SHEPHERD COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, PHYSICAL
EDUCATION, RECREATION & SPORT
RECR - 350 Field Exper. In Leisure
Services David E.
Fincham, Asst. Prof.
3 Credit - Office: Butcher Center 211
Summer – 2004 Phone: 304 - 876
- 5235 (W)
E-Mail - efincham@shepherd.edu FAX # 304 - 876 - 5062 (W)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to provide the
student with practical career-related experiences in leisure services. RECR-350 requires 180 hours of supervised experiences. Students
will be given an opportunity to
transfer classroom instructions to the work environment through-problem solving
, interacting with agency staff members,
and developing programs within their specializations.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
A. To allow students an opportunity to apply
classroom administrative knowledge, procedures, and direct leadership
approaches within a formal agency.
B. To afford students an opportunity to work
with professionals in selected agencies.
C. To provide career experiences to enrich
classroom learning.
D. To allow students to observe how agency
supervisors approach problems inherent in daily programs.
E. To provide students an opportunity to
evaluate the working abilities of agency supervisors as professionals.
F. Communicate
with INSTRUCTOR at least three (3) time per month <written
/ spoken> about progress. Failure to do this will decrease your
final grade. You must keep me informed as to progress during this
semester. If you do not communicate
with me as recommended you must drop
the class by 12/1/04. Additionally, in
order to receive an "I" for the class you must have my (professor)
approval by 7/15/ 2004.
Additionally, it should be understood that all RECR 350 -INCOMPLETES
must have sound justification.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
A. Agency Visit - The instructor will
attempt to visit each student at the agency during
work. For individuals who are placed out of the immediate area, the
instructor will collect information as to the progress of the student through
e-mail, fax and/or phone call. The on-site visits are very important because I will get
an opportunity to observe programming opportunities and visit with you and your
supervisor. The purpose of these
meetings will be to gather information about your skills, leadership ability,
and administration of the various programs.
Each student should have a written plan for the instructor the day of
the visit <Failure to have a written plan will reduce this grade >. Furthermore, we will need an opportunity
to discuss with you and your supervisor the progress of this field placement.
Cont. Field Experience - RECR 350 Page
2
B. Field Experience Plan - Students are
responsible for finding their own placement site. It is an important responsibility and must be selected with much
care and attention. This experience must be related to your
specialization, and the instructor must approve the agency placement. Furthermore, the field placement should be treated as employment
within the agency.
CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT:
Prior to May 26 (100 points) students must have
initiated a meeting with their agency supervisor and return the Direct Field Contractual Form to
me. Students MUST provide the
agency and instructor with a resume, letter of acceptance, and a sheet stating
personal goals for this placement . These should be typed and given to the
instructor by 5/27/04.
All of the forms must be given to the instructor prior to reporting for
work with the agency (R E Q U I R E D).
METHOD FOR DETERMINING GRADE:
Agency Overview Paper (100 points - due at the end of week 2) - This paper should be typed and has three parts to it
including: < June 1, 2004 >.
Part 1.
Give an
outline of your field experience assignment.
Fully describe the agency
including the type of consumers served, the type of agency (public, private,
non-profit, etc.), the basic organization structure of the agency and type of
programs you will be directly affording assistance to, and the philosophy and
mission statements of the agency and/or department. Describe your initial training
program, day-to-day activities, a typical week and your work schedule.
Part 2.
Finalize the goals and objectives of the unit and how these goals relate
to the
specific five (5) goals you plan to
accomplish during the field placement <develop
this with your direct supervisor (s) or by following the data sheet with your
contractual
agreement provided by this office.
SAMPLE GOALS and OBJECTIVES
Personal Goals and
Objectives Include: (List Five Goals
and Objectives:
Goal:
1. Work with commercial and tourism
professionals
Objective: ( Objectives are measurable and
accomplishable )
1. Learn and observe how tourism information
is distributed to consumers.
2. Keep records <on a daily bases> the
number of consumers contacted.
3. Keep a notebook of daily learning
experiences.
Cont.
Field Experience - RECR 350 Page
3
Part 3.
Consult with
your agency supervisor and initiate the ground work for the special project you
will complete during this field placement.
Explain what type of project you will be attempting and the method (s) for
accomplishing this assignment.
DENOTE: MAIL THIS TYPED
COPY TO: Mr. David E. Fincham,
Recreation Department, Shepherd College, Shepherdstown, WV 25443. DEVELOPMENT
AND COMPLETION OF A QUALITY SPECIAL PROJECT.
Daily Program Record Sheet - Students must
keep a record of activities they directed on the DAILY PROGRAM RECORD SHEET. These
forms should be sent to the instructor on a weekly basis during the summer field placement. Student not completing this field placement
during the first summer session should send the forms on the 15th and 31st
of the month. Failure to comply could jeopardize your final
grade (usually a letter cut in final grade).
**** Record Keeping Journal (100
points) - Students must keep a complete record of program procedures in
a journal (3-ring binder). Include a
description of complete field experience observations, daily program plan
(seminars), opinions, reaction, and thoughtful reflections on the field
placement experience.
Supervisor Evaluation (100 points) When students have completed 90 hours of work within the agency, they are required to have a supervisor evaluate of their
accomplishments.
This must be completed and mailed (faxed) to me on the STUDENT
EVALUATION
FORM. The agency supervisor should meet with you
about the merits of your
job performance. Of course, the program-hour fulfillment,
special project, and
final required notebook must be
completed in a timely manner.
Final Field Experience Assessment (100 points) - When student
have completed 180 hours, a final evaluation is to be completed by the agency supervisor. This must be completed on the STUDENT EVALUATION FORM and included in
your notebook. Any support information,
i. e., special project overview
should be attached to this form. The final assessment notebook shall be
well-organized and contain all data not given to the instructor during
observation sessions.
Instruction Observation Sessions - Students will provide a schedule on each
2nd.Monday of month at 10:00 am of their work week. This schedule must be faxed to me (304 -
876 - 5062). The instructor
will usually call to make arrangements for these observation sessions. If the work schedule changes you
contact me at home (only in an emergency & usually only SUMMER SCHOOL CLASS) at (304) 263 - 0325.
Cont.
Field Experience - RECR 350 Page
4
FINAL PAPER and
NOTEBOOK(200 points)
Due: July 29, 2004 This paper is to be typed and must include the following:
DENOTE:
If you do not complete your assignments by 6/15/04 you
MUST contact your
professor to justify getting an INCOMPLETE .
Should an agreement between your
work agency, agency supervisor and this professor be approved All approved incompletes must be taken care of by: December 1, 2004 to avoid getting a failing grade.
FINAL PAPER ABOUT AGENCY
DENOTE: Each field
experience will vary, however, each student should follow the general outline
as provided below. Additionally, you
should begin gathering information for this paper after as soon as you get
settled into your position and
begin working. THIS
FINAL PAPER AND NOTEBOOK SHOULD BE PROFESSIONALLY ORGANIZED WITH DIVIDED SECTIONS < T A B L E OF
C O N T E N T S > CLEARLY FOLLOWING THIS OUTLINE AND A DETAILED
SECTION OF YOUR SPECIAL PROJECT (S),
EXPANSION OF LOG SHEETS ( J O U R N A L ) EXPLAINING DUTIES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES ON A DAILY BASES, etc.
THIS NOTEBOOK
MUST BE ORGANIZED IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER WITH ALL THE NECESSARY INFORMATION
WHICH COULD ENHANCE YOUR FINAL GRADE.
FAILURE TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE NOTEBOOK WILL REQUIRE A LETTER CUT IN
YOUR FINAL GRADE.
Agency Overview: In order to complete the
requirements for RECR 350
field placement, I have completed my 180 hours of work with the_________________
located
in__________________________________.
The primary function of this agency
is to
provide________________________________________________services relevant to
___________________________________________________________________________.
Goals of the Agency Included:
A.
To develop ___________________________________________________.
B.
To provide ___________________________________________________.
C.
To implement programs relevant to _____________________________.
DENOTE:
I DO NOT want you to fill-up your notebook with large numbers
of agency policies You will be responsible
to summarize all important policies.
Cont. Field Experience -
RECR 350 Page
5
Agency Administrative Unit:
Mission
Statement - include who the agency serves, its purpose and function.
Statement
of Agency’s Philosophy - include the agency’s purpose, human-services
approach, marketing strategies, preservationists approach, and summary of this
agency’s philosophy.
General Policies, Regulations and Procedures:
State the
functional procedures of your direct involvement; i.e., special events,
operational regulations, etc.
Financial Review:
Give a
general overview of the financial position of the agency, including the
operating budget, sponsorship and support units, revenue sources, taxes, and
the
operational budget provided within your immediate programming area.
Example:
The Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Commission's
budget
is made up of several different revenue sources including:
1.
Jefferson County Commissioner Grantsmanship
2.
Jefferson County Hotel/Motel Tax Revenues
Programming:
Of course,
this section will be a very important aspect of your final paper
because you will
summarize your total involvement in the programming
procedures of the
field experience. Complete this
assignment by keeping an
outline of your
program responsibilities. Additionally,
each of you must
complete a SPECIAL PROJECT for the
agency. The special project overview
should be attached
to your final STUDENT EVALUATION FORM.
Example of Programming: As a student completing my RECR 350 field
experience with the
________________________ agency I completed
a variety of activities and assignments given
to me. All of the duties I had were very beneficial to me in learning
about what they do and
what they were striving to give to
the consumers.
I worked as
_____________________________________________________________________.
In addition to basic
___________________skills, I learned how to______________________.
For every program that we ran, we
completed a very intense planning session including:
________________________________________________________________________________.
One of my biggest responsibilities
was to ___________________________________________
Additionally, I completed my
Special Project which included_________________________.
In order to acquire a complete
assessment of programming offerings by the agency ,I would
__________________________________________________________________________________.
Cont. Field Experience -
RECR 350 Page
6
Critique/Assessment of Field Experience:
State the
benefits acquired from this field experience, the learning experiences, and
what was leaned by working in this setting (staff), etc.
EVALUATION:
A total of 700 points can be judged/earned. A 10% point grading scale will be used
for a letter grade (700 x 90% = 630 (A); 700 x 80% = 560 (B), etc.). Students will be evaluated as to how well
they function within the agency. The
supervisor and the
instructor will collaborate in
determining each student’s final grade. It is very important for each student
to acquire positive (above # 2 on most evaluation criteria) assessments for an
outstanding grade. Dismissal from the field placement would result in a failing grade. THIS HAPPENED ONCE IN 1996.
Note: It is
the student's responsibility
to advise their agency supervisor to mail or fax the evaluation forms as
follows (Student should keen a hard
copy for your notebook):
GROSS PROBLEMS RELATED TO STUDENT ACQUIRING POOR GRADE FOR THIS
CLASS INCLUDE:
1. NOT FOLLOWING DEADLINES AS ESTABLISHED.
2.
NOT SENDING CONTRACTS, AGENCY OVERVIEWS, GOALS
and OBJECTIVES
and LOG SHEETS ON A TIMELY MANNER.
3. OTHER PROBLEMS (Poor Supervisor
Evaluations).
4. AGENCY EVALUATION NOT COMPLETED.
5. DEVELOPMENT OF POOR NOTEBOOK and FINAL
PAPER
Mid-term
Assessment - After 90 hours of field work with the agency.
Final-term
Assessment - After completing all field work.
Denote: Mid-Term Assessment Due: AFTER 90 HOURS
Mail to: Prof.
David E. Fincham
P. O. Box
3210
Shepherd
College PHONE # ( 304 ) 876 - 5235
Shepherdstown,
WV 25443 FAX # (
304 ) 876 - 5062
POINTS GRADE ITEM
COMMENT DATE
100 _____ Signed Conract ___________________
_______
100 _____ Overview/Goals/Obj.
___________________ _______
100 _____ Time Cards/Comm. ___________________ _______
100 _____ Record/Journaling ___________________ _______
100 _____ Special Project ___________________ _______
200 _____ Final Paper/Notebook ___________________ _______
100 _____ Final Evaluation _______________
______
700
_____ Semester Grade ________
DATE: ______