Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Unit Objectives
1.
To help you gain an understanding of effective goal-setting techniques, including
creating action plans that will help you reach the goals you set
2.
To introduce you to the core competencies and discipline-specific competencies used
in internship evaluations
3.
To guide you in setting internship learning objectives for your ePortfolio
4.
To assist you in preparing medium-range and long-range goals for your ePortfolio
Introduction to Goal Setting and the ePortfolio Goal Section
Would you like a proven way to increase your personal, academic, and professional
effectiveness? This unit explains how you can increase your chances for success by using
goal setting. You’ll learn how to set “smart” goals. You’ll be introduced to the concept of a
learning mindset that will orient you to creating multiple pathways to reach your desired
goals. You’ll see how the internship is an ideal setting to practice how to set and reach
important goals – goals that will aid your future academic and career success by
strengthening important workplace competencies.
The ePortfolio contains only six key sections: welcome, about me, classes and
projects, resume, links, and goals. Did you every wonder why “goals” are considered such
an important part of your ePortfolio? Gary Latham, a Canadian psychologist, has spent
decades studying goals. He and his colleagues’ research shows that having goals help you
become a high achiever. For goal setting to work its “magic,” though, you’ll need to learn how
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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to set goals and the kinds of action plans that will help you reach them. Begin by following
two goal-setting principles: 1) Choose something you really want; and 2) Make sure your
goal is both challenging and specific.
Choose Something You Really Want
Having a goal acts as a motivating force. Psychological experiments have shown that
people make greater physical and/or cognitive effort when they have a goal in mind. Goals
motivate people to use their knowledge as well as to learn new skills so they can reach their
goals.
When you commit to a goal, you direct your attention toward goal-relevant activities
and away from goal-irrelevant activities. For example, suppose your goal is to be a college
graduate. If you see yourself in a cap and gown, crossing the stage at graduation, and
shaking the President’s hand, you are more likely to spend time in the library. If you
continually remind yourself that you really want to be on that stage at graduation (your goal),
you are more likely to persist in studying. The most famous musicians, world-class chess
players, and athletes at the top of their game confirm that the best in their field spend more
time and effort pursuing their professional goals. For example, pianists who had a greater
number of solo performances by age 20 had practiced 10,000 hours while those with fewer
solos, practiced 5,000 hours.
Personal goals energize people. Their outcomes matter to them and they expend lots
of energy, even risk their lives, to reach their goals. Take the mountain climbers whose goal
is to climb Mt. Everest. One in ten dies trying to reach the top, but these mountaineers are
willing to train for years and spend more than $65,000 for the chance to summit to the “roof
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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of the world.” Your goals don’t have to be life threatening to be meaningful, but you do have
to have some passion for reaching them,
Make Sure Your Goal is Challenging and Specific
The researchers have also shown that people with specific, difficult goals (often called
“stretch” goals) perform better than people with easy or vague goals. The optimum amount
of challenge, according to the research, is when there is a fifty-fifty chance of reaching your
goal. The uncertainty about the outcome adds to the excitement of trying as well as to the
feeling of satisfaction when the goal is achieved.
If the goal is too easy, it loses the motivating effect. There is neither satisfaction nor a
feeling of achievement in reaching an easy goal, so it is soon neglected or forgotten.
Children demonstrate this fact when they give up games and toys that were challenging to
them at a younger age. When riding a tricycle becomes easy, they want to learn to ride a
two-wheeler. The tricycle holds little interest and pleasure.
Vague goals are also ineffective. Avoid vague goals, such as “Do your best.” Such
goals lead to lower performance than having a specific target in mind.
Goal Time Spans
David P. Campbell, a prominent psychologist, in his popular book, If You Don’t Know
Where You’re Going, You’ll Probably End Up Somewhere Else, has provided a helpful way
to think about goals. He categorizes goals by the approximate time span they cover. Goals
may be categorized into micro-goals (one hour), mini-goals (one day), short-range goals (up
to one year), mid-range goals (up to five years), and long-range goals (your ideal vision of
your life).
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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Since internships are approximately three months, internship-learning objectives are
short-range goals. Mid-range goals are focused on the next chapter in your life and include
such goals as pursuing a bachelor’s degree or the next step in your career. Mid-range goals
cover the next five years or so. Long-range goals describe the kind of lifestyle you want,
including your ideal job, where you want to live, and any marriage and/or family plans.
Campbell notes that we have more control over goals that cover shorter time spans
than goals that are longer term. If, for example, we set a micro-goal (the next hour) or a minigoal (one day to one month) we can plan more precisely and adjust our planning to fit the
circumstances we encounter. The micro-goal, spending an hour studying biology with no
phone call interruptions, is easier to achieve than getting an “A” in biology (a three-month,
short-range goal), or becoming a physician’s assistant (a five-year, mid-range goal), or
working for a pediatrician in private practice (a long-range goal). Our planning for the next
hour can be more precise and we can adjust the plan. We may realize that when we enter
the library that it is too full of friends and temptations to take a break, so we find a study hall
instead. With shorter time frames, we can adjust our plan to the circumstances we
encounter.
Goal Stacking
If we stack our micro-goals (study for an hour, attend class today) over time, we move
closer to our short-range goals (getting an “A” grade) which in turn leads toward our midrange goal (physician assistant) and long-range goal of working with children in a pediatric
practice.
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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Short-range Internship Goals
Now, let’s turn to how you can set important short-range goals for your internship –
ones that will help you achieve your career dreams. You’ll also learn how to craft action
plans that will help you reach your goals.
Learning Objectives and the Learning Mindset
You’ll notice that, in Coop, goals are called learning objectives. That’s because we
emphasize that the most important part of an internship is experiential learning. Learning
objectives specify the ways you want to grow professionally during the internship. You may
choose to gain new skills, improve existing skills, or remove obstacles that could block your
career success. Your learning objectives may focus on competencies that are not
emphasized in the classroom, but are very important for success in the workplace, such as
human relations skills and career management.
This section guides you through the process of setting two or three internship learning
objectives. Some people begin the process of goal setting as if it were a Christmas wish list
with a long list of items. That’s OK as a start to the goal-setting process, but if you generate a
long list, narrow it down. The research shows that having a limited number of goals is more
effective than having many goals. That is because you can devote your effort to making
headway in one or two directions, but not ten or twenty directions all at once. So from your
initial list, select two or three goals that mean something to you.
To set an internship-learning objective, you need to know what kinds of skills and
knowledge are valued in the workplace. To help you, the LaGuardia faculty have identified
five competency areas that are valued in your chosen career field. Take a moment to review
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Table 1, Competency Areas by Discipline. (See below.) You may observe striking similarities
among the competencies across various majors.
Communication skills, professionalism, and information technology are necessary for
success in any career field. Career development is also important because you need to
learn how to take charge of your own career and commit to lifelong learning. For many
majors in the Business and CIS areas, faculty shaped each of the five competency areas to
reflect the distinct skills and knowledge associated with these particular programs.
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Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
TABLE 1 COMPETENCY AREAS BY DISCIPLINE
Accounting
Business
(all options)
Communication
and
Interaction
Communication
and
Human
Relations
Computer
Information
Systems
(all options)
Workplace
Communication
and
Client Service
Skills
All Other
Majors*
Paralegal
Travel &
Tourism
Human
Relations
Customer
Service
and
Human
Relations
Communication
and
Human
Relations
Workplace
Expectations
and
Project
Management
Career
Development
and
Lifelong
Learning
Workplace
Expectations
Professionalism
Professionalism
Professionalism
Professionalism
Career
Development
and
Lifelong
Learning
Lifelong
Learning
Orientation
Career
Development
and
Lifelong
Learning
Career
Development
and
Lifelong
Learning
Information
Technology
Information
Technology
Foundation
Skills in IT
Information
Technology
Information
Technology
Career
Development
and
Lifelong
Learning
Information
Technology and
Information
Literacy
Business
Knowledge
Computer
Specialty
Specific
Knowledge
Paralegal
Knowledge
Knowledge of
the Travel,
Tourism, and
Hospitality
Industry
Accounting
Knowledge
Knowledge of
the Internship
Setting and Field
of Interest
*If you are in Fundamentals of Professional Advancement, but anticipate changing to any of the majors
that follow, also use the “All Other Majors” competencies and assessments. These majors are Dietetic
Technician; Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic; Engineering Science; Human Services; Music
Recording Technology; Nursing; Mortuary Science; Occupational Therapy Assistant; Physical
Therapist Assistant; Teacher Education; Veterinary Technology. You should seek advisement about
these majors and what courses are required as soon as possible.
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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Get SMART
The acronym SMART: Specific, Measured, Achievable, Relevant, and Time limited
provides an excellent guide to creating an effective internship learning objective. The
SMART acronym guides you step by step.
First, it is important to decide what areas will receive your attention. We’ve created a
web-based form that you can use to conduct a professional competency self-assessment.
This self-assessment will help you to identify specifically which skills and knowledge related
to your major that you would like to target for improvement. Within each of the five
competency areas, you’ll find over thirty specific competency items that can serve as
internship learning objectives.
Second, we know that you will be measured on your progress toward your goal.
Internship employers will fill out an internship evaluation form and assess your level of skill at
the beginning and the end of your internship so that you can determine what progress you’ve
made in reaching the goals you select. You will get measurable feedback. In addition, when
you write the Final Evaluation Essay, you will have an opportunity to look back and reflect on
your own progress. As you may recall, the employer evaluation form and your Final
Evaluation Essay is 50% of your internship grade.
Third, the goals are achievable. Typically, these competencies have been set with
faculty members in your major area. They identified targets that most students can reach
with effort, skill, and knowledge.
Fourth, these competencies were identified by faculty as appropriate for your major.
When you select a goal from these competencies, you can be sure your goal will be relevant
to your academic and professional success.
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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Fifth, the time span for working on your goals is clear. Internships are roughly three
months. During the semester, it’s a good idea to check with your internship site supervisor to
obtain feedback regarding your progress toward meeting your goals, while the end of the
internship is a good point to assess your progress and reevaluate your goals.
Web based Competency Self-Assessments for LaGuardia Programs
In the Forms section of the Coop Department web page, you’ll find a web based competency
assessment for many LaGuardia programs. The self-assessment activity helps you find your
goal targets.
We are still developing assessment forms for some majors, so you may have to use
the “Other Majors” form. We created this “Other Majors” form by selecting items in five
competency areas that are valued across all career fields.
If you are an evening student, you may be unsure about whether an internship is right
for you. You can still obtain great value from engaging in the self-assessment activity. You
can apply what you are learning about goals and goal setting techniques on your current job.
As you learn more about the internship program, you may decide that an internship offers an
excellent opportunity to advance your career.
Action Steps and Multiple Paths
Once goals are selected, many people believe they have completed the goal-setting
process. I wish it were this easy, but it isn’t and this false belief typically results in
disappointment. Although you have set a SMART goal, if you stop there, you have stopped
too soon. You must identify the paths you will take to reach your goal. You don’t always
know which paths are best, so a good strategy is to identify multiple paths to reach your goal.
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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As you try different paths, you will discover which ones fit your learning style and the
circumstances you encounter.
Reaching Your Goal: Goal Setting and the Learning Mindset
Most students recognize that to reach a goal, they must stay focused on the goal and
work hard. They often call this will power. If they give up on a goal, they put it down to lack
of will power or motivation. They don’t approach reaching the goal with a learning mindset.
They often don’t understand that they may lack the knowledge and skills to reach the goal.
Perhaps you would like to set a time management goal because you recognize that
better time management would help you become more successful. You miss deadlines,
forget important tasks, and feel stressed out with all you have to do. To change this sorry
state of affairs the best frame to take is a learning mindset. Using a learning mindset, your
goal would be “I would like to discover five new ways to meet deadlines and be on time and
try them out during the internship period.”
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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Phrasing your goal using a learning mindset allows you to discover which time
management techniques fit your personal style. Your friend may decide to keep a daily
calendar and to-do list and update it each day. You are more intrigued by a time
management technique that you researched on the Internet that asked you to keep an hourly
log of your activities for a week to discover your time-wasters. You keep the log (even
though it’s a real pain) and discover you are watching too much TV late at night. You may
decide to put yourself on a TV diet (I give myself permission to watch one show per day) and
dedicate the rest of the time to meeting your deadlines. After trying various calendar options
(daily, weekly, monthly), you may find that a monthly calendar with important deadlines in red
works better for you than a daily calendar.
Without researching various time management techniques, trying some, and reflecting
on those that fit your personal style, you wouldn’t have built any more knowledge or skill in
time management. Your short-range goal, “meet deadlines” would have been just like so
many New Year’s Resolutions, full of good intentions, but without an action plan that
emphasized learning and discovery. You would never discover the reasons you miss
deadlines (too much TV, no picture of multiple deadlines on a calendar). Worse, you might
blame yourself for your failure to meet deadlines by assuming you lacked the will power to
succeed. Will power alone is not enough. Most often we need additional knowledge and
skills before we can be successful. When you describe your actions using a learning
mindset, you open yourself to acquiring the knowledge and skills you need to reach your
goal.
Use a Variety of Action Steps
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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Deliberate Practice. When you are learning from experience, the simplest action step
is called “trial and error” learning. You try something out and see what does and doesn’t
work. Nike trademarked this as “just do it.”
Research on expert performance shows that “deliberate practice” involving specific
targets coupled with feedback is more effective than simple repetition. So if you are trying
new actions on internship, get some feedback. Ask for feedback from your supervisor or coworkers whom you trust. Even talking to yourself about the outcomes of your actions and
making adjustments as you learn what is or is not effective, what Schoen called “reflection in
action” is a form of self-feedback because it involves doing and a simultaneous metaanalysis of what is working or not working.
If you have chosen to “Improve spreadsheet software skills (e.g., Excel, QuickBooks)
including formatting, advanced functions, and keyboarding speed and accuracy” identify how
many functions you aim to learn each week (e.g., 3), set aside practice time (e.g., 30 minutes
three times a week), and identify someone who can provide feedback on your practice
spreadsheets and answer questions if you can’t understand the Help instructions. Deliberate
practice involves trial and error learning, reflection in action, and feedback.
The Learning Mindset: Research & Application. In this kind of action step, you
conduct some research about how to proceed and then try the technique out. For example,
in our time management example above, you may go to the Internet and identify several
techniques that seem promising. Your goal is “to test five time-management techniques
during the internship to find out which one(s) work for you.” After searching online, among
the strategies you find, you decide to add “Keep a prioritized ‘to do’ list.” And “Schedule
phone calls during your study breaks and keep your phone on vibrate at other times.” As you
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
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try out these techniques, you realize you need to update your “to-do” list daily and, through
some experimentation, that the best time to do that is when you first arrive at the internship
site. Another student, using the same technique, might find that the end-of-the day is the
best time to revise his or her “to-do” list. With a learning mindset, you will try various times
and strategies, personalizing them to fit your own individual style.
Participant Observer. Suppose you dream of becoming a lawyer. On an internship,
you can’t represent a client. The same constraint applies to doctors, social workers, or
teachers -- any profession where you need a higher-level degree to practice. How do you
learn whether this is the career for you during your internship? You may be initially surprised
to learn that observation is an “action” step, but if you took developmental psychology you
know that children (and adults) learn by watching those around them. This technique is
powerful when you may not be able to perform the tasks of the career you aspire to.
On internship, you may observe professionals in your chosen profession. To make
learning by observation a more powerful and directed learning experience, you must do it
consciously. You may want to record your observations in a daily or weekly log. Compare
your observations with the description of the professional found in the Occupational Outlook
Handbook or a character who plays that role on TV. Your goal is to discover whether you
have chosen a career field that is truly appealing to you. Now the learning objective:
“Become more familiar with the range of professional opportunities available to students
majoring in my field through observation and discussions with my internship colleagues” has
some meaning. As the learning objective itself suggests, a discussion with a person in your
chosen field is another way to make observation more powerful.
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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Reflection on Action. The use of writing and discussion are additional action steps to
help you stay on track as you pursue your goals. Donald Schön, a leading theorist on
reflective practice, called these techniques, “Reflection on Action” and they include the
analyses of your internship that you will do during the internship seminar and the Final
Evaluation Essay. Here you look back at your actions and reflect on what you learned. A
typical way to be consistent and thorough using Reflection-on-Action to aid reaching your
goals is to keep a daily or weekly internship log.
Some illustrations of internship goals with action steps are given in Table 2:
Examples of Internship Learning Objectives.
Mid-Range and Long-Range Goals
If you don’t know what you want, chances are very low that you’ll get it. Tony Robbins
Quoted by The Boss column, New York Times 7/15/07
Even though life is uncertain and unpredictable, setting long-range goals is a powerful
way to articulate what would give your life its purpose and direction. When you set a longrange goal, you are describing the ideal version of what you are going to do with your life.
For some, what gives life meaning is fame. For others, it’s fortune. For still others, their
family life, a certain job or career gives life its meaning. For many people, it is a combination
of these things. It’s up to you to choose. A good reason for setting long-range goals is to
give your life direction. The ePortfolio goal section provides a space for you to articulate
what kind of future you want to create
There are some people who argue that the primary value of setting long-range goals
resides primarily in the journey toward the goal rather than the goal itself. As one unknown
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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writer put it, “Goals are only destinations for journeys you think will be fascinating”. In other
words, the process of moving in the direction of a valued goal will result in a richer, engaged
and self-directed life.
One benefit of setting a long-range goal is paradoxical. Sometimes, because you set
out toward one goal thinking that is what you want, you learn that you really want something
else. A well-known psychiatrist put it this way, “You see, we don’t know what our goals are.
We learn our goals only in the process of getting there… ” (Milton H. Erickson, M.D.).
In sum, having long-range goals will keep you from drifting through life and letting
circumstances and other people determine how your life will unfold. You set the course for
the journey and keep evaluating your commitment to reaching your chosen destination.
Setting mid-range and long-range goals
The goal-setting criteria that apply to short-range goals also apply to mid-range and
long-range goals. They must be important to you, challenging, and as specific as you can
make them. Since these long-range goals cover a longer time span, there are several
actions you can take to sustain your motivation over the long haul.
Describe your Goals in Writing. Some experts estimate that only 3% of adults have
written down goals, yet the act of writing your goals down is a powerful technique. That’s
one reason the ePortfolio has a goal section. Writing requires you to be more specific,
thoughtful, and public about your life’s direction. It is the first step in making a commitment
to the direction you want to take. If you think it, ink it.
Identify Benefits. Describe the benefits of reaching your goal. This act too will
strengthen your motivation and commitment. What good things will happen as a result of
reaching this goal? Write them down next to the goal.
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
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Visualize. Create a picture of what you would like to achieve and see it happening.
Some people hang a picture of their long-term goal on their mirror to remind themselves
everyday when they look in the mirror that they have a purpose, plan and goal. Athletes
often use this technique, but it is powerful for other types of goals too. If you want to be a
college graduate, how vivid is your picture of graduation day?
Get the Support of Significant Others. To strengthen your commitment even more,
share your goals with someone, especially someone important to you. The support of
significant others is an important resource in your quest to reach your goals. They provide all
kinds of help from keeping you motivated when you have a setback to providing advice,
guidance, and opportunities to reach your goals. The mountaineers who climb Mt. Everest
have Sherpas, local guides who live in the shadow of the mountain and know the terrain
better than those who are new to the area. Without the Sherpas’ help, it is unlikely that
anyone from outside the area could make it to the summit.
Plan to Overcome Obstacles. Hope and optimism has been shown to be an important
factor in overcoming adversity. Hopeful and optimistic people have the attitude that setbacks
or failures are temporary and that obstacles can be overcome. Hopeful people generate
multiple pathways toward their goal. If they get blocked, they look for support and identify
what they need to learn to overcome the obstacle. You may chose to learn on your own, use
a coach, find a mentor, or take some additional coursework.
Take Small Steps. We return to a technique that was discussed in the short-range
goal section, taking micro-actions. In this case, you utilize the wisdom of the African proverb:
You must eat an elephant one bite at a time.
The actions to reach the micro-goals are stacked up to achieve the mini-goals that in
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turn are used to reach the short-range goals. Put the short-range goals together and they
assist you in reaching your long-range goals. Julie Morgenstern, a successful professional
organizer, recounts in her book that she was hopelessly disorganized until her first child
came along. One beautiful day when the baby was three-weeks old, Julie wanted to take her
to the park, but before she could find diapers, wipes, snacks, toys, pacifier, blankets, Snugli,
bottle of water, and so forth, the child went back to sleep. Julie sat down with the diaper
bag, sorted the items into categories (e.g., things to change her, such as diapers, wipes,
powder), packed each category in separate sections (e.g., snack section, toy section) and
made a master inventory list to make restocking easier. She achieved a micro-organizing
goal. She went on to organize drawers (more micro-goals) then moved on to closets and
paperwork (short-range goals). Eventually, she realized her skills could be turned into a
business opportunity and she went on to build an organizing business. By stacking many
micro-goals, Morgenstern has become very successful with books, TV appearances, and
many business and personal clients. It started with a very small, manageable step –
organizing a diaper bag.
Five-Year Plans: Outlining the Action Plan
Some people stress the importance of setting mid-range goals, usually in about fiveyear chunks. Once you select your mid-range goal, you set short-range goals for each year
within the five-year plan. The broad action strokes for Year 1 through 4 are outlined. Next,
short-range goals in three-month chunks for Year 1 are outlined. Then, the first three-month
chunk is broken down until you arrive at a micro-goal ─ the action you need to take today.
Five-year plans attack action planning by breaking the five-year goal into manageable
sizes. You don’t get so overwhelmed. You identify small action steps. Instead of worrying
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and wondering “Could I ever get a Master’s degree?”, you focus on taking manageable
steps. Your micro-goal might be to pick up the transfer application for a senior college
before Friday. Since you already have filled out one college application to get to LaGuardia,
this step doesn’t feel so insurmountable. You just have to get to the Transfer Center this
week. Yet, unless you pick up the senior college application, the process of getting a
Master’s degree is stopped dead in its tracks.
Deal with Setbacks
So you didn’t make it to the Transfer Center because you had a big paper due and
you gave that priority. Then, you stopped by and the Center was closed for a workshop.
Several possibilities come to mind: Go online. Use the Mid-Town Admissions Help Center
on 42nd Street. Return to the Transfer Center the next time you have class in the C Building.
In the film, Your Summit Awaits, a young adventurer, Jamie Clarke, recounts how his team
had to turn back short of the Mt. Everest summit because shortly after the climb began,
many of his teammates became ill. Although they recovered, the attempt was scrubbed
because they ran out of a mission-critical item – toilet paper. They learned from this set back
and came back the next year better prepared.
Mid-range and Long-range Goal Summary
Some of the actions discussed above keep you motivated and committed. In sports
terms, they call it “keep your eye on the prize.” These include writing your goals, identifying
the benefits of reaching your goals, seeking the support of significant others, and
visualization. Other actions focus you on a learning mindset and encourage you to work on
multiple pathways to reach your goals. These include identifying potential obstacles and
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planning on ways to overcome them; taking small steps toward your goal; and recovering
from setbacks.
Now, review the unit’s key points below and use the power of goal setting to create your own
luck.
Key Points
1. The ePortfolio has a goal section because goal setting has proven to be one of the
most important strategies to insure professional and personal success.
2. Follow two important goal-setting principles:
a. Choose something you really want
b. Make sure your goal is both challenging and specific. Specific, challenging
goals are more motivating and lead to better performance than easy or vague
goals, such as “do your best.”
3. Goals may be categorized into micro-goals (one hour), mini-goals (one day), shortrange (up to one year), mid-range (up to five years), and long-range goals (your ideal
vision of your life).
4. Internship learning objectives are short-range goals that you select to reach during
your internship.
5. Check to see whether you have set a SMART goal, that is, Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Relevant and Time limited.
6. Research has shown that to reach your goals takes more than will power. You also
need knowledge and skills. That’s why a learning mindset is an effective way to frame
the actions you select for reaching your goals.
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
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7. Four tactics for reaching your goals, including your internship learning objectives, are:

Deliberate Practice

Research and Application

Participant Observation

Reflection on Action
8. Some actions increase your commitment to your mid-range and long-range goals:

writing your goals

identifying the benefits of reaching your goals

obtaining the support of significant others

visualizing the outcome
9. Some actions create a learning mindset and help you work on multiple pathways
toward your goal:

Identifying obstacles, researching and planning ways to overcome them

Taking small steps focused on learning and achieving micro-goals

Dealing with setbacks
Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
Table 2: Examples of Internship Learning Objectives
Self-assessment: I need to improve my business vocabulary.
Learning Objective: I want to learn how to ask questions using the appropriate vocabulary
in my field.
Action Plan:
 I will learn three new terms each week that are related to my internship field
(e.g., banking terms, marketing terms, theatre terms or education terms).
 I will keep a list of these terms.
 I will establish an understanding with my colleagues so that I can get feedback
about whether I am using these new terms correctly in conversation.
 By the end of the internship, I will be able to use 30 new terms in conversation.
Self-assessment: I am shy about talking on the telephone in a business setting.
Internship Learning Objective: Improve my telephone communication skills by answering
the telephone and taking messages.
Action Plan:
 I will be an active observer of two colleagues to learn how they handle
difficult customers on the telephone.
 I will research effective telephone techniques on the Internet and try one
technique out once a week.
 I will engage in a discussion with two co-workers about effective telephone
skills.
 I will ask my boss for feedback and suggestions to improve my telephone
techniques at least three times during the internship.
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Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
Examples of Mid-Range and Long-Range Professional Goals
These goals set your career or educational direction for the next five to ten years. The
examples below specify a choice of senior college, a senior college major, a specific
occupation, a specific industry, or a specific position. Prioritize your goals. Select no more
than two or three goals with the most meaning for you. Ask yourself, “What is the ideal
version of what I want my life to be?” in the next five to ten years.
Your choice of senior college
My goal is to complete Baruch College with a major in accounting.
My goal is to complete Vassar College.
Senior college major
My goal is to major in radio/television broadcasting at a senior college.
My goal is to major in gerontology.
A specific occupational goal
My goal is to become a veterinarian.
My goal is to become a psychologist.
My goal is to own my own business as an image consultant.
A specific industry
My goal is to have a career in the hotel industry.
My goal is to have a career in the financial services industry.
A specific position
My goal is to be a flight attendant for an international airline.
My goal is to be a New York City police officer.
A specific company or organization
My goal is to work for Google.
My goal is to work for the Red Cross.
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Internship Learning Objectives, Goal Setting, and Your ePortfolio
Diane Ducat, Cooperative Education Department, LaGuardia Community College
23
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© Diane Ducat 2007