Over the summer I had the opportunity to begin completing some of my Practicum hours at Edison Elementary School and at the Canisius Connections Program. At Edison I got my first taste of what it is really like to be a School Psychologist. Tori, Edison’s School Psychologist, introduced me to numerous teachers, as well as the Principal, which made me feel very welcomed into the school environment. I remember being really nervous the first day because not only was I meeting Tori for the first time, but I also accompanied her to a psychology meeting with fellow psychologists from the Ken-Ton school district, as well as their boss!
The time spent at Edison during the summer months consisted of various jobs and responsibilities. I worked on psych files for students being tested, and I learned how to complete various forms of observations. I got the chance to sit in on a 504 meeting, which I was excited about because I remembered learning about those types of meetings previously in my school psychology course at Canisius.
Once the school year at Edison was over, Tori invited me to observe and help out at Canisius’s Connections Program for children with Autism. This was definitely an awesome experience! I felt very lucky to be a part of it! Luckily, I had completed a project/presentation on Autism in my school psychology course last semester, so I at least had a pretty good idea of what Autism looks like. But it was definitely eye-opening and educational to interact and observe a child with Autism, compared to just reading about it in a text book. While observing I got to score Skill Streaming lessons and Therapeutic activities. I also had the chance to work in the Research room and score tests, as well as report the data in their computer system. I found it so interesting to see both sides of the treatment experience: teaching and research/testing.
Overall, my experience with school psychology during the summer months was fantastic! It was a great introduction to the world of school psychology and made me excited for the new school year at Edison to begin!

This week I began shadowing Tori at Edison again – definitely nice to be back! Tori has brought aspects of the Connections Program to Edison; therefore, I will be observing and helping out with a Comprehensive School-based Intervention Program (CSBI) for students with high-functioning Autism. I already attended one half hour session today with three second graders. This week’s skill streaming counseling lesson was ‘Listening’. The flow of the session is exactly like how it was done at the Connections Program, so I had no trouble following along. Afterwards, Tori and I pushed into a fifth grade classroom, which we will be pushing into each week, where we will perform a therapeutic activity that goes along with the skill streaming lesson. Thus, this week’s activity had to do with listening. I LOVED doing this!! I love working with kids and teaching them new things, especially when the students are so open and willing to learn and participate in the activities, just as these fifth graders are! I’m definitely looking forward to next week!

This week Tori asked me to fill out and mail consent forms and social history forms to the parents of students who are in need of testing or re-evaluation this academic year. I also had to send forms to the teachers of these students so they are aware of the potential testing. I didn’t complete all of the forms yet, so I’ll probably be doing those next week as well.
I also attended another CSBI session, where the skill streaming lesson was ‘Asking a Question’. Afterwards, we pushed into the fifth grade classroom again, where we played a game with that helped the students practice asking questions: We broke the students into groups and taped a picture of an item (food, place, animal, etc.) on one of their backs. Since that student couldn’t see the picture, he/she had to ask questions to his/her group members to figure out what it was. Each child had the opportunity to have a picture on their back numerous times. The students seemed to love this game! It was a lot of fun to interact with the students and help them form good questions that would help them discover the item the quickest.

This week I finished up the consent and social history forms – finally!! Haha! I was also responsible to perform a natural observation of a fourth grade student. While observing, I became aware of the benefits of co-teaching classrooms with three teachers/aids to twenty-some students. I learned about this form of teaching in a previous Education course I took at Canisius. Now being able to see it for myself – I definitely believe every classroom (if possible) should adopt this style. Not only does it give the children more individual attention, but regular and special education students have the chance to learn from one another and interact with a diverse group.
Moreover, this week’s CSBI skill streaming lesson focused on ‘Introducing Yourself’. Therefore, in the fifth grade classroom we had the student’s pair up after discussing with them a list of things to say about themselves while introducing themselves to their partner. After the students had time to introduce themselves to their partners and take notes on each other’s statements, the pairs went up to the front of the classroom and now introduced their partner to the class based off the information they wrote down. The kids seemed to enjoy learning about their friends and introducing them in front of the class. They really seemed to grasp the concept and embrace the steps to perform it correctly.

This week I got to observe Tori testing three different students. She performed different tests for each child, including the WISC IV (cognitive/IQ test), the WIAT III (academic test), and the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test II. By far one of the most interesting and educational events I’ve observed so far during my Practicum. Tori said she will teach me and let me score these tests (since I already learned how to score some of them at the Connections Program).
I also just wanted to make a comment about professionalism I noticed today while at Edison. While in the hallway, Tori and I were talking with a handful of teachers. As some of the teachers began discussing students, Tori decided to walk away because she knew she could not comment or share information about the kids. I was very impressed because I learned in my school psychology course about regulations and laws schools psychologists must follow. It is easy to gossip with friends, but being a professional school psychologist comes first!

This week I got to sit in on a parent-teacher-school psychologist meeting. We discussed how their child is doing so far this school year, as well as what programs are currently in effect, including behavior charts and reinforcement. I am currently learning about behavior modification and reinforcement techniques in my Behavior Modification class. It is cool to see these techniques implemented in a school setting and seeing the success for some, but also the need for change of criteria for others to better suit the individual child.
Moreover, this week’s CSBI session and therapeutic activity taught the students how to have a conversation.
Lastly, I was responsible for making up posters of the weekly skill steaming lessons (which have the steps for each lesson on them). The Principal decided he’d like the majority of Edison’s classrooms should have these signs hanging on the walls. Looks like I’ll be making more copies of each sing in the near future!

This week I got to attend a 504 meeting with the students mother, speech therapist, Principal, school counselor, and Tori. I was so happy to be able to sit in on another 504 meeting!! It is really interesting how Tori has to follow a certain script while discussing topics with everyone in the meeting, and has to get everyone to agree on the final decisions she types up in the forms.
Since most of the consent forms from the parents were returned, Tori has been able to begin testing more students at a quicker pass. Therefore, I got to observe her testing two more students, which is always very interesting! She also started teaching me how to score some of the tests.
Lastly, this week’s CSBI skill streaming lesson and therapeutic activity was ‘Following Instructions’. We distributed a sheet of loose leaf paper to each student and read a number of instructions aloud to them, which they had to follow exactly right, otherwise they would not win the game. Most of the students did it correct, but it was interesting to see where some of the students went wrong.

This week I got to attend one of Edison’s Instructional Support Team (IST) meetings, where a group of teachers, Tori, the school counselor, speech therapists, and the Principal come together as a pre-referral team and discuss cases. I believe this to be one of the most crucial parts of the school psychologist’s job. In this meeting, they looked at various students’ progress and how their academic performance and social skills are developing. They then determine what more can be done, such as speech therapy or testing, to help the child reach their full potential.
I also got to sit in on a parent-teacher-psychologist conference, where they reviewed the test results with the mother of the student. It was nice to see that the mother was so willing to help her child and do what was ever necessary. Figuring out what behavior modifications work best for each child is definitely a team effort among the staff and the parents. If not everyone is on board and willing to do their part, the child’s progress will suffer.

This week I observed Tori testing more students. She's trying really hard to get as many done as soon as possible, but testing each individual student take a long time because there are numerous sections to each test. It takes especially long since Tori can only take a student out of the classroom for a certain amount of time. I got to help Tori score some of the tests, which I like learning how to do.
Also, this week’s CSBI skill streaming lesson and therapeutic activity was 'Asking for Help'. The boys in the skill streaming group did well this week; I was impressed by how attentive they were and how much each of them participated to earn their points! Their examples were great :) So proud of them today!

This week I performed a natural observation of a student. My observation began while the student was participating in gym class, and continued through to his speech therapy. This student was so cute! However, his speech/language development is extremely delayed, so it was very difficult to decipher what he was trying to say. I am currently taking a Developmental Psychology course, where we are learning about the critical periods of child development. Unfortunately, the student's parents did not enroll him in any type of schooling or Pre-K until he was five years old. Therefore, he did not have a chance to interact, learn, or practice speaking with other grown-ups and children his own age until he was five! Hopefully his speech will continue to get better as time goes on, because you can see the frustration he feels when he is trying to express something to others, and they just can't understand him.

This week Tori completed some more testing, which I got to observe and help score. I also had the opportunity to sit in on and contribute my thoughts to a meeting she had with the school's Principal regarding one of the students she is currently testing. Apparently, he is acting up in class and causing disruptions.
The CSBI skill streaming lesson and therapeutic activity this week dealt with 'Understanding and Using Idioms'. This was probably one of the most fun activities I got to plan and act out with the fifth grade students! Before pushing into the classroom, I was responsible for creating and large Jeopardy board that we hung on the chalk board in the front of the classroom. We then broke the class into groups of 5-6 and randomly chose which groups would have the chance to choose an Idiom worth a certain amount of points. Depending on the point amount they chose, the Idiom would be easy, medium, or hard to interpret. It was awesome to see and hear the students working together to try and figure the Idioms out and explain their description of the phrase. They really enjoyed this, and so did we! Next week I get to distribute prizes to the winning team :)

This week I made some more skill streaming posters for various classrooms. I was also responsible for completing a natural observation of a third grade student while he was attending a group-speech therapy session. Since there were only six students in the group, it was more difficult to not make them aware I was performing an observation.
Moreover, while working on paperwork, a second grade teacher came to Tori and I, asking for our help to get a student out from underneath a table in her classroom. Apparently, she had been sitting under there, not responding to anyone, for almost an hour by the time the teacher gave up and came to us for help. After about ten minutes of trying different techniques, such as talking to her in a nice, calm voice; trying to have a conversation with her about the weekend, etc., Tori and I started having our own conversation, while every so often asking her if she wanted to join in. FINALLY by telling her she could come color with the two of us if she got out from under the table, she crawled out. We took her back to Tori's office and colored and talked about what was bothering her. Turns out, she felt that the teacher scolded her, so she went into "hiding". This was definitely more of the "counseling" side of being a school psychologist - and i LOVED it!! I felt really proud and accomplished when we were able to send her back to her classroom and hear her apologize to her teacher after explaining her feelings.

This week Tori tested a student, using the TOWL-3 test, for almost two hours, which I got to observe. Afterwards, I helped Tori score the different sections of the test, some of which I had never learned before.
Moreover, this week’s CSBI skill streaming lesson and therapeutic activity dealt with 'Asking for Permission'. In the fifth grade classroom, we had the students color pictures of Christmas stockings or Hanukkah stars for Veteran soldiers. To practice this week’s skill, the students had to ask permission to color either a picture of a stocking or a star. In addition, we supplied only one set of markers to each group of students; therefore, they had to ask permission to use and share the supplies with each other. They seemed to really enjoy decorating these for the Veterans!

This week I was responsible for conducting a systematic observation of a fourth grade student. I did this for twenty minutes and marked down if he, along with two of classmates, were on task or not. I also wrote down any observations I made as to what the students were doing if not on task at that minute. I think this form of observation is a good technique, especially since we keep track of other students at the same time in order to compare them in the same setting with the same instructions.
Also, this week’s CSBI skill streaming lesson and therapeutic activity was 'Apologizing'. We welcomed a new student into the skill streaming group this week - he fit right in!! Which was awesome! He volunteered to do his role play first and got up in front of the group with total confidence, which was fantastic! In the fifth grade classroom, we had the students break up into pairs and come up with a role play of their own where an apology was necessary. After allowing them about ten minutes to think one scenario up and practice it a few times, the groups came to the front of the classroom one by one and acted out their role plays for us. After each groups performance we took the time to discuss what took place and why the apology was necessary. They did an awesome job with this and really had fun with it! Very proud of them!!

My School Psychology Practicum experience has been a complete success! I cannot believe it is already over! Heading into this experience, I had no hands-on knowledge of what it was like to be a School Psychologist. All I knew was my knowledge from textbooks and lectures. It was so awesome to see it all come to life and be able to use different techniques to aid me in my responsibilities. I am so thankful that Tori taught me how to test students using various tests, and also score those tests; how to perform different kinds of observations and translate those observations into Psychology File reports; and how to perform skill streaming lessons and therapeutic activities with a wide range of students. In addition, being able to sit in on numerous IST and 504 plan meetings, as well as meetings with parents and teachers about students, was very enlightening and educational for me - I had no idea the effort and detail that is put into each meeting and the amount of people it takes to figure out the best plan of action for each individual child based on their needs.
I honestly feel very lucky to have had this opportunity before graduating college and enrolling into Graduate school. Having completed this experience, I am even more confident that I have found my passion! I look forward to further experiences in the school, and hopefully, as Tori and I discussed, I will be able to continue my relationship with Edison next semester!