PL SC 445.3
Experiential Learning Internship
T3 (May 1 to August 31) & T1 (Sept to Dec)
Calendar Description
This employment internship will enable the student to apply their technical academic
knowledge while acquiring and expanding employability skills through work experience.
A self-directed learning agreement completed by the student, with input from the
employer and approved by the course facilitator, will detail the learning outcomes and
how proof of learning will be verified. Journal entries, reflection, online discussion, an
oral presentation, an interview, self- and employer evaluation, and completing a final
product are required.
Prerequisites: Students must be registered in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources
and have obtained a minimum of 60 credit units of course work.
Course Outline
Students must first secure employment before registering for this course. The student's
employment must be full-time, and a minimum of 12 weeks in length, either paid or
volunteer. Not all employment situations will qualify the student to participate in this
course. Students must contact the course facilitator to get permission to register.
This course is an internship that uses online discussion, reflection and bi-weekly journal
entries as the primary method of instruction and learning.
Term 2
Week 1: Students meet once or twice during March / April to discuss the course
requirements, including the learning agreement. The study of experiential
learning, reflection and employability skills will be introduced.
Term 3
Weeks 1–13: Students complete bi-weekly journal entries where they reflect on
the work experiences during these two weeks and report on how these
experiences are helping to improve the employability skills listed in their
learning agreement. These reflection papers are traditionally two to three
pages in length. Reflection requires that students examine situations in
which they gained knowledge, ability, and attitude to deal with the
situation. The course facilitator will coach students in how to use
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reflection as a learning tool. Some examples include reflecting on the
experience of handling customer complaints, working with supervisors
who have different management styles, communicating effectively with
customers/co-workers, working with people from another culture and
understanding how that impacts their actions and decision making,
taking responsibility for errors made, or receiving praise for a job well
done. The course facilitator will engage students in on-going online
discussions regarding their journal entries. This discussion helps
students understand how to apply their learning to other situations.
Students, employer and the facilitator will work together to choose a
topic for their final product.
Term 1
Week 1-: Students will meet as a group to discuss their experiences during their
internship. Students choose dates for their employment interview, and
discuss the remaining course requirements.
Weeks 2–7: Students work towards completing the final product, plus prepare for
their interview. Final product is due in late September. Interviews are to
be completed by mid October. Students will complete their selfevaluation. Employers will be sent the employer evaluation.
Course Learning Outcomes:
The overall goal of the course is to instill a positive attitude and to increase the
knowledge and skills of students. Upon completion of this course the student will have:
1. enhanced employability through their expanded knowledge of employability
skills;
2. greater self confidence through actual work experience and knowing their
employability strengths;
3. more fully developed workplace management skills, thus better preparing them
for future employment, and;
4. increased ability to use reflection as a learning tool which in turn allows them to
apply what they learned to new contexts or situations
In an increasingly competitive, diversified, and global workplace, companies and
organizations must strive to optimize their efficiency and effectiveness. Training new
staff is resource-intensive therefore employers seek employees who have both academic
knowledge and employability skills and who are able to instantly become productive
employees. This course requires that students obtain and expand their employability skills
in a real-life environment.
Employability skills also referred to as transferable skills, soft skills, human resource
skills, or workplace skills include such things such as communication, analytical,
interpersonal, leadership, organizational, problem-solving, and teamwork skills.
Regardless of the job, employability skills are basic, universal, and transferable from job
to job and are highly advantageous in society.
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Course Assessment
Student grading will follow the “grades and literal description at the U of S” document
(http://www.usask.ca/sesd/colleges/faculty/enrolment/).
30% final product – this will be a product that will be of benefit to the employing
organization and which shows the student gained employability skills during their
employment.
• Example: the student may be assigned the task of helping develop a field day,
even though they have no experience. The final product could be the development
of a manual outlining how to develop a field day and will contain the experience
of the students, and possibly the experience of other colleagues. This will be of
benefit to future students in the same role.
• Example: the student may be assigned the task of responding to farmer complaints
even though they have no experience in this area. The final product could be the
development of a process outlining how to approach producers, calm them,
discuss and resolve the complaint. This process will be beneficial to future
students in the same role.
• The student will discuss the final product with their supervisor, as it is anticipated
that the supervisor will actually use the final product. The development of the
product is entirely the responsibility of the student. The final product cannot be
part of assigned work duties.
30% journal - students are required to submit bi-weekly reflection papers / journal entries,
reflecting on / highlighting the work experiences they had and how these experiences
lead to the growth of employability skills. The learning agreement is a living
document and is expected to grow during the course of employment. The student may
not be familiar with all the potential employability skills at the start of this course, but
as they encounter experiences they can add more learning outcomes to the learning
agreement. Journal entries are traditionally two to three pages in length and require
the student to reflect on situations they were in and how these situations developed
their employability skills. The journal is not a time sheet – chronological. Students
are required to read the handout on reflective journaling which has an example of a
journal entry, and is also posted on the website.
20% job interview – job interviews can be very stressful, but they are also an excellent
opportunity for students to reflect on their work / social experiences and promote
strong employability skills. Using behvioural-based questions, students will prepare
for and participate in a job interview. Feedback will be supplied at the end of the
interview.
10% experiential learning assessment - the employer participated in the development of
the student’s learning agreement, and therefore was familiar with the skills the
students wished to develop during their summer employment. The employer worked
closely with the student, and was charged with sharing their employability skills with
the student. The employer is most capable of determining if the student had a positive
attitude towards learning, concentrated on achieving the goals in the learning
agreement, and observing the amount of effort the student devoted to the course.
10% self-assessment - as an adult learner, the student is required to critically assess
themselves as a student and indicate their commitment to the course through showing
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a positive attitude towards learning, achieving the goals in their learning agreement,
and fulfilling the course requirements.
Effort separates a 60% student from a 90% student. Higher grades will be assigned to students
who take seriously the desire to learn from experience and to apply that learning to new
experiences. This can be seen in the bi-weekly journal entries. The course facilitator will coach
students in how to use reflection as a learning tool. Those students who put major effort into the
development of their journal entries, final product, and interview will receive higher marks. This
course requires no rote memorization. It requires the gaining of knowledge, attitude and skills
through experience coupled with reflecting on the experience. It is unlike other courses offered
in the college.