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Phase 2: Monitoring and Coaching
Phase 2: Monitoring and Coaching
During internships, Internship Coordinators (ICs) are regularly meeting with site supervisors on site visits and with interns at school with the goal of checking in to see how things are going and if course corrections need to be made. This tool structures those recurring check-in meetings in a way that centers youth’s skill development and their engagement with the employer site. In support of this phase of the internship process, we’ve included facilitator’s guidance and tools below:
LTW Monthly Skills Progress Form
Site Supervisor Interview Protocol
An Intern Interview Protocol
ICs will in essence use this tool to guide the site supervisor and intern as they build the story of how the intern developed their professional skills over the course of the internship – a narrative that the intern will reflect on in Phase 3 of this toolkit, Evaluating and Reflecting. Additionally, if ICs collect data from multiple internships, they can provide an intern with a rich understanding of their professional growth over their LTW tenure. In turn, ICs need to carefully consider how they will organize the documentation from this tool in order to create cohesive narratives.
“It gives the intern feedback on what they need to work on, or what they're excelling in, which gives them the confidence to want to continue to work, or fix what they're struggling with.” - Internship Coordinator
Vignette: Ongoing feedback at Voyages. At Voyages Preparatory High School, a lot of work goes into preparing students for their internship. There is an inventory of students’ goals, delving into what they hope to gain from the experience. There is a debrief on their future job’s expectations, going over site rules and responsibilities. Then there is explicit instruction on the skills required to be successful. Finally there is coordination with personnel on the site, ensuring students land in a space with mentors ready to support them. But all this emphasis on preparation is just the beginning… Learn more
The rationale for this tool
Youth and internship coordinators alike have expressed a desire to more formally track (in an easy way!) professional skill development over the course of work-based-learning/internship experiences. This tool allows you to gather consistent data about an intern’s skill development from the perspectives of both site supervisors and interns. Skills were selected from several sources: existing LTW tools, qualitative research with students and staff, and New York State’s CDOS Employability Profile. When used consistently, this data will build an intern’s awareness of their strengths and areas for growth throughout their internship.
Who can use this tool and when
This tool is designed for Internship Coordinators (the “you” in this guidance) to use:
With site supervisors during monthly site visits
With interns during monthly check-ins
Tip: Reviewing the Employer Site Assessment Form during these interviews gives you an opportunity to also check on the working relationship between the site supervisor and intern.
How to use this tool:
There are a few stages to engaging with this tool.
How to use this tool:
There are a few stages to engaging with this tool.
Modify?
Consider whether to tailor this tool to the intern and to their employer site. The professional skills used in this tool are a combination of skills that LTW students cited as important to them and that LTW programs across the city use to structure their seminar courses. You may want to stick with these skills, or you may want to modify them to align with what your intern envisions for their postsecondary pathway and to the skills developed at their specific employer site. Tailoring this tool to specific interns and employer sites implies that you make modifications while in conversation with your interns or their ACs, reviewing their interests/skills inventory and postsecondary plans, and with their site supervisors.
Get Supervisor Feedback
Have them complete the Intern/Site Supervisor Monthly Progress Form to the site supervisor. When the form is completed, interview the site supervisor using the Site Supervisor Interview Protocol and capture next steps for both the site supervisor and yourself.
Synthesis with the Intern
Repeat Step 2 with the intern. During Intern Interview Protocol, pause before moving on to Next Steps to compare the intern’s and the site supervisor’s feedback. Discuss noticings, questions that arise from the comparison, and then move on to Next Steps.
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