History/Interdisciplinary Studies/ Political Science 399:

INTERNSHIP

 

Instructor:  Linda Raven, MA International Development and Social Change

 

Course Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to reflect upon the service they are providing to a Namibian organization and to critically analyze the role of this organization while carrying out an internship in an organization that promotes social change and/or development.  Students are expected to complete a minimum of 88 hours of hands-on work experience. They will also attend service‑learning orientation sessions and periodic seminars in which they will discuss and analyze their experiences with other students and faculty members

 

Instructional Objectives

1. Students will gain hands-on work experience while serving a local organization/population.

2. Students will develop their skills in organizational analysis.

3. Students will articulate their personal and professional goals.

4. Students will describe the role and function of the assigned agency in resolving local problems or meeting local needs.

5. Students will define the populations served by the assigned organization and describe how these populations are served.

6. Students will develop interpersonal and intercultural communication skills.

7. Students will apply concepts/theories/ideas from their major or minor to the internship setting.

8. Students will apply or enhance professional work skills, such as writing, speaking, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, computer technology, interpersonal, teamwork, and leadership.

Teaching Methodology:  The instructor is an advocate of inquiry-based learning.  As such, she views this course as a means to support and deepen knowledge gained from the internship experience.  She is interested in the students dedicating themselves to their host organization, developing skills and synthesizing experiences in order to critically examine information and relate it to learning from other classes and previous perceptions. This class is not meant to solely provide service to an organization; it is also interested in exploring questions and themes that arise from the internships, while focusing on professional development skills.  Teaching strategies include 88 hours of service to an organization, discussion sessions, oral presentations, journaling, individual meetings and skill development workshops.

 

Course Design:

Unit 1:    Introduction to internships

Unit 2:    Initial Reflections and Adjustments

Unit 3:    Portfolio and Oral Presentation Workshop

Unit 4:    Oral presentations

Unit 5:    Resume Workshop

Unit 6:    Independent Project Presentations

Unit 7:    Vocation and Professional Direction

Unit 8:    Wrap-Up and Evaluations