SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM
PRACTICUM REQUIREMENTS
ADVANCED PRACTICUM IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCH 970
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY
PITTSBURG, KANSAS
REVISED FALL 2009
PRACTICUM REQUIREMENTS
The objective of the Practicum in School Psychology is to provide each student with opportunities to integrate and apply skills acquired in Professional School Psychology. Students accepted into the Ed.S. School Psychology Program who have completed the necessary prerequisites (see below) will be considered by Faculty for Practicum placement. The application timeline requires students to apply for practicum midway through the semester prior to Practicum placement. All field placements are considered by a placement committee consisting of the Psychology and Counseling faculty who coordinate practitioner training programs.
By definition, the Practicum is a training experience, and the service role is subservient to the skills training aspects of the experience. The overall responsibility for practicum rests with the University Supervisor, however, day-to-day supervision rests with the certified School Psychologist agreeing to serve as the Field Supervisor. The University and field supervision will conduct ongoing evaluation (see Evaluation Section) of the practicum experience.
Role of the Field Supervisor:
The role of the Field Supervisor is central to quality field experience for the School Psychology Practicum Student. Although the Practicum Student may work under more than one person, the designated Field Supervisor will act as a contact. The Field Supervisor agrees to:
- be available daily for consultation
- assist the Practicum Student in organizing activities and working with school professionals
- review all work/documents and countersign reports
- provide feedback at mid-semester and end of semester to the University Supervisor and Practicum Student regarding the Practicum Student’s skill levels
- help the Practicum student and University Supervisor regarding the Practicum Student’s skill level
- help the Practicum Student organize his/her time and activities to complete PSU Practicum requirements
Role of the University Supervisor:
The University Supervisor does not always have day to day contact with the practicum Student.
The University Supervisor does, however, fill a direct contact role in supervision by:
- weekly supervision contacts with the Practicum Student in formal campus classes
- on-site visits to the Practicum site once per semester
- ongoing availability to the Practicum Student or Supervisor for consultation via office visits, telephone, and e-mail
- gather evaluation and conduct feedback sessions with the Practicum Student regarding performance at mid and end semester evaluations
- meet with the Field Supervisor to evaluate progress and provide feedback to the Practicum Student
Role of the Practicum Student:
The Practicum Student is expected to assume a major role in monitoring progress towards completions of the Practicum requirements. Additionally, the Practicum Student agrees to:
- conduct him/herself in an appropriate, ethical, and professional manner including professional dress and grooming
- provide his/her own transportation to and from training sites as assigned
- consult with the Field or University Supervisor as appropriate when in doubt
- attend weekly supervision sessions at the University
- keep a time/activity log to demonstrate an organized approach to scheduling and completing Practicum activities.
- Participate in evaluation activities in a constructive disposition
Prerequisites:
The following are prerequisites for Advanced Practicum in School Psychology
1. Completion of a Masters Degree
2. Having approved Ed.S Candidacy papers; and
3. Completion of the following courses:
a. PSYCH 741 – Behavior Modification
b. PSYCH 781 – Psychology of Exceptional Children (or SSLS 510)
c. PSYCH 803 – Intellectual Assessment
d. PSYCH 818 – Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy
e. PSYCH 819 – Techniques of Counseling and Psychotherapy
f. PSYCH 835 – Assessment of Early Childhood Handicapped
g. PSYCH 837 – Intervention with Early Childhood Handicapped
h. PSYCH 821 – Family Counseling
i. PSYCH 845 – Practice of Marriage and Family Therapy (School Psych)
j. PSYCH 870 – Practicum (School Psychology)
Ratings:
Where applicable, the Supervisor will rate the performance or product of the Practicum Student. Activity/product ratings are from zero to three. Each instance of a zero rating must be accompanied by a correction plan (see addendum). This correction plan will be highly individualized and decided upon by collaboration among the Field Supervisor, University Supervisor, and the Practicum Student. Corrective plans may range from repeating an activity to being required to audit a course. The 970 Practicum is not complete without a minimum rating of one for all Practicum Requirements
‘0’-- A rating of zero indicates that in the opinion of the Supervisor the Practicum Student’s skills are below acceptable standards in that area or the product is inadequate. Even with supervision, the student is not ready to enter the field because that skill set is so poorly developed.
‘1’-- A rating of one indicates that in the opinion of the Supervisor the Practicum Student demonstrated acceptable skills or an acceptable product, and should be able to enter the profession in a closely supervised capacity.
‘2’-- A rating of two indicates that in the opinion of the Supervisor the Practicum Student demonstrates skills that predict success in professional school psychology and a thorough familiarity/mastery of requirements for that specific Practicum Requirement.
‘3’-- A rating of three indicates that in the opinion of the Supervisor, the Practicum Student demonstrates an exemplary skill or product and evidences a high level of proficiency.
Requirements:
A. The student will keep a daily electronic log accounting for the time (in hours) and activities performed in completing of Advanced Practicum. A minimum of 450 hours will be documented, and all of the activities designated in this document must be completed. This document and time log will be handed in to the University Supervisor.
Documentation: Activity and time Log
B. Each student must conduct psycho-educational evaluations as a part of the Practicum experience. These will be conducted under the direction of the Field Supervisor, who must be a Certified School Psychologist, with at least two years of experience in her/his current placement. The student will be responsible for completing a representative case study which will be presented to the University Supervisor. This presentation will include the following information: (1) reason for referral; (2) parent interview/teacher interview; (3) classroom observation (behavioral observation); (4) testing: major IQ tests, education evaluation, other tests as assigned results and interpretations of tests; (5) a summary of case; (6) Recommendations and remediation suggestions; (7) follow-up activities. This will be a graded activity, and the student must be prepared to defend the case study presented to Practicum.
Documentation: Copy of the report (personally identifying data deleted)
C. The Practicum student will participate in alternative assessment or response to intervention activities. This will include curriculum assessment and interventions as well as behavioral assessment and interventions as assigned by the Field Supervisor.
Documentation: Summary of student response to intervention.
D. Participate in Functional Behavioral Assessment. This will include information gathering, framing of hypothesis, formulating interventions, data collections, and follow-up through a fidelity to treatment data analysis.
Documentation: copy of intervention plan and outcome data. This may overlap with Activity ‘C’ above.
E. Each student must demonstrate efficiency in individualizing and implementing behavior management principles. Each Practicum student will be required to formulate and implement an individualized behavior management system that consists of at least the following: (1) a summary of information and description of the target behavior (this will include a justification for utilizing a behavior management intervention); (2) a clearly defined target behavior; (3) a quantifying record of the behavior to establish a baseline; (4) a clearly defined intervention and a record of the implementation; (5) a fidelity to treatment analysis, including a graph of the results of the project; (6) a plan to maintain the behavior once established. A copy of the behavioral Response to Intervention program will be submitted to the University Supervisor.
Documentation: copy of intervention plan data (personally identifying data deleted) and a graph demonstrating fidelity to treatment
F. The Practicum student must conduct at least one in-service session at the school site. The program must be of at least 45 minutes duration, and have at least five people in attendance. The University Supervisor must be notified at least one week in advance. In addition, the student must show evidence of at least one multi-tiered or class-wide intervention.
Documentation: copy of PowerPoint or notes and copy of Inservice Evaluation.
G. The student must participate in the multidisciplinary team process, writing IEP’s no fewer than five times. All grade levels should be represented. The field supervisor should insure that the student has substantial experience in chairing IEP meetings.
Documentation: copies of IEP’s (personally identifying data deleted)
H. The student will attend interagency meetings during the Practicum. It is not necessary to attend away from the school setting as meetings which have several agencies represented would meet the intent of this requirement.
Documentation: Reaction report
I. The student will attend a minimum of one early intervention (student support) team meeting during the Practicum.
Documentation: copy of intervention plan and subsequent data on outcomes used to identify fidelity to treatment (personally identifying data deleted)
J. The student will meet weekly as scheduled with the University Supervisor. The purpose of these meetings will be to provide ongoing training with the Practicum experience. The University Supervisor will visit the Practicum site at least once during the semester.
Documentation: dates of meetings in Student’s activity log
K. The student will conduct two Informal (Diagnostic) Reading Inventories with a Reading Specialist or participate in RTI (phonemic processing) to measure reading skills.
Documentation: copies of the IRIs
L. The students will document having participated in at least four of the following or similar interventions:
*Social Skills Training Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions
* Crisis Response Mediation Between Students and Teachers
Anger Control Training Family Consultation
Peer Tutoring Positive Behavior Change
Cooperative Learning Groups Classroom Discipline
Conflict Management/Resolution Mandt Training
Team Teaching
*Required Areas
This list is intended to be representative, not exclusive. Other areas of interventions supported by the Field or University Supervisors are completely acceptable. Documentation: activity log, notes, other data as is appropriate
M. The students will conduct counseling sessions, supervised by the Field Supervisor, School Counselor, or a School Crisis Intervention Planning Social Worker. The Practicum student will document a minimum of ten hours in counseling sessions.
Documentation: activity log notes
N. The student will be responsible for the following areas which permeate all aspects of the Practicum experience: multicultural issues- The Practicum student must be aware of levels of cultural pluralism. These must be accepted and enhanced, as they contribute to the cultural enrichment of the entire system. Ethnic and cultural bias will be avoided. This included the practices of racism, sexism, prejudice, stereotypes, and inequality. Ethical guidelines of NASP, APA and AACD will be followed in the delivery of psychological service.
Documentation: evaluation by field supervisor
O. The Practicum student will participate in at least two transitional planning sessions for secondary level students.
Documentation: copy of plan (personally identifying data deleted)
P. Practicum evaluation will be conducted each semester, typically during the on-site visit from the University Supervisor. A copy of the Practicum student’s evaluation of the Practicum experience will be forwarded to the agency providing the supervision.
Documentation: copy of evaluation
Q. The Practicum Student will develop a Professional Development Plan. This plan will begin with the student’s general philosophy about school psychology services and the outline a plan as described in the Professional Development Plan document available in the Department, from Advisors, or online. It will address student plans to remediate weaknesses as well as general professional development. (see addendum)
Documentation: Written 2 page (min.) document turned in with the Practicum Folio at the end of 970 Advanced Practicum.
R. Student will develop a vita appropriate for a beginning Ed.S. School Psychologist
This document will be an accurate reflection of the student’s training and accomplishments. It is common for students to use the PSU Career Center in developing the Vita.
Documentation: Document
Early Childhood Requirements
S. The Student will keep a separate log of hours and activities dedicated to early childhood.
Documentation: activity log
T. The candidate demonstrates knowledge of the domains of typical and atypical development of children, especially those of preschool age.
Documentation: copy of assessments from 837 course.
U. The candidate is knowledgeable in selecting assessment instruments based on psychometric properties, utility or fit, and alignment with the referral question that has been posed.
Documentation: copy of assessments from 837 course.
V. The candidate will demonstrate knowledge of qualification criteria for early childhood special education services at the birth to 3 and 3 to 5 levels.
Documentation: copy of assessments from 837 course.
W. The candidate clearly communicates findings from early childhood assessment and evaluations in reports that include recommendations for evidence-based interventions targeted at delays or deficiencies noted. For at least one case, the candidate will track the fidelity to treatment of an intervention he/she has recommended (graph of intervention results required).
Documentation: Candidate is to file relevant documents from items below in 970 Portfolio.
X. The candidate demonstrates the ability to administer, score, and interpret in written form a minimum of 4 of the following assessments (or other scales which have demonstrated reasonable psychometric properties. Minimum requirements for Satisfactory rating are 2 reports and administration of 4 instruments.
Documentation: Candidate is to file copies of protocols in 970 Portfolio.
a. Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (Revised) (KABC-R)
b. Assessment Evaluation and Programming System (AEPS)
c. Battelle Developmental Inventory –Third Edition (BDI-3)
d. Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Scale (UNIT)
e. Ages and Stages Questionnaire
f. Mullen Scales of Early Development
g. Bracken Basic Concept Scale, 3rd Ed.
Y. Candidate demonstrates ability to administer, score, and interpret in verbal form the following screening instruments (or other scales which have demonstrated reasonable psychometric properties). Minimum requirements for the Satisfactory rating are 2 reports and administration of 2 instruments