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Internship requirements - Early Childhood Studies

Individual Internship Guidelines
 

All approved internships must: 

  • be conducted in a community based program, school or agency serving young children birth through age five; 
  • involve collaboration with a team of early childhood teachers, assistant teachers, and aides; 
  • include opportunities to complete observations, plan activities, and facilitate young children’s learning; 
  • include at least 120 hours at an early childhood internship site and 40 hours of academic work for 4 credits; 
  • involve the student in new, upper-division, college-level learning in early childhood; 
  • offer theoretical as well as practical learning; 
  • be approved by the Early Childhood Studies resident faculty member serving as the internship liaison; 
  • be supervised by a qualified onsite supervisor. The evaluator must have a B.A. or B.S. degree in early childhood education, child development, or related field and/or relevant expertise in the education of young children.  Evaluators must be approved by the Early Childhood Studies resident faculty member serving as the internship liaison; 
  • be graded on an S/N basis only; and 
  • the student must attend the Early Childhood Studies Internship Group Meetings, submit to a background study check, and abide by the Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. 

Learning Objectives

At the end of the internship students will be able to: 

  • create developmentally appropriate curriculum plans based on individual children’s needs and interests within the context of family, culture, and society. 
  • integrate theory and research into curriculum planning. 
  • integrate multicultural and diversity issues into curriculum plans. 
  • design classroom schedules and lesson plans. 
  • demonstrate techniques to communicate with families and professionals. 
  • demonstrate the ability to use guidance and management techniques to support the social and emotional development of young children from birth to age five. 
  • demonstrate sensitivity to the child guidance practices of families and cultures. 
  • demonstrate supportive teacher-child relationships and promote positive peer relationships. 
  • document observations using techniques such as running records, anecdotal records, event sampling, time sampling, rating scales, and checklists. 
  • demonstrate the ability to interpret and use assessment and screening results to make curriculum decisions and communicate with parents and professionals. 
  • develop positive, collaborative relationships with colleagues, other professionals, and families and work effectively as a member of a professional team. 
  • reflect on teaching practices, self-assess and evaluate the effect of choices and actions on children, parents, and other professionals to plan and modify teaching behaviors and program plans. 

Approval Process

  1. Students complete all Early Childhood Studies core courses except Psyc 420 Early Childhood Studies Capstone.  Internships are typically set up in Psyc 415 Principles of Teaching and Learning in the semester prior to completing the internship. The resident faculty teaching the course will assist students with locating internship sites.
  2. Once an internship site location and evaluator have been approved by the resident faculty member serving as the internship liaison, a meeting is set up to complete the Academic Internship Agreement (AIA) form.  Students complete the Academic Internship Agreement (AIA) form, online or as an email attachment, including sign-off by the onsite supervisor/evaluator, and submit it to the Early Childhood Studies resident faculty the semester prior to beginning the internship. The internship must be approved before the start of the internship. Online forms are sent directly to faculty liaison for approval and to the Career Center for processing and registration. 
  3. The student cannot be related to the onsite supervisor/evaluator or the Metropolitan State faculty liaison. 
  4. The student may not complete the internship in a family child care home, a special education classroom, or a grade K-6 elementary classroom. 
  5. A student can do up to two internships. However, the internships must be at different sites. Also, there must be new, college-level learning in early childhood and an approved Academic Internship Agreement for each four semester credits. Students who complete more than one internship in their degree plan, only need to fulfill the group meeting requirements once. 

Early Childhood Studies Group Internship Meetings

All early childhood studies students who enroll in individual early childhood studies internships must enroll in the Early Childhood Studies Internship Group Meetings for the semester concurrent with the internship. Early Childhood Studies Group Internship Meetings are in the Class Schedule. Students will be required to attend all group meetings. The group meetings will include the following components: 

  • Ensure all students have an approved internship evaluator, location, and start date/ time to begin their internship experience;
  • Review internship guidelines and responsibilities; 
  • Review instructor expectations and assignments including required texts and readings; 
  • Reflect on and assess personal dispositions;
  • Review concepts of emotional climate and instructional strategies related to the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS);
  • Discuss, share, and reflect upon the internship experience; 
  • Relieve stress and problem solve with other students; and 
  • Evaluate learning and turn in assignments for feedback. 

Evaluation

This course is graded on a pass/fail basis. The grade will be posted on the student’s transcript as an “S”, competence satisfactorily completed, or “NC”, no competence unsatisfactory work. To pass the internship, students must meet the following criteria: 

  1. Participate in all Early Childhood Studies Internship Group Meeting activities.  
  2. Satisfactorily complete all fieldwork assignments including: 
    1. Introductory Letter
    2. Journal 
    3. Unit/Project Plan  (i.e., KWL chart, creating Terms, Facts, and Principles list, developing a web, creating individual goals, writing weekly/daily lesson plans)
    4. Child Portfolio (i.e.,  child observations using an assessment tool, work samples, developmental screening or monitoring tool)
    5. Family Communication Log
    6. Classroom Activities (e.g., small and whole group activity plans)
    7. Adult Responsibility Chart
  3. Attend a staff or family event.
  4. Conduct a family/teacher conference.
  5. Receive the supervising teacher’s evaluation.
  6. Complete a self-evaluation.
  7. Receive feedback based on observations of teaching from the Early Childhood Studies resident faculty member serving as the internship liaison. 

Registration

Register for Psyc 030 Early Childhood Studies Internship Meetings on the web. There is no additional cost for the group meetings. Complete the Academic Internship Agreement form to register for the internship. For more information contact Dr. Heidi Frankard, at 651-999-5829 or e-mail heidi.frankard@metrostate.edu

Important note

Academic Internship Agreement form must be submitted and approved before you begin your internship. The Career Center will register you for your internship course once all signatures have been submitted on the completed AIA. Check current Class Schedule for last day to register for the semester.