Professional and personal development of students throughout the program depends on feedback from faculty and fellow students, as well as on-going self-reflection by each person.  Many forms of assessment will be used by faculty and staff to facilitate learning.  Every effort will be made to attend to different learning styles, and accommodate individual learning needs (important to articulate those to be sure that faculty are aware if there are special needs). 

Because faculty are interested in providing multiple assessments of learning within specific courses, there will be written exams, integrative papers and projects, oral presentations, videotape reviews and presentations, and group projects.  These specific assessments will be chosen to reflect the learning objectives and outcomes in the course.  Faculty will provide positive and constructive feedback to enhance and build on learning.  While much of the work will be individually focused, several courses require a focus on group projects to help you develop those skills to work collaboratively with others (skills needed by all professional counselors).  Expectations will be stated clearly by faculty at the beginning of the semester, and clarifications (regarding assignments or structures) should be sought as needed.

In addition to in-class assessments, there are several major self-assessments that will be a part of your work.  For all students, the review of progress (a written self-assessment then reviewed by faculty members of the department) is an opportunity to reflect overall on the learning they have done; more specific description will follow, but it is important to note that it occurs in the semester after you complete 12 credits in the program.  At the completion of internship, students will be asked to use the same format to assess growth and learning over time.  Supervisors will provide this feedback as well, using the same format and addressing the same 25 objectives that provide focus for the training.

Persons in the School Counseling Emphasis will also complete a developmental portfolio.  This portfolio is intended to help integrate learning over time, with the final culmination of that learning in the internship year.  Specific guidelines and objectives can be found on the department home page (http://academics.uww.edu/counseled) and more generally in this handbook.

Review of Progress

The Counselor Education Faculty believes that counselors' personal awareness, knowledge base, and skill evolve throughout their professional careers. As students progress through the Counseling program, faculty provides an ongoing review of students' progress within the program, while encouraging students to monitor their own development as well.

A formal procedure for a review of progress will take place in the semester immediately following the students’ completion of their first twelve credits in the counselor education program. This review will assess student development academically, professionally, and personally as identified in specific program objectives.  Those 25 objectives are listed specifically earlier in this handbook.  Students need to complete a review of progress form (self-assessment) by the due date established within the semester following  completion of twelve credits in the counselor education program. Due to the importance given to this process, completion of the self-assessment will be required to continue in the counseling program. Failure to meet this requirement will result in an administrative hold on the student's registration.

Faculty will meet to discuss the review of progress of all students, identify concerns, and provide feedback to the students. This individually written feedback will include comments on progress in academic, professional, and personal development, as well as an overall assessment of progress. The review will conclude with one of the following:

1. a commendation related to present development with encouragement for future progress
2. an identification of concerns which need to be addressed with the student's advisor and plans for further review
3. an assessment that professional direction needs to be reexamined via consultation with the student's advisor

A review of progress will also occur as part of the process of application to the internship. Applicants' progress toward the program objectives will be discussed prior to determining eligibility and appropriateness of the internship experience.

 
School Emphasis Portfolio Requirement

Counseling students enrolled in the school counselor emphasis will be required to develop a portfolio of their academic career. 

This portfolio will demonstrate a student’s progress in the mastery of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required of Professional School Counselors in the State of Wisconsin related to PI 34 Pupil Service Standards and Content Guidelines for School Counselors, North Central Association of College and Secondary Schools (NCATE), and Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

What is a portfolio?

•  A visual showcase of a student’s work that demonstrates professional growth, achievement, and competence in the field of counseling.
• An instrument designed to facilitate self-reflection, self-improvement, intrapersonal understanding, conceptual understanding, and skill development.
• A tool used to document a student’s philosophies of education, counseling, and school counseling; as well as understanding and application of the PI 34 Pupil Service Standards and the Content Guidelines for School Counselors, NCATE Standards, and CACREP Standards.

Why are portfolios important?

• Students are active participants in their learning as they collect, select, reflect, and assess the work in their portfolios.
• Students learn to assess their growth in the field of school counseling.
• Supervisors use portfolios as a tool to provide feedback to students on progress and performance standards.
• Portfolios provide students with a visual representation of their competencies as a school counselor when seeking employment.
• Portfolios create a written record of a student’s achievement in the Counselor Education Program.

What types of evidence do I choose?  Where do I get it from?

• Select artifacts (coursework—papers, projects, etc.) that illustrate understanding or implementation of a specific standard.
• 5-7 artifacts must come from core courses and the rest from school counseling courses.
• Save and organize all course information and assignments for possible use in the portfolio.

Directions For Developing The Professional Portfolio School Counseling

The Professional Portfolio is designed to be developmental (showing learning and growth), reflective (documenting reflection upon that learning and growth), and evaluative (providing feedback to the student and to the program about graduates’ competencies).

Students in the school counseling emphasis will be asked to attend an informational meeting on the development of the professional portfolio.  The portfolio will be submitted for evaluation and feedback three times.  Specific dates will be announced by the department at the beginning of each academic year.
First submission:  Semester in which Review of Progress is completed

• Philosophy Statements and 2 Themes/Elements

Second submission:  Semester enrolled in Practicum

• Philosophy Statements and total of 8 Themes/Elements

Final submission:  Spring semester of Internship year

• Philosophy Statements and all Themes/Elements

Please note that philosophy statements and reflective statements are to be revised based on current coursework and feedback from earlier submissions, but that artifacts are not to be changed once submitted.  Students should not remove any prior material.  (Place revised material with dates on top of old material indicating clearly that this is the updated version:  All portfolio documents need to be dated to avoid any confusion).

• Portfolios will be presented in a binder for all three evaluations.
• Presentation and Readability are important to evaluation and feedback.
• Materials in the portfolios will be evaluated according to the form included in the portfolio packet.

Please refer to the department website at http://academics.uww.edu/counseled for additional information.

Next->

College of Education - University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
800 W. Main St. Whitewater,WI 53190
email: education@uww.edu
Designed by the COE Web Development Group
http://www.uww.edu/coe