A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

In the community:

Students participate in all service activities that are occurring at the particular site they have selected for their practicum. This can range from policy work (as with students who work at school districts) to actual services being rendered onsite (as with students who are nurses). Since we have students from varied fields, (i.e. criminal justice, nursing, education and social work), they use their own expertise to enrich the collaborative work being done on site.

In the degree program:

The program offers seminar-style courses, with a great deal of interaction among the participants. One example of a collaborative exercise is to divide the group into smaller groups of four, present a case scenario and then the participants work as a team to develop treatment plan. Additionally, the readings required for the course come from many disciplines and team teaching is done by professors from at least four different academic disciplines.

How is the community served?

Because our program caters to many who are already working within the community, participants take what they are learning and can immediately implement it with the community via the services they provide.

How do schools participate?

Some schools participate by virtue of the fact that their employees are enrolled in the courses. Schools often act as practicum sites. We recruit some students via master teachers or their involvement with the university on other levels.

How long has the interprofessional program been operating?

The program began in Spring of 1994. Since then, we have offered the first course, Theory and Practice of Integrated Services, twice and the second course, Practicum in Services Integration, once.

What clinical experiences are offered?

In the first course, only a site visit is required. In the second course, students spend intensive time in integrated services settings (i.e Healthy Start sites or community-based organizations).

How is the program evaluated?

The evaluation plan is currently being developed by Morgan Lyons of Lodestar Management/Research and Dr. Andrea Zetlin of California State University, Los Angeles. Dr Zetlin is the contact person and she can be reached at (213) 343-4410. We also ask participants to evaluate their experience at the end of each course.

[Center for the Collaborative Advancement of the Teaching Profession: University of Louisville: Louisville, Kentucky]

[Appendix B: Conference Participants - Early Childhood Work Group]