Instructional Scaffolding in Internships: Supporting future professionals in Family Science
Keywords:
Internships, experiential learning, higher educationAbstract
Internships are known for being a valuable, albeit time consuming, opportunity for students, supervisors, and faculty in many fields. As undergraduate programs consider their current and future internship programs, we suggest the processes an intern takes to secure and complete an internship are key to furthering their learning and increasing their career marketability. In this article, we use scaffolding and self-efficacy theories as the foundation to developing an intentional internship program in the family science field. We share the steps faculty take to prepare students for the internship, use graduated guidance to support student learning, and to assess learning during the internship. This hybrid approach combines quality online learning with on-site application and readily lends itself to replication in other disciplines.
References
Author. (2018). [Title redacted].
Ballard, S. M., & Carroll, E. B. (2005). Internship practices in family studies programs. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 97(4), 11-17.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-295x.84.2.191
Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 8, 117-148. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep2802_3
Brobst, J. A. (2013). A little help from my friends: Testing the utility of Facebook groups as online communities in an undergraduate research internship (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database. (UMI No. 3612932).
Celio, Durlak, & Dynmnicki (2011) A Meta-analysis of the Impact of Service-Learning on Students. Journal of Experiential Education, 34(2), 164-181.
Gonyea, J. L. J. & Kozak, M. S. (2014). Scaffolding Family Science student experiences to increase employment options and preparedness. Family Science Review, 19, 26-36.
Harland, T. (2003). Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development and problem-based learning: Linking a theoretical concept with practice through action research. Teaching in Higher, 2, 263-272. doi: 10.1080/1356251032000052483
Pea, R. D. (2004). The social and technological dimensions of scaffolding and related theoretical concepts for learning, education, and human activity. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13, 423-451. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1466943
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 80(1), 1 - 28. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1037/h0092976
Standards from the Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric, 6th Edition. Quality Matters. Retrieved from https://www.qualitymatters.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/StandardsfromtheQMHigherEducationRubric.pdf
Vygotsky (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher mental process. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wass, R., Harland, T., & Mercer, A. (2011). Scaffolding critical thinking in the zone of proximal development. Higher Education Research and Development, 30, 317-328.
Wilson, K. & Devereux, L. (2014). Scaffolding theory: High challenge, high support in academic language and learning (ALL) contexts. Journal of Academic Language & Learning, 8(3), 91-100.
Zlotkowski, E., & Duffy, D. (2010) Two decades of community-based learning. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 123, 33-43. doi:10.1002/tl.407
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others non-commercial use of the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
