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National College Credit Recommendation Service

Board of Regents  |  University of the State of New York

Camphill Academy | Evaluated Learning Experience

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Practicum Concentration

Length: 

750 hours (over 10 months, full-time).

Location: 
Camphill Communities California, Soquel, CA; The Camphill School, Glenmoore, PA; Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, Phoenixville, PA; Camphill Village, USA, Copake, NY; Heartbeet Lifesharing, Hardwick, VT; Plowshare Farm, Greenfield, NH
Dates: 
September 2006 - Present.
Instructional delivery format: 
Supervised Practice
Learner Outcomes: 

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: carry responsibility and awareness for the whole group in the house and/or workshop in terms of emotional and physical wellbeing, as well as their interpersonal relationships with one another; respond appropriately to emergencies and other human crises; provide personal support and care to individuals and groups of adults with dignity and respect; serve as a mentor to others, including students in the training program; listen and respond to concerns, questions and ideas of all team members (empathy); informally assess individual needs and interests including cognitive skills, functional motor skills, communication skills and social skills; develop, implement, and assess individualized and small group activities based on individual and collective needs and interests; prepare, set up and lead a workshop or work activity project; be able to lead or strongly support activities in different settings (vocational, recreational, domestic, educational, etc.) and with different people; adapt plans in light of unexpected changes, obstacles, or opportunities (versatility); active involvement in creating, planning, preparation and celebration of festivals; develop individualized and artistic approaches to planning, preparing and celebrating the spiritual elements of home and community life, such as morning and evening circle, and include others in your home and community in developing these forms together; imbue living and working spaces with beauty, functionality, and accessibility, paying attention to detail; making accommodations or modifications to common practices to support individual flourishing and make community practice more inclusive; maintaining a personal artistic practice or interest and supporting others in discovering or pursuing their own artistic endeavors (creativity); assess your own professional strengths and weaknesses and describe how these influence your activities and relationships; express your needs and proactively reach out for support from colleagues; articulate how your particular field of activity relates to your own biography and developmental processes as a possible “vocation”; develop a concrete plan for further professional development and mentoring; identify needs for personal development and possibilities to support them (self-initiative); explore ways of carrying a workshop or house community meditatively; carry responsibility for the curative educational/social therapeutic impulse in the house or workshop and put it into practice; develop educational/therapeutic approaches, based on an understanding of biography and individual unfolding, find accessible ways to explain or introduce your team members and colleagues to community practices, anthroposophical concepts, the festival year, etc. out of your own experience; articulate how your individualized professional practice relates to or is informed by anthroposophical concepts and is permeated by the core values and principles of inclusive social development (active interest); fulfill all the roles and responsibilities of a team leader within a house or workshop community, including instruction and supervision of other team members in the implementation of activities; learn about the economical and organizational structure of the community; practice effective, respectful, compassionate, and accessible communication with fellow community members; adopt increasingly inclusive ways of working and take concrete steps to enable others to participate meaningfully in community decision-making processes; take initiative in community building as the primary means for creating a vessel for the practice of inclusive social development (cooperation); participate in a variety of person-centered meetings, such as personal planning meetings, biography meetings, IEPs, etc.; communicate with family members and other support professionals; and take responsibility for the implementation of goals and required reporting with supervision; be an advocate for community members with disabilities in your immediate and extended community and support individuals in their own self-advocacy; carry out the administrative oversight and day-to-day management of their assigned areas of responsibility, including regulatory compliance and legal procedures, with supervision; plan and conduct meetings; represent the impulse for inclusive social development by example and by answering questions regarding inclusive social development and related fields of work (vocational integrity).

Instruction: 

Students engage in a yearlong mentored and supervised practicum in a K-12 curative educational classroom, a pre-vocational or transition workshop, a cooperative workshop, a curative educational/social therapeutic house community, or in an area of therapeutic application of the arts. Students sign a learning agreement with their mentor on objectives and expectations. Formative assessment of the student's work occurs on an ongoing basis at weekly mentoring conversations, and more formally during the mid-year review. Formative assessment is a collaborative process between student and mentor and self-assessment is a critical component of this process. The summative assessment at the conclusion of the practicum establishes whether the student passed or failed to pass the practicum experience. Completion of all requirements and attainment of all objectives established in the syllabus is required to pass the practicum. Weekly mentoring conversations, a mid-year review conversation, a formal classroom observation with oral and written feedback, and a final review of progress are hallmarks of the assessment process. Students are expected to participate in a self-assessment conversation and show a realistic view of their own strengths and weaknesses in relation to the learning agreement and course objectives. Results of the evaluation and self-assessment are documented for each course objective. Students are expected to have completed the course objectives and satisfactorily fulfilled their responsibilities as developed in the learning agreement.

Credit recommendation: 

In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 8 semester hours in Curative Education, Education, Special Education, Waldorf Education, Residential Care and Management, Human Services, Social Work, Social Therapy, Social Agriculture, Inclusive Social Development, and any discipline that could benefit from such a complementary learning experience (9/07) (10/10 revalidation) (11/15 revalidation) (10/20 revalidation).

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