Practicum I – fall
of 1st year
The primary purpose of the
first practicum experience is to provide students with opportunities
to explore the varied role and functions of the school psychologist.
Throughout the semester, students will spend 60 hours shadowing school
psychologists who work in a variety of non-traditional school settings,
spending 2-3 weeks with each practitioner. Because it is taken in conjunction
with the Introduction to School Psychology seminar, this course also
affords students a context in which to begin to consider the varied
roles and functions of school psychologists. Students are in the field
approximately 4 hours each week. They meet for an hour each week with
their university supervisor.
Practicum II – spring
of 1st year
The primary purpose of the
second practicum is to orient students to the ecology of school environments,
providing hands-on experiences working in classrooms with children or
adolescents in both general and special education. It provides students
an opportunity to experience the public school setting and to begin
to become sensitive to its protocol, mores, and values. Weekly class
meetings will allow for reflections on students’ experiences and
their application to learning in other courses. Students are in the
field approximately 4 hours each week. They meet for an hour each week
with their university supervisor.
Practicum III –
fall of 2nd year
This third practicum has
two primary purposes. The first is to provide students an initial field-based
experience providing school psychological services in a well-supported
and scaffolded environment. Students will gain experience conducting
special education re-evaluations with an academic focus, writing pscyho-educational
reports, and assisting with on-going progress monitoring. The second
is to provide students an opportunity to apply behavioral consultation
skills in a school setting. Each student will conduct all four phases
of behavioral consultation: Problem Identification, Problem Analysis,
Intervention Implementation, and Intervention Evaluation. Students work
with a supervising school psychologist one day each week and spend approximately
1-3 hours each week working on their consultation case. They meet two
hours each week with their university supervisor.
Practicum IV – spring
of 2nd year
The fourth semester practicum
continues to provide a supported field experience, with increasing independence
as appropriate. Students will continue to gain experience conducting
special education re-evaluations, writing pscyho-educational reports,
and assisting with on-going progress monitoring. They will expand their
evaluation and report writing experiences to include initial evaluations
and evaluations with social emotional/behavioral concerns. They also
will gain experience with conducting functional based assessments and
with designing and implementing both academic and behavioral interventions.
Students work with a supervising psychologist two days each week. They
meet two to three hours each week with their university supervisor.
