This presentation will describe how the Summer Internship Reflection and Career Readiness Program engages students in reflection. The Program encompasses the preparatory work done by the student before the internship, learning and reflection during the internship, and return and integration within the academic community after the internship. With the support of Institutional Research colleagues, the Career Center created a process and tools that help students to set their intentions, deepen their commitment to learning, and become better equipped to communicate their skill sets. This presentation will provide an in-depth look at the tools created to optimize results among students. These pieces include the learning contract, the reflection blog, supervisor feedback evaluations, and bring-back materials (reflection essays and posters). In particular, the presentation will focus on how WordPress, closed blog (hosted by Edublog) is used to create a community of students (roughly 100 students/summer) who are having internship experiences in parallel all around the world in all sectors – and learning from each other.
Rachel Leatham, Program Director for Internships and Experiential Learning, Career Center