School of Education

University of Wisconsin-Stout P.O. Box 790 Menomonie, WI 54751-0790

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UW Stout E-Learning Practicum Intern Performance Assessment / Professional Development Plan This document is to be completed by the intern at the very beginning of their internship placement. It will be reviewed at midterm, and due in a final form at the end of the Practicum. Directions for the Intern: Enter Cooperating Instructor's name: Alfi Velasco-Hurst Enter your name: Sherry Schwarcz Enter the official Course Title and Catalog numbers of the course: EDU 643 Enter the class dates start to finish: January 21-March 14, 2014 Work with your cooperating instructor to negotiate these duties. That means youre free to custom tailor the agreement, and to revise it as you go along. This is a set of guidelines created by the E-Learning Team and it is always growing and evolving. ~ Dennis Online Voice Intern provided a welcoming, friendly personal introduction during course icebreaker. Intern provides appropriate, helpful feedback to students. Interns communication with cooperating instructor and students is polite, supportive and timely. Email communication with cooperating instructor and students includes subject and salutation. Interns discussion additions expand the learning and stimulate additional research, questions and/or discussion. Words are sincere and open, coming from a place of mutual learning versus a place of authority. Treats students as valued customers. Interns self-assessment comments (upon completion). During the first week, I also posted to the Icebreaker discussion forum. At first, I observed the instructor as she commented on each students post to establish her warm, welcoming tone. I then observed for the next module. Then we began to tag team responses and then ratchet back our posts to allow students to really engage in meaningful discussion with others. At times, I posted my own anecdotes, offered suggestions (which were warmly welcomed) and posed questions to deepen conversation. I believe the students have found me to be sincere and open. One student even remarked that she enjoyed reading the way I re-titled my responses. I have kept in email communication with the instructor and have posted weekly summaries and have been encouraged by all her positive feedback. She has also kept me informed of issues pertaining to students.

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Cooperating Instructor comments (upon completion). Sherry, I would agree. Your students have found you to be a great facilitator. They appreciate what you do to make their learning easier. I like your style of communication very much.

Discussion interaction Intern promotes student understanding of the connection between course work and professional work outside of the online classroom. Intern encouraged reciprocity, teamwork and collaboration Intern observes student posts and adds personal additions during the most appropriate time period. Interns discussion additions expand the learning and stimulate additional research, questions and/or discussion. Posts at least 3 times per week. Models professional presence (logs in 5 of 7 days). Interns self-assessment comments (upon completion). I tried hard to establish early on an encouraging tone. I posed questions, offered personal insights and anecdotes, especially during the ELL module, as well as offering suggestions for further study and links to resources. I also made sure to respond to posts that havent been addressed by students. I post almost every day of the week and log in usually 6 out of 7 days each week. Cooperating Instructor comments (upon completion). Sherry, letting students know that you are visible is very important. We dont always have to respond to each response, but rather keep the flow going. You have done a great job of this. I like that you log on daily. Students know when we are online, and like that we are available if they have an issue.

Professional Communication Interns communication with cooperating instructor is polite, supportive and timely. Email communication with cooperating instructor is brief and to the point. Intern is dependable and present. Should special circumstances arise the intern keeps the cooperating instructor informed as soon as possible. Intern respects a chain of command by always consulting the cooperating instructor first about any elements of student performance. Intern understands the need for strict confidentiality when working online. This means that specific student information and performance data is only to be discussed with the cooperating instructor (first) and practicum supervisor. Intern is proactive, providing the required communications and reports without being repeatedly prompted by the cooperating instructor .

Interns self-assessment comments (upon completion). I tried to be proactive in communicating with the instructor. Each week, I generated a kind of checklist based on this document to record

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and report my activities which I share with the instructor before I send to my practicum supervisor. She has been kind enough to provide responses such as student issues. I also used the spreadsheet to keep track of posts as recommended by the instructor before the class began. I have informed her of days/times that I might not be available well in advance and she has been very understanding and obliging.

Cooperating Instructor comments (upon completion). Sherry, you will be a great team player on any on line group that you join. I appreciate you letting me know what is going on. I like that we work well together. This makes all the difference to our students. You have brought a lot to the team.

Administrative/Teaching tasks (Pre-course and ongoing) 1. Reviews all links and course readings and links to be sure all are updated and available. 2. Reviews all course materials closely for needed text edits. 3. Provides feedback on course design, technical tools and dynamics. 4. Should a broken link or editing problem arise, the intern facilitates content revision with specific and detailed feedback on where and what the problem is. Interns self-assessment comments (upon completion). I read and tested every link before beginning each module to ensure that I have a firm grasp on the weeks objectives and content. I found two broken links and provided that information to the instructor immediately by email with screen shots.

Cooperating Instructor comments (upon completion). These rotten links often will occur. I like that you are on top of this. When this happens, all we can do is apologize, and get the link repaired.

Weekly tasks 1. An active discussion participant, posting at least 3 times per week. 2. Provides weekly summary of discussion to the cooperating instructor that includes consolidated discussion highlights. 3. Where appropriate, answers student questions with patience, confidence and resourcefulness. 4. Agrees upon weeks tasks with Cooperating Instructor and provides the service within the agreed upon time frame. 5. Looks for stranded posts (Primary posts that have not gotten a response within a reasonable period of time.) and responds as needed. Interns self-assessment comments (upon completion). As mentioned earlier, each week I sent a summary of highlights and student activity (on Friday or Saturday) of posts to date. I participated online every day of the week, though the amount of participation had changed from every single post (in tag team) to responding to stranded posts and offering questions and comments as needs warrant, to allow the students to engage with each other first.

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Cooperating Instructor comments (upon completion). You will often have a student that will be miffed because the instructor will pose a question to them. I like to pose a question, not so much for the response, but for a challenge to them. I like to also think that are role is as you said, to respond to those stranded individuals.

Intern discussion facilitation Guided Practice. During the second half of the course intern will facilitate one required discussion forum. At the end of the discussion the intern will review student participation and do a practice evaluation of student performance using the course grade scale. Student evaluation/grades recommended by the intern are reviewed by the Cooperating Instructor who offered feedback as needed. The Cooperating Instructor is free to use practice grades and evaluations as they see fit. Interns self-assessment comments (upon completion). During Module Six, I graded the discussions using the instructors discussion rubric. I kept grades and comments on a spreadsheet which I shared with the instructor to use as she saw fit. Cooperating Instructor comments (upon completion).

Intern tracking and feedback responsibilities The intern will offer a weekly report to the cooperating instructor on student activities within the course. This may include: a summary of student participation derived from the class list tracking tools; a review of previous modules looking for make-up work; a report on students missing in action any other types of feedback that help the cooperating instructor and intern better understand student work in the course. Interns self-assessment comments (upon completion). During each weekly activity report, I noted the participation, check make up work, responded to make up posts so that they were not completely stranded. The instructor has provided me so far with several checklists and hints about best practices for online facilitation. Cooperating Instructor comments (upon completion). When you get your own classroom, you will probably discover a organizational chart of some sort that will help keep you organized. You are doing a great job of tracking everyone.

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Cooperating Instructor assessment of intern skills and characteristics

Intern skills and characteristics Cooperation

Exemplary x x

Proficient

Developing

Timeliness x Effectiveness x Attention to detail x Professionalism x Dependability x Enthusiasm x Attentiveness x Online Cooperating Instructor skills Additional comments by Cooperating Instructor Sherry, you have been a real professional. I think you are just about ready to hit the real world of online education. I could not have asked for a better team partner. Your style is superb. You are going to complement any online institution and they will be proud that they have hired you for their staff.

Intern self-assessment

Intern skills and characteristics Cooperation

Exemplary x x

Proficient

Developing

Timeliness x Effectiveness x Attention to detail x Professionalism x Dependability

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x Enthusiasm x Attentiveness x Online Cooperating Instructor skills Additional comments by intern I have done as the instructor recommended from the outset and having fun with learning right along with the students. They are a wonderful group of students who work well together and with me. I look forward to completing the second half of the course! Thank you, Alfi, for being so patient and welcoming. Outstanding job Sherry. You were a true professional during the entire class, and added much to the learning process. I appreciate your enthusiasm and energy level. Signed by Cooperating Instructor Alfi Velasco-Hurst Date 3/29/2014

Signed by intern

Date

3/8/2014

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