Internship Relations, Records, Reflections and Reviews (4Rs)

Past, Present and Future

28th February 2011

In this class we will focus on the ways in which an Internship is set up in terms of agreements and reports. We will discuss how it has been operating and how it will operate for you. After introducing the issues we need to consider I indicate how we will proceed in today's session and how you should prepare for it.

The Internship Past, Present and Future

As explained during the first class, this new course results from discussions among students, faculty and practitioners on how students could be better prepared for obtaining and undertaking Internships that meet their needs and getting the most out of the experience. The present procedures for reaching agreement on an Internship and fulfilling the reporting requirements for obtaining credit are posted on the SCARP web site.

It was agreed by the SCARP faculty last year that a follow-up course, entitled Learning from Your Internship Experience, should be offered in the fall as an intensive 1-day weekend workshop in early October. The course was designed and scheduled but in September when only two students were registered it was cancelled.

Preparing for This Class

Please review the following in preparation for the class and identify (i) the questions you would like to raise and (ii) the suggestions for change you would like to make in response to the items on the agenda below.

• Review the first two sections of the introduction to our First Class entitled Origins of the Courses and Clarifying the Purposes of the Internship.
  
  
• Review the present policies and procedures including forms for Internships.
  
  
• Review the web site that Heather Fehr created to record her experiences during an Internship in the fall 2009 with the B.C. Ministry of Community and Rural Development in Victoria. Look more carefully at her sub-section entitled My Reflections. You might want to go to the end in order to start by reading her first posting on starting the Internship in September. Give most attention to her Reflections but the whole site is interesting in the insights it gives to not only her experiences as an Intern working in a provincial agency and with local governments but also the issues relating to the Province's introduction of Bill 27 and other initiatives relating to climate change and green communities.

Agenda

Review and discussion of present policies and procedures

• Responsibilities of student, host supervisor and faculty supervisor.
• Agreement form signed by student, host supervisor and faculty supervisor.
• Mid-term evaluation form by host supervisor.
• Completion evaluation form by host supervisor.
• Post Internship assessment by student.

Review and discussion of potential changes to policies and procedures

• Revisions to guidelines for Internships for all parties involved.
• Revisions to forms.
• Revisions relating to record keeping and reflections for follow-up workshop in fall.
• Design of follow-up workshop in fall