Practicum

Goals

The goals of the practicum experiences are:

• Use the new skills and knowledge you have acquired in the coursework;
• Examine a real-world school library media program and reflect on the experience, tying it back to your own situation, if you are already in a school;
• Develop relationships with practitioners;
• Further develop your own philosophy of school librarianship; and
• Provide an assessment of your skills as a new library information specialist.

Many of the students in the UWSSLEC classes are practicing teachers or library media specialist on emergency license. To support them, the practicum experiences for this program are set up to provide valuable experiences in two different school libraries, one at the elementary and one at the secondary level. This allows the student to relate the experience directly back to his or her own workplace and complete the experience with minimal disruption in work schedule. Students will work with the faculty member at their home institution to fulfill the requirements of the practicum to meet the above goals.

Requirements

Two hundred hours are required in the combined practicum experiences for the Initial license. Most people divide their hours evenly across the elementary and secondary levels, although exceptions can be made with the approval of the student's advisor. Elementary level refers to work in an elementary or middle school. Secondary level indicates middle school or high school level. A student may do only one of these experiences at the middle school level.

UWSSLEC recommends that students do both practicum experiences outside their home district to get the widest possible experience, but it is recognized that this may not be possible in some cases. Students are allowed to do one experience in their home district, but this may not be in the school where they are currently working or where they have children attending school. The second experience must be in another district. The practicum sites must be approved by the university supervisor before finalizing them as each must have a 902-licensed library media specialist who has been there for at least a year and should represent best practices in the field.

Setting up the Practicum

All practicum experiences are arranged through the student's home institution. Contact the following individual at your home institution in the time frame listed to set up a practicum experience. The contact person will suggest sites for the practicum and explain the requirements to a potential supervising library media specialist at the site, but it is the responsibility of the student to:

• directly contact the potential supervising library media specialist to obtain permission to do the practicum;
• set up hours acceptable to both and within the university's requirements;
• attend to FBI criminal background check; and
• complete the required paperwork for the university.

Generally, you need to begin planning for the practicum about a year before you actually want to go into the schools. As working professionals, it is often difficult to put together two realistic practicum experiences, but we will work with you to create the best experiences possible. It is good to begin a discussion of this requirement with your school administrator at the beginning of the licensure program. A number of students have asked for and received some time out of the school to do the practicum. While the options depend on the requirements of your home campus, here are some options that have worked in the past:

• Seek a school that has a spring break other than yours and get a good number of hours during this time.
• Use professional development and personal days to get into a school.
• Do one practicum in the summer at a school with a certified library media specialist. Only one summer practicum is allowed. These experiences are not commonly available around the state.
• Complete a good portion of a practicum at the beginning or the end of the school year, especially at a school with a different start or stop date.
• Seek sabbatical or release time from your district.
• Use your preparation time to do a practicum at another school in your district or a neighboring district.