Syllabus                                                                     

FES 2941: Emergency Management Internship

Spring 2024

 

Faculty:

Adam A. Smith, MSFES, NREMT-P

Instructional Assistant Professor

 

Email: fyrewlker@ufl.edu 

 

Office Phone:  352-273-1149

Personal Cell Phone:  404-933-3676

 

Office Hours:   My office hours are typically from 0800 am to 1200 pm from Monday-Friday.  

 

 Course Communications:   The best way to communicate with me is via email through Canvas.  I will attempt to answer all emails in 24-48 hours.  If the need is urgent, I can be reached by text or phone call at 404-933-3676 between the hours of 0800 am and 0800 pm. 

 

Lecturer Bio:

Adam Smith is a retired Battalion Chief (Acting) from Lumpkin County Emergency Services located an hour north of Atlanta in the North Georgia Mountains.  He began his career in emergency services in October of 1986 and retired July of 2020.  Adam has 34 years experience as a firefighter and paramedic.  He is a Lecturer for the University of Florida since January of 2019 and holds national certifications as a Firefighter, Paramedic, Fire Officer, Various rescue designations, Public Safety Diver, Hazardous Materials Technician, and Instructor.  Adam has an Associates Degree in Fire Science Technology (Chattahoochee Technical College), Bachelors Degree in Fire and Emergency Services Management (University of Florida), and a Masters Degree in Fire and Emergency Services Management with a specialization in Disaster Management (University of Florida). He is currently in the University of Florida College of Design, Construction, and Planning PhD program with a Disaster Management concentration.   

 

Course Description

This course provides the key elements of:

• Providing the foundations for establishing policies as is relates to disaster/emergency management
• Application of leadership concepts through critical thinking
• Analysis and development of personal leadership skills

Emergency Management Internship is a three (3) credit course scheduled to meet each fall semester via distance education (online learning) via the Canvas Learning Management System platform and a field internship. It is a graded course and there are no prerequisites.  It combines a combination of school work and field internship experience to help the student have a minimal understanding of Emergency Management.  

The field internship experience course offers a unique opportunity to help students gain experience from the emergency management curriculum in an applied setting. It is intended to provide students with the opportunity to participate in supervised disaster management work activities that provide experiential learning in emergency management, so students have the necessary foundation in the field to complete their course work.

 

Required Text:  The are no required textbooks for this course.

Additional Optional Materials:  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), 7th Edition (2020): Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN 978-1-4338-3217-8

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills: None

Purpose of Course:   In this course the student will learn the fundamentals of Emergency Management as it relates to Emergency Management, Fire Departments, and Emergency Medical Service providers.  

 

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this course, the student should be able to:

• Discuss the principles of disaster planning, preparation, recovery, and mitigation.
• Evaluate the hazard assessment processes and the role of the emergency management in community disaster planning, response and
• Discuss the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
• Define the relationships between disaster planning, mitigation, response, and recovery
• Provide a summary of emergency management
• Explain the role of emergency (Natural and Man-Made Disasters).
• Explain the role of the Emergency Manager
• Demonstrate a personally active involvement with the emergency management community.
• Completion of the FEMA ICS/IS courses 100, 200, 700 and 800.

 

Field Internship Experience

Obtain a volunteer or intern position in an emergency management setting (example: local emergency management office, local Red Cross office, UF EM, County EM office, etc.). The appropriate number of hours to be spent in this position per week will be determined in conjunction with the field experience practicum instructor and the volunteer organization. You must have a minimum of 10 hours per week and accumulate a total of 100 work hours for the semester at an affiliated agency. This is required for admission into FES program for students with no previous experience.

 

Assignments

Discussion Posts:

Discussion Posts allow students to interact and learn from each other.  Initial discussion posts for the selected topic must be uploaded the Thursday (1159 pm) prior to the discussion post due date.  Student responses are required by the due date at 1159 pm.

Assignments:

Various assignments

Field Journal:

The field journal will be based on the field experience. Field journals should be submitted online

to the professor every week through the discussion board. The field journal should include a log of activities for tracking progress and learning. Care must be taken to maintain confidentiality in the journals.

1. Format
   • Hours of work
   • Learning goals
   • Current progress, issues and accomplishments
   • Any problems encountered and how the problems were resolved
2. Timeline, Goals and Objectives
   • The timeline, goals and objectives will be part of the first assignment for students. These items will be posted on the discussion board for review by the internship instructor and the other students in the course. These items will be utilized as the roadmap for the duration of the internship experience.
   • Adjustments may be made with the permission of the instructor:
     • Timeline: At the beginning of the internship, the student shall establish a realistic timeline for completion of goals and objectives of the internship. Students in a volunteer service capacity, such as an internship at the Red Cross, the State of Florida EM program, etc., will need to coordinate this with their instructor and onsite
     • Goals and Objectives: Within the first week of the course, the student will establish a list of goals and objectives that he/she wants to accomplish during the duration of the internship.

 

National Incident Management System (NIMS) Courses: 

At the conclusion of this course, each student is expected to have completed and received a certificate of completion for FEMA NIMS Courses IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, and IS-800.  These independent study online courses delivered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will help each student understand the concepts, nomenclature, and application of the National Incident Management System before, during and after emergency incidents.  These courses can be found at https://training.fema.gov/is.   Enter the Course number in the search bar to access the specific course you are taking.  At the conclusion of each course, the student should receive a certificate of completion that will be emailed to them.  For course credit, the student should upload this certificate to the appropriate assignment.

 

Final Paper:

Provide a summary of the Emergency Management profession including the explanation of the role of Emergency Management in an academic paper.  Explain why you wanted to obtain a degree in Emergency Management, provide a brief overview of your internship, list what you learned from the internship, and how you will apply this information to future endeavors in Emergency Management.

1. The paper needs to be in APA format
2. The paper needs to be five plus pages of content (not counting the title, abstract,

                    and references pages).

3. Use a minimum of three references

 

Teaching Philosophy: I am looking for students to demonstrate a working knowledge of the subject. You need to be creative when you complete your assignments but maintain a professional appearance of your work. Your work needs to be complete and in such a manner that someone can pick up your document and understand what you are trying to convey. And most of all your work needs to be supported with research and cited in properly in APA format.

Instructional Methods: The course is designed for individual and group interactivity. It is important to post and respond to discussion questions in the course within the time frame allotted. This provides a learning environment by networking with other students in the course. The assignments are individual base to give you the opportunity to do a variety of activities, in many cases, similar to what you will be doing in role as a leader in the emergency services profession.

 

Course Goals

1. The student will interpret and apply the terminology, concepts, methodologies and theories used within systems
2. The student expresses ideas in a convincing, organized, clear, and coherent manner that is nearly error free and uses a style and language appropriate to the emergency services and the analytic
3. Submitted written assignments should include elements such as, well-crafted paragraphs, a persuasive organizational structure (e.g., introduction, body, conclusion; or introduction, methods, results, discussion), well-supported claims, and appropriate and effective stylistic elements adhering to APA style 6th
4. The student considers the issues from multiple perspectives, logically analyzes evidence from credible, relevant sources, and develops reasoned

Teaching Philosophy: I am looking for students to demonstrate a working knowledge of the subject. You need to be creative when you complete your assignments but maintain a professional appearance of your work. Your work should be completed in such a manner that someone can pick up your document and understand what you are trying to convey. Your work should be supported with research and cited in APA format.

 

Grading

Grading in this course will provide the student an opportunity to earn the following grades based upon total percentage earned:

The final grade will be an S/U option. In order to successfully complete the course, the student must:

• Meet the minimum hours of 240
• Complete weekly Field Journal Discussions.
• Complete and submit the Field Journal
• Complete a Final Paper discussing Emergency Management and how it pertains to you, the student.
• Demonstrate a professional code of ethics without any negative reporting from the agency they are interning
• Demonstrate a personally active involvement with the emergency management community including joining the Gainesville IAEM student
• Submission of certificates of completion of the FEMA ICS/IS courses 100, 200, 700 and 800.

A grade of S is equal to a C (2.0) or better. Grades earned under the S-U option do not carry grade point values and are not computed in the University of Florida grade point average.

Courses with a grade of S will count as credits earned in a degree program. Such grades are included in your permanent academic record and are reflected on the transcript.

Quiz/Exam Policy:  There is a final project for this course. There is a 10 point Syllabus/Announcement Quiz which must be completed prior to course Discussions/Assignments open up for the student to complete.  The concept behind the Syllabus/Announcement Quiz is to verify each student's understanding of the Syllabus and use of Announcements.  

Assignment Policy:  All assignments have a due date.  Please be sure to check the date and time it is due in each module or discussion.

Make-up Policy:  Make-up assignments will only be accepted due to technical issues, illness, and other extenuating circumstances. You must contact your instructor before the assignment's due date for special accommodations.

Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues MUST be accompanied by the ticket number received from the UF Computing Help Desk when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You MUST message your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.

Late Assignments and Discussions Policy:

• Assignments 48 hours late from the due date will receive a 10% deduction in their grade.
• Assignments more than 48 hours but less than 30 days late from the due date will receive a 20% deduction in their grade.
• Assignments more than 30 days late from the due date but submitted during the semester will receive a 50% deduction in their grade.
• All outstanding work must be submitted two weeks prior to the end of the semester.  No outstanding work will be accepted after this time.

Please note that any student that has less than 75% of their work complete for the semester cannot earn an “I” contract. If you have 75% of the work complete, you can propose an “I” contract to the instructor.

It is your responsibility to keep your instructor informed at all times. The instructor does have the right under extenuating circumstances with proper notification to assist the student by extending the above time requirements.

 

 

Attendance

Attendance: As arranged with Advisor. Requirements for attendance at place of internship and other work in this course are consistent with university policies that can be found at: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx

 

Canvas Information and Technology

Class meetings may require a web camera and mic/audio. If you are not able to use a web camera you will need to at least provide audio/mic, you can call in on a phone also. Otherwise, discussions and assignments will be web based and submissions will occur electronically. If technology help is required, please contact the UF Help Desk at:

• Learning-support@ufl.edu
• (352) 392-HELP - select option 2
• https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml (Links to an external site.)Links to an external

Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues MUST be accompanied by the ticket number received from LSS when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You MUST e-mail your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.

Other resources are available at:

• Counseling and Wellness resources
• Disability resources
• Resources for handling student concerns and complaints
• Library Help Desk support

If they are not able to resolve your problem, contact your instructor with your help desk ticket number and a description of the problem and steps taken to resolve it. Extensions for due dates will be granted for documented technical problems, as needed.

 

 

UF’s Honesty Policy  

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge which states, “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honor and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code.  On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.” The Honor Code (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Links to an external site.) specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions.  Furthermore, you are obliged to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel. If you have any questions or concerns, please consult with the instructor of in this class.

Plagiarism:  All work submitted during this course has to be your own, original (for this class) work.  Understand that there are various types of plagiarism such as submitting a paper written by another person, resubmitting original work created for another class, or copying information from another source and claiming it as your own original work.  The ramifications will be severe for anyone caught plagiarising.

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI):  Any and all use of machines that emulate human capabilities (ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, DALLE, etc.) to perform assignments or other works in the course should be disclosed as it can border on plagiarism. AI-generated information, as long as this use is properly documented in the references and will need to include the prompt and the significant parts of the response. The use of generative AI tools is not permitted in this course for the following activities: 

1. Completing group work that your group has assigned to you. 
2. Writing a draft of a writing assignment. 
3. Writing entire sentences, paragraphs or papers to complete class assignments. 

 

 

UF Policies

University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities: Students requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Dean of Students Office at https://www.dso.ufl.edu/drcLinks to an external site.. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation. You must submit this documentation prior to submitting assignments or taking the quizzes or exams. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the office as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations.

University Policy on Academic Misconduct: Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students should be sure that they understand the UF Student Honor Code at https://sccr.dso.ufl.edu/process/student-honor-code/. Links to an external site.

Netiquette: Communication Courtesy: All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions and chats.  This class is formatted to allow regular and continuous interaction between you (the student) and the Professor as well as the other students.  While I want you to talk freely, I also request (and it is required by UF policy) that you talk to me and the other students in a polite, kind, and professional manner.  Failure to follow UF Netiquette guidelines could result in you being removed from the class.  For more details on the UF Netiquette policy, please read the UF Netiquette Guide for Online Courses found at https://www.cise.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/CISE_Netiquette_Guide.pdf.Links to an external site.

 

Information on current UF grading policies for assigning grade points:

To convert the final grade to credit hours please refer to by using the link to the web

page: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

 

Student Evaluations:

“Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students/. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/.”