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Internship

Portfolio
A portfolio is a collection of artifacts that provides a personal tool for reflecting upon skills, knowledge, and understandings. The portfolio can be a mechanism to assist in the melding of theory, practice, and personal belief. It will provide a representation of growth, goal setting, reflection, and introspection. In the portfolio, the student will demonstrate achievement of the following goals.

• Academic development: Students apply knowledge learned in the classroom to the workplace setting.
• Skill development: Students apply skills required in the workplace and career field.
• Career development: Students enhance personal knowledge of the qualifications and responsibilities of a career field and the processes for assessing that career field.
• Personal development: Students strengthen decision-making and critical-thinking skills, personal responsibility, confidence, and self-esteem.
• Technology utilization: Students use technology as it applies to the industry.

What is to be included in the portfolio?

Students should be the primary, creative force behind the development of the portfolio. Decisions concerning each of the following are critical to its development.

The specifics of the internship should determine the artifacts to be included. Artifacts might include the following:

Project
The purpose of the project is to provide a performance assessment vehicle for the internship experience that demonstrates the synthesis of the workplace experience with school-based learning. The project design and execution is the responsibility of the student. The student will rely on the mentor and the sponsoring organization as primary resources. The coordinator's role is to facilitate project completion by providing school resources and evaluating the end product.

Early in the internship, the mentor and student should investigate career interests and resources available to narrow the scope of possible ideas. The topic of the project and its format should be decided during the first grading period. The project is a rich opportunity for interns to express what they have learned. Most projects will be some type of product. An awareness of multiple intelligence theory may help identify projects that capitalize on students' strengths. The Performance Assessment Characteristic list (modified and included) from the Baltimore County Public Schools Office of Assessment should be helpful in deciding on the topic and format of the project.

The Portfolio/Project Assessment rubric is the recommended scoring tool for the project. Students will benefit from reviewing the rubric with the coordinator so expectations are clear. Projects are often completed in stages. The relative weight of each rubric element should be determined by the coordinator in consultation with the intern to match each individual project. Due dates for each of these stages will help students manage their time. This structure will allow time for revisions. Mentors and their colleagues may be used to critique student projects and offer suggestions.

A detailed planning guide for a research investigation is provided as a model.

Journal
A reflective journal is an integral part of the internship experience. Its purpose is to document the daily activities completed and to reflect on the learning gained. As an assessment tool, it provides a means to assess the achievement of the five internship goals.

The log should contain a description of the activities completed daily or weekly along with reflections on those experiences. The journal is the who, what, and where information often found in the lead paragraph of a news story. Providing students with a means for reflection encourages depth of thinking. Reflective prompts might include all or some of the following:
questions the intern had as a result of the week's activities
perceptions gained about the work, corporation, structure, and other aspects of the corporation
feelings evoked as a result of specific experiences
new learning such as new language, technology, skills, understandings

In addition to the weekly journals, other reflective entries may be assigned. These entries allow a broader synthesis of student ideas and learning.
Describe a concept learned in school that was applied on the job. Reflect on the
connection you believe exists between the school course work and success in a career. Describe a positive interaction between a co-worker and yourself. Reflect on the outcome of this interaction.
What do you see as the future of technology in this worksite? Explain your thinking. Describe a situation where communication breakdown occurred. What was the result of the breakdown and propose how it might have been avoided.
Describe an example of positive, effective communication and the effect created.
Describe and reflect upon the corporate climate of your assigned worksite. What are the expectations, the workplace atmosphere, behaviors, and relationships? What feelings and thoughts do you have about how these impact morale and productivity?

What inhibits / promotes a worker's performance? Choose one to describe. Explain your thinking as to why it inhibits/promotes.

How is performance measured at your internship site? What are the benefits of
performance measurement to the worker/ employer?
Write a reprimand or letter of praise to a worker for whom you are a supervisor.

Choice of words and phrasing are especially important in order for this to be an effective means of promoting change and growth.