Since its inception in 2009, the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Program (in the Department of Focused Inquiry at Virginia Commonwealth University) has evolved and expanded into an amalgamation of three distinct but overlapping elements: (i) teaching practicum, (ii) leadership seminar, and (iii) service learning experience. But only recently have…

The practicum experience in the field of recreation and leisure studies is an important aspect of a student's preparation for the field of recreation and leisure services. This workbook covers the requirements for everyone involved in the practicum experience: student, agency, agency supervisor, college/university, director of field placement, and…

The primary form of experiential education in political science is an internship in a government office. Too often, however, with little actual monitoring of their experiences, government interns become little more than classic office "gofers." Fortunately, there are strategies to make political internships not only useful learning experiences for…

Discussion of the growing use of practicums and field experience in college programs as a means of preparing students for the world of work looks at ways in which the practicum is conceptualized, implemented, and evaluated. Shortcomings are identified, research into the role of supervision is recommended, appropriate learning objectives are…

The rationale for having health care practitioners teach students includes the optimal education of the students and continuing education for the practitioners themselves. Some goals and objectives for practitioner-instructors are provided, and instructional techniques utilized by optometric practitioner-instructors are described. (MLW)

The goals and nature of liberal education, the status of psychology within liberal arts, and the undergraduate practicum are discussed. A new development in psychology has been the practicum course, which some critics have claimed is a threat to the goals of liberal education. It is claimed that three dimensions are persistent themes in most…

Suggestions are made for defining policies and maintaining the quality and integrity of the educational processes that are part of social science internship programs. The suggestions relate to sponsorship and supervision, the desired learning outcomes and performance standards, and student evaluation. (MSE)

A study examined how academic staff involved in workplace supervision of students conceive of the workplace experience in four professional areas: engineering, business administration, health sciences, and social science. Five concepts are identified, and a relationship is seen between the conceptions and the quality of student learning. Staff…

This guide presents an outline for establishing a service-learning program for college level students preparing for a career in working with older adults. The following procedures are described for developing practicums and fieldwork programs: 1) establishing program goals, 2) program staffing, 3) selection of service-learning sites, 4) developing…

Presents the results of a survey of counselor preparation programs in the U.S. over a 10-year period, concerning courses, program emphases, philosophical orientations, and experiential components. Found expanding number of courses, number of degrees, and program emphases with increasing stress on specialization. Discusses implications for the…

This handbook is designed for college faculty concerned with developing effective off-campus experiential learning programs, and with assessing the outcomes of these programs. The theoretical background of experiential learning is discussed, and the practical and implementation issues are emphasized: definition of educational objectives,…