Assignments

Safety Checklist: Each student must, in conjunction with their field instructor, complete the safety checklist (as required by the Office of Field Education).

• Safety Checklist (PDF)

Learning Contract: Individual student performance objectives must be established by the student and made explicit in a contract developed between the student and the field instructor. Each student will provide to the faculty liaison a detailed plan, which describes how the student intends to achieve the learning objectives specified in the learning contract.

• Guidelines on creating your learning contract (PDF)
  • See ASU's Handbook for creating the learning contract (PDF)
• Learning Contract Template (WORD)
• Sample PPA Learning Contract (PDF)
• PPA Learning Contracts from Fall 2005 (e-mail Yvonne for password)

Web CT journal entries: Students will post weekly journal entries that record the highlights of their learning activities throughout the week. Students may wish to share observations, questions, or insights about their learning experiences in their weekly postings. Weekly postings are due by the end of the day FRIDAY of each week. Students are encouraged to read and reply to the postings of other students if so moved.

Evalutation of Student Performance: A joint appointment between the three, Field Instructor, student, and faculty liaison will take place near the middle of the semester. Individual appointments at other times may, of course, be scheduled and students are encouraged to contact their field instructor if they are experiencing any difficulties or if they have any questions.

• Second Year PP&A Evaluation Instrument (PDF)

Portfolio of Student Activities and Accomplishments: Students will be expected to show the faculty liaison with examples of their work in the agency. Examples of items to include in the portfolio include but are not limited to:

• products produced for the program or agency (e.g., letters, memos, program materials, graphic presentations, data files or analysis, revised forms, etc);
• notes or journal entries that document learning activities, and self-reflection of student's performance;
• any written assessments of the student's performance;
• annotated list of readings; and,
• other examples to show progress in student's learning.

Group Seminars: Students are required to to participate in three field education related group sessions with PP&A faculty and other PP&A Students throughout the academic year. The agenda for these sessions will be devoted to common issues and concerns revolving around the student's field education.

Course Requirements

This course consists of learning experiences in policy, planning, and administration practices within community-based agencies.

Required Number of Hours in Field Placement: Each semester, students are expected to spend the equivalent of two 8-hour days a week, for 15 weeks, in their field placement agency (Actual total is 236 hours per semester). For the year, non-Advanced Standing Students must spend a minimum of 472 hours in field. Advanced Standing Students must acquire 30 hours in addition to those already stated for other students. Thursdays and Fridays are usually the two days in which students are expected to be in their field placement agencies. Other days may be used, provided they do not interfere with classes on campus or the needs of the field placement agency. For purposes of this course, students will not be expected to be in the field on official School holidays or agency holidays.

A Collaborative Approach to Developing Student Learning Activities: A field instructor, who is representative of the field placement agency, will assist students in their field education. The field instructor and the student need to have regularly scheduled conferences in which they review and critque the student's activities, as well as choose additional tasks for the student to carry out. The selection of tasks, as well as the strategies and plans for carrying them out, will need to be related to the student's past experience and the timing with which relevant material is presented in the classroom. It is expected that students will engage in easier, somewhat less complex tasks in the beginning. Since the tasks students carry out will be a function of agency needs, and the needs and skills of the student, field instructors will need to make a differential educational assessment of the student early in the semester. It is good practice for students to carefully familiarize themselves with the agecy before attempting to intervene in its operations. In as much as it is an objective of this course that students demonstrate analytical skills in assessment of organizations, it is recommended that students engage in an organizational analysis of their field agency as one of their first tasks in the agency.

The Role of the Field Instructor and the Field Liaison: The field instructor provides daily supervision and direction in the field education setting. The field instructor makes opportunities available for the students to engage in change through the planning process. The faculty liaison monitors the field experiences of the student and provides whatever support is needed to assist the student and the field instructor in meeting the objectives of the course. Read more about the specific roles and responsibilities of the Field Instructor and the Faculty Field Liaison. (Note: This link requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)