Development of Internship Course Assignments 144

The student assignments for teaching and non-teaching internships are quite similar in the GSU courses. Students produce a journal and a final report with examples of the projects

completed. The journal captures the reflections of students throughout the internship

experiences. While it may seem to be a very straightforward assignment, Dr. Villette stated that this assignment can actually be quite challenging: “I used to say ‘just go journal’ because it sounded like something that would be easy to do, but it is not easy to do. Students did not always understand what to journal about.” For teaching internships, she suggests students create a “double entry” journal. This approach gives some structure to the journaling assignment and teaches students an effective reflective practice: “During the observation time at the start of the semester, I instruct student to write everything down that they see on one side of the page—what the teacher is doing, what the students are doing and then go back and look at the journal again that evening and try to identify the significance of the observations” (Villette). Students are asked to journal every time they go to the internship site. Dr. Villette has her interns turn in their

journals at the midpoint of the semester to confirm the entries reflect the depth and perspectives of effective professional journaling. Additional guidance is provided at that point, if needed.

Dr. Crusoe also provides some guidance to student interns for journaling by suggesting that they note a description of the internship site, reflect on the work performed by employees of the organization, discern how the interns fit into the organization, write things they want to do though lack the necessary skills, and list deliverables they would like to include in their final reports. She describes the journal as a kind of “personal memorandum.” Students are encouraged to determine how to organize their journals in ways that best serve the individual interests and purposes of the students. Some students in non-teaching internships write every day and others reflect on specific assignments. Other students make weekly entries. Students are encouraged to “do what they find more comfortable” in connection with the journaling assignment (Crusoe). Many students write their journal entries by hand, and others type them. She is primarily interested in helping students see the value of reflective practices, and, therefore, is open to receiving the journal entries in a variety of formats.

The practice of journaling has a rich history in the rhetoric and composition that serve internship programs well. Bourelle sees journaling exercises as valuable to students for reflecting on the activities, observations, and their performance. She also sees reflective writing exercises as opportunities for faculty members to “use their feedback when making important curriculum, including which service partners to work with when designing [courses]” (“New Perspectives 187). Nancy O’Neill relies upon the Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) when she explains that the reflective writing component in internship experiences is essential in order for students to be engaged in “learning” (6). Even more importantly, because the internship director’s primary concern is the student, reflective writing assignments that

become a written conversation between instructor and student provide insight into what kind of learning and activities are occurring in the extracurricular space (see Kathleen Blake Yancey). Reflective writing provides a forum for the student and director to engage about the value of the internship, as well as new goals and concerns. Chris Anson describes this practice as “pushing [students] into higher domains of critical reflection” (177).

In addition to the journals, students complete an end of the semester reflective report. The reports, which are typically five to seven pages, describe the job site, nature of the internship, and the assignments. Dr. Crusoe explains what she is looking for in a report: “a sense that the student is looking back and making sense of what they have been doing and looking forward to how this [internship experience] will be useful later.” The report also contains appendices with examples of the deliverables produced during the internship. Teaching portfolios might include quizzes or lesson plans prepared by the student; non-teaching portfolios might contain articles written or edited, memoranda, emails, or letters. The goal is for students to compile portfolios of their work. I was curious if there were ever problems with including work product from

organizations in the report. Dr. Crusoe recognized that some of the deliverables could be proprietary in nature, which should not be contained in the final report. Nonetheless, she stated students have always managed to pull together an adequate sampling of deliverables. As with the conferences between the students and the faculty members, organization of the journal and formatting of the report are left to the students: some turn in binders of materials and others submit electronic documents via email. Interestingly, Dr. Crusoe advised that no students have ever proposed a multimedia final project; most students seem to prefer putting together the physical notebook of materials.

The GSU internship course design is one that is clearly student focused. The faculty members give the students lots of room to explore the internship experiences and create final projects in the formats that they prefer. Even the assignments give the students opportunities to identify the journaling practices that best serve their professional needs. This approach to the course emphasizes flexibility, which reflects the diversity of internship course designs currently offered in colleges and universities. The structure of the required conferences continue this approach as meetings are set at mutually convenient times—sometimes in small groups and sometimes as individual meetings. The cooperative approach to advising interns on the part of the faculty members works to ensure students are given the freedom to maximize their internship experiences. Students are not forced to adhere to rigid schedules or requirements, freeing them to focus on the experiences at the internship sites. Whereas Dr. Crusoe was very comfortable with its current design, she stated that more meetings with students could be useful. She commented that this might be unrealistic, however, for both faculty members and students given the

limitations of available time in semesters where students are moving between spaces.

When I explored the evolution of the course and assignments into its current format, Dr. Crusoe explained that in its early formation, the internship course did not have the same

flexibility. As evidenced by the archival records and discussed in Chapter Four, students used to receive approval from the English Department Chair for internships. Then, faculty members served as the supervisors—there was not an individual dedicated to overseeing the internship program. In approximately 2000, there was a desire for a more formalized program. The initial thought was that a faculty member would serve as an internship director. This individual would go out and find the internships, assign them, and then the interns would meet once a week as a class. When Dr. Crusoe started working with interns in 2001, she found that this model did not

serve the program or faculty members well. With the demands of teaching and other

departmental responsibilities, it was difficult to visit a large group of potential internship partners in the Atlanta community. In addition, she arranging a weekly class was also difficult; Dr.

Crusoe explained,

[the original model] didn’t really work. It was not exactly practical. The getting together in the class was not practical at all because the students’ schedules were so different and the time in the workplaces were different. I tried getting the students together for a semester or two, but I just could not make it work, and I did not have time to go around and talk to people . . . . Our process through the years has just been [working to] making things as effective, clear, and simple as possible.

While she felt both of these ideas could be beneficial for students and community partners, at GSU it was not effective program design. A significant facet of the program development over the years has focused on ensuring that the department course adheres to the legal limits of placing students in internships. Dr. Crusoe follows the discussions in the media questioning the ethical considerations of universities encouraging unpaid work. An important part of the program directors’ work is to make it clear to all individuals involved with the internships, as well as other faculty members, that GSU interns are pursing experiential learning experiences in line with FLSA requirements. Crusoe emphasized this requires an awareness of the public

conversations and legal ramifications for illegal internships is now an important facet of her work in directing internships. This focus is further evidence of the GSU English Department’s efforts to develop a program that supports student learning above all else.