Jake Byma
Seasons Center
2/16-2/20
7.5 hours worked
1. Well, what I did this week was fairly typical of any other week. On Monday I went in to do some observation hours. Thankfully, there were no cancellations this week. I observed a 13 year old male go through some tests. It was fairly obvious he had troubles concentrating and sitting still. The tests also took a bit of time because one of the subtests has the subject read a passage and then answer some questions. The subject has an unlimited amount of time to answer. And this client took a long time to read. Also, he had about a 275 T/F questionnaire to fill out that took him a very long time. Tuesday was basically a grading day the whole time. I cam in before my class to grade a few tests and then after class came back to grade some more tests. We also started working on how to score one of the tests on the computer which saves a bunch of time. Trevor also showed me a bit more on entering scores into spreadsheets for client case files.
2. The days actually go by a lot quicker than one would imagine. I felt like 5 hours of grading tests on Tuesdays would really drag on but it isn't that horrible. You stay pretty distracted adding everything and cross-checking charts to think about how remedial everything gets. I am also starting to get more efficient at grading the tests. I still try to take my time so that I don't mess up. I wonder how much slower I am at grading tests than Trevor. I am really grateful though with how patient Trevor has been with me. He is more than willing to answer questions I have about things he probably has answered for me two or three times. He is also very happy to take time to teach me how to do everything properly because that means he saves time later on with me grading tests that he won't have to.
3. I always feel a bit embarrassed when I make a minor mistake, like adding up numbers wrong or looking at the wrong row/column in a chart and writing the wrong number down as a result. But Trevor has been very gracious with correcting me on those mistakes. I'm also curious how they company is going to deal with their spacing issues (a very cramped Sioux Center office) and understaffing in the psychometrics department with increasing demand and the possibility of testers leaving.
4. A proper way to bring up that I would be interested in staying on after graduation if they would have me. I am not sure how to get that conversation started and not seem pushy or assume they would want to hire me or interview me.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Field Experience 3
Jake Byma
Seasons Center for Behavioral Health
2/9-2/13
8 hours
1. This week brought some actual observation, which was pretty cool. It was interesting to actually see two of the tests I have been grading for awhile put into practice. We had an 8 year old girl come in to test and I observed about an hour and a half of testing. She had a totally different dynamic during the test and post-test. During the test she was very quiet and started to get frustrated and shut down. After the test, however, she became a little chatterbox. We spent a little time afterwards discussing how things went, some of the patient's background, why the company only uses certain subtests from the whole test and what they are looking for, etc. After that I spent a little time packing some test files for future testing that needs to be done. On Tuesday I went into the office in the morning to grade a couple different tests before heading to class. After class and lunch I came back and was taught the rest of the tests that they use in their testing. They aren't actually that difficult to pick up and are pretty easy to grade after a week or so. I am about 98% ready to score a full battery if they need. Trevor also showed me how to find test scores in their computer manuals instead of looking them up in the appendixes of the books all the time. The most important learning opportunity was definitely observing a test. It let me see what I have been scoring in action, which makes a huge difference.
2. I got pretty excited to see an actual test for once. It is frustrating at the same time because you want the child to score as high as possible but you can't help them out at all. I also feel like I am doing a lot of positive work for the company, which is a nice little boost. Trevor has remarked several times to the other employees (and to me as well) how nice it is to have someone else around and someone that is saving him time and work so that he can concentrate on other things.
3. One thing that wasn't really a problem but caught me off guard and left me without something to say was when an employee asked if I would be staying on once the Trevors left for grad school. I kind of just joked about how they might keep me if I didn't mess up too much but wasn't entirely sure what to say.
4. How does everyone else feel about the work they are doing? Is it worthwhile or more just busy work from the company?
Seasons Center for Behavioral Health
2/9-2/13
8 hours
1. This week brought some actual observation, which was pretty cool. It was interesting to actually see two of the tests I have been grading for awhile put into practice. We had an 8 year old girl come in to test and I observed about an hour and a half of testing. She had a totally different dynamic during the test and post-test. During the test she was very quiet and started to get frustrated and shut down. After the test, however, she became a little chatterbox. We spent a little time afterwards discussing how things went, some of the patient's background, why the company only uses certain subtests from the whole test and what they are looking for, etc. After that I spent a little time packing some test files for future testing that needs to be done. On Tuesday I went into the office in the morning to grade a couple different tests before heading to class. After class and lunch I came back and was taught the rest of the tests that they use in their testing. They aren't actually that difficult to pick up and are pretty easy to grade after a week or so. I am about 98% ready to score a full battery if they need. Trevor also showed me how to find test scores in their computer manuals instead of looking them up in the appendixes of the books all the time. The most important learning opportunity was definitely observing a test. It let me see what I have been scoring in action, which makes a huge difference.
2. I got pretty excited to see an actual test for once. It is frustrating at the same time because you want the child to score as high as possible but you can't help them out at all. I also feel like I am doing a lot of positive work for the company, which is a nice little boost. Trevor has remarked several times to the other employees (and to me as well) how nice it is to have someone else around and someone that is saving him time and work so that he can concentrate on other things.
3. One thing that wasn't really a problem but caught me off guard and left me without something to say was when an employee asked if I would be staying on once the Trevors left for grad school. I kind of just joked about how they might keep me if I didn't mess up too much but wasn't entirely sure what to say.
4. How does everyone else feel about the work they are doing? Is it worthwhile or more just busy work from the company?
Monday, February 9, 2015
Field Experience 2
Jake Byma
Seasons Center for Behavioral Health
2/2-2/6
Hours Worked: 9
1. Work-This week brought much of the same as the previous week. I was supposed to do an IQ test observation, but we had a cancellation. Instead we met to grade tests that were given the last week. Even though I haven't been doing the grading for that long it has come pretty easily to me. Most of what I do is just simple addition in my head and then looking up charts and appendixes to find what those numbers mean. I am starting to learn just a little bit about what the impact of those numbers on a person's counseling profile. For example, a certain number on one test is a very good sign of inattention and when coupled with other factors can help diagnose ADHD. I have also learned this week about packing files for the company. Now, Trevor can tell me, "We are testing a 15 year old male next week with a full battery," and I know every test I need to pack into the file for them. The most important thing I have learned is what exactly we test for certain situations and how to find those tests in our filing system.
2. Evaluation-So far I am still enjoying everything. It is all new and keeps me interested and engaged. It can be tough because I really want to do some test observation but can do that shortly. It also can be kind of slow around the office. Tuesdays and Fridays (if we need to meet those days) are just Trevor and I. It can be kind of quiet because we both need silence to think and add up the data for tests. I don't know if I'd like his set-up where he works all by himself on Tuesdays. It might drive me crazy. But I really do like learning about all the tests and the ins and outs of them.
3. I really haven't found many problems. The only thing is just remembering in certain test batteries the age is a huge deal because that changes if we include certain tests or not. But I make sure to ask Trevor about that and double check when packing files. And remembering every sheet needs client initials.
4. Topics to discuss-If anyone has felt like this experience reinforces what you want to do career-wise or makes you second guess anything?
Seasons Center for Behavioral Health
2/2-2/6
Hours Worked: 9
1. Work-This week brought much of the same as the previous week. I was supposed to do an IQ test observation, but we had a cancellation. Instead we met to grade tests that were given the last week. Even though I haven't been doing the grading for that long it has come pretty easily to me. Most of what I do is just simple addition in my head and then looking up charts and appendixes to find what those numbers mean. I am starting to learn just a little bit about what the impact of those numbers on a person's counseling profile. For example, a certain number on one test is a very good sign of inattention and when coupled with other factors can help diagnose ADHD. I have also learned this week about packing files for the company. Now, Trevor can tell me, "We are testing a 15 year old male next week with a full battery," and I know every test I need to pack into the file for them. The most important thing I have learned is what exactly we test for certain situations and how to find those tests in our filing system.
2. Evaluation-So far I am still enjoying everything. It is all new and keeps me interested and engaged. It can be tough because I really want to do some test observation but can do that shortly. It also can be kind of slow around the office. Tuesdays and Fridays (if we need to meet those days) are just Trevor and I. It can be kind of quiet because we both need silence to think and add up the data for tests. I don't know if I'd like his set-up where he works all by himself on Tuesdays. It might drive me crazy. But I really do like learning about all the tests and the ins and outs of them.
3. I really haven't found many problems. The only thing is just remembering in certain test batteries the age is a huge deal because that changes if we include certain tests or not. But I make sure to ask Trevor about that and double check when packing files. And remembering every sheet needs client initials.
4. Topics to discuss-If anyone has felt like this experience reinforces what you want to do career-wise or makes you second guess anything?
Monday, February 2, 2015
Entry 1
Name: Jake Byma
Organization: Seasons Center for Behavioral Health
Week: 1/26-30
Hours: 6
Work Description: My field experience so far has been a bit delayed for a few reasons-waiting on the background check to pass, my supervisor getting jury duty. Right now I am very early on in the process. I went in on Monday to do some observation hours. Seasons does a lot of intelligence testing through various tests, mainly for average to below average functioning people. For me Mondays are primarily going to be observation days. I am supposed to sit in on the testing while Trevor Wolterstorff conducts the tests. He even mentioned how after some time they may let me give a few of the easier tests. Unfortunately, during the day they had some no-shows and moved people up. By the time I got there they were already done testing. Instead Trevor and I started to walk through the ins and outs of the WISC and WAIS tests and how to score them. We scored a couple of them together very slowly to make sure I understood everything. Friday I came in for some more hours and we did a lot of the same things. He went over the previous tests and I scored a few by myself and learned all of what the scoring means. He also introduced a few new tests and we learned how to score those together and eventually I scored one by myself. The most important learning opportunity was being able to sit down with someone who had to go through the same process of learning and explain everything to me in a clear, concise manner.
Evaluation of Experience: Right now this is all very new and exciting. I took psychometrics last year and learned about these tests. It is cool now to use them in a hands-on way. I get nervous at times because I don't want to mess up my addition while scoring these tests. They don't double check my math so as not to insult my intelligence. But one error could be a costly mistake when thinking about insurance difficulties they have to deal with. I try to be very cautious when scoring. I also have the feeling that later in the semester things could start to get repetitive and redundant when scoring the same tests over and over again. For now, however, I am enjoying myself and trying to learn as much as I can.
Problems/Difficulties: I mentioned it above but one problem is the importance of each error. To my knowledge I have not made any yet (I hope). It can be a bit stressful at times knowing that my math mistakes could have big ramifications.
Questions/Topics to Discuss: I guess my only questions would be what everyone else is doing? I am not in the loop on where everyone else is and want to know.
Organization: Seasons Center for Behavioral Health
Week: 1/26-30
Hours: 6
Work Description: My field experience so far has been a bit delayed for a few reasons-waiting on the background check to pass, my supervisor getting jury duty. Right now I am very early on in the process. I went in on Monday to do some observation hours. Seasons does a lot of intelligence testing through various tests, mainly for average to below average functioning people. For me Mondays are primarily going to be observation days. I am supposed to sit in on the testing while Trevor Wolterstorff conducts the tests. He even mentioned how after some time they may let me give a few of the easier tests. Unfortunately, during the day they had some no-shows and moved people up. By the time I got there they were already done testing. Instead Trevor and I started to walk through the ins and outs of the WISC and WAIS tests and how to score them. We scored a couple of them together very slowly to make sure I understood everything. Friday I came in for some more hours and we did a lot of the same things. He went over the previous tests and I scored a few by myself and learned all of what the scoring means. He also introduced a few new tests and we learned how to score those together and eventually I scored one by myself. The most important learning opportunity was being able to sit down with someone who had to go through the same process of learning and explain everything to me in a clear, concise manner.
Evaluation of Experience: Right now this is all very new and exciting. I took psychometrics last year and learned about these tests. It is cool now to use them in a hands-on way. I get nervous at times because I don't want to mess up my addition while scoring these tests. They don't double check my math so as not to insult my intelligence. But one error could be a costly mistake when thinking about insurance difficulties they have to deal with. I try to be very cautious when scoring. I also have the feeling that later in the semester things could start to get repetitive and redundant when scoring the same tests over and over again. For now, however, I am enjoying myself and trying to learn as much as I can.
Problems/Difficulties: I mentioned it above but one problem is the importance of each error. To my knowledge I have not made any yet (I hope). It can be a bit stressful at times knowing that my math mistakes could have big ramifications.
Questions/Topics to Discuss: I guess my only questions would be what everyone else is doing? I am not in the loop on where everyone else is and want to know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)