I. An internship is a specialized applied learning experience with an intentional and structured learning agenda, incorporated into pre-professional work activities in a way that mutually benefits the student-intern and the agency or placement site. Student interns have gleaned, from their academic experiences, foundational knowledge and skills that they can contribute to the work setting. Internship placement sites provide students with a list of expectations, duties, and performance goals, along with consistent supervision with feedback about their performance.
1. Reflective Papers. (All Due Dates are listed in Canvas). Students in all types of internship experiences will write the following three reflective papers. All due dates are available on CANVAS. Late work will not be accepted without prior approval.
· Four Week Check In:
1. Describe at least five differences between your role as a college student and your role as an
intern.
2. What was your transition from college student to Intern like? Were there unexpected challenges
or issues that took you by surprise?
3. Describe the supervision you are getting in your internship?
4. Explain how you are progressing on your outcome objectives that you created in your
Internship Objectives Plan?
5. From your observations and experiences, what are the main challenges faced by your intern
agency achieving their goals as outlined in their Mission Statement?
· Midterm Report:
1. Describe progress on your Internship Learning Objectives?
2. Talk about what you yet lack in order to complete Internship Learning Objectives?
3. Discuss what changes you have made toward becoming more professional?
4. List and describe three specific skills you have developed in your role as an internship.
5. Give one instance in which you handled conflict in a productive and professional manner.
6. Give one instance in which you handled conflict in a less than ideal manner.
7. Outline your educational/occupational plan from this point forward.
Make the report about 4-8 pages in length.
· Termination Assignment:
As you begin to wind down your internships, how you end your experience is almost important as how you conducted yourself during the semester. The process of ending a professional relationship is called "Termination". Successful termination leaves your clients, coworkers, supervisors, etc. empowered and enabled. Successful termination leaves you satisfied and confident in your abilities. Simply ending the internship with no transition amounts to "abandonment" and is strictly prohibited within the
APA Ethical Guidelines. Here are some tips for successful termination:
Discuss termination with your clients, coworkers, supervisors, etc. early in the Internship.
Establish clear goals with your clients, coworkers, supervisors, etc. so that progress toward those goals can be recognized and completion of those goals is apparent.
Respect your client/agency's desire to terminate but be confident in expressing concerns if you feel termination may be premature.
Keep your relationship professional and do not let it stray into the realm of friendship.
Allow clients/agencies to discuss possible feelings of loss surrounding termination and process your own feelings surrounding the process, as well.
Most Interns are not proficient at termination/ending relationships. For this assignment, I would like you to write a one-page paper outlining your tendencies and past history with ending professional relationships. The paper should contain three sections:
For this paper (this applies to all types of Internships), please address the following:
Section #1- Reflect on the type of termination tactics you most frequently employ. Do you tend to end things abruptly to avoid awkward interactions or sad feelings? Do you tend to hang on to these relationships, often making promises of ongoing contact that you realistically cannot keep? Do you intentionally do something to make the person with whom you are terminating angry with you, so the termination is easier? Outline some of the unintended negative consequences to your traditional style.
Section #2- Talk about why professional termination might be difficult for you. Are you afraid of harming clients or others with whom you regularly interact? Are you doubtful of the impact you have had on your clients, supervisors, fellow researchers, etc.? Are you going to miss the interactions personally?
Section #3 -Include in your paper a plan for termination that is mutually beneficial for you and your clients, supervisors, research team members, students, etc.
Students completing Internship Hours over the Summer, and who will register for Credit during Fall Semester, should complete these assignments during the internship, and submit them for credit during the Fall.
2. Final Perspective Paper. For this five to seven-page assignment, divide your paper into four sections with four section headings and address the series of questions below.
1. Personal Experiences
· Comment on your experiences with this placement.
o What was your day-to-day work like?
o Was it better, worse or about the same of what you expected?
o What aspects of the placement have you enjoyed thus far? Was there anything that never got tiring?
o What aspects of the placement have you found more challenging? Was there anything that got tiring quickly?
2. Placement Evaluation
· Comment on the techniques, practices and philosophies being utilized at this agency.
o What is the mission statement? What are the primary techniques and approaches used at this agency?
o Does this agency do what it sets out to do (i.e., fulfill the aims of its mission statement)? Do these techniques work and why or why not?
o Anything else that is going well or could be improved?
o What potential ethical dilemmas could this agency encounter?
3. Professional and Personal Growth
· What new skills or ideas have you developed thus far as a professional?
· Based on your experience, where do you think you need to grow as a professional?
· How about personal growth? How have you grown as a person from your experiences thus far and/or what personal insights have you developed?
4. Career Path
· What is the impact this placement has had so far on your future career choices? How does this experience solidify your previous career assumptions, or have they led you to consider different paths?
· How does this impact the population you would like to work with or the techniques you would like to use in the future?
· Learning Objectives
· Review each of your learning objectives that you outlined in your Internship Objectives Plan. Write about the progress, or lack of progress you made on each
· Discuss those factors that facilitated you reaching objectives, and those factors that interfered with your progress. Be sure to cover internal factors and external (agency) factors.