Psychology 390 - Community Placement Experience in Psychology

Syllabus

Instructor: Elizabeth (Libby) Jones, Ph.D.

Office: TPH 260

Phone: (W) 270-745-4414 (H) 270 843-4230

E-Mail: Elizabeth.jones@wku.edu

Prerequisites: Psy 100 and Junior or Senior psychology major, with twelve hours in psychology and approval of the department. Particular courses will be designed as prerequisites or corequisites for particular community placement experiences.

Course Catalog Description: Practical work experience in a supervised psychology-related work setting with a cooperating psychological or human services agency, private business or industry. Psychology 390 may be taken for 3 hours credit at one time. Only 3 hours will count within the first 33 hours of a psychology major. Students are responsible for arranging their own transportation to designated or assigned sites.

Course Objectives:

1. Students will obtain supervised work experience within a psychological, human service agency or private business/industry.
2. Students will integrate conceptual knowledge obtained through courses in the psychology major with applied experiences obtained in the community placement.
3. Students will learn to use reflective writings for professional growth and development.
4. Students will learn the ethics and work behaviors expected of professionals working in psychological, human service agencies or private business/industry.

Course Materials:

Community Placement Experience in Psychology Handbook

Course Requirements:

1. Logs: Each student will be expected to document their time and activities by completing the Log Form found in the Community Placement Experience in Psychology Handbook. Each log sheet must be signed by the site supervisor and submitted for review at the monthly seminar meeting with the WKU instructor. By the end of the semester students will need to have accumulated 120 hours in their community placements. Students should consult the Community Placement Experience Handbook for guidelines in scheduling and completing the 120 hour requirement.
2. Seminar Meetings: Students are required to attend a monthly seminar meeting. There will be designated topics for each meeting and students will be expected to discuss experiences they have had in their placements that relate to the topics. At the start of the semester the class will be divided into seminar groups and a schedule for each seminar group will be given to each student. Each of the seminar groups will meet four (4 times) during the semester at the designated class meeting time.
3. Reflective Journaling: Each student will complete 15 reflective writings about their experiences in the field placement. This journaling assignment requires students to think about their experiences and react to them on a personal level. Complete guidelines for the format, length, and content of the journal entries are provided in the Community Placement Experience in Psychology Handbook.
4. Summary: At the end of the semester each student will submit a summary paper integrating their experiences and reflections with prior course work. Guidelines for completion of this summary paper are included in the Community Placement Experience in Psychology Handbook.
   

Grading:

Seminar Participation 20%

Placement Participation/Evaluation 35%
- Logs 10%
- Evaluation 25%

Reflective Journaling 20%

Course Summary Paper 25%

A=90 – 100%; B= 80 – 89%; C= 70-79%; D = 60-69%

Special Note: Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic adjustments and/or other auxiliary aids or services) for this course must contact the Office for Student Disability Services, Room 445 Potter Hall. The phone number is 270.745.5004 VT/DD.

Please do not request accommodations directly from the professor or instructor without a letter of accommodations from the Office for Disability Services.

The course schedule, topics, procedures and requirements are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor or in the event of extenuating circumstances.