to this land, as they are the original caretakers. We acknowledge historical and ongoing injustices that Indigenous Peoples (e.g. First Nations, Métis and Inuit) endure in Canada, and we accept responsibility as a public institution to contribute toward revealing and correcting miseducation, as well as renewing respectful relationships with Indigenous communities through our teaching, research and community service.
9.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism (“The act or an instance of copying or stealing another’s words or ideas and attributing them as one’s own”) and other scholastic offences. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offences because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offence are described at the following link: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offences. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records (Nominal Roll) will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com (http://www.turnitin.com). Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
In classes that involve the use of a personal response system (PRS), data collected using the PRS will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. Your PRS login credentials are for your sole use only. Students attempting to use another student’s credentials to submit data through the PRS may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
10.0 POLICY ON THE USE OF EXAM PROCTORING SOFTWARE
Tests and examinations for online courses will be conducted using a remote proctoring service. By taking this course, you are consenting to the use of this software and acknowledge that you will be required to provide personal information (including some biometric data) and the session will be recorded. Completion of this course will require you to have a reliable internet connection and a device that meets the technical requirements for this service. More information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on Western’s Remote Proctoring website at: https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca.
In the event that in-person exams are unexpectedly canceled, you may only be given notice of the use of a proctoring service a short time in advance.
11.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR ILLNESS OR OTHER ABSENCES
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:
- For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;
- For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation.
https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/faculty_academic_counselling.html
Students seeking academic consideration:
- are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;
- must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence
Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term.
12.0 CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR RETURN TO LOCKDOWN: IN-PERSON & BLENDED CLASSES
In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence or any other event that necessitates the course delivery moving away from face-to-face interaction, all remaining course content will be delivered entirely online, requiring a reliable internet connection either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). The grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will also be conducted online, as determined by the course instructor.
13.0 STATEMENTS CONCERNING ONLINE ETIQUETTE
In courses involving online interactions, the Psychology Department expects students to honour the following rules of etiquette:
- please “arrive” to class on time
- please use your computer and/or laptop if possible (as opposed to a cell phone or tablet)
- please ensure that you are in a private location to protect the confidentiality of discussions in the event that a class discussion deals with sensitive or personal material
- to minimize background noise, kindly mute your microphone for the entire class until you are invited to speak, unless directed otherwise
- In classes larger than 30 participants please turn off your video camera for the entire class unless you are invited to speak
- In classes of 30 students or fewer, where video chat procedures are being used, please be prepared to turn your video camera off at the instructor’s request if the internet connection becomes unstable
- Unless invited by your instructor, do not share your screen in the meeting
The course instructor will act as moderator for the class and will deal with any questions from participants. To participate please consider the following:
- If you wish to speak, use the “raise hand” function and wait for the instructor to acknowledge you before beginning your comment or question.
- Please remember to unmute your microphone and turn on your video camera before speaking.
- Self-identify when speaking.
- Please remember to mute your mic and turn off your video camera after speaking (unless directed otherwise).
General considerations of “netiquette”:
- Keep in mind the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students in the course.
- Be courteous toward the instructor, your colleagues, and authors whose work you are discussing.
- Be respectful of the diversity of viewpoints that you will encounter in the class and in your readings. The exchange of diverse ideas and opinions is part of the scholarly environment. “Flaming” is never appropriate.
- Be professional and scholarly in all online postings. Use proper grammar and spelling. Cite the ideas of others appropriately.
Note that disruptive behaviour of any type during online classes, including inappropriate use of the chat function, is unacceptable. Students found guilty of Zoom-bombing a class or of other serious online offenses may be subject to disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct.
14.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services: www.sdc.uwo.ca
Psychology Undergraduate Program: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html
If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf
Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
Policy on the Recording of Synchronous Sessions: Some or all of the remote learning sessions for this course (if scheduled) may be recorded. The data captured during these recordings may include your image, voice recordings, chat logs and personal identifiers (name displayed on the screen). The recordings will be used for educational purposes related to this course, including evaluations. The recordings may be disclosed to other individuals participating in the course for their private or group study purposes. Please contact the instructor if you have any concerns related to session recordings. Participants in this course are not permitted to privately record the sessions, except where recording is an approved accommodation, or the student has the prior written permission of the instructor.
