Practicum and Internship

Practicum

Required 25-hour observation

For students without classroom teaching experience or without an education major (with student teaching experience), a 25-hour observation of a classroom teacher is required prior to second-semester practicum during the first year in the program (i.e., at any time during the semester). Requirements for this assignment are detailed in the EDPS 50100 syllabus. Course instructors can offer guidance regarding arranging this experience, although most students make arrangements on their own, whether locally or during fall or Thanksgiving break in their hometowns. An explanatory letter to the site principal and an attestation of completion of the experience are required (available from faculty). Since teachers are not always comfortable with being observed, or eager to be observed, expressing gratitude during and after the experience is important.

Each practicum placement is arranged by the student’s academic advisor in collaboration with the School Counseling program coordinator and student. Placements are based on potential fit (with school level, supervisor, context), qualifications of site supervisor, and school-corporation guidelines for placement, among several factors. Students are asked to refrain from making contact with area school counselors regarding practicum placement until they have been given permission by their academic advisor and/or the School Counseling program coordinator. Sometimes a formal interview is required. Students typically contact the site supervisor directly, after receiving permission, often arranging a brief meeting of introduction and orientation prior to beginning practicum.

In October of the first year, students declare their preference for school level for the 100-hour practicum in a school (usually one full day a week). Typically students initially receive a list of sites which are likely to be available, an indication of which school levels are likely to be available locally, and which sites are likely to be available outside of the Greater Lafayette area. During consultation, the advisor suggests one or two sites as possibilities, based on whether the counselor at a particular site (1) has been a licensed school counselor for at least two years; (2) has been willing in the past to be a supervisor; (3) has a context where the required direct hours are able to be logged; and (4) works with a desirable level of cultural and economic diversity. The practicum student then is usually directed to contact the potential supervisor of one site by email or phone. In the Tippecanoe County schools, placement is currently done through interviews with an assistant superintendent and a TSC school counselor. Students are not allowed to contact County counselors directly prior to an interview and obtaining permission.

Whenever appropriate sites are available, placement will be within 30 minutes of campus. It is important to note, however, that some excellent sites are 40-60 minutes from campus. Most important, students should not “shop” for supervisors—i.e., checking with multiple supervisors to gauge their interest and critiquing them regarding “fit.” Program faculty take fit into consideration when making recommendations for a good match between student and site and supervisor.
 
All students must complete the following courses with grades of “B” or better in order to be eligible for practicum: EDPS 50100, 60000, and 60100. However, in rare circumstances where a student has received a “C” in one course, but has demonstrated strong counseling, conceptual, and ethical decision-making skills, the School Counseling faculty may allow the student to continue into practicum under a remediation contract. The practicum courses are available only in the spring semester; they are never offered in the summer or fall semesters. Students who do not complete the required courses successfully in their first semester must wait an entire year to be eligible for practicum placement.

The faculty record all practicum and internship hours on a Documentation form (pdf) (see Appendix F) in student files. Students should consult with their advisors to ensure the accuracy of these recorded clinical hours.

Internship

 All students must complete the following courses with grades of “B” or better in order to be eligible for internship: EDPS 50000, 50100, 50500, 50700, 60000, 60100, and 61000. However, in rare circumstances where a student has received a “C” in one course, but has demonstrated strong counseling, conceptual, career-development, or ethical-decision-making skills, the School Counseling faculty may allow the student to continue into internship under a remediation contract. The practicum courses are available only in the spring semester; they are never offered in the summer or fall semesters. Students who do not complete the required courses may have to wait an entire year to be eligible for internship placement.
 
For the 600-hour internship (full year, second year, total of 240 direct hours), the same process and the same requirements apply for placement as for practicum. Typically, interns spend 2 ½ days at the site per week, although other distributions of the approximately 20 hours per week are also possible.

In order to be prepared to work at all three school levels in the future (the state license is a K-12 license), at least 40 hours (up to 200) must be logged at the remaining school level (i.e., practicum at one level, internship at another level, the third placement at the remaining level). These hours are to be logged during the internship and count as part of the 600 required hours. Again, consultation with the intern’s advisor is required during selection of and placement for the third level. Sometimes the third level is in proximity to the main internship site (e.g., a middle school connected to a high school).

Practicum and internship students are expected to accrue the required number of hours during the Purdue academic year. In situations where illness or some other extenuating circumstances make it extremely difficult to reach the required total during the Purdue semester, interns may be allowed to log hours in mid-December or mid-May, for example, after the Purdue semester has ended, if campus supervision is available. Interns should not assume that such supervision will be available and should confer with their advisor if a need for extending the experience arises. Logging hours during fall or spring break is handled similarly.

ON TRACK hours are only very rarely able to be counted toward practicum or internship. Only if a school site clearly and unexpectedly precludes logging an adequate number of hours may an ON TRACK employee make arrangements (through conferring with advisor) to count some of the ON TRACK hours. Such an arrangement requires that the ON TRACK school level match the main internship site level (or the third school level).
            
Internship placements are arranged by the academic advisor, in collaboration with the School Counseling program coordinator and students. These placements are based on many constructs. Placements are based on potential fit (with school level, supervisor, context), qualifications of site supervisor, and school-corporation guidelines for placement, among several factors. Students are asked to refrain from making contact with area school counselors regarding internship placement until they have been given permission by their academic advisor and/or the School Counseling program coordinator.

Students typically contact the internship supervisor directly, after receiving permission, often arranging a brief meeting of introduction and orientation during the practicum semester. Sometimes a formal interview is required.