School Psychology 826

Historical confluences of school psychology and psychological services in schools. Topics include roles and functions of school psychologists; current practices, ethical guidelines, models, and relevant educational laws; and the cultures of schools. Class presentations by practicing school psychologists help familiarize students with the roles of school psychologists.

Covers trends and issues that influence exceptional citizens, such as definition and comparison of the intellectually disabled, gifted and creative, communications disabled, auditorially impaired, visually disabled, and physically disabled; implications of federal and state legislation for professional psychologists; educational, vocational, social, and mental health resources associated with exceptional children and adults; the implications of classification on behavior; and the impact of an exceptional child on the family, school, and community.

Focuses on the administration, scoring, and interpretation of major standardized assessment approaches (e.g., cognitive, achievement), and assessing various child learning difficulties. The roles of RTI, CHC theory, and cross-battery assessment approaches for the identification and monitoring of learning difficulties and disabilities are presented. Under faculty supervision, the completion of two comprehensive clinic-based cases is required. 

Overview of school-based psychological intervention procedures and programs designed to improve the emotional, behavioral, and social functioning of children and adolescents. Emphasis on evidence-based interventions. Service delivery at the individual, group, and systems level, as well as intensive, targeted, and universal prevention programs are addressed. Implementation issues specific to school settings are examined. Course requires implementation of an evidence-based procedure or program. 

Provides for personal and professional growth and development through small group supervision by faculty and peer group. Focuses on the integration of coursework with the professional, ethical, and legal issues encountered in school practicum placements.

Overview of theory, research, and practice of school-based consultation. Indirect models of delivering educational and mental health services. Methods of improving services for clients by increasing consultee capacities. Behavioral consultation, conjoint behavioral consultation, mental health consultation, and instructional consultation approaches addressed. Course requires a school-based consultation project.

Develops knowledge, skills, and abilities that contribute to effective planning and evaluation of programs, services, and systems that add value to individuals and groups in organizations (profit, nonprofit) and related community settings. Reading materials, strategies, methods, and techniques integrated into class sessions while the out-of-class learning activities include completion of two "real-time" program planning and evaluation projects each semester, one of which is with a client, under supervision of course instructor. Procurement of funds for program planning and evaluation, proposal development, marketing of professional services, and professional self-management are covered. Extra projects and learning experiences are available.

Provides students with opportunities to become knowledgeable about and skilled in frameworks, methods, and procedures for assessment and intervention with athletes, coaches, teams, parents, and administrators. Assessment is considered as a process of gathering information about individual athletes and teams, and as a basis for intervening to provide quality sport psychology services. Intervention is considered as the process of designing, implementing, and evaluating programs and services for athletes and others, based on trustworthy assessment information. Students complete one project that involves supervised experience in assisting an athlete or coach in personal development or performance enhancement and another project in which they construct a business plan for development of a sport psychology practice.

An overview of sport psychology along theoretical, research, and practice dimensions. Focus is on the place of sport psychology in the history of sports worldwide at youth, competitive, and elite levels; reviewing diverse theories, concepts, and frameworks that have contributed to the advancement of sport psychology, including those that are social learning, cognitive behavioral, social psychological, and informational in nature and scope; the current status of empirical research that forms the structure of sport psychology; and the practice of sport psychology as demonstrated and illustrated in a range of settings, with diverse populations. Students complete two projects: designing a sport psychology service and describing the practice of a sport psychology professional.

Supervised experience of 1,500 hours (departmental requirement), or 1,750 hours (predoctoral licensing requirement) in a setting determined by the internship coordinator and the student.

Half time of supervised experience in a setting determined by the internship coordinator and the student.