COURSE OUTLINES and DESCRIPTIONS

Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, New York

COLLEGE of Liberal Arts
Department of School Psychology

COURSE: 0527-777

1.0 Title: Internship in School Psychology I, II, III                    Date: 2007-2008
Credit Hours: 9 (3 each quarter: fall, winter, spring)

Prerequisite(s):      Matriculation in the School Psychology Department, satisfactory completion of 84 hours in graduate program, a passing portfolio review, a grade of B or better in Internship I to proceed to Internship II, and a grade of B or better in Internship II to proceed to Internship III
Corequisite(s):       none
LOCATION/TIME:   12:00 to 5:00 on Fridays
                                 Fall and Winter Building 1/3381;
                                 Spring Building 1/4287
Course proposed by: Jennifer Lukomski, Ph.D.

2.0 Course information:

Quarter(s) offered (check)
___X__ Fall ___X__ Winter __X___ Spring _____ Summer

Students required to take this course:
Third year students in the Graduate Program in School Psychology.

Students who might elect to take the course:
None

1. Goals of the course:

Goal 1: Students will develop a professional identity as a school psychologist whose conduct is consistent with NASP and APA ethics codes, and Best Practices.
Goal 2: To develop student competency in the application of scientifically-based psychological research to matters affecting education generally, and to those of individual stakeholders.

Goal 3: Students will develop competency in selecting, administering, and interpreting psychological and educational assessment data.

Goal 4: Students will demonstrate competency in academic and social emotional interventions.

4.0 Course description

The 1200 hour internship is the culminating experience in the school psychology department. It provides an intensive, supervised training experience in which interns put the knowledge, skills, and attitudes learned during their training program into practice while continuing to develop and expand upon those abilities. The internship year is a broad-based, individualized experience that provides an opportunity to work with a variety of children, parents, teachers, support staff, and administrators. Interns are exposed to a varied of educational meetings, programs, workshops, resources, and conferences through their internship sites. Monthly class seminars supplement the supervised training experience.

5.0 Possible resources

5.1 Thomas, A., & Grimes, J. (2002). Best practices in school psychology IV. Washington, DC: NASP.
5.2 Additional readings are assigned drawn from current issues of the Communiqué and the School Psychology Review. Interns need to join NASP if not already members.

5.3 Required Readings Reference List:

• Allison, R. (2002). Best practices in supervision of school psychology staff. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology IV (Vol. 1, pp. 115-129).Bethesda, MD: NASP.
  
• Brown, M. (2002). Best practices in professional development. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology IV (Vol. 1, pp. 183-194).Bethesda, MD: NASP
  
• Conoley, J.C., & Sullivan, J.R. (2002). Best practices in the supervision of interns. In A.Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology IV (Vol. 1, pp. 131-144).Bethesda, MD: NASP
  
• Curtis, M.J., & Stollar, S.A. (2002). Best practices in system-level change. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology IV (Vol. 1, pp. 223-234). Bethesda, MD: NASP.
  
• Friedberg, R.D., & McClure, J.M. (2002). Clinical practice of cognitive therapy with children and adolescents: The nuts and bolts. New York, New York: The Guilford Press.
  
• Huebner, E.S., Gilligan, T.D., & Cobb, H. (2002). Best practices in preventing and managingstress and burnout. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology IV (Vol. 1, pp. 173-182).Bethesda, MD: NASP
  
• Hunley, S.A., Curtis, M.J., & Batsche, G. (2002). Best practices in supervision of school psychological services. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology IV (Vol. 1, pp. 103-114).Bethesda, MD: NASP.
  
• Knoff, H.M. (2002). Best practices in facilitating school reform, organizational change,. and strategic planning. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology IV (Vol. 1, pp. 235-253).Bethesda, MD: NASP
  
• Poland, S., Pitcher, G., & Lazarus, P.M. (2002). Best practices in crisis prevention and management. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology IV (Vol. 2, pp. 1057-1079).Bethesda, MD: NASP.

6.0 Topics (outline):

7.0 Intended learning outcomes and associated assessment methods of those outcomes

The intern participates in a supervised school psychology internship five days per week for three consecutive quarters. The intern follows the local school district calendar for the 10-month period. RIT holidays and breaks do not apply during the internship unless they happen to coincide with the district holiday schedule. With supervision and direction from the internship site supervisor, the intern participates actively in the various tasks and daily activities of the psychologist in the schools. In addition, on-campus seminars and on-line discussions will provide a gathering time to discuss and supplement each student's field experience. Students are encouraged to use this group time to share ideas, raise questions, and state concerns. Interns are expected to attend all classes regardless of whether they fall on district holidays. Please plan vacation activities around both class and district schedules.

Specific Requirements:

1. Core Internship Plan (CIP)

During September, interns will consult with field placement supervisors and discuss the Core Internship Plan (CIP) as well as develop any additional activities for internship.
In addition to the CIP this internship play will include:

1. A cover page that includes your supervisor's name, address and contact information, as well as your own; and a signature page that you, your supervisor, and the internship coordinator will sign.

2. A schedule of the intern's employment hours and exact building assignments, and the school district calendar including vacation days, inservice meetings, etc.

3. A general overview of your role and responsibilities. Ideally, you should strive to gain some experience at each level of your school system from preschool (if available) to high school. Please try to build that varied experience into your internship plan. It may be best to rotate to other settings in your district in the spring, after you have established yourself in your primary setting.

A copy of this signed plan is due to the instructor at the beginning of the October meeting.

2. Daily Logs

Each intern will maintain a log which reflects the intern's daily schedule of appointments and activities. Clearly list the times and activities (assessment, consultation, counseling, meetings, etc.). The log is intended to summarize, in brief, the intern's day-to-day activities. At the end of each month, have your supervisor initial your summary log. Logs of the previous month will be collected at each class meeting. It is suggested that the intern keep logs in loose leaf notebooks that can be supplemented from month to month. The log will be reviewed by supervisors for evaluation and planning purposes, by the intern as a self-evaluation and planning tool, and by the school for accountability purposes. The log will be provided.

4. Cumulative Summary

Each intern will document professional activities, including assessment, counseling, and intervention on an ongoing basis. A form for documenting activities will be provided. This updated form is to be turned in monthly to the RIT Internship Coordinator.

5. Semi-weekly Reflective Summaries

Each intern will write seven reflections for the period of Sept thru Dec. 07, and six reflections for the period of Jan. thru June of 08. See the MyCourses outline for due dates of the first period ( i.e., Sept – Dec).

In these reflections you have two options as noted on the MyCourses outline. You You may want to reflect on an experience with a particular case, and describe alternative approaches you might have taken. You may describe a research idea, discuss an ethical or legal dilemma you have encountered, or present a concern you have for a best practice in your district. You may also use your journal to reflect on your own progress toward your internship training goals.

On some weeks, particular topics may be assigned. During the first four weeks of the fall quarter, please be sure to include in your discussion your initial impressions of your setting. Describe your physical environment, and the cast of characters you will work with this year. Describe the formal power structure of your school system and your building or buildings. Make a preliminary description (guess) of the informal power structure. Also, list or discuss your early impressions of the positive factors in your setting that will enable you to meet your training goals this year. Try to identify any anticipated impediments to your progress and suggest how you might deal with them. There are also specific topics that have been provided for you to comment on.

You can either submit the entries on MY COURSES to share with your classmates, or you can submit to me by the due date. You do not have to reflect on both topics for that reflection date that have been listed in MYCOURSES discussion section.
Choose one or the other. Please also make a hard copy of each journal entry and include it in your internship notebook.

6. Site Visits

In the fall or winter, the internship instructor will meet with the intern and the site supervisor. Site visits for long-distance internships may be conducted via telephone. Additional site visits may be requested by the intern, the on-site supervisor or the instructor as needed.

7. Case Studies

Please bring interesting or troubling cases to our monthly on-campus seminars. Allowing each of you an informal place to discuss difficult cases is the most important function of the seminar. In addition, choose two cases to present to your classmates formally. These presentations will be ongoing throughout the year. Interns need to sign up in advance to present a case at one of our monthly meetings.

Case Study 1: Assessment to Intervention
You will hand in one completed initial assessment. (See Assessment rubric for areas that will be evaluated). This assessment you will present to your peers. For your presentation you will review the sections and provide an overhead of data for the class to review. This presentation will be approximately 15 minutes.

Case Study 2: Counseling Case Summary
Choose one intervention case directed at increasing a child's behavior and/or social-emotional functioning (e.g., individual or group counseling, social skills group, etc). You will hand in a Counseling Summary (see Counseling Rubric for areas that will be evaluated). The counseling case presentation will be a 10 minute overview of what you did. In the presentation: 1) Present the Area of Concern, 2)Goals, 3) Summary of Progress,(how many sessions, summary of intervention, effectiveness ( including graph of progress), 4) Recommendations, and 5) Qualitative Evaluation of a) what the student reported she learned, b) what the student liked best and c.) your self evaluation.

At the time of this case presentation, please bring a description of one or more activities that you have used or observed that seemed to be effective. Briefly review the activity with your classmates. Make copies to distribute to your classmates.

Case Study 3: Formal Case Study
The case study will describe an actual case that have completed using systematic and structured problem-solving procedures. (See the Case Study rubric that will be used to evaluate the submitted case study. )
You will conduct a case study under the supervision of the faculty member who evaluated your portfolio.

8. Inservice Delivery Project

Develop and present an inservice training in your school district. Your presentation may be made to general or special education teachers or paraprofessionals, parents, or other school staff ( e.g., janitors, cafeteria workers, bus drivers). Consult with your site supervisor to help you determine what topics are of interest, what information is needed and what is workable in your district. Your 15 minute presentation in our seminar class will highlight the inservice in enough detail that classmates could replicate it in another district. Your presentation should include an overview of what you prepared and delivered, your reasons for choosing this topic, all materials and handouts you prepared, and an evaluation of your inservice. ( See the Inservice Rubric.)

9. Praxis School Psychology Exam

Interns need to sit for the Praxis School Psychology subject exam before the end of the internship year. Information on registering for and taking this exam is posted in the Content section of myCourses Internship I. This exam is required by NASP for your National School Psychology Certification (NCSP). Provide a copy of your score report as evidence that you have taken the exam.

9. Evaluation:

Evaluation is an ongoing process involving your self-evaluation and feedback from your on-site supervisor(s) and the internship instructor. The intern should seek regular discussion of activities and progress. Final evaluation of the intern is based on this ongoing feedback process. Supervision notes and the evaluation reported completed quarterly by on-site supervisor assessing your progress toward the IPP goals will be reviewed. You need to meet face-to-face with your site supervisor to review and sign this evaluation before it is submitted. The intern's logs and journal entries, special projects, and appropriate samples of written work and psychological reports will be considered. No passing grades for the internship will be issued before all required projects are evaluated as satisfactory. Grades will be lowered one letter grade for each week any written work in delayed past the due date on this syllabus.

Grades will be weighted approximately as follows:

Major projects and assignments (IPP, Case Studies, Inservice) 20%
Logs, journals, and class participation 20%
Site Supervisor Evaluation 60%

10.0 Supplemental information

Students with Disabilities: The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, reaffirmed by the 1992 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), was created to protect the rights of the disabled population. Anyone in this class who has a disability or any other situation or problem that requires special accommodations should let me know as soon as possible, not after the first project/exam/etc. We will discuss the necessary accommodations. There are resources on campus that you should know about as well. Please see me after class or during office hours.