Beyond the Internship: Unveiling the Full Spectrum of Work-Based Learning Opportunities
Beyond the Internship: Unveiling the Full Spectrum of Work-Based Learning Opportunities
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“Work-based learning” is one of the latest education buzzwords circulating in professional STEM education circles—but what does it mean beyond internships? A. Work-based learning provides a full spectrum of student activities, processes, and experiences that blur lines between real work and education.
“Work-based learning” is one of the latest education buzzwords circulating in professional STEM education circles—but what does it mean beyond internships? A. Work-based learning provides a full spectrum of student activities, processes, and experiences that blur lines between real work and education.
by by Brett Doudican, curriculum specialist at the Greene County Career Center in Xenia, Ohio.
Business and industry leaders meet routinely with education leaders to discuss gaps in workforce development. Industry leaders want to shorten the time it takes to graduate fully-productive workers by aligning student education with industry needs such as skills in project management, leadership, new technology, or foundational academics. Education leaders focus on student needs and state expectations, plus limited education time and resources. I’ve attended dozens of these meetings. From where I sit, the major problem with this approach is that each side puts their grievances on the table and then walks away without addressing how to teach these skills! The meeting the next year covers the same ground. There is a solution: full spectrum work-based learning addresses the how. To succeed, this approach requires dedicated support from industry and education decision makers.
When most people hear the words “work-based learning” they typically understand this to mean internships alone. I’d like to share examples about how a broad range of experiences can progressively blur the lines between education and workforce resulting in more qualified workers showing up sooner. Although educators, students, parents, and industry have incentives to make these experiences successful, significant investment by all stakeholders is required. As a curriculum specialist at a career technical school I have worked with several partners during past five years to raise this bar. We have made great progress, and yet there is still much work to be done.
To illustrate the full range of work-based learning, I’d like to share an example from one of our partners. Defense Plastics (a pseudonym) makes plastic injection molds for various defense industries—mostly in prototyping, not mass production. Defense Plastics works with customers in house through each step: product design, CNC (CNC is a computer operated machine that mills or cuts metal molds) mold design, production, material testing, and re-design. They are a partner (meaning they attend the meetings mentioned earlier) with our Advanced Engineering Systems program and engage at every level of work-based learning. Defense Plastics provides multiple touch points to engage students in a progressive engineering program in 11th and 12th grade as outlined below in order of events:
Classroom presentation: Defense Plastics CEO conducts a presentation detailing how their business works, including workplace expectations. Highlights include some “wow factor” artifacts produced by the company.
Field trip and job shadow: Defense Plastics brings students to their shop for a tour and allows any student to sign up to job shadow (our program requires all students complete three job shadows before they graduate).
Simulated workplace: Defense Plastics engineers share a simple but real customer project for students to complete in the classroom with available technology and equipment. The engineers outline expectations including design specs and timeline. The teacher assigns students to teams. Defense Plastics engineers mentor students and evaluate progress. The team whose design is chosen receive gift cards in return for their work.
School-based enterprise: Students use some of the skills gained from these projects to create holiday ornaments that are sold as a community fundraiser. Defense Plastics routinely purchases a bulk order to give to their employees.
Career portfolio prep: The Defense Plastics CEO provides students feedback on resumes, cover letters, and sits in on mock interviews. He also is a judge on a Shark Tank-style design competition.
Summer internship: Students can interview for the one-to-two summer internships offered each year.
Job placement: During senior year, students could qualify for early release to work half days two-to-three times a week instead of attending class. The company, school administrators, parents, guidance counselors, students, and instructors sign off on a training plan that aligns technical content with work to be undertaken by students. The student’s direct supervisor completes a biweekly evaluation (which factors into their grades) and the teacher and Defense Plastics representatives hold monthly face-to-face communications.
This partnership requires a significant commitment from the business partner but yields incredible results for both the business and the student. There is almost no time lost in developing productive employees, plus students gain valuable experiences that blur the lines between education and their full-time career. When students are engaged in meaningful (and paid) work, their education becomes more valuable to them and we typically see students double down on their academics. Some commitment, flexibility, and creativity can create mutually-beneficial experiences that meets the needs everyone talks about in those meetings but struggle to produce.
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