Collaborative Course Syllabus Construction: Impact on Consultative Competency of Graduate Students in School Psychology

• Main Author: Camilli, Andrea Lauren
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest LLC 2009
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Consultation Programs; Cooperative Learning; Course Descriptions; Course Evaluation; Educational Objectives; Graduate Students; Program Effectiveness; School Psychologists; School Psychology; Self Efficacy; Teaching Methods
• ISBN: 9781109450545; 1109450540

Consultation has emerged as an effective alternative to traditional methods of service delivery in schools. Additionally, current research and recent changes in legislation (e.g., reauthorization of IDEA) indicate that not only is consultation an effective approach to service delivery, but it is a preferred activity of school psychologists and an increasingly required one also. Therefore, it is essential that graduate programs in school psychology provide their students with effective instruction and training in consultation; however, research indicates that there is a lack of consensus regarding what constitutes the most effective methods for developing competent consultants. In response to growing dissatisfaction with traditional methods of instruction, collaborative learning has emerged as an effective alternative in other fields. Collaborative course syllabus construction, a method used to implement collaborative learning, has the potential to be of great value in setting the tone and desired learning objectives of a consultation-based course. The goal of the current study was to implement collaborative course syllabus construction with school psychology graduate students enrolled in a consultation course, and assess the impact of this approach on learning in and out of the classroom and on one's professional consultancy practice as compared to traditional methods of instruction. Thirty four graduate students (PsyD and MS) in their second or third full year in the graduate program in school psychology participated in this study. Students were exposed to either the Traditional Consultation Course (TCC) condition or the Collaborative Course Syllabus Construction (CCSC) condition. Following completion of the course, information on participants' course evaluations, academic achievement, performance on the graduate comprehensive examination, perceived self-efficacy, consultee satisfaction ratings, and internship supervisor evaluation ratings was collected. The results of this study did not support any of the hypotheses that a collaborative learning approach would demonstrate more positive outcomes than a traditional approach to instruction. The implications of these findings were discussed, and study limitations and suggestions for future research were reviewed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]