Internship Field Placement Report Assignment

Internship Written Assignments
Purpose: To demonstrate in essay format how you achieved the Learning Outcomes and Elements of
Performance during your Internship and to reflect on your personal development.
Value: 30% of your final grade for each of DSW.252, DSW.254, DSW.256.
To receive a passing grade for the course, you must submit both a written assignment and Internship
Evaluation (Appendix B in the Placement Manual) for each course.
Submission: You must submit an individual Internship Written Assignment for EACH of the three practicum
courses (DSW.252, DSW.254, DSW.256) by the last day of your placement(s) via the Assignment Section for
Each Course. Late assignments will have 5% deducted per day. You need to submit your DSW 256 assignment
on the last day of your educational setting placement, your DSW 254 essay on the last day of your life skills
setting placement and your DSW 252 essay on the last day of your residential setting placement. If you are
doing life skills and residential in the same setting, your 252 and 254 essays are due no later than the last day
of placement.
Assignment Guidelines:
– You will submit one written assignment for each of the following courses you are completing:
DSW.252 Home/Community Practicum
DSW.254 Life Skills/Seniors Practicum
DSW.256 Education/Employment Practicum
– You are required to complete Part A and Part B (described below) for all three essays
– Use Appendix B of the Placement Manual for your Evaluations and for these written assignments
– Use the wording from the Appendix B in your written assignments. These words should become part of
your professional vocabulary, so you need to use them here and know what they mean.
– You must include a cover page that includes the following:
Name
Student number
College Supervisor’s name
Submission Date
Course number (DSW 252, 254, 256) & the Course Name (Home and Community, Life Skills/Seniors,
or Education/Employment)
Elements of Performance Chart (Copy and paste from page 4 of this document)
Part A with word count
Part B with word count
Part A – Placement Work Experience Essay (2500 – 3000 words)
For each Placement Work Experience Essay, you will review the Learning Outcomes and the Elements of
Performances in Appendix B of the Placement Manual and match them to what you did while on
placement in each setting (i.e., Home/Community, Life Skills/Seniors, Education/Employment). You can
only use each example of work you did once. You will need to have many different examples of your
work to write your essays. It would benefit you to keep notes as you are completing placement, so you
have many examples of work you did and the responses you got.
In Internship, you are covering three courses during two placements – DSW 252, 254 and 256. You need
a separate essay for each course (DSW 252, 254 and 256). Each essay will focus on the skills that match
that course (i.e., Home/Community, Life Skills/Seniors, Education/Employment).
Each one of your Internship essays must document how you demonstrated 13 Elements of Performance,
without repeating any of the elements throughout your three essays.
Learning Outcomes 1 through 6 in Appendix B have a total of 39 specific Elements of Performance.
• Learning Outcome #1 is broken down into 6 Elements of Performance
• Learning Outcome #2 is broken down into 9 Elements of Performance
• Learning Outcome #3 is broken down into 5 Elements of Performance
• Learning Outcome #4 is broken down into 6 Elements of Performance
• Learning Outcome #5 is broken down into 9 Elements of Performance
• Learning Outcome #6 is broken down into 4 Elements of Performance
For each Element of Performance provide a clear example of how you met this element of performance.
Describe:
• What you did
• Why you did it
• How it fulfils the Element of Performance you have selected
• The response you got from individuals you supported, other staff, and/or your supervisor
Refer to the Marking Rubric at the end of this document when you are writing your essay so that you
meet the requirements and get top marks.
Remember to explain what you did, why you did it, and the response you received.
Part B – Personal and Professional Reflection (800 – 1000 words)
As an appendix to each of your essays, write a separate three- to four-page reflection (800 – 1000
words) of your experience at placement and your plan for future placements and/or future professional
development.
This part of the assignment is all about you, your professionalism, and your skills.
For the Reflections, you will use Learning Outcome #7. Learning Outcome 7 is not contained in your
Placement Manual. This learning outcome is taken directly from the Developmental Services Worker
Program Standard and is summarized below. In each reflection you must write about how you
demonstrated at least five different Elements of performances of Learning Outcome #7 presented
below:
7.1 Explain how on-going professional development is essential to effective practice.
7.2 Recognize the relevance of the Developmental Services Human Resource (DS HR) Strategy Core
Competencies to employment in the Developmental Services (DS) field.
7.3 Demonstrate the DS HR Threshold Competencies in practice.
7.4 Conduct routine self-assessments of current behavioural competencies, knowledge and technical
skills to formulate professional development plans.
7.5 Develop a professional portfolio that identifies skills and abilities for employment.
7.6 Assess and respond professionally to work-related feedback.
7.7 Implement strategies to enhance self-care, job performance, and work relationships.
7.8 Identify the entrepreneurial skills and standards of practice required of a Developmental Services
Worker who is self-employed.
7.9 Use resources, evidence-based practices, and supervision to enhance professional growth.
7.10 Recognize indicators of one’s own stress, fatigue, and illness, including bereavement, compassion
fatigue, and vicarious trauma.
7.11 Identify and access resources to support self-care as needed.
You must write about each of the Elements of Performance from Learning Outcome #7 at least once
over your three Written Placement Assignment Reflections. For each of the Elements of Performance
above demonstrate that you have a good understanding of the skill/task and that you can apply this
Element of Performance to your professional development. This section is all about you – not what
others are doing or what you should do or might do but what you are actually doing to enhance your
professional development.
Grading:
Each written assignment is worth 30% of your grade. The Internship Evaluation completed by your
Agency Supervisor is worth 70% of your grade for the associated practicum.
A student’s evaluation by their onsite supervisor is the baseline grade for the whole practicum. Students
cannot receive a higher grade (by percentage) on their placement essay than they did on their
placement evaluation. This means that if you received a 60% grade on your evaluation (42/70), you
cannot receive a grade of higher than 60% on your essay as this would not accurately portray your actual
performance and accomplishment of learning outcomes on placement.
Format of Written Assignments
In each essay students must detail their experiences at the placement using the following format.
– Begin with an introduction for the essay that explains the environment you are placed in (e.g.,
age of participants, typical daily schedule, ability levels and an introduction of the “code” you
will use to distinguish between participants in your essay while maintaining confidentiality). Be
sure to use a professional language in your descriptions and coding.
– Next, start with a heading that includes the actual title of each Learning Outcome you will be
discussing (e.g., Learning Outcome 2.2). Use the language shown in the outline to introduce
what you did (e.g., “I demonstrated collaborating with people with development disabilities to
exercise self-sufficiency and self-determination by…”)
– Provide specific examples of what you did with the participant(s). Remember to describe what
you did, why you did it, and the response you received. Be sure to document the rationale for
your choices.
– End your essay with a conclusion that summarized your experience.
– Ensure that your essay is within the word count for the assignment.
Tips for Getting Started:
1) Decide which of the three essays you are writing and focus only on the skill you are
demonstrating – Life skills/Seniors? Home and community? Educational/employment?
2) You should always write an essay while you are in the related placement and attempt to finish
your essay as you finish your placement. Do not leave all 3 essays until the end!
3) Use the wording directly from the Learning Outcomes in your essay to clarify which Learning
Outcome you have accomplished (see the text box below for specific details).
4) For Part B of this assignment, relate to your own personal and professional development.
5) It is recommended that you keep a daily journal or log of your activities in placement to keep
track of examples to use in your essay. This journal or log is not to be handed in. It is for your
own personal use.
6) For confidentiality reasons, do not use the name of agency/school or the names of
participants/clients/students or other staff in your daily journal or essay. Instead you may
choose to use the person’s first initial only or “Student A”/”Staff A.”
7) Be sure you are using Appendix B. Be sure your Site Supervisor has the right Appendix to do
your evaluation.
8) If you need help with your writing skills, use the Writing Centre here at Humber for support.
Example of a partial paragraph for your essay demonstrating Element 1.1:
Learning Outcome 1 Element 1: I developed a rapport with the people at placement while providing
support to them by purposely spending one-on-one time with them at the beginning of my shift. I had
permission to read to their case files which gave me good background information. They both have
limited speech skills. I use the iPad to communicate with R. With J I ask questions and watch his facial
expression. I could tell I was developing rapport because….