PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT: ACADEMIC MONITORING AS A TEACHING-LEARNING STRATEGY

ABSTRACT

Psychological assessment faces difficulties due to the lack of systematization in its teaching. There are possible ways to overcome such difficulties, one of which is academic monitoring. The academic monitoring allows the monitor a more dynamic teaching-learning process to happen, not only for himself but also to the students of the discipline. The objective of this study is to describe how academic monitoring can contribute to the development and critical posture of students. The institution studied provided the academic monitoring in the discipline of psychological assessment, being carried out ten hours a week. The monitoring space provided students with training situations, clarification of doubts, and roleplaying activities. Monitoring provided strategies for the student-monitor to address academic situations from both the student and teacher’s perspective, and therefore provided a new learning modality for the monitor.

Keywords:
professional education; psychological assessment; teaching methods

RESUMO

A avaliação psicológica enfrenta dificuldades devido à falta de sistematização em seu ensino. Existem maneiras possíveis para contornar tais dificuldades, sendo uma delas a monitoria acadêmica. O monitor, ao desempenhar suas funções, permite que um processo de ensino-aprendizagem mais dinâmico possa acontecer, não apenas para si, como também aos estudantes da disciplina. O objetivo deste estudo é descrever como a monitoria acadêmica pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento e postura crítica de estudantes. A instituição estudada disponibilizava a monitoria na disciplina de avaliação psicológica, sendo realizadas dez horas semanais. O espaço de monitoria era capaz de proporcionar aos estudantes situações de treinamento, esclarecimento de dúvidas e atividades de roleplay. A monitoria proporcionou estratégias para o estudante-monitor enfrentar situações acadêmicas tanto do ponto de vista do alunado como de professor e assim propiciou uma nova modalidade de aprendizagem ao monitor.

Palavras-chave:
formação profissional; avaliação psicológica; métodos de Ensino

RESUMEN

La evaluación psicológica enfrenta dificultades debido a la falta de sistematización en su enseñanza. Hay maneras posibles para contornar tales dificultades, una de ellas, el monitoreo académico. El monitor, al desempeñar sus funciones, permite que un proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje más dinámico pueda suceder, no solo para él mismo, como también a los estudiantes de la asignatura. El objetivo de este estudio es describir cómo el monitoreo académico puede contribuir para el desarrollo y postura crítica de estudiantes. La institución estudiada ponía a disposición el monitoreo en la asignatura de evaluación psicológica, realizadas con diez horas semanales. El espacio de monitoreo era capaz de proporcionar a los estudiantes situaciones de entrenamiento, aclarar dudas y actividades de roleplay. El monitoreo proporcionó estrategias para el estudiante-monitor enfrentar situaciones académicas tanto del punto de vista del alumnado como de profesor y así propició una nueva modalidad de aprendizaje al monitor.

Palabras clave:
formación profesional; instrumentos psicológicos; métodos de enseñanza

INTRODUCTION

Psychological assessment is comprehended as a structured process that seeks to investigate psychological phenomena and utilizes methods, techniques, and instruments (Resolução n° 009/2018). Psychological assessment is inserted in the curriculum of Psychology courses and is one of the first contacts of the student with the topic (Nunes et al., 2012).

The teaching of psychological assessment is impaired due to a lack of systematization when disciplines related to the subject are taught (Noronha, Carvalho, Miguel, Souza, & Santos, 2010). The research of Mendes, Nakano, Silva, and Sampaio (2013) found that students and professionals are not aware of the fundamental concepts of psychological assessment due to the practice of shortcoming teaching.

Moura (2017) discusses the teaching of psychological assessment in a “mechanized” way. Being taught, in some institutions, apart from all Psychology, whether of professional practice or study. There is a certain lack of care in psychological assessment. There seems to be an understanding that for the clinical, social, scholar practice, and many other possibilities of the psychologist’s performance, knowledge, and skills in psychological assessment are not necessary (Farias, 2012).

The discipline of psychological assessment should be able to embrace not only the theoretical context (Nunes et al., 2012). It is necessary to provide an environment in which students can develop competencies when coming into contact with theoretical and practical situations and thus develop a greater aptitude when facing everyday situations of the profession (Nunes et al., 2012).

The study by Borsa (2016) presents some possible solutions to be implemented in the formation of psychological assessment. Among them, the insertion of new curricular modalities, different teaching techniques (Nunes et al., 2012), and supervised practice (Borsa, 2016).

Not only the teaching of psychological assessment, but the work of academics in higher education institutions faces difficulties in expanding students’ skills through a predetermined curriculum. It is in this space that the figure of the academic monitor is inserted. According to Law 9.934 / 96, art. 84, students can be used in activities involving teaching and research in the institutions they are linked to, such as academic monitoring (Lei nº 9.394, 1996).

The monitoring space allows the academic monitor a more active teaching-learning process, as well as pedagogical advantages (Michael, Marjorie, & Marcos, 2017; Janasi, Araujo, & Farias, 2017). From this premise, one of the main focuses of academic monitoring is a critical point of view. This resource encourages the monitor, through his/her activities, to experience the practical life of a teacher, as well as to increase the way the teacher is able to share academic experiences (Dantas, 2014).

Not only the practical life of the teacher is experienced by the monitor, but also the procedure of other teachers in the institution, staff, and administrative methods (Natário & Santos, 2010). Thus, academic monitoring becomes a teaching strategy able to build a modifying and facilitating relationship of the educational process (Fernandes, Abreu, & Dantas, 2016).

The objective of the academic monitoring process is not to provide the student with a prestigious position or to predict that he or she has superior abilities to the other students (Natário & Santos, 2010). On the other hand, it should be a space in which the expression of ideas and communication can occur freely, encouraging and maximizing learning, and becoming a knowledge facilitator (Simões Neto & Andrade, 2017).

THE INSTITUTION IN FOCUS

The monitoring in Psychology courses can serve as a preparation for the future teaching performance of the student. To illustrate this statement, it is known that in a Higher Education Institution located in the region of Alto Tietê Paulista, there are academic monitoring in three disciplines of the Psychology course, namely: “Bioestatística”, “Brinquedo e Jogo” and “Avaliação Psicológica” (I and II).

In summary, the functions that must be performed by the monitor are determined by an institutional normative instruction. This document discriminates that the student-monitor should be able to a) guide the students in specific periods of work; b) follow the discipline in which it performs its functions; c) work together with the teacher to integrate the students in the academic community.

Therefore, the experience and activities developed by the monitor in these disciplines of Psychological Assessment (I and II) are exemplified here. The psychological instruments taught in the disciplines were the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale (CMMS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III®, WISC-IV®). The academic monitoring period occurred between the years 2016 and 2017. These subjects were taught by four different teachers, and the monitor was dedicated to the students who studied both subjects.

A total of ten hours per week were held, with two-hour periods per day. The monitor accompanied the students during the training sessions of the psychological instruments, performed roleplay situations, simulating attendance, and clarified possible doubts about the psychological instruments studied.

The roleplay situations occurred in an intuitive way, in which the monitor was asked by the group of students to act as a service should proceed. The monitor took the role of the client and tried to construct situations that stimulated the resolution of problems that can occur in the sessions. Thus, postures were tested on how the instruments should be taught and how students can behave when carrying out the assessment process.

The students’ main difficulties were understanding and applying the instruments, and the training was able to remedy such difficulties. Psychological tests have several peculiarities in their application process, so the applicator must be aware not only of his/her posture during the service but also of how the instrument should be executed (Noronha et al., 2010).

As a monitor, the ability to understand the fundamental issues of psychological assessment and the teaching process has become more widespread. Subjects such as validity and precision that are sometimes poorly explored in the classroom could be better understood due to practical experience and constant training.

Due to the student’s recent experience as a student in the discipline, he/she is able to become more sensitive to the difficulties presented by students and to deal with possible frustrations that may occur during the period of evaluation and execution of tasks (Natário & Santos, 2010).

CONCLUSIONS

Throughout this study, the author’s experiences regarding the academic monitoring process were described. It is possible to notice that the realization of this program contributes to the teaching-learning process, besides enabling the monitor to experience experiences with other teachers and to deal with situations such as the difficulties of the monitor.

In the same way, one can verify which teaching style of each teacher contributes the best to this specific learning. Whereas, during the monitoring in question, the students presented several difficulties in using the instruments and more behavioral difficulties - ethics, for example - when making their first psychological care with the external public. It is suggested for future research, a correlation between disciplines taught with and without the monitoring of a monitor so that this field of study can be better explored

REFERÊNCIAS

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• This paper was translated from Portuguese by the authors.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  21 Aug 2020
• Date of issue
  2020

History

• Received
  23 July 2018
• Accepted
  18 Oct 2019