Internship Guidelines
Journal Reflections and Observations
Due Dates:
Journal #1: Getting Started:
Journal #2: Reflections and Observations:
Journal #3: Reflections and Observations:
Journal #4: Interview with Mentor:
Journal #5: Final Reflective Essay: (at time of exam and oral presentation)
Copy of thank you note to mentor: (at time of exam)
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING IN ITS ENTIRETY AND FOLLOW THE ASSIGNMENTS AS DIRECTED!!! EACH JOURNAL ENTRY HAS SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED BELOW. JOURNAL ENTRIES ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE THE DATE INDICATED ABOVE AND MAY BE E-MAILED TO ME.
Your journal is a personal record of your learning experience during your Internship (Capstone) Experience. It is your first-person account of your project from its beginnings to the time of your final presentation. Your journal is an opportunity for you to share with the internship coordinator and other faculty members your unique experience and to truly interject your personality into the evaluation process. Your journal allows you to express your creativity, problem-solving ability and organizational skills. It also serves as a valuable self-assessment of your Internship/Capstone experience.
All journal entries must be dated and completed twice per month. They must be at least one full page in length, typed, double-spaced, and in 12-point font.
Below are some suggested questions you may consider as you write your journal entries.
Please respond to as many of these questions as you can when writing your journal entries.
PERTINENT INFORMATION/DATA/RESOURCES
With whom did you speak?
What facts did you gather?
What other work did you do?
What is the next step as a result of your research and talking with your mentor?
Record any resources you discovered, like Internet sites and printed materials
Document any findings as charts, databases, spreadsheets, etc.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
What did you see, hear, and experience?
How did you feel about what you did, saw and heard?
How did you react?
What surprised, pleased or puzzled you?
What answers did you get your to your essential question this week?
What new questions or additional questions are emerging from your work
What did you do to move your question forward?
What other observations do you have about the work you completed, work that is in progress and what lies ahead?
What do you plan to do next?
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
Intrapersonal skills: cite examples of your personal growth and understanding
Interpersonal skills: describe your relationship with your mentor or people with whom you came into contact for the project
Evaluate your experiences of the week. This may include a situation you did or did not handle well as well as what you learned from it.
Comment on triumphs and challenges you encountered.
What behaviors were responsible for facilitating these triumphs?
How can you look at challenges in a positive or productive way?
What is the value of your work in relation to your learning goal (essential question)?
Journal Entry #1: Getting Started
Your first entry must include the following:
- Rationale for selection of Internship/Capstone project
- Describe your goals for your internship (academic and personal)
- What do you hope to learn?
- How does this internship build on your interests or previous experience?
- How does this project represent a learning stretch for you? (thinking critically beyond what you already know how to do)
Journal Entries #2 and #3: Reflections and Observations on your Fieldwork (Internship or Community Service Project)
Refer to the list of suggested questions above
Journal Entry #4: Interview with Mentor
Create a list of questions to ask your mentor (for internships, be sure to include information about the specific career field, education required, employment opportunities, etc.)
Conduct an interview and take notes
Write a one-page journal entry which assimilates the information that you gathered along with your reflections on what you have learned about the career field or topic that you are investigating
Journal #5: Final Reflective Essay- 3-5 pages in length.
This essay must be a self-reflection and self-evaluation on the entire Capstone experience.
This essay should be an evaluation of your Capstone project as a whole; this is a reflective piece that allows you to assess what you have accomplished and what perhaps you wish you had done differently.
Some questions you might want to consider are:
What did you learn about your topic and your essential question that was important?
What went right? What went wrong? How did you solve the problems that you encountered?
Are you proud of your internship/project? Why or why not?
What would you have done differently?
What did you expect this internship/project to do for you? Did it meet your expectations?
Could this project have future implications for you at college or in your choice of employment?
How did the Capstone experience help you to cultivate skills, attitudes and talents and prepare you to succeed in college and careers as well as become a responsible citizen who respects diversity, values and lifelong learning?
How well did you manage your time and what would you do differently to manage your time more effectively and efficiently when you work independently again?
What personal satisfactions did you gain from the Capstone experience?
ADDITIONAL INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENTS:
TURN IN WEEKLY TIME SHEETS, DATED AND SIGNED BY YOUR MENTOR
POWER POINT/PREZI PRESENTATION DURING EXAM TIME
THANK YOU NOTE TO MENTOR
Revised 4/19/12