Suzanna S FarnerWestern Illinois University

Internship Learning Experience

MY PROCESS

Creating Learning

OutcomesAssessment

Shaping the Environment

Recognizing Limitations

My Understanding

of Learning

Choosing an

Experience

U390: Career Preparation CourseU390 is upper division 8-week course provided by the Career Development Center (CDC) that

targets juniors and seniors who are preparing for the career after graduating Western Illinois University. The curriculum focuses on the

job/graduate school search process and preparing the materials necessary for a smooth transition into the next chapter of our students

lives. Topics covered include and are not limited to resume building, interview skills, and effective

job search skills and resources.

Guideline to Writing Learning Outcomes

1. Ask your self: “What do you want the participants in this experience to learn?”

2. Collect Feedback from any Participants that are influenced or have influence in the experience (**Don’t forget to include all the participants**)

3. Organize feedback into major themes or topics for learning

4. Write and analyze learning outcomes on components and the dimensions of development.

5. Repeat Step 4 about 7 times or until you feel you have a comprehensive list of learning outcomes

Collecting FeedbackWho are the active and influential participants in

the U390 experience?• Students of U390

• Instructors of U390 (past and present)• Career Development Center Professional Staff

• Employers• Mission Statement

Our Mission The mission of the Career Development Center (CDC) in 125 Memorial Hall is to support student and alumni

by providing comprehensive services to educating individuals on how to create and achieve their

personal career goals through career planning and preparation. The CDC empowers students for a

successful transition between college and professional careers through individual appointments, workshops, and partnerships with employers and faculty/staff at WIU. In support of the mission of the university, we

strive to prepare students to "thrive in and contribute to our global society."

Feedback ThemesThe major themes for learning that I identified in the

feedback were:• Goal Setting/How to Use it

• Understanding “You” / Personal Professional Development• Resume, Cover Letter, and References

• Non-verbal Representation• How to Represent Yourself/Networking

• Job Searching• Interviewing• Professionalism

• College Job Transition

Building a Learning Outcome: Components

The students of U390 will identify * and utilize* the actions steps of goal setting to create* their own professional and personal goals

* Comprehension, Application, Synthesis

KEYAudience

ActionDegree*

Condition

Building a Learning Outcome: Dimensions

The students of U390 will identify and utilize the actions steps of goal setting to create their own professional and personal goals

KEYCognitive: Memorization (Identify) to using their

experience (Create their own)Intrapersonal: What do the students believe they need

to achieve based on their internal belief and values system

Interpersonal: How they see themselves in relation to their professional identity and in relation to the

expectations of their chosen careers

My Learning OutcomesThe Students of U390 will:1. Identify and utilize the actions steps of goal setting to create their own

professional and personal goals2. Share their experiences, extrapolate their current skills, and apply them

to their lifelong career development.3. Create professional resume, cover letter, and references and explain the

purpose of each document in the job search process4. Summarize appropriate online etiquette and use them to modify their

electronic identity through email, social media, and online networking.5. Classify the different settings of networking and define the importance

of building connections in career development.6. Explore their professional interests by analyzing various functional

careers and reflecting on their career development through their experiences.

7. Recognize and demonstrate confidence in responding to the different types of questions in professional/career-based interviewing.

How Do I Shape the Environment to be Learning- Centered?

What is my understanding of Learning???

The Nature Of Learning 1) “Learning does not proceed in a linear way but stops and starts,

reversals and breakthroughs” (Zull, 2002, p. 235)

LIKE A WEB!!!(Yay! for intentional graphic design themes)

2) “If indeed learning begins through sensory experiences, then the teacher is in a trap. Anything she does can produce learning,

because it is a sensory experience” (Zull, 2002, p.20)

Learning happens everywhere.3) “Self is central to knowledge construction” (Baxter Magolda, 2004) Knowledge is not transferred -it is created by each individual in the

learning experience.

What is Needed for Learning to Happen?

1) Abstract Concrete2) Ownership of Learning3) Emotion4)Motion5) Prior Knowledge6) Patterns & Repetition7) Mutual Construction of

Knowledge8) Action

(Zull, 2002; Baxter Magolda, 2004)

My Teaching Traps

How have I been taught? What are my experiences with teachers and learning?

• Banking-Method: Students come to us empty• “wrong” experiences vs “incomplete”

experiences (Zull, 2002, p.123)• Preparing for the subject vs preparing for the

students• Emotion inhibits learning

“ We start where we are not where they are” (Zull,2002, p.103)

How Do I Shape the Environment to be Learning- Centered?

Major environmental themes I would like to incorporate into the U390 experience:

1) Challenge and Support2) Push vs Pull

3) Mutual Construction of and Shared Authority in Learning

4) Creating Connections

Helpful Diagrams(Baxter Magolda, 2004; Zull, 2002)

Strategies to Shape the Environment

1) Learning Bucket List: Work with the students to create a list of what they want to learn in their career preparation

process. 2) Reflection Packet: This tool can be used to challenge the

students of U390 to continuously reflect one their concrete experiences and apply it to concepts discussed in class

3) Share about myself: As instructor there are many ways that me sharing about myself can influence the environment

4) Exploring language: In our course we use a lot of “common terms” for career preparation and asking the students to

define it for themselves can incorporate active testing and their own meaning making

Strategies to Shape the Environment Continued

5) Focuses on the process not the answers: Spending more time focusing on how the

students are understanding key concepts will facilitate and emphasize making connections

and not answers. 6) Incorporating “motion” into my teaching:

Exploring different venues for learning

How to Asses Learning

Formative:• Reflection Packet

• Revisiting the Learning Bucket List Every ClassSummative:

• Final Reflection • First Job Paper• Course Evaluation

Limitations

1) Time2) Resources

3) Learning is a lifelong process and like many things this is only the beginning of my understanding of learning outcomes

CONTINUING MY PROCESS…

?Questions?

References

Baxter Magolda, M.B. (2004). Learning partnership model:Aframework for promoting self-authorship. In M.B.BaxterMagolda&P.M. King (Eds), Learning Partnerships:Theory and models of practice to educate for self-authorship. (pp. 37-62). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Kegan, R., &Lahey, L, L. (2001). Seven languages of transformation: How the way we talk can change the way we work. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Zull, J. E. (2002). The art of changing the brain. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.