Professional Development Internship
LHRD 4804 – Professional Development Internship
Proposal, Portfolio, and Presentation Instructions
Professional Development Internship
Work-based learning, whether in the form of an internship or apprenticeship, is currently one of the most influential ideas in public higher education and workforce development policy. The central idea behind this advocacy for work-based learning is that hands-on experiences in authentic, real-world contexts
are an important complement to academic programs and classroom teaching. Internships are often touted as being a win-win-win situation: Students can get real-world job experience and establish professional networks, educators get their students opportunities to translate theory into practice, and employers get inexpensive and educated workers that may turn into new hires.
CRITERIA FOR THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNSHIP, PROPOSAL & FINAL PORTFOLIO PRESENTATION
Hours Required
Students are expected to log at least 48 internship hours per one academic credit hour. Please see Figure 1 below.
Figure 1
| Number of Academic Credit Hours | Total Minimum Internship Hours |
| 3 | 144 |
| 4 | 192 |
| 5 | 240 |
| 6 | 288 |
| 7-9 | 336 |
Students may not:
1. Interns with a Greek System or student organization.
2. Intern with a carwash, retail, food service, or bar / restaurant organization unless with a corporate office.
Students should:
1. LHRD Majors are required to complete the internship in an HR or HRD capacity.
2. LDR minors are required to complete the internship either within their area of academic study or their intended profession after graduation.
CRITERIA AND STRUCTURE OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNSHIP PROPOSAL
Your Professional Development Internship Proposal must include the following elements below. Each section of your paper should be labeled with the corresponding heading in bold.
Cover Sheet: See template on page 4.
A. Description of the setting or organization
A description of the setting or organization in which the internship will take place. Effort should be made as to why this organization was chosen for your internship. Aside from fulfilling course requirements, how will working with this organization contribute to your professional career after leaving LSU.
Sufficient detail should be included so that the description makes clear the professional development setting in which the student will be working, including, who will be reporting to the student, the nature of the project/work/initiative, the student’s professional responsibilities, resources available (i.e. human, financial, or technical resources), time frame (i.e. start and end dates), number of hours to be worked on a weekly basis in the internship, and personnel with whom the student will be working (names, position/job titles, summary of responsibilities, and any other relevant details). Please include the name of the student’s immediate site Supervisor and his/her working relationship with the student.
B. SMART goal(s)
· Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
· Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
· Achievable (agreed, attainable).
· Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
· Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).
Identification of an initiative the student will pursue in their leadership role in this setting. The initiative(s) should have tangible and measurable outcomes that can be used to assess the success or failure of the initiative(s). The student is also required to state a plan for monitoring and assessing the extent to which these outcomes are attained.
Example: I will lead my team in an initiative to raise $10,000.00 for our cause. In order to monitor our progress, we will count our donations every week.
(If you have raised $10,000.00 by the end of your internship, then you have been successful).
Example: I will lead my team to improve workplace morale by 15%. In order to measure this, I will locate or create a survey that measures morale. I will administer this survey to our employees at the beginning and end of my internship.
(If you have raised morale by 15% at the end of your internship, then you have been successful).
C. Purpose
Discuss in detail how this internship will aid you in your immediate career goals, over the next 12 months, once you leave LSU. Here you should think deeply about what your first job will be after graduation and how this internship will add to your skillset. How will this internship be presented on your resume and LinkedIn? If you are attending graduate school, how will this internship contribute to your continuing education.
D. Professional development goals
A description of the personal professional development goals/objectives the student will try to attain as a result of this experience. Here you should think deeply about how the internship experience can help you strengthen areas seen as weaknesses. In other words, describe the keys areas of knowledge and skill development you see as critical for your professional development. Why do you see these as critical for your development and how will this internship help you build these competencies?
E. Leadership development goals
A description of the personal leadership development goals/objectives the student will try to attain as a result of this experience. Here the student should think deeply about how the internship experience can help them strengthen areas seen as weaknesses. In other words, describe the keys areas of knowledge and skill development that the student sees as critical for their own professional development. Why are these areas critical for your development and how will this internship help build these competencies?
Example: I am terrible at keeping a schedule and staying on task and want to improve in this area. In order to improve, I will purchase a daily planner or app. Example: I am bad at waking up early and want to improve in this area. In order to improve, I will go to bed early and set multiple alarms.
Example: I tend to interrupt people when they speak and want to improve in this area. In order to improve, I will wait until the other person is finished speaking before interjecting. Additionally, I will ask for feedback from my boss to make sure I am successful in this goal.
F. Student Internship Agreement Form
Complete the Student Internship Agreement. The agreement form can be found in the Professional Internship folder under Syllabus, Course Materials and Major Assignments in Moodle. The Internship Agreement is a contract that must be signed and approved by the student’s Supervisor at the internship site. Taken together, the internship proposal and the agreement serve as a written contract between the student, their site supervisor, and the instructor of the course.
*Students are required to use the following cover page template.
[TITLE]
Submitted to
Dr. Edward A. Gibbons, III
Of
Louisiana State University
School of Leadership and Human Resource Development
College of Human Sciences and Education
In partial fulfillment of course requirements for LHRD 4804
by
[NAME]
HSD. [Name of Highschool], [Year of HS graduation]
[DATE]
CRITERIA AND STRUCTURE OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNSHIP FINAL PORTFOLIO
Your Professional Development Internship Portfolio must include the following elements below. Each section of your paper should be labeled with the corresponding heading in bold. Each student should make their best effort to submit one PDF submittal and not multiple files. However, in the event that you are unable to submit one file, I will accept multiple files.
Times New Roman, 12point font, 1-inch margins, citations where applicable.
Cover Sheet
See cover sheet template on page 9.
Table of contents
Provide a list of portfolio section and the pages on which they start.
A. Abstract
In no less than half a page, provide a brief summary of the internship experience and the overall outcome.
B. Description of the internship experience
a. Please provide a written description of the internship experience (e.g., what you did, with
whom, for how long, etc.).
b. Describe in relatively specific terms the nature of the internship experience. Sufficient detail should be included so that the description makes clear the setting in which you worked including the nature of the project/work/initiative, your responsibilities, resources available (e.g., human, financial, or technical resources), time frame if appropriate (e.g., start and end dates), and personnel with whom you worked (names, position/job titles, summary of responsibilities, and any other relevant details of the people you were leading) including the name of your direct supervisor.
C. SMART goals
a. Describe the initiative(s), task(s), you worked on during your internship, including the tangible and measurable outcomes that were used to assess the success or failure of the initiative(s).
b. Report whether you have achieved your outcome(s). Be specific and quantify the success or failure of your initiative(s). Provide an evidence footnote in Section B, of evidence that can be located in Section E (i.e. documents, videos, work products, performance evaluations, or other artifacts) that demonstrate what was accomplished and learned as a result of the internship experience.
D. Purpose
a. Discuss in detail how this internship helped you with your immediate career goals. Here you should think deeply about what your first job will be after graduation and how this internship will added to your skillset.
E. Collection of Evidence
The portfolio should contain a variety of materials in the form of work outputs, products, or accomplishments that provide evidence of learning and professional development. These materials should be those to which the student was the major contributor. These materials should be carefully selected with a focus on including only those materials that best reflect student learning as it relates to her/his professional development objectives. This could include, for example:
a. Audio or video of your work (e.g., segments of training delivered, unrehearsed verbal responses of trainees evaluating some aspect of your performance, etc).
b. Graphs, charts, or diagrams (e.g., such as a flow chart of a work process you developed, adapted or improved).
c. Developmental notes you made to yourself, or made to you by your supervisor,
during a project or task.
d. Information/documents from others that help demonstrate your competence (e.g.,
supervisor or subordinate written performance evaluations of your work).
F. Journal Questions
Students are required to write a periodic journal. You will select a different question each week to submit to Moodle. Sub-questions a,b,c etc. in 13, 14, 15 & 19. are not consider full questions. These journal entries are to be turned in with the final Professional Development Portfolio at the end of the semester.
1. How much do you currently know about the organization in which you will be working for your internship?
2. What is the overall initiative you plan to work towards during your internship? Why did you decide to work on this initiative?
3. What are your top five professional skills you hope to develop during the course of this internship, why did you pick these, and how do you think your project/initiative will help you develop these skills?
4. How do you think this internship will help you as you start applying for jobs upon graduation?
5. What challenges do you anticipate during your internship?
6. What strategies might you use to overcome these challenges?
7. What skills or competencies will you have to improve in order for you to successfully achieve the goals and objectives of your internship?
8. Identify and describe an instance in which you think you have been able to make a positive impression in the past.
9. Identify and describe an instance in which you think something you did or said made a negative impression.
10. Identify at least three ways in which you can make a positive impression quickly in this organization.
11. List at least three things you can do to avoid making a negative impression.
12. Reflect on your past internship week, and please answer the following questions:
a. What activities did you find particularly challenging or interesting? Why?
b. How well did you meet the challenges you faced?
c. What did you learn? Did your learning meet your expectations with regards to the internship?
d. What could you have done better in meeting the challenges you faced?
e. What disappointments or surprises did you encounter?
f. How did your learning and the experiences you encountered contribute to your personal and professional development?
13. Reflect on your past internship week, and please answer the following questions:
a. What plan or strategies have you used or might you use to deal with and overcome resistance to change or a new initiative?
b. What kind of resistance have you encountered or anticipate encountering as you lead your group to achieve your project or initiative goals? This could include resistance from your supervisors, team members, and other people within the organization affected by your initiative and outcomes.
c. What is your action plan to overcome the resistance you have encountered?
d. How did your learning and the experiences you encountered contribute to your personal and professional development?
14. You learned about the concept of power in HRE 3723, and the fact the power can be used for good or evil. As a leader during your internship, you are given a certain amount of power over a group. How will you make sure you stay on track and focused on using your power for the good of those you are leading?
a. What progress have you made towards the completion of your overall goals of your internship?
b. What progress have you made towards the completion of each outcome identified in your proposal?
c. What surprises and unanticipated challenges have you faced during your internship?
d. What is the most important lesson you have learned about leadership thus far from your internship experience?
15. In your previous LHRD courses, you have learned about several types of intelligence related to leadership (emotional, cultural, etc). How have you utilized these intelligence/skills in your internship?
16. What are the four most important lessons about leadership you have learned from conducting your internship?
17. Why are these lessons important for your personal development professionally? Identify at least 3 critical ways you have grown professionally during the course of your internship?
18. Reflect on your past internship week, and please answer the following questions:
a. What activities did you find particularly challenging or interesting? Why?
b. How well did you meet the challenges you faced?
c. What did you learn? Did your learning meet your expectations with regard to the internship?
d. What could you have done better in meeting the challenges you faced?
e. What disappointments or surprises did you encounter?
f. How did your learning and the experiences you encountered contribute to your personal and professional development?
G. Signed Time Log
Students are required to keep track of the time associated with Professional Development Internship via the Time Log. This document is available in the Professional Development Internship Folder under Syllabus, Course Materials and Major Assignments in Moodle. Completed time sheets with supervisor signature, verifying the 336 internship hours completed, are to be turned in with the final Professional Internship portfolio at the end of the semester.
H. Signed Supervisor Evaluation
A written, signed evaluation by the student’s supervisor describing the supervisor’s assessment of the quality of the student’s work and an assessment of the extent to which the student met his or her professional development goals. The best supervisory evaluations include descriptions of specific incidents that demonstrate the student’s quality of work and achievement of or progress toward professional development goals.
*Students are required to use the following cover page template.
[TITLE]
Submitted to
Dr. Edward A. Gibbons, III
Of
Louisiana State University
School of Leadership and Human Resource Development
College of Human Sciences and Education
In partial fulfillment of course requirements for LHRD 4723
by
[NAME]
