Voices of educational administration internship mentors

Within the field of leadership preparation, there is agreement by both scholars and practitioners of the need to engage aspiring leaders in authentic field-based learning experiences that tightly align to coursework (Perez, Uline, Johnson, James-Ward, & Basom, 2011). An integrated approach including mentoring is critical to the success of the internship activities and therefore the overall experience. Using data gathered from interns, as well as issues emerging in existent literature, the researchers developed and administered a survey to mentors to assess the activities, level of engagement, and general feedback on the internship experience for those they supervised, as well as their own development during the interaction. We subsequently conducted interviews of five mentors who had responded to the survey to allow for further exploration of the emergent themes.     

数学教育实习中指导教师工作现状分析

中学指导教师在数学教育实习中扮演着重要的角色。调查发现,绝大部分实习生在教育实习的过程中获得了中学指导教师对他们的指导。指导的内容集中在课堂教学设计和教学技能方面。大部分实习生都认可指导教师的工作。在实习中大多数指导教师没有获得如何从事指导工作的培训机会及取得相关工作的资质;他们与高等教育机构联系甚少;指导实习生的过程中存在单打独斗的问题。     

“Somebody to count on”: Mentor/intern relationships in a beginning teacher internship program

The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to illuminate mentor and intern participants' relationships in one state-mandated beginning teacher internship program. We analyzed interview data from 29 mentors and interns using within- and cross-case analysis and generated categories and properties with supporting interview excerpts to show how mentors and interns interpreted and adapted their roles. Findings of the study indicate that mentors and interns jointly construct their relationships; these relationships are undergirded by the respect and trust the two individuals have for each other. Furthermore, interns appear to need mentors who first, and foremost, support them as fledgling teachers. Interns also need mentors who assume flexible roles and who adapt their roles based on interns' needs.     

Internship: interpreting micropolitical contexts

Many university faculties of education across Australia employ a model of internship for final semester pre-service teacher education students to help them make a smooth transition into the teaching profession. While a growing body of research has explored pre-service teachers’ experiences of their practicum, including the internship, which is the final professional experience within a course of study, very little work has considered micropolitics as a lens through which to interpret interns’ relationships with their school supervisors/mentors. This paper uses a micropolitical framework to interpret reflective reports written by 145 Bachelor of Education (primary) interns who recorded their perceptions of their professional learning experience within the context of a relationship with their school-based mentors. Several key themes are identified that highlight interns’ reports of a range of micropolitical strategies at play. The paper concludes by raising a number of implications for universities and schools regarding how better to facilitate interns’ transition into the profession.     

Conceptualizing a narrative simulation to promote dialogic reflection: using a multiple outcome design to engage teacher mentors

Experienced teachers, tasked with mentoring, often find themselves inundated with large amounts of didactic information as they prepare for guiding new interns. In an effort to develop training that would both prepare new mentors and revitalize experienced mentors, a state Educational Professional Standards Board enlisted the help of instructional designers to develop an innovative online course. The focal point of the course design is a narrative simulation, embedded with standards-based information, that provides user-selected, multiple outcomes as decision points to support dialogic reflection. Theoretical and practical considerations for conceptualizing this multiple outcome strategy, quality review components and design specifications are discussed.     

The working contract between the on‐site mentor and school counseling students during internship—contents and processes

This study focuses on the working contract between the on‐site mentor and school‐based counseling interns within the specific context of the on‐site mentoring role, underlining the importance of the contract as a framework for empowering internship and mentoring. Guidelines concerning the main contents and processes needed for outlining an effective contract are presented. A study that examined expectations of mentors and interns regarding the components of the contract is presented with the aim of illustrating the creation of a data‐driven basis for contracting. Four similar broad categories were located, although differences between mentors and interns in each category appeared. Implications of the working contract for the enhancement of the mentorship relationship and for the professional growth of mentors and interns are discussed.     

Effects of an international agricultural and horticultural internship on the career and personal development of young adults

Abstract

Interns evaluate their international agricultural and horticultural internship. Topics include: career and personal development, ability to learn and teach, and quality of life during internship. Findings are associated with intern's: gender, native language (English, non-English), type of placement during internship (agriculture, horticulture), present occupation (agriculture, horticulture, other), present work status (owns own business, works for others), and year of internship (1980–1994). Males report greater ability to teach the host. Females report higher quality of life during internship. Agricultural placement interns report greater personal development than horticultural placement interns. Non-native English speakers indicate greater career development than native English speakers. Male non-native English speakers indicate greater learning than female non-native English speakers. Interns now working in agriculture or horticulture and owning their own business report more learning than those now working for others. Personal development during intership has decreased over time for interns presently working in agriculture. Interns now working in other occupations, who had agricultural placements indicate more learning than those who had horticultural placements. Interns not presently working in agricultural or horticultural occupations rate their quality of life during the internship as lower than those now working in agriculture or horticulture. The survey instrument and its analysis are discussed, and the Ohio International Agricultural and Horticultural Intern Program is described.     

The internship component of a teacher education program: Opportunities for learning

Abstract

Many preservice teacher education programs in recent years have increased the amount of time student teachers spend in field placements by adding an “internship “ component. An internship is typically longer than a practice teaching session and is designed as a bridge between being a student teacher and having full teaching responsibilities. This study explored the effect of an internship that had three key features: the interns were free to choose the nature of their field experience, no formal evaluation was involved, and the interns were attached to the school (or other institution) as a whole rather than a particular staff member. Under these conditions, the interns could (a) go more deeply into a specific teaching area; (b) gain greater knowledge of school culture; (c) become more familiar with school‐wide programs and activities; and (d) learn more about their distinctive interests and abilities as teachers.     

Borders to cross: Identifying sources of tension in mentor–intern relationships

We used border crossing as a theoretical framework to explore the tensions that developed between two mentor–intern pairs during the course of a yearlong internship in high schools in the United States. Interviews with mentors and interns, and observations of planning sessions, teaching episodes, and follow-up conferences indicated that differing conceptions of mentoring, expectations related to communication, and beliefs about teaching formed the primary borders that the pairs had to navigate. Findings from the study suggest that the university must take a greater role in fostering communication between mentors and interns, and in providing on-going support to mentors engaged in teacher education.     

THE TEACHER INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES OF PROSPECTIVE HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS TEACHERS

Nine prospective secondary mathematics teachers were interviewed about their teaching internship experience. The results of these interviews revealed that 7 of the 9 participants professed to value reform-oriented teaching and conceptual understanding in mathematics, yet all were paired with cooperating teachers who seemed to value traditional instruction and procedural understanding in mathematics. We explored the reasons that some of these student interns had positive experiences with their cooperating teachers and university supervisors while others had negative experiences. We found that the participants valued (a) critical feedback that was constructive and contained concrete recommendations for improvement, (b) freedom to use their own teaching methods, and (c) a friendly and supportive relationship with their mentors. The differing teaching philosophies of student teachers and their cooperating teachers contributed to negative experiences only when student teachers were not allowed freedom in their teaching methods.     

Opening the black box of field experiences: How cooperating teachers' beliefs and practices shape student teachers' beliefs and practices

This study employed ethnographic methods to describe and explain changes to beginning science teachers' (n = 6) practices and beliefs during a year long internship. Teaching practices were strongly influenced by the cooperating teachers. Initially, all six interns attempted to re-enact lessons they witnessed their cooperating teachers teach, including following lesson structures and borrowing representations, anecdotes, and jokes. Later, they independently implemented instruction that emphasized similar strategies as their mentors, regardless of whether or not they were experiencing success. Interns who were successful also shifted their beliefs to match their mentors.     

Emergent Supervisors: Comparing Counseling Center and Non‐Counseling‐Center Interns' Supervisory Training Experiences

Predoctoral interns' responses to an internship supervision training questionnaire indicated that counseling center interns supervised more trainees, received more supervision in their supervisory roles, reported more supervision training activities, and yielded higher supervisor development scores than did non‐counseling‐center interns. A qualitative analysis of participants' responses showed that non‐counseling‐center interns desired more supervision training and opportunities to provide supervision during their internship year than did counseling center interns.     

The impact of compensation,supervision and work design on internship efficacy: implications for educators,employers and prospective interns

Internships are a growing, yet controversial, labour market phenomenon. In particular, the issue of unpaid internships has been the source of legislative, judicial and ethical debate. Some have criticised colleges and universities for promoting an expansion of internships for undergraduate students – with little regard for internship characteristics such as compensation, quality of supervision and work activities. Meanwhile, there is a paucity of research examining the role internship characteristics, such as compensation, supervisor behaviours and work design have on internship efficacy. Based on a survey of undergraduate students in the US, the results showed that supervisor mentoring, the developmental value of the internship and the job pursuit intentions of the intern with the host employer were lower for those reporting on their unpaid internship vs. paid internship. Meanwhile, supervisor support and supervisor mentoring are significant predictors of internship efficacy regardless of internship compensation, while work design has much less of an impact on internship efficacy. The implications of the findings for educators, employers and prospective interns are highlighted.     

Teaching-as-research internships: a model for the development of future chemistry faculty and the improvement of teaching in science,technology, engineering,and math

Over the past decade, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) and Madison Area Technical College (Madison College) partnered to create an internship pathway for graduate students pursuing careers as future science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) faculty members. Since 2003, 10 doctoral students from the university completed teaching internship appointments with the technical college chemistry department. Interns benefited from a variety of teaching and educational experiences that helped lay the foundations for their future teaching careers. Following completion of their internships, many students secured employment in higher education as new instructors and enthusiastic members of the teaching profession. Intern projects also benefited veteran faculty mentors at Madison College, and the experience provided a rich forum for collaboration that generated curricular and instructional innovations in the classroom. Centered on the three pillars of teaching-as-research, learning community, and learning through diversity, the internship program created at UW-Madison and implemented at Madison College provides a model pathway for preparing future STEM faculty. This approach provides clear benefits not only for the future faculty who are trained, but also for veteran faculty mentors, for the host institution, and for the undergraduate students impacted by the educational innovations. This paper examines the key attributes of this program, with the hope that our experience may be disseminated and replicated to benefit others.     

Obtaining consumer feedback as a means of evaluating school psychology intern performance

A systematic procedure for gathering accountability data on interns is described. The consumer feedback system for interns was used to supplement other accountability procedures already in place in the internship. The system involved soliciting feedback, through a questionnaire, from teachers, parents, and students with whom interns worked. The development, implementation, and utilization of such a system are explained, and the drawbacks of consumer satisfaction methods are explored. The benefits of this system to interns and trainers are presented. An illustration is provided to show how group and individual intern data can be used to improve skill development during the internship experience.     

高职化工类专业学生顶岗实习方案设计的几点思考——以在废弃物处置行业实习为例

高职院校化工类专业学生在顸岗实习的过程中,由于受到专业特点影响,顶岗实习企业分散,难以制定有针对性的顶岗实习方案。建议采取以企业生产产品为依据,将顸岗实习的企业类型归纳简化为有限的种类,减轻制定顶岗实习方案工作压力,通过安排任课教师开展有针对性的企业研修,将研修的经验有效融入到实习方案设计中,同时加强校企合作,建立多类型校外实训基地,以便更有针对性地帮助学生开展实习活动。     

Cross-cultural experience in preservice teacher education

The study investigated the effect of international student teaching experience on the professional and personal development of preservice teachers. Within the framework of their internship program, 26 graduate students in a private university in Turkey had a two-month internship in a mid western state in the United States, the main component of which was a six-week student teaching experience in high schools. Student teachers worked with mentors in pairs or triads in six high schools in different subject areas. They got involved in teaching practices, technology seminars, and diverse cultural activities during their internship. The student teachers and mentor teachers were surveyed through e-mail and three student teachers were interviewed to evaluate the outcomes of the program. The findings of the current research suggest that the international student teaching experience and the overall internship program with its cultural components contributed in a positive way to student teachers’ professional and personal development and helped student teachers increase their cultural awareness. The findings also suggest that the presence of international students in US schools and society in general helped American students and people have a better idea of other countries and cultures.     

School psychology interns’ characterizations of family–school partnerships

School psychologists are encouraged to establish family–school partnerships with culturally and linguistically diverse families across the spectrum of child development. Partnerships and collaborations have been described in prior literature as bidirectional, nonhierarchical relationships between families and schools, expanding on the more traditional but limited concept of unidirectional parent involvement in school. This qualitative study describes five specialist‐level school psychology interns’ experiences facilitating family–school partnerships with culturally diverse families during their internship year. Findings focus on defining and identifying characteristics of family–school partnerships from interns’ recollections of their lived experiences. Five salient elements characterized the practical experience of a partnership: requisite situations for partnering, stakeholder involvement, intern's actions, intern's emotional responses, and the outcome or quality of the family–school partnership. These findings have implications for the training of school psychologists and the ways that family–school interactions are conceptualized both in training programs and in school settings.     

护生向护士角色转化的心境状态调查及分析

护理专业的临床实习是学校教育的延伸和深化,是理论联系实践提高临床综合能力的重要学习阶段,在这阶段中,能否迅速完成由学生向护士角色的转变,直接关系和影响到实习教学目标的实现。事实上实习生临床角色的适应与转变受到诸多内部因素和外部因素的影响。为了进一步完善实习管理,提高实习教学质量,帮助实习生加快角色的适应与转变,通过对我校高职护理专业实习教学基地的7所医院的137名(2002、2003级)实习生心境状态的调查,收集和分析了近两年来各实习生心境状态的资料,归纳出影响实习生角色转变的主要因素,并进行了有益的探讨。