SPCL 7931T Practicum in School Psychology: Syllabus

The Brooklyn College School Psychologist Graduate Program strives to meet our urban community’s need for highly competent, self-reflective, and compassionate school psychologists.  The program is committed to improving the educational experiences, and addressing the mental health needs, of all children in our richly diverse schools.

The School of Education at Brooklyn College prepares teachers, administrators, counselors, and school psychologists to serve, lead and thrive in the schools and agencies of this city and beyond. Through collaborative action, teaching and research, we develop our students' capacities to create socially just, intellectually vital, aesthetically rich and compassionate communities that value equity and excellence, access and rigor. We design our programs in cooperation with Liberal Arts and Sciences faculties and in consultation with local schools in order to provide our students with the opportunity to develop the knowledge, proficiencies and understandings needed to work with New York City's racially, ethnically and linguistically diverse populations. We believe that teaching is an art that incorporates critical self-reflection, openness to new ideas, practices and technologies, and that focuses on the individual learner's needs and promotes growth. Our collective work is shaped by scholarship and is animated by a commitment to educate our students to the highest standards of professional competence.

This course addresses the four areas described in the Brooklyn College School of Education’s conceptual Framework as follows:

• Collaboration: School psychologist candidates access the knowledge and understandings of other professionals, students, and families to obtain data that focus on the strengths and needs of students. Through the readings, class discussions, and assignments, school psychologist candidates are prepared to involve themselves in students’ lives by collaborating with families, teachers, administrators, and other support staff.
• Critical Self-Reflection and Reflective Practice: School psychologist candidates are expected to critically reflect on readings, class discussions and class assignments. Over the course of the semester, students will reflect on their own assumptions about their practices, the students and families with whom they will work, the communities in which they will work, and their own development as professionals.
• Social Justice: Over the course of the semester, the school psychologist candidates develop a deeper understanding of the quest for social justice. By understanding the emotional and academic life of children, they can be caring advocates and change agents for all students and their families in pursuit of academic excellence and social equality.
• Diversity: School psychologist candidates demonstrate a capacity to understand students’ cultures and families and use this information as a basis for connecting professional practices to students’ experiences.

This course addresses a number of Domains of Practice set forth by NASP, as follows:

• Data-Based Decision-Making (Domain 1): School psychologists understand and utilize assessment methods for identifying strengths and needs; developing effective interventions, services, and programs; and measuring progress and outcomes within a multitiered system of supports. School psychologists use a problem-solving framework as the basis for all professional activities. School psychologists systematically collect data from multiple sources as a foundation for decision-making at the individual, group, and systems levels, and they consider ecological factors (e.g., classroom, family, and community characteristics) as a context for assessment and intervention.
• Mental and Behavioral Health Services and Interventions (Domain 4).  School psychologists understand the biological, cultural, developmental, and social influences on mental and behavioral health, behavioral and emotional impacts on learning, and evidence-based strategies to promote social–emotional functioning. School psychologists, in collaboration with others, design, implement, and evaluate services that promote resilience and positive behavior, support socialization and adaptive skills, and enhance mental and behavioral health.
• Services to Promote Safe and Supportive Schools (Domain 6). School psychologists understand principles and research related to social–emotional well-being, resilience and risk factors in learning, mental and behavioral health, services in schools and communities to support multitiered prevention and health promotion, and evidence-based strategies for creating safe and supportive schools. School psychologists, in collaboration with others, promote preventive and responsive services that enhance learning, mental and behavioral health, and psychological and physical safety and implement effective crisis prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery.
• Family, School and Community Collaboration. (Domain 7). School psychologists understand principles and research related to family systems, strengths, needs, and cultures; evidence-based strategies to support positive family influences on children’s learning and mental health; and strategies to develop collaboration between families and schools. School psychologists, in collaboration with others, design, implement, and evaluate services that respond to culture and context. They facilitate family and school partnerships and interactions with community agencies to enhance academic and social–behavioral outcomes for children.
• Equitable Practices for Diverse Student Populations (Standard 8): School psychologists have knowledge of individual differences, abilities, disabilities, and other diverse characteristics and the impact they have on development and learning. They also understand principles and research related to diversity in children, families, schools, and communities, including factors related to child development, religion, culture and cultural identity, race, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, socioeconomic status, and other variables. School psychologists implement evidence-based strategies to enhance services in both general and special education and address potential influences related to diversity. School psychologists demonstrate skills to provide professional services that promote effective functioning for individuals, families, and schools with diverse characteristics, cultures, and backgrounds through an ecological lens across multiple contexts. School psychologists recognize that equitable practices for diverse student populations, respect for diversity in development and learning, and advocacy for social justice are foundational to effective service delivery. While equality ensures that all children have the same access to general and special educational opportunities, equity ensures that each student receives what they need to benefit from these opportunities.
• Research and Evidence-Based Practice (Domain 9): School psychologists have knowledge of research design, statistics, measurement, and varied data collection and analysis techniques sufficient for understanding research, interpreting data, and evaluating programs in applied settings. As scientist practitioners, school psychologists evaluate and apply research as a foundation for service delivery and, in collaboration with others, use various techniques and technology resources for data collection, measurement, and analysis to support effective practices at the individual, group, and/or systems levels.
• Legal, Ethical, and Professional Practice (Domain 10): School psychologists have knowledge of the history and foundations of school psychology; multiple service models and methods; ethical, legal, and professional standards; and other factors related to professional identity and effective practice as school psychologists. School psychologists provide services consistent with ethical, legal, and professional standards; engage in responsive ethical and professional decision-making; collaborate with other professionals; and apply professional work characteristics needed for effective practice as school psychologists, including effective interpersonal skills, responsibility, adaptability, initiative, dependability, technological competence, advocacy skills, respect for human diversity, and a commitment to social justice and equity.

This course is a supervisory seminar for the practicum experience. Issues relevant to practicum activities will be discussed. The focus of this course is on the practicum experience, with special attention paid to an understanding of individual and group counseling, assessment, consultation, and the importance of the family.

1. Students will apply knowledge of theory and skills in assessment, counseling and consultation in clinical and educational settings (NASP 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).
   • Assessed: Journal, log, field supervisor evaluation
2. Students will develop a variety of intervention skills to address pupils’ academic, behavioral and social difficulties (NASP 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
   • Assessed: Journal, log, evaluation from field supervisor.
3. Students will provide detailed information on their practicum activities in written and computerized log and journal forms, in order to reflect on their own as well as the experiences of others and be able to integrate these reflections and feedback into their professional behavior (NASP 10).
   • Assessed: Journal, Log

1. 100 hours of supervised practicum over the 15-week semester. Students are required to secure a practicum site no later than the third week of the semester. Failure to do so will necessitate withdrawal from the course.
2. Class participation & attendance: grades will be lowered for unexcused absences/tardiness
3. Reading assigned material prior to class, developing questions and comments for discussion
4. Completion of all assignments
5. Purchase of professional liability insurance for minimum $1 million/3 million coverage

1. Class participation 10%
2. Written work (logs, journals, plan, prevention & crisis review) 40%
3. Evaluation from field supervisor 50%

Policy on Late Submissions/Incompletes

Work submitted late will be marked down accordingly at the discretion of the instructor. The only exception is when the student contacts the instructor before the assignment is due, and the instructor agrees to provide an exception to the due date based on the student’s extenuating circumstances.

Faculty Council has determined the following policy for Incomplete Grades:

A grade of Incomplete (INC) may be given at the discretion of the instructor when 1) a student has satisfactorily completed most, but not all, course requirements, and 2) a student provides to the instructor evidence documenting the extenuating circumstances that prevent the completion of course requirements by the end of the semester.

It is important to note that grades of INC will only be given if the instructor determines the grade is appropriate given the unusual extenuating circumstances documented by the student in advance of the final due dates. Final assignments not submitted on the due date are given a grade of zero.

The following rules are intended to improve the quality of the classroom and enhance learning for all. These are expectations to be adhered to in every class:

1. Ensure that you have a quiet, distraction-free learning space as much as possible. Your Wi-Fi signal should be strong and your technology in good working order. Invest in good quality headphones and microphone if needed so you can hear and speak clearly in your classes. Check that your webcam quality is sufficient to be clearly visible to your professor and classmates. Class participation is an important aspect of your classes in the online format. Please refrain from using distracting technology (i.e., texting, surfing the web, etc) during class.
2. When using email to contact the professor, use a professional writing style. Use an appropriate salutation, valediction, and signature line. Your email is considered professional communication. Be particularly mindful when writing emails on your phone!
3. Please come to class prepared by completing assigned reading, arriving on time, and following class discussions attentively. Asking questions on topics that were already asked or discussed in the readings wastes valuable class time. School psychologists are expected to investigate tests and administration procedures before using any test(s), and that expectation is upheld in this class. Any questions presented in class should follow appropriate steps on your behalf to solve the problem beforehand, either by referencing the manual, textbooks, asking a peer, or attending to class lectures.