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 Interviewing a school counselor is a great time to learn more about the roles of a school counselor.  Reading chapters and articles are no comparison to speaking with a current school counselor.  You will have a chance to ask about what the school counselor's views are on the school counseling profession.   Take this opportunity to observe the school if you have never been in a school setting.  In fact, if you can observe the school counselor doing a classroom guidance lesson then that would be amazing!  Something to consider is for those of you that have not been teachers, it might be a good idea to do some substitute teaching or volunteering to work in a school as a mentor or school counselor helper.  This will provide you with a chance to get a feel of the school culture.  You will not believe how different school settings are as they have their own culture and feel.   For your final project here are some tips:   -Use narrative form.  

-You may use bullet points or sample schedule for Component 2 -Add any additional information that is helpful.  You can add your thoughts and any examples to add depth and breadth to the material.   -Here is an example of an acceptable format for the final project: -Title page required for this assignment

Component I When someone asks you how being a school counselor is different from being a mental health counselor, a social worker, or a school psychologist, what do you tell that person?       Use narrative of what the school counselor said.  Add any information that is helpful.   Please explain what counseling credential you have (e.g., license or certificate) and what the qualifications are for this in your state. What examinations, if any, are required (e.g., Praxis)?      Use narrative of what the school counselor said.  If you have any additional comments or questions, put the information her as well.  Continue with all the questions

 

OR You may simply write the responses of the school counselor without including the questions such as:

 

The school counselor indicated she thought the difference between the mental health fields was significant.  Social workers do more coordination of services while school psychologists are employed by the schools for testing and diagnosing ………….

She also indicated she received her master’s in school counseling and needed certification from the Texas Board of Education to qualify for a school counselor position.  She took a state test designed for school counselors and had at least three years of experience as a teacher in the school setting. Component II A Day in the Life of a School Counselor      Describe in a narrative, or bullet points/time line, what the school counselors says are his or her typical duties (lunch, morning or dismissal/bus duties).  Make sure to address how the school counselor works with students that drop into the office.  How does the school counselor address discipline or crisis situations?  Also, address the questions located on Blackboard.  You do not need to make up a pretend narrative of a day, but what a schedule might look like of what to expect as a school counselor. 

Acceptable narrative format:

 

In the morning, the school counselor said she helps with bus duty and also playground duty.  She watches for any issues or helps maintain safety of students.  She typically has a morning check in with students that involves watching for any unusual behaviors or concerns and to help start the children’s day off with encouraging words…..

 

OR You may simply write a sample schedule.  Acceptable Schedule format:

 

7:45-8:15 – bus and playground duty

8:15-8:40 – check in with students

8:45-9:15 – classroom guidance lessons

9:30-10:00 – small groups Component III Reflection      Describe in a narrative what are your thoughts and feelings about what you learned from the interview?      What do you think about the school counselor's responsibilities?  Do you agree with them or not?      What feeling did you get going to the school (if you went in person)?      How has your view of the role of the school counselor changed or not?        Be specific in your information.  For example:             Not specific - I really liked how the school counselor does her daily activities.  It seemed to flow really well and seemed to work great.  She sees students for counseling and does classroom guidance lessons.  It really stood out to me.   The school setting had its own unique vibe, it was very interesting.  Teachers came in to talk to her while I was doing my interview, and so did students.  I will not forget what I saw.     *So what is this describing?  Who knows?  Does this mean the school counselor is sitting in her office and not getting bothered?  We have no idea!          Specific - I really liked how the school counselor does her daily activities.  She begins the day with morning hall duty.  This gives her a chance to let students see her and it seems to help build relationships.  She does classroom guidance lessons three days a week and then sees students in individual and small groups two days a week.  I think I would like this type of schedule.  As I was talking to her, I could see how she develops relationships easily.  I was impressed when I saw teachers and students stopping by her office and saying hi.  Her room was very warm and inviting and had lots of materials for expressive arts, sand tray and play therapy.  She shared information and I really saw the kind of school counselor I want to be.    *Now we have more details and I know what is being described!  I can get a visual image of what is written.  This is called depth and breadth, adding in extra information above the basic requirements. 

If you noticed, you already have some built in subheadings.  Follow APA format!  

Let me know if you have any questions!

Dr. Boyle

Introduction to School Counseling

Final Project Overview:

The Role of a Professional School Counselor

Books, television, and movies are full of stories revealing the day-to-day realities of various professions. These stories provide a behind-the-scenes look at the often unknown stress, joy, and effort involved in being a doctor, a law enforcement agent, or even a chef. What do you think the day-to-day life of a professional school counselor is like? What constitutes a typical day for a school counselor, or is there no such thing? For the Final Project in this course, you uncover the hidden realities of the daily life of a professional school counselor.

The Final Project requires you to interview (in person) a licensed or certified school counselor who works with the age group that interests you. For example, if you are interested in working as an elementary counselor, interview a school counselor at this level. You then apply the information from this course, as well as in an interview you conduct, to your understanding of what it means to be a professional school counselor.

Please note that it is not acceptable to interview a school social worker, a school psychologist, a school-based mental health counselor, or any other mental health provider for this Assignment. Although the Final Project includes interview material, this is not the only component of this Assignment.

Please make sure to review the full project description below. The Final Project is a 7- to 10-page paper that consists of a summation of an interview, a story, and a reflection.

Final Project Due Date

Day 7 of Week 10: Although the Final Project is not to be submitted until Week 10, you should become familiar with the project requirements and have them in mind as you proceed through this course. The Final Project requires you to prepare and complete your project throughout the course, including an Assignment due in Week 6. A suggested time frame and tasks for completing the project are at the end of this document.

Final Project Criteria

1. Using the Final Project Template located in the Week 10 resources, include all three project components explained below in the Overview of Final Project Components section.

2. Demonstrate both breadth and depth of knowledge and critical thinking appropriate to graduate-level scholarship.

3. Follow APA Publication Manual guidelines; avoid typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors; and adhere to Walden’s Academic Integrity guidelines. (Information on scholarly writing may be found in the APA Publication Manual and at the Walden Writing Center website.)

4. The paper should be 7 to 10 pages in length (double-spaced), not including the title and reference pages.

5. Support your points with specific references to the Learning Resources from the course and the interview.

Final Project Grading

It is graded on a 135-point scale according to the specifications identified in the Final Project Rubric.

Overview of Final Project Components

Component I: Narrative Summation of Interview

Your summation should be presented as a narrative rather than a list of questions and answers. It is recommended that you audiotape the interview so that you can review it as you complete the Final Project.

For the interview, use the following questions. Several questions relate to topics covered in this course in order for you to gain an understanding of how the course topics apply to the life of a school counselor. If a question is related to a weekly topic, the week number is in parentheses after the question.

During the interview you may add additional questions of your own that are prompted by the conversation:

1. When someone asks you how being a school counselor is different from being a mental health counselor, a social worker, or a school psychologist, what do you tell that person? (Week 1)

2. Please explain what counseling credential you have (e.g., license or certificate) and what the qualifications are for this in your state. What examinations, if any, are required (e.g., Praxis)?

3. Please describe what a typical day looks like for you as you do your job? (Week 1)

4. What ethical and legal issues do you have to keep in mind each day? (Week 5)

5. How does understanding and respecting multiculturalism help you as a school counselor? (Week 4)

6. How do you use assessments to help you with your work as a school counselor? (Week 9)

7. How do you partner with a student’s family and other stakeholder when addressing a student’s issue? (Week 6)

8. Talk about your experiences with referring students to outside mental health counseling. Do you have a protocol to follow? (Week 7)

9. Does your school have a crisis plan for use in case of an emergency? Talk about a time when you had to respond to a critical situation in your school or district on either an individual basis (e.g., death of a student or a student’s family member, a house fire, etc.) or on a larger basis (e.g., community crisis or natural disaster). (Week 8)

10. What is the role of accountability for a school counselor? In what ways are you accountable and how do you address that accountability? (Week 9)

11. How have you engaged in advocacy (for students or for the profession)? If so, what did that involve and how did it go? (Week 6)

12. What do you do to maintain self-care and wellness? (Week 10)

13. What is your personal view about the future of the school counseling profession? (Week 11)

14. What are the most significant personal development issues you face as a school counselor? How have you addressed personal and professional growth and development?

Component II: A Day in the Life of a Professional School Counselor

Using the information from the interview, the course Learning Resources, and course assignments, create the story of a day in the life of the school counselor you interviewed. Embed in your story the significant information from both the course and the interview. Be specific, use examples, and include what you believe to be the most significant topics, even if they might not come up in a typical day. The purpose of this project component is for you to demonstrate your understanding of what day-to-day life is like for a school counselor, related to and referencing the material in the course as well as information gleaned elsewhere. It also is to demonstrate how a counselor might address/handle issues and/or situations that are the most important and/or challenging.

Component III: Reflection

In this section you reflect on what you have learned in both the interview and the course regarding a balanced approach to the professional duties and responsibilities of a school counselor and about self-care. Describe how you see your future role as a school counselor. In your reflection, respond to the questions below. Your reflection should be presented as a narrative rather than a listing of questions and answers.

1. What did you learn from the interview that you did not learn in the course?

2. What, if anything, did you learn from the interview that contrasted with what you learned in the course?

3. What do you understand better from the course as a result of doing the interview?

4. What came to life in the interview so that the information you gained in the course is more meaningful and relevant now?

5. What do you anticipate the impact of being a school counselor may be on who you are personally?