Advanced Sessions Offering NASP-Approved Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Credit

For the second year, the Chicago convention will include a strand of sessions on a variety of subjects specifically designed for advanced practitioners that offer NASP-approved continuing professional development (CPD) credit. Several of these CPD sessions will be sponsored by the Society for the Study of School Psychology (SSSP) and will target improvement of participants’ research, statistics, and methodology skills. Certain others will be sponsored by the Nationally Certified School Psychologists (NCSP) Board and will focus on Tier 2 and 3 interventions.

The NASP-approved CPD sessions count toward the new NCSP requirement of NASP-approved credit for a portion of renewal CPD. Attendees of the CPD sessions will be eligible to receive a certificate of attendance documenting NASP-approved CPD credit. Participants who want documentation of attendance will need to sign in at the beginning of each session, stay for the entire session, and complete and submit an evaluation at the end of the session. Participants who attend these sessions can pick up CPD letters of attendance verification at the end of each session attended. Please note that CPD letters of attendance verification will not be mailed to attendees.

Participants of each session will earn 80 minutes of NASP CPD credit (1.33 credit hours) per session. By attending all eight 2010 CPD sessions, participants will earn 10 hours and 40 minutes of CPD credit (10.67 credit hours). This is an added value, as the NASP-approved CPD sessions are included with your convention registration

The strand of 2010 NASP-approved CPD sessions includes the following eight presentations:

2:30–3:50 p.m., Tuesday, March 2
METHODOLOGICAL AND STATISTICAL ERRORS IN MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
Randy G. Floyd, PhD, University of Memphis, TN

The process of peer review ensures that research studies have been subjected to rigorous evaluation before being disseminated to the public. The most successful authors ensure that their studies' design characteristics and analyses are sound and do not lead to incorrect conclusions. This presentation will provide an overview of editors' expectations for professional publication, a list of methodological and statistical errors seen in manuscripts that prevent their publication, and recommendations and resources that should allow authors to avoid such errors. This session is co-sponsored by the Society for the Study of School Psychology (SSSP).

3:30–4:50 p.m., Wednesday, March 3
PROMOTING AND PRESERVING SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY
Rhonda J. Armistead, NCSP, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, NC

Budget cuts, accountability standards, RTI, and numerous other factors are having impacts on schools. It is critical that school psychologists promote and preserve their roles as essential and valued school personnel who provide needed, effective services for children’s learning and mental health. During this session, participants will learn about resources and strategies to advocate for school psychological services at local and state levels and participate in activities to proactively define our roles and protect the strength of our field. This session is co-sponsored by the National School Psychology Certification System (NCSP).

9:30–10:50 a.m., Thursday, March 4
FROM THE ETHICS COMMITTEE INBOX
NASP Ethical and Professional Practices Committee Panelists

The NASP Ethical and Professional Practices (EPP) Committee receives frequent inquiries from school psychologists seeking guidance about appropriate responses to challenging situations. Often, questions posed by NASP members result in lively discussion and debate, as many issues involve competing or unclear ethical principles. This session "opens the inbox" of the EPP committee to share some of the questions raised by NASP members and invites participants to join a panel of committee members in exploring and debating contemporary issues such as digital communication and record-keeping, privileged communication, ethical considerations associated with response-to-intervention, and mental health services in the schools.

12:00–1:20 p.m., Thursday, March 4
META-ANALYSIS 101: HOW TO UNDERSTAND, USE, AND CONDUCT ‘RESEARCH ON RESEARCH’
Kenneth W. Merrell, PhD, University of Oregon, Eugene

Meta-analysis is a powerful research technique that combines resultsof several studies addressing common research questions. It has the advantage of yielding effect sizes that are more powerful than results from individual studies. This session will provide an overview of meta-analysis techniques with a focus on helping practitioners understand and use meta-analytic research. It also will provide an introduction to advanced meta-analytic methods for researchers interested in using these tools to synthesize multiple research studies. This session is co-sponsored by the Society for the Study of School Psychology (SSSP).

4:30–5:50 p.m., Thursday, March 4
BEST PRACTICES IN PROMOTING COMPETENCE OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY INTERNS
Joseph Prus, PhD, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC; and Virginia Smith Harvey, PhD, University of Massachusetts, Boston

A critical aspect of school psychology preparation is the completion of a comprehensive, professional practice internship under conditions of appropriate support and supervision. This session will present standards for school psychology internships and provide best practice guidelines consistent with expectations for the profession and national standards of quality based on "Best Practice Guidelines for School Psychology Internships," which was approved by the NASP Delegate Assembly in 2009. This session is intended for faculty members in school psychology programs, field-based internship supervisors, and graduate students. It will include a discussion and exploration of what works and common issues and problems related to school psychology internships with a particular focus on intern support and supervision.

8:00–9:20 a.m., Friday, March 5
ANALYZING GROWTH CURVES: IDEAS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
Benjamin Silberglitt, PhD, TIES, St. Paul, MN

Tracking student academic growth has become an increasingly relevant topic for practitioners. The need for quality progress monitoring data for Response to Intervention and the ability to track growth toward standards for No Child Left Behind are two prominent examples. But, the call for these data from practitioners also raises questions about reliability, respecting the “nested” nature of educational data, and reporting growth in ways that are easily and appropriately interpreted. This presentation will review examples of using growth data effectively in research and program evaluation, discuss questions that still need to be answered about modeling growth, and review implications for practice. This session is co-sponsored by the Society for the Study of School Psychology (SSSP).

1:00–2:20 p.m., Friday, March 5
INITIATING RTI INTO RESISTANT SCHOOL DISTRICTS: REVERSING THE PROCESS
Sawyer A. Hunley, NCSP, University of Dayton, OH

The introduction of the RTI process into schools can be prevented when district issues interfere with the initiative. This session will address this problem by taking the reverse RTI approach. Participants will gain information and learn techniques for making systems change beginning with one Tier 3 case and expanding gradually to incorporate Tiers 2 and 3 into a school. This session is co-sponsored by the National School Psychology Certification System (NCSP).

11:00 a.m.–12:20 p.m., Friday, March 5
LEGAL COMPETENCE OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS: CHALLENGES AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
David P. Prasse, PhD, Loyola University, Chicago, IL

This session will present an overview of major legal issues, including those related to general and special education, that school psychologists should incorporate into practices and services. A focus of the presentation will be strategies for school psychologists to include "legal competence" as part of professional decision-making. Participants will learn about current major legal issues that have an impact on school psychology practice, procedures to integrate legal topics with problem-solving, and methods to communicate and collaborate with other school professionals concerning legal issues.