Syllabus Overview and Practicum

Tutorial

ABSC 690/691 Community Health & Development

Practicum

NoteYou need to complete this full slideshow to

know how to obtain a permission number to enroll in the course!

Course Prerequisites

ABSC 310/311 (*must have completed in a previous semester)

ABSC 150/151 (previously completed or can be concurrently enrolled)

Students who are in their senior year (final 2 semesters) will be prioritized for practicum placement

Course Materials and Resources

The ABSC 690 course textbook is the same as the one used in ABSC 310.

For additional reference and support materials, go to the online Community Tool Box http://ctb.ku.edu/.

Course ObjectivesEnhance experience, critical reflection, and supported

practice in addressing problems and goals that matter to communities

Apply core competencies to promote community health and development in community-based settings

Promote community-university partnerships through service-learning

Support student professionalism and career development to enhance student marketability and employability

Required Practicum Hours and Supervision

Practicum Hours

Students will be responsible for completing a minimum of 12 hours on site/with community partner organization each week Total of 144 hours completed each semester

Students will also participate in 2 hours of class weekly, which do not count towards required weekly onsite hoursClass meets Wednesdays from 3-5 pm in 4034

Dole

Practicum Supervision

Practicum student are co-supervised by a community partner site supervisor and the instructor:Onsite supervision- meet weekly at least one day/week when at site during some part of your 12 hours

Instructor supervision- meet weekly during class

Course Content and Requirements

Practicum Products Each student will be required to produce minimally one

product to support their practicum siteThe product should be one that adds value to the practicum

site (e.g. community needs assessment, program action plan, etc.)

The product must be based around one of the 16 competency areas (excluding modules 6, 9, and 14) that you received training in ABSC 310/311 Building Healthy Communities

If the practicum product will not take a full semester to complete, the student must complete more than one product (e.g. community needs assessment plus a strategic action plan)

Examples of Practicum ProductsThe practicum product is negotiated

between the community partner organization/site and the student

Examples of practicum products completed by students in previous semesters can be accessed from link below:Example Practicum Student Products Note: If

it prompts you to enter a username and password, just close that dialogue box and it will still let you open the file.

Practicum Small Group MeetingsEach month, there will also be small group

practicum meetings (during class time) to allow the instructors to further provide you with technical support and feedback in the development of your products.

You will be assigned to small groups and paired with other students who are working on similar types of products (e.g., all students in one group may be working on evaluation or assessment; whereas, another group may be working on products related to implementation or action planning)

Practicum PresentationsPracticum students will periodically prepare a

10-15 minute formal PowerPoint presentation that describes and outlines the practicum experience and progress in developing the related products.

Presentations will describe the competency area, progress made on supporting the practicum product, and challenges.

Student presenters should also be prepared to field questions from peers and instructors.

Practicum EvaluationStudents will be evaluated by their onsite practicum

supervisors twice during the semester:Midterm Evaluation (instructors will conduct onsite visits or

teleconferences with supervisors)Final EvaluationAt the supervisors’ discretion, evaluations will be shared

with the practicum student

Students will be evaluated by their instructor supervisor

Students also complete self-assessments of their practicum work

Student will also evaluate their site partner

Professional DevelopmentAll practicum students are required to:Interview with potential community partners within the first couple of weeks of class

Over the summer, instructors will tentatively place students with an appropriate community site, but the site is not final until the student and community partner have met in person

Attend two KU Career Center events each semesterOne event must be a resume development sessionOther event options include job interview workshops and

career fairs

Additionally, Practicum students are required to: Create a LinkedIn (professional networking website)

profileDevelop a professional resume

Attendance/Absence Policy

Attendance ExpectationsStudents are expected to: Attend regularly scheduled practicum hours at

the community partner site Be prompt and on time to both class and the

community site

Attend in-class meetings and individual/small group appointment times with the instructors

Adapt personal and work schedules to fulfill their practicum commitment with the community-based organization being served

Scheduling Practicum HoursThe student schedule for supporting the 12 hours at the

practicum site is negotiated between the student and community organization

Recommended to identify times in your course schedule during the semester you’ll take practicum where you have blocks of 3 or more hours to make scheduling practicum hours on site easier It works best when students support multiple days at their practicum

site with larger blocks of time available at the site (e.g., 3 hour chunks four days/week; 6 hour chunks/two days/week; 4 hour chunks 2-3 days/week)

It becomes a little more complicated to accomplish daily activities if a student is there in less than three hour blocks of time

If your schedule is really tight, and you only have shorter periods of time available (2-3 hours blocks), then it’s recommended you consider some of our partner sites located on KU campus.

Absences from the Practicum Site

Students must notify both the course instructors and the practicum site supervisor, in advance, for any absences at the practicum site

No unexcused absences are permitted at the community partner site

Students will be allowed only two excused absences (with prior notification) at the community partner site during the semester

After the third absence, the student will receive an automatic 10% (letter grade) reduction for each subsequent absence at the community partner site

Course Expectations

Class Participation and Attendance

Throughout the semester, students will be scheduled to attend individual or small group meetings with the course instructors to discuss the overall progress of the practicumWeekly full-class meetingsMonthly individual student or small group

meetings

Attire

Students are expected to wear clothing appropriate for the practicum site and should dress in the same manner as the employees at the practicum site

Students are expected to dress in business attire for certain in-class events (such as mock-interviews and presentations), as well as interviews and presentations at the practicum site

Class meetings in which business attire is expected are indicated in the syllabus

Preparation for a Successful Practicum

Experience

Student Considerations

Seek placement with appropriate partner organizationsOver the summer, the instructors will match each

student with an appropriate community partner site based on your online practicum student informational profile

Allot the appropriate amount of time in your class schedule and work/personal schedules

Review competency areas (Keep those modules from ABSC 310/311!)

Placement ConsiderationsWhen identifying potential organizations/agencies for the practicum consider the following:What are your professional/career interests?

Do you plan to go to graduate school? If so, consider research opportunities.

What are the applied problem/goal areas you are interested in addressing?

What are the populations/groups you have interest in working?

What type of settings/professional base would you like experience working from? (e.g., after school program, schools)

What are competency areas that you would like experience (e.g., evaluation)?

Additional ConsiderationsAlso, consider the following for identifying appropriate site options:What geographical areas (Lawrence, Topeka, Kansas City Metro Area) can

you work from for your practicum?Students who are open to work from different locations have more options

available Student who can work a couple of days in an out of town site (e.g., Topeka,

KC), can arrange to at least work some of their time (1-2 days) from our research lab space in Dole Center if it makes it more feasible

Do you already have a community organization/agency you have identified that is of interest to you for the practicum?If so, then ensure you follow up with Dr. Thompson to ensure approval

for the site you may have already identified or have your own relationships.

If not, then Dr. Thompson will help to place you with an appropriate site.

Site Placement OpportunitiesThere are approximately 30 approved sites where the

instructor typically may place students (open link to view sites). These sites are listed in the practicum student profile online

form to indicate sites you may be interested.

If you identify a site where you would like to be placed, but is not on our standard list of placement options, then you should indicate this information to Dr. Thompson in the practicum student profile.

Otherwise, the instructors will place you with an appropriate site based on your preferences indicated in the practicum student profile.

Completion of Practicum Student ProfileAfter you complete your practicum student profile, Dr.

Thompson will receive an automated alert that your information has been submitted online.

Then, Dr. Thompson will provide you with a permission number to enroll in ABSC 690/691 only after the practicum student profile has been completed.

If over the summer, you identify any areas of your profile that you need to modify/update, please go back into the profile and update it accordingly, as Dr. Thompson will be notified whenever you make an update.

Next Steps to Enroll in PracticumStudents must complete/update practicum student profile

If you are a Practicum 2 student (second semester in practicum), you still need to update your profile

To edit your profile, hoover over your last name and you’ll see a drop down menu.

Over the summer, instructors will match students with sitesBy the first day of class, instructors will notify you of your potential

placement siteEnsure you periodically check your email address associated with

KU over the summer as we may email information regarding the practicum

After completing tutorial and your profile, contact Dr. Thompson if you need additional information regarding the practicum

Sample Profile List and Navigation

To create new profile go here

To view or edit profile go here

Go to the last/next slide to access the practicum student profile link!

I look forward to seeing each of you in August!

See you in August!

*Link to Practicum Student ProfilePlease complete the practicum student

profile using the link below:Practicum Student Profile Link