Life-Span Developmental Psychology
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Applied Practicum Experiences & Internships
To supplement their training in teaching and research, some students complete practicum experiences to prepare themselves for applied careers. Practicum placement is not required and is selective, pending approval by site personnel and departmental faculty. Students who complete practicum experiences gain skills useful for careers as program directors or service providers. Others complete practicum experiences to “put research to work” by addressing issues pertaining to social policy and practices and adult education.
Specific practicum opportunities vary from year to year as a function of availability, permission and student interest. They have included placements in the high-risk follow-up clinic at the WVU Medical Center, the WVU Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Early Intervention Programs at Valley Health Care Center in Morgantown, West Virginia, and at the Summit Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and others. Students have also held positions as graduate assistants in the Center for Women’s Studies, Academic Advising Center, Gerontology Center (now the Center on Aging), Computer-Based Learning Center, Department of Pediatrics, Department of Community Medicine, and other units.
Students may enroll in Psychology 740, Developmental Practicum, to receive course credit for their practicum experiences. In addition to already-established practicum experiences, students and faculty may develop new experiences customized to student’s interests. A sampling of recent and ongoing practicum experiences are listed below.
- Bayley Training. Training is available to students from developmental faculty on the use of the Bayley Scale of Infant Development. The Bayley is used by researchers and practitioners to assess infant development.
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Follow-up Clinic at Ruby Memorial Hospital. Ruby Memorial Hospital is a local hospital in Morgantown. The NICU is responsible for the care of premature infants (500 to 600 admissions per year) born less than 37 weeks gestation. This practicum site provides an opportunity for selected graduate students to work in a medical setting. Graduate students work with doctors, nurses, and medical students under faculty supervision to apply knowledge garnered from course work and research specializations.
- Osher Life-Long Learning Institute (OLLI). OLLI provides educational, recreational, volunteer and social opportunities for individuals 50 and older through day and evening courses, seminars, and field trips. OLLI is a self-directed membership organization within the Center on Aging at West Virginia University. At OLLI, graduate students in the life-span developmental program apply their teaching and research skills with the aim of improving OLLI and the lives of older individuals in the community. Students work directly with OLLI staff and members. Departmental faculty provide oversight as needed. Specific projects pursued by graduate student interns are described below.
- Marketing research is being conducted by graduate student interns to assess demographic characteristics of current OLLI members with the aim of increasing OLLI’s membership. Graduate students are applying the statistical and research design skills from their course work to assist OLLI.
- Designing and teaching courses to community members is one way that graduate interns are “putting research to work” at OLLI. A recent course taught by graduate student interns focused on “healthy aging.” Graduate student interns drew from their developmental course work and research specializations to develop the content for the healthy aging course. The teaching training received by graduate courses prepared them to effectively deliver a class to adult learners. In response to requests from OLLI members, graduate student interns created and implemented a “walking group”. Interns will be using their research design and data analysis skills to physical, social, and cognitive outcomes of the walking group.
Practica in developmental psychology are not required but are often available.