School
Psychology
Internship Program |
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Purpose-Rationale:
The
internship in School Psychology is designed to provide extensive
field experience under appropriate on-site supervision to doctoral/specialist
candidates upon completing their practica in school psychology.
The internship/field experience course is taken near the end of
the student's training and is often the exit experience of the program.
The internship addresses training needs in the delivery of comprehensive
psychological services in school and other approved settings. The
course emphasizes many elements of the five major aspects of the
“Reflective Decision-Making” Theme, which guides teaching
and learning in the School of Education at the University of South
Dakota. These include analytical thinking and data-based decision-making
skills needed for psychological assessment; the interpersonal communication
skills needed to promote problem solving and to effectively work
with families, educators, and other professionals in the community;
the knowledge and skill development of various counseling, psychotherapy,
and consultation models needed to facilitate change; the technological
skills needed to utilize state-of-the-art psychometric instruments
and interventions; and the moral and ethical values needed to provide
human services to children and families with diverse backgrounds. |
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Objectives:
The internship/field experience in School Psychology at the University
of South Dakota is designed according to the standards established
by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). The
primary goal of the internship is to allow the student to demonstrate
in a supervised setting skill proficiencies that have been acquired
during formal training on campus, and to acquire additional knowledge
and skills through field placement. More importantly, the internship
should be a learning and training experience that stresses the
quality and type of experiences available and not be limited to
service provision to the hiring district or agency. Specific objectives
of the internship are as follows:
1. To gain hands-on experience in field sites where students
participate in the delivery of comprehensive school psychological
services under appropriate supervision of site supervisors.
2. To demonstrate the ability to integrate and apply knowledge
and skill competencies necessary for delivering a full range of
effective school psychological services.
3. To demonstrate reflective, analytical and data based judgment
skills, professional attitudes, communication skills, and the
ability to engage in and adapt to various educational contexts.
4. To increase experience in working with individuals of diverse
characteristics and to demonstrate the sensitivity and skills
needed to work with such individuals.
5. To integrate technology to enhance school psychological practice. |
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Requirements:
The student will be expected to complete a minimum of 1200 clock
hours of training at the specialist level or 1500 at the doctoral
level over a period of one academic year. The student may elect
to have a half-time internship over a period of two consecutive
academic years. The student’s caseload is expected to include
a broad spectrum of psychological services (e.g., comprehensive
assessment, consultation, collaboration, in-service, counseling,
prevention and intervention programs, etc.) for which he/she receives
two hours of person-to-person supervision per week. At least one-half
of the internship experience must be in a school setting and include
involvement with regular education, special education, and other
educational and related services. Supervision in the school setting
must be provided by a certified school psychologist(s) who is
a full-time employee of the school and who has held such employment
for a minimum of one school year prior to undertaking the responsibility
of supervision. Supervision in other approved settings shall be
provided by personnel who hold an appropriate credential for that
setting.
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Internship
Plan
A written plan of the internship (Appendix A) experience will be
developed by the student prior to field placement and agreed to
by the student, and by the field and university supervisors. The
plan should include specific personal objectives of the internship
and a description of experiences that will enable the student to
meet each personal objective. The personal objectives should be
in line with the internship course objectives delineated earlier.
While the internship plan may vary depending on the nature of the
internship site, it will generally include (but is not limited to)
the following areas of skill development:
* Expansion of Experience in Human Diversity
* Knowledge of School and Systems Organization and Operation
* Home/School/Community Collaboration and Effective Utilization
of Community Resources
* Increased Skill Development in Assessment and Databased Decision-Making
* Development of Communication, Collaboration, Consultation,
and Counseling Skills
* Provision of Prevention and Intervention Programs
* Research and Program Evaluation
* Professional Growth and Development
* Information and Instructional Technology
A copy of the internship plan with the field supervisor’s
signature must be submitted to the university supervisor(s) prior
to beginning the internship or no later than the first week of
the internship. The submitted internship plan will be inspected
by the university supervisor as to the quality and type of experience.
The university supervisor will then provide approval and/or suggestions
for modification. A copy of the final internship plan with the
signatures of all parties (i.e., student, field supervisor, and
university supervisor) will be mailed to the student and field
supervisor.
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Internship
Log
The
student will be responsible for keeping a daily log of his/her activities.
The log will indicate the types of activities, number of hours spent
on each activity, and characteristics of populations served (e.g.,
regular ed., special ed., preschool, etc.). Although a sample Daily
Log (Appendix B) is included in this internship handbook, the student
can create his/her own computer program to keep track of his/her
activities. The Summary Sheet of Internship Activities (Appendix
C) and the daily log must be turned in to the university supervisor
at the end of each academic semester. |
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Professional Product Portfolio
The student will develop a portfolio of internship experience to
document a broader perspective of the student’s full range
of professional competencies. The Professional Product Portfolio
may also be used during a job search. Guidelines for Professional
Product Portfolio:
• The process of portfolio development
can be labor intensive and time consuming. Thus, start collecting
potential documents early in your internship and keep a reflective
journal to remember how these documents contributed to your
professional growth and accomplishments.
• The Professional Product Portfolio
should be organized in a loose-leaf binder to allow for good
organization, easy access to materials, and updating if necessary.
You may choose to develop an electronic portfolio in lieu of
the paper-based portfolio. The electronic portfolio is typically
published on the Internet or on a CD. The content and format
of the electronic portfolio will be the same as the paper-based
portfolio.
• The Professional Product Portfolio
represents a carefully selected collection of exemplary documents
that highlights your best work and accomplishments. There are
many items that can be included in your portfolio, however,
choose only those items that are critical and essential to the
purpose of your portfolio. Ask yourself why this document/experience
is worthy of having a place in your portfolio – Think
about quality rather than quantity.
• Organize most of the portfolio
around the personal objectives identified in your internship
plan. An easy way for you to do this is to divide the portfolio
into labeled sections, one for each of your personal objectives.
A table of contents is essential to the portfolio regardless
of how you choose to organize your experiences. Using a table
of contents in conjunction with color-coded section tabs is
recommended for ease of inspection.
• At the beginning of the portfolio,
you must include an introduction that provides an overview of
forthcoming materials. The introduction may include professional
goals and commitments as well as a personal philosophy of education
or philosophical beliefs related to your profession; an overview
of personal objectives of your internship and their link to
your professional goals; rationales for the inclusion of the
forthcoming documents; and comments about how the documents
support the personal objectives of your internship.
• The portfolio should end with
the “Reflective Practice: Evaluation” section which
provides documents on the effectiveness of your professional
activities (see example portfolio, Appendix D).
• Documents that stand alone in
a portfolio without explanation of context and reflection of
value can be confusing. You should preface each document selected
for inclusion with identifying information, a rationale that
justifies the value of the document and the experience it represents
by asking the following questions:
1. What is the document/artifact? (“What?”)
2. How does it relate to this particular objective? (“So
what?”)
3. What does it say about my competence? (Now what?”)
More specifically, summarize the document to answer the question
“What?” Then reflect on what you learned and how this
leads to meeting the personal objective, which answers the question
“So what?” Finally, address implications for future
performance and set forth refinements and/or adaptations, in order
to answer the question “Now what?”
The “Now what?” question involves a highly complex
thinking process that requires reflective and analytical thinking
about what you are doing and the effects of your professional
performance on children, youth, families, and other consumers.
Writing reflective entries about personal thoughts, feelings,
and insights may be a difficult task for some individuals. The
following sentence starters (keep in mind that these are only
a few ways to begin a reflective entry) may facilitate your thinking
and help you get started.
I know my provision of counseling to John Doe has increased
his interpersonal skills because…
What I have learned from this experience is…
What I think I will do differently is…
As a result of this experience, I now…
Some of the areas that I need to continue to gain experience
are… because…
I have gained considerable insight about…
I now understand the importance of…
Some questions that still remain in my mind are…
This experience has help me understand…
After carefully considering… I think…
The Professional Product Portfolio must be submitted to the
university supervisor toward the end of the internship, no later
than the last week of the second semester. An example of the
portfolio contents and format as well as a rubric for portfolio
evaluation are included in Appendix D. There are several higher
education sites that provide examples and resources for portfolio
development, some of which are:
• University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/curry//class//edlf/589_004
• Virginia Tech Teacher Education in the Sciences and
Humanities (TESH)
http://www.tandl.vt.edu/TESH
• The Portfolio Development Web Site of Dr. Helen Barrett,
University of Alaska
http://transition.alaska.edu/www/portfolios/bookmarks.html/#teach
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Campus
Day
All interns will return to campus on the
first Friday of November and April to attend a symposium on various
issues relating to school psychology and to share their experiences
with each other, with students in the program and with the university
supervisors. A notice of the meeting schedule will be mailed to
the interns in advance. Field supervisors will also be invited to
attend the campus day activities. Mark your calendar and make sure
that the two campus days will be built into your internship plan
as part of your professional development. |
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Self
Rating
The student will be expected to evaluate, near the end of the academic
year, significant aspects of the internship experience (Intern’s
Rating of Internship, Appendix E), including:
a. the experiences provided by the field placement site
b. the quality of site supervision
c. the quality of university supervision
d. the suitability of the setting for future internships
e. the intern's judgment of the suitability of his/her preparation
at USD for the internship.
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Field
Supervision:
Primary responsibility for intern supervision rests with the field
supervisor who meets with the intern for a minimum of two hours
per week. The amount of direct contact between the intern and the
supervisor usually varies over the school year with a good deal
of time required early in the year and less time as the intern gains
in competence. |
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University
Supervision:
The university
supervisor will have the responsibility of assisting the student
in locating and applying for an internship position. The university
supervisor will also provide suggestions to the student regarding
subsequent interviews. These interviews are usually similar to later
job interviews and are an important part of the student's training.
Once the student has accepted an internship position,
the university supervisor will make initial contact with the field
supervisor by phone. A site visit will take place approximately
midway through the internship unless the field supervisor indicates
a need for an earlier meeting. A final visit will occur near the
end of the internship. During the campus day activities (symposiums),
additional supervision will be provided in groups and/or on an
individual basis.
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Evaluation:
The Internship Evaluation Form - Site Supervisor’s
is completed by the field supervisor on two separate occasions.
The first evaluation occurs approximately halfway through the internship,
preferably during the last week of the first semester. The final
evaluation occurs at or near the end of the internship. Ratings
obtained at the end of each semester of the internship will be summative:
they will be on a 5-point scale and averaged so that an average
rating of less than 2 will equal a grade of F, 2 to 3 will equal
a C, 3 to 4 will equal a B, and 4 to 5 will equal an A.
The Professional Product Portfolio will be turned
in near the end of the internship, no later than the last week
of the second semester. The “exceptional” rating will
equal an A, “acceptable” a B, and “not acceptable”
a C.
In addition to the ratings from the field supervisor and the
intern's portfolio, self-rating, daily log, summary sheet, feedback
from the intern and field supervisor during internship site visits,
and other relevant materials submitted to the university supervisor
will be taken into consideration for grading purposes. Primary
responsibility for grading rests with the university supervisor.
A grade of C or below will require repeating the internship
course for an entire academic year.
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