This semester, the Psychology department at Indiana Wesleyan University officially launched a redesigned upper-level Psychology practicum experience that provides students with the opportunity to engage with important challenges facing Grant County.
IWU Psychology majors are required to complete three credit hours of practicum and gain 80 hours of practicum experience, typically in their junior or senior years. The change requires students to dedicate at least 40 of the 80 hours to work associated with the Urban Research Group (URG)—an initiative started by IWU Psychology Professor Dr. Keith Puffer.
Inspired by the community-centric work of Marion Design Co., URG addresses challenges facing Grant County, while strengthening students’ practical skills. Students will invest their time to better understand what is happening in the community and use their psychology knowledge and research skills to assist local agencies already serving Grant County residents.
The department ran a pilot of the redesigned practicum in Fall 2019. Students enrolled in the pilot course tackled three projects in Grant County:
- Allen Elementary School Survey - Surveyed families to help school leaders gain insights into how to better support the caregivers who are responsible for helping students learn outside of the school setting.
- Kinwell Academy Survey - Assisted a local alternative high school for troubled teens by gathering data on students’ experiences with adverse childhood events, their level of optimism and resilience, and indicators of physical and emotional health. The school is using the data to guide programming and better address student needs.
- Grant County Family Recovery Court Partnership - Partnered with Grant County Family Recovery Court to help it better care for the needs of the children and parents it serves.
“Addiction, mental health issues and social inequality are devastating our families and community,” said Dr. Tim Steenbergh, chair of behavioral sciences and professor of Psychology. “The new practicum experience is a great way to more intentionally train our students to engage these issues, and learn from the good work that so many people in our community have been doing for years.”
For more information on IWU’s Psychology program, visit https://www.indwes.edu/undergraduate/division-of-behavioral-sciences/bs-psychology.