REPORT ON THE QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF A
SAMPLE OF SOCIETY OF PHYSICS STUDENTS INTERN JOURNALS
Anne-Barrie Hunter
Ethnography & Evaluation Research
Center to Advance Research and Teaching in the Social Sciences
University of Colorado, Boulder
abhunter@colorado.edu
May, 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Figures ........................................................................................................................... iv
Table of Tables ..............................................................................................................................v
Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. viii
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................1
SPS Summer Intern Program ..................................................................................................1
SPS Summer Intern Program Support ....................................................................................2
Goals of the SPS Summer Intern Program..............................................................................2
Purpose of Qualitative Analysis of Intern Journals ................................................................3
Method .......................................................................................................................................... 3
Sample Selection........................................................................................................................... 4
Internship Placement ............................................................................................................
Year of Internship Placement ...............................................................................................
5
5
The Data Set .................................................................................................................................. 6
Findings.......................................................................................................................................... 7
Grouping of Observations and Major Parent Categories and Overview of Findings ........... 7
Overview of observations of program outcomes .......................................................... 7
Overview of general observations ............................................................................. 7
Discussion of Parent Category Contents..............................................................................
9
Observations of Program Outcomes ..........................................................................
9
Personal growth .................................................................................................
Personal-professional gains ...............................................................................
Professional collegiality ........................................................................
Supervisor mentoring .............................................................................
Personal gains from professional work .................................................
Thinking and working like a professional .........................................................
Applied learning gains ...........................................................................
Increased knowledge ..............................................................................
Enhanced understanding of professional work contexts and preparation for
advance study and entry to the workforce ..................................................
ii
10
16
16
21
23
25
25
30
32
Becoming a professional ....................................................................................
Understanding the realities of professional work..................................
Demonstrated attitudes and behaviors necessary to professional work.
Skills ..................................................................................................................
Career clarification.............................................................................................
Enhanced educational experience .....................................................................
41
41
47
50
54
57
General Observations .............................................................................................
59
SPS general internship elements ........................................................................
Positive, “mixed,” and negative program/internship evaluations ......................
Positive evaluations ...............................................................................
“Mixed” evaluations ..............................................................................
Negative evaluations ..............................................................................
Structural elements of supervising .....................................................................
How gains were produced ..................................................................................
Miscellaneous ....................................................................................................
59
67
67
74
74
74
76
79
Analyses of Internship Type and Gender ...........................................................................
84
Discussion..................................................................................................................................
86
Conclusions ...............................................................................................................................
89
References ....................................................................................................................................90
APPENDIX A. Number of interns offering a particular observation, by type of internship
experience and by gender .................................................................................................... 93
APPENDIX B. All men’s observations by category and type of internship ..................... 100
APPENDIX C. All women’s observations by category and type of internship .................. 108
.
iii
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Intern journal sample by gender and type of internship ..................................................4
Figure 2. SPS internship placement by organization/association and by gender ...........................5
Figure 3. Internship placement by year and gender .........................................................................6
Figure 4. Gains codes used per journal, total number of gains observations coded, and percent of all gains
observations, by intern ................................................................................................................85
iv
TABLE OF TABLES
Table 1. Number and percent of all observations by group, category and type of internship .........8
Table 2. Number and percent of all observations by group, category and gender ..........................9
Table 3. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of personal growth, by type of internship .....11
Table 4. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of personal growth, by gender ......................11
Table 5. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing personal growth by type of
internship and gender ..............................................................................................................12
Table 6. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of personal-professional gains by type of
internship..................................................................................................................................17
Table 7. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of personal-professional gains by gender .....18
Table 8. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing personal-professional gains by type
of internship and gender ..........................................................................................................19
Table 9. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of “thinking and working like a professional”
by type of internship ...............................................................................................................26
Table 10. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on “thinking and working like a
professional” by gender ..........................................................................................................26
Table 11. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing gains in “thinking and working
like a professional” by type of internship and gender .............................................................27
Table 12. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of enhanced understanding of professional
work contexts and preparation for advance study and entry to the workforce by type of
internship..................................................................................................................................33
Table 13. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of enhanced understanding of professional
work contexts and preparation for advance study and entry to the workforce by gender .......34
Table 14. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing enhanced understanding of
professional work contexts and preparation for advance study and entry to the workforce by
type of internship and gender ..................................................................................................35
Table 15. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of “Becoming a professional” by type of
internship..................................................................................................................................42
Table 16. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of “Becoming a professional” by gender ....43
v
Table 17. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing gains in “Becoming a
professional” by type of internship and gender .......................................................................44
Table 18. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on gains in skills by type of internship .......51
Table 19. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on gains in skills by gender.........................51
Table 20. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing gains in skills by type of internship
and gender ...............................................................................................................................52
Table 21. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on gains in career clarification by type of
internship..................................................................................................................................55
Table 22. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on gains in career clarification by gender ...55
Table 23. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing gains in career clarification by
type of internship and gender ..................................................................................................56
Table 24. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on enhanced educational experience by type
of internship .............................................................................................................................57
Table 25. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on enhanced educational experience by
gender .......................................................................................................................................58
Table 26. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing gains in enhanced educational
experience by type of internship and gender ...........................................................................58
Table 27. GENERAL: Observations of SPS general internship elements by type of internship ..60
Table 28. GENERAL: Observations of SPS general internship elements by gender ....................61
Table 29. GENERAL: Number of interns citing SPS general internship elements by type of
internship and gender ..............................................................................................................62
Table 30. GENERAL: Observations of program/internship evaluations by type of internship ....68
Table 31. GENERAL: Observations of program/internship evaluations by gender .....................69
Table 32. GENERAL: Number of interns citing program evaluations by type of internship and
gender ......................................................................................................................................70
Table 33. GENERAL: Observations of structural elements of supervising by type of internship 75
Table 34. GENERAL: Observations of structural elements of supervising by gender .................75
vi
Table 35. GENERAL: Number of interns citing structural elements of supervising by type of
internship and gender ..............................................................................................................75
Table 36. GENERAL: Observations on how gains were produced by type of internship ............76
Table 37. GENERAL: Observations on how gains were produced by gender .............................77
Table 38. GENERAL: Number of interns citing how gains were produced by type of internship
and gender ...............................................................................................................................78
Table 39. GENERAL: Miscellaneous observations by type of internship ....................................80
Table 40. GENERAL: Miscellaneous observations by gender .....................................................81
Table 41. GENERAL: Number of interns citing miscellaneous observations by type of internship
and gender ...............................................................................................................................82
vii
REPORT ON THE QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF A
SAMPLE OF SOCIETY OF PHYSICS STUDENTS INTERN JOURNALS
Anne-Barrie Hunter
Ethnography & Evaluation Research
Center to Advance Research and Teaching in the Social Sciences
University of Colorado, Boulder
abhunter@colorado.edu
May, 2007
Executive Summary
The SPS Summer Intern Program
Since the beginning of its summer intern program in 2001, the Society of Physics Students (SPS)
has provided internships to 37 undergraduates. SPS internships are designed to create broadbased learning opportunities for undergraduate physics majors in the areas of scientific research
and science education outreach/policy work. Successful applicants are placed in organizations
and agencies in the Washington, DC area, such as the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) and the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) for researchbased internships, or placed within professional associations such as the American Association
of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the American Astronomical Society (AAS) for science
education outreach/policy internships. These organizations and associations utilize the energy
and diversity of physics undergraduates to enhance their programs in the advancement of physics
and allied sciences, and seek to contribute to students’ professional development through
meaningful, hands-on engagement in projects relevant to their programs. Participating agencies
assign one or more mentors from senior staff to guide interns’ work and overall experience.
As part of the SPS Summer Intern Program, students participate in an orientation session and
intermittent half-day field trips to broaden their exposure to physics and allied science
environments. Sometime during the internship, each student also gives a 20-minute professional
presentation on his or her work, accomplishments, and overall internship experience, to the staff
scientists of the American Institute of Physics and invited guests. Interns receive a $3200
stipend, paid housing at George Washington University, and paid transportation to and from
Washington, DC, for eight and a half weeks of work over the summer.
The goals of the SPS Summer Intern Program align with SPS’ mission to (among others):
encourage and assist students interested in physics to develop the knowledge, competence,
enthusiasm, and social responsibility that are essential to the advancement of physics; stimulate
interest in advance study and research in physics; and develop collegiality among physics
students and professionals in physics and allied sciences.
Qualitative Analysis of a Sample of SPS Summer Intern Journals
SPS interns are required to submit a weekly journal as a way of documenting their internship
experience. However, reporting expectations are largely undefined and leave interns to decide for
themselves what to include, or even how much to write. Interns were simply directed to “submit
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a weekly journal entry highlighting your work and/or a particular experience associated with the
internship.” Gary White, Director, Society of Physics Students (SPS), Sigma Pi Sigma Director
and Assistant Director of Education, American Institute of Physics, requested the services of
Ethnography & Evaluation Research to qualitatively analyze a sample of student intern journals
in order to determine the usefulness of this type of program assessment in evaluating the SPS
Summer Intern Program.
SPS seeks both summative and formative information on their summer intern program from a
qualitative content analysis of interns’ journals: summative findings address the intellectual,
personal, professional and other types of gains that students take away from their intern
experience; formative results concern strengths and weaknesses of the program and allow the
program director to make informed policy decisions for the future direction of the SPS Summer
Intern Program based upon empirical evidence. Understanding qualitative differences
discovered by comparing and contrasting the types of gain students report from their experience
either in the science research or science education outreach/policy internships will also aid the
program director to assess the quality of both types of internship offered and direct recruitment
of faculty and industry partnerships in alignment with program objectives. Identification of any
issues related to gender is also an aim of this analysis.
Method
A sample of 20 intern journals was selected from a set of 37. Intern journals were randomly
chosen within specific parameters to sample participant characteristics (race/ethnicity,
Americans with Disabilities Act status, type of home institution [i.e., 2-year colleges, R1
institutions, public and private colleges and universities], as well as a balance between the two
types of internship offered [science research or science education outreach/policy work], and
between men and women) so as to provide a view of the broadest range of SPS internship
participation possible.
A qualitative analysis of a sample of SPS intern journals was conducted to identify activities,
attitudes, and gains that interns recorded in their journal entries while working in an SPS
internship. Particular emphasis was placed on exploring evaluation questions important to SPS:
What evidence recorded in interns’ journal demonstrates:






students’ intellectual, personal and professional gains from the internship experience?
opportunities to integrate academic knowledge with field applications?
gains in skills and knowledge that add value to their academic study?
enhanced preparation in knowledge and skills for advance academic study or entry to the
workforce?
clarification and/or confirmation of participants’ intended career paths?
knowledge of the physics and allied science community and increased opportunities for
professional networking and career development?
From the results of the analysis, what can be learned regarding:
ix



formative information that highlights program strengths or that indicates areas in need of
improvement?
comparison and contrasts of the different types of gains students make from the two types
of summer experiences offered by SPS internships?
issues of gender?
To start, an intern’s weekly journal entries were compiled chronologically (from first to last) as
an individual document file. The resulting 20 document files varied in length depending upon
how much an intern had written, week to week or cumulatively. These files were then imported
into NVivo 7.0, a computer software program used for qualitative data analysis. In conducting a
content analysis, the analyst reads through all of the documents—the text data—searching for
information relevant to the evaluation questions. Text segments referencing distinct ideas are
tagged by code names. Codes are not preconceived, but empirical: each new code marks a
discrete idea not previously raised. All of the code names that are developed are collected in a
codebook. When the analyst reads a text passage that relates an idea previously encountered, the
same code name is used again to mark the relevant passage. Thus codes and their associated text
passages are linked, amassing a data set of code names and their frequency of use across the data
set. Once all of the text data is coded in this manner, codes similar in nature are grouped
together to define themes; the clustered frequencies, represented as grouped themes or
categories, describe both the range and relative weighting of issues in participants’ collective
report.
Since no word limit was imposed and parameters concerning what interns should write about
were somewhat loose—requesting that they convey “a variety of science, policy and outreachrelated activities” and other weekly or special events—journal entries reflect a freeform data set.
Thus while we may expect commonalities among interns’ journals concerning weekly activities
and structured events, what they record in regards to learning gains is notable, as these
observations are offered spontaneously, without prompting. Again, because guidelines for
interns’ journal entries are rather open-ended, it likely means that at least some gains are underreported.
Findings
Grouping of Observations and Major Parent Categories, and Overview of Findings
Observations were sorted according to textual content into 14 distinct categories. These parent
categories divided into two groups: observations on program outcomes and general observations.
Broadly, analysis of interns’ journals identified: types of gains derived from participation in the
SPS Summer Intern Program; descriptions of general SPS internship elements; and program
evaluations.
Overview of observations of program outcomes
Nearly 70% of participants’ observations (67%) described benefits from participating in the SPS
Summer Intern Program. They discussed gains in:


personal growth (20%)
personal-professional gains (14%)
x



increased understanding of how science research and science education outreach/policy
work is actually done, and other intellectual gains (13%)
enhanced understanding of professional work contexts and preparation for advance study
and entry to the workforce (9%)
increased understanding of professional norms and practice and demonstration and
development of character traits necessary to professional practice (8%)
Small numbers of participant observations also mentioned gains in: skills (2%), career
clarification and confirmation (1%) and enhanced educational experience (just two comments).
Overview of general observations
One third of participant’s comments (33%) were grouped as general observations. A majority of
interns’ observations comprising general observations described:


general SPS internship elements (18%)
program evaluations (10%)
Small numbers of participants also mentioned: specific ways in which mentors supported their
work as interns (1%); how gains were produced (1%); and miscellaneous comments (2%).
Discussion of Parent Category Contents
Observations of Program Outcomes
Interns’ observations of program outcomes show the multiple dimensions of students’ growth
and learning as a result of their SPS summer internship experience in Washington, DC.

Personal growth. (n=274, 19% res., 22% ed. out./pol.; 22% men, 19% women)
The highest number of all observations reported in interns’ journals described gains in personal
growth as an outcome of participating in an SPS summer internship (20%). Ninety-five percent
of interns wrote about the numerous opportunities to explore Washington, DC and to take in the
wealth of learning the city has to offer. A majority of interns (80%) also included accounts of
other personal time spent outside their internship, such as reading, shopping, and going out
places in DC. Comments related to interns’ personal growth also described the strong
collegiality that developed between SPS interns in their time away from work. Two–thirds of
interns mentioned going places and doing things together with other SPS interns in their time off.
These comments related the sense of community that was engendered by living closely together
as a group over summer. As well, nearly half of interns specifically noted their SPS summer
internship as a wonderful personal experience that helped them as young adults to discover
themselves. Several interns offered observations of their internship as providing novel
experiences and opportunities to learn about new things. Thus the largest set of benefits
discussed by interns in their journal entries encompassed personal gains, such as exploring
Washington, DC, other personal time spent outside their internship, including strong collegiality
and friendship among the interns as a community, and reflections on ways in which they had
grown personally as a result of their summer internship.
xi

Personal-professional gains. (n=197, 14% res., 15% ed. out./pol.; 15% men, 14% women)
Ranking second in number of intern observations on program outcomes, a smaller percentage of
all observations (14%) described personal-professional gains—personal gains associated with
their professional work experience. Participants’ comments in this category emphasized the
benefit of collegiality built upon close interaction with other interns in the work environment.
Gains in professional collegiality were reported by 60% of interns. These comments show the
positive relationships that developed between interns working together, helping one another, and
learning from one another and the sense of community professional collaboration engendered.
Sixty percent of interns also mentioned opportunities for closer interactions with their
supervisors. Nearly half mentioned ways in which supervisors mentored them and supported
their learning during their internship, sharing knowledge and experience, modeling professional
practice, and offering good guidance. Participating in and the development of a broader group
collegiality were also noted in 55% of interns’ journals. In these entries, interns related larger
group activities both as part of their work, i.e., organized tours, science education outreach
events or attending events on Capitol Hill, as well as more relaxed social interactions with SPS
program staff. While a majority of interns (55%) noted how happy and excited they were to get
good results and were relieved and satisfied to find their work activities successful, only a
handful of interns’ (four) went further, expressing gains in confidence due to their learning and
sense of accomplishment. Interns’ personal-professional gains demonstrate positive affective
benefits associated with authentic professional work experience. These gains support
professional socialization and students’ identity development as young professionals.

Thinking and working like a professional. (n=171, 14% res., 10% ed. out./pol.; 10% men,
14% women)
Close in number of observations to the personal-professional gains category, 13% of intern
comments collected in “thinking and working like a professional” described intellectual benefits
derived from the SPS Summer Intern Program. Overall, interns noted several types of intellectual
gains. A majority of interns (80%) described applied learning gains in terms of their active
engagement in authentic work (i.e., “learning by doing”)—gains in understanding how the
profession works in hands-on practice. Some interns (eight) went further and mentioned their
results fitting theoretical models, demonstrating a higher-level intellectual gain from their
experience. Four interns discussed another high-level intellectual gain: participating in the design
of their research or participating in lesson planning and development for science education
outreach activities. Sixty-five percent of interns also described gains in new knowledge, as well
as increased understanding of connections within and between the sciences. These gains
highlight interns’ intellectual growth. By providing the opportunity to integrate academic
knowledge with field applications, interns increased their understanding of how work is actually
done, in applied practice. In addition, a majority of interns (60%) cited both increases in
knowledge and increased understanding of connections between and within the sciences as other
intellectual outcomes of their SPS summer intern experience.
xii

Enhanced understanding of professional work contexts and preparation for advance
study and entry to the workforce. (n=122, 7% res., 12% ed. out./pol.; 9% men, 9% women)
To meet the objective of developing collegiality among physics students and professionals in
physics and allied sciences, the SPS Summer Intern Program has specifically structured the
program to provide opportunities for interns to interact with professionals in varied fields and
work contexts. Nine percent of intern observations recounted ways in which participation in the
SPS Intern Program enhanced their understanding of professional work contexts and their
preparation for advance study and entry to the workforce. Attending congressional hearings and
sessions with law- and policy makers as well as intern-organized tours of their work sites
enhanced understanding of professional life and practice. As part of relating the activities of their
internship, 65% of interns discussed opportunities to meet with, talk with, and learn from
politicians, science researchers, and science education outreach and policy practitioners in
authentic professional contexts. These observations demonstrate the ways in which the half-day
field trips to attend various congressional hearings and tours of government research labs
broadened interns’ exposure to physics and allied science environments (reported by 55% of
interns). Talking with their supervisors and other professionals, learning about what
professionals do in their work, gaining a closer view of professionals balancing work life and
personal life, and making connections with important people in the field were program outcomes
recorded in SPS intern journal entries concerning ways in which participation had broadened and
extended their understanding of and preparation for future professional opportunities, advance
study and entry to the workforce.

Becoming a professional. (n=103, 9% res., 5% ed. out./pol.; 8% men, 8% women)
Intern comments collected in the “becoming a professional” category conveyed (in almost equal
measures) increased understanding of the nature of professional work and the demonstration and
development of attitudes and behaviors viewed as character traits necessary for professional
work in the field. Authentic, applied experiences showed interns the realities of working in
science research and the difficulties of conducting science education outreach activities in
practice: 65% of interns noted that the work can be slow, that there are difficulties and mistakes,
that carrying out science activities with and teaching school-aged children is easier said than
done. Comments related to understanding the nature of the work were balanced by a set of intern
observations denoting demonstration and development of attributes important to professional
practice. Half of interns expressed strong enthusiasm for and excitement at the prospect of their
internship and the opportunity to work with respected professionals. Smaller numbers of interns
also described the development of a range of attitudes necessary for professional practice, such
as gains in tolerance, patience and perseverance, increased willingness to think creatively and to
work through problems independently, or being extra diligent, taking greater care, or putting in
extra effort. As with the above categories, these types of gains are evidence that interns’ are
developing as young professionals and that program participation encourages their professional
socialization. These outcomes are viewed as important to students “becoming professionals” and
to ensuring the future professional workforce.
Small numbers of participant observations also mentioned gains in: skills (2%), career
clarification and confirmation (1%) and enhanced educational experience (just two comments).
xiii
In summary, nearly 70% of interns’ observations described program outcomes encompassing a
broad range and variety of personal, intellectual and professional benefits. Interns’ observations
of program outcomes related gains in: personal growth, personal-professional gains directly
related to their engagement at their internship; increased understanding of how science research
and science education outreach/policy work is actually done, and other intellectual gains;
enhanced understanding of professional work contexts and preparation for advance study and
entry to the workforce; and increased understanding of the nature of professional work, norms
and practice and the development and demonstration of character traits deemed important to
working professionally in the field. Small numbers of interns also reported gains in skills, career
clarification and confirmation or enhanced educational experience. Collectively, interns report
program outcomes demonstrating multiple dimensions of students’ learning from SPS Summer
Intern Program participation.
General Observations
Following a majority of observations reporting program outcomes, a remaining 33% of intern
observations were grouped as general observations. The majority of comments in this category
described general elements comprising internship experiences, followed by intern program
evaluations.

SPS general internship elements. (n=250, 18% res., 18% ed. out./pol.; 20% men, 17%
women)
Comments comprising the category of “general internship elements” were 18% of all intern
observations. These observations highlight the structural elements of the SPS Summer Intern
Program and inform understanding of the role of structural elements in supporting interns’
success and in achieving program objectives. From their accounts, it is clear that interns were
participating in authentic work in which they had the opportunity to integrate academic
knowledge with field applications (95% of interns offered clear descriptions of their active
engagement in their projects and 75% of interns provided clear accounts demonstrating
conceptual and practical understanding of their work objectives and assigned responsibilities).
All interns reported group SPS field trips and opportunities to see a variety of physics and allied
science work environments. Nearly half mentioned attending congressional hearings.
Descriptions of engaging in authentic work, group SPS field trips and structured opportunities
for interns to see a variety of work contexts, interns’ clear understanding of project objectives
and work responsibilities, and other structured activities (i.e., the SPS orientation session, safety
trainings, or other informational meetings) show that the SPS program structure is successful in
supporting interns’ learning and in meeting stated program objectives.

Positive, “mixed,” and negative program/internship evaluations. (n=141, 9% res., 12%
ed. out./pol.; 9% men, 9% women)
The majority (nearly 90%) of intern program evaluations were highly positive: 90% of interns
described how much they were enjoying their internship; 75% of interns described what a great
summer they were having and how “time was flying by.” Interns’ positive evaluations reflect
and corroborate program outcomes reported from their SPS intern experience.
xiv
Small numbers of participants also mentioned: specific ways in which mentors supported their
work as interns (1%); how gains were produced (1%); and miscellaneous comments (2%).
In summary, just over a third of all intern observations were grouped as general observations.
The majority described structural program elements supporting intern learning and highly
positive program evaluations. Very small numbers of comments and actual numbers of interns
reported: supervisors’ structural internship elements, intern views on how their learning was
enabled, and other miscellaneous observations.
Analyses of Internship Type and Gender
Overall, percentages of observations by type of internship and by gender are well balanced. This
is also true for actual numbers of interns citing a particular observation. Observations made by
participants in science research vs. science education outreach/policy internships and by men and
women were similar in nature and in number. Indeed, there is remarkable alignment in the
balance of observations recorded by science research vs. science education outreach/policy
interns and between men’s and women’s observations in every category across the data set.
From analyses of the data set, it is evident that the many benefits which interns described as
outcomes of program participation were reported equally by science research interns as by
science education outreach/policy interns and by men as by women.
Conclusions
Findings from the qualitative analysis of a sample of intern journal entries exploring the efficacy
of this type of program assessment as a tool for program evaluation document strong impacts on
participants’ personal, professional and intellectual development and provide empirical evidence
that the SPS program structure is well aligned with and supports the achievement of its program
objectives. Overwhelmingly positive program evaluations are testament to interns’ excellent
experiences with the SPS Summer Intern Program.
Observations recorded in intern journals support the conclusion that program objectives aimed at
encouraging and assisting students interested in physics to develop knowledge, competence
enthusiasm and social responsibility, interest in advance study and research in physics, and
collegiality among physics students and professionals in physics and allied sciences, are being
met. Evidence of many of the learning gains associated with program participation, i.e., personal
growth, personal-professional development, gains in intellectual understanding of how a
profession operates in practice, exposure to varied work contexts and possibilities (and gaining
connections to them) as well as demonstrated attitudes and behaviors necessary to students’
continuing on in the profession, are benefits that coincide with research documenting the
beneficial outcomes of similar intensive, mentored learning experiences.
The largest set of benefits discussed by interns in their journal entries reflected personal gains
they took away from their experience. In a recent report presenting outcomes from a Carleton
College off-campus field research program in marine biology, personal growth also ranked first
among outcomes (Hunter, 2006). Personal gains are important because they speak to the goals of
educating students as well-rounded human beings and of helping students to develop as young
adults capable of participating in and negotiating a complex world. Indeed, providing a holistic
education that meets the needs of the “whole” student is a longstanding tenet of education that is
xv
still viewed as a central purpose of colleges and universities today (Dewey, 1933, 1938; Shor,
1987; Giroux, 1988; Freire, 1990; Boyer Report, 1998; Baxter Magolda, 1999, 2001, 2004).
From SPS interns’ journal entries, it is clear that living in and exploring Washington, DC, as well
as living closely among a group of peers, strongly contributed to their personal growth.
Gains categories comprised of observations related to participants’ personal growth, personalprofessional gains, “thinking and working like a professional,” “enhanced preparation”
“becoming a professional,”—and, in much smaller numbers, skills and career clarification—
match those described by Seymour, et al. (2004) and Hunter, Laursen & Seymour (2006) in their
study to establish the benefits to students of undergraduate research (UR) experiences, as well as
other recent research studies of UR (Ward, Bennett and Bauer, 2002; Zydney, et al., 2002; Bauer
and Bennett, 2003; Lopatto, 2004; Russell, 2005). Gains cited across these categories all
document the depth of participants’ engagement in their learning, and, again, reflect participants’
holistic learning. Importantly, these learning gains demonstrate program benefits that are
consistent with national science education policy objectives and are promoted by relevant
national funding organizations and institutions of higher education (Boyer Commission, 2002;
NSF, 2000, 2003a; NRC, 1999, 2000, 2003a, 2003b).
Collectively, intern observations on personal growth, personal-professional gains, increased
understanding of how work is actually done, increases in knowledge, enhanced understanding of
and preparation for advance study and workforce entry, increased understanding of the
difficulties encountered in professional work and the demonstration and development of
character traits and attitudes necessary to professional practice document powerful program
outcomes. Highly positive program evaluations of interns’ intensive, experiential learning
opportunities in which they had the opportunity to integrate academic knowledge with field
applications complement interns’ gains observations. Findings from the qualitative analysis of a
sample of SPS intern journals demonstrate a breadth of important personal, intellectual and
professional outcomes resulting from program participation in the SPS Summer Intern Program.
Qualitative analysis of interns’ journals shows their efficacy as a tool for program assessment.
However, as previously stated, open-ended guidelines for interns’ journal entries likely means
that at least some gains are under-reported. Although intern journals are clearly useful as a
program assessment tool, there is a weakness in that they do not collect the same information
from every participant consistently, e.g., as a survey would. Too, analyzing this qualitative data
for the purposes of program evaluation is costly and time intensive.
A strong benefit of having conducted this qualitative analysis is that SPS now has a framework
upon which a grounded survey instrument that can query all participants about all gains, or other
issues, may be built. Indeed, qualitative research typically precedes survey development. Thus,
having identified the range and type of benefits interns report from program participation, SPS is
now in a good position to move forward in developing an instrument that will provide greater
consistency and accuracy of data to aid in evaluating program outcomes. Development of such
an instrument, might, in fact, serve as the basis of a future SPS summer intern opportunity.
xvi
REPORT ON THE QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF A
SAMPLE OF SOCIETY OF PHYSICS STUDENTS INTERN JOURNALS
Anne-Barrie Hunter
Ethnography & Evaluation Research
Center to Advance Research and Teaching in the Social Sciences
University of Colorado, Boulder
abhunter@colorado.edu
May, 2007
Introduction
This report presents findings of a qualitative analysis of a sample of the Society of Physics
Students (SPS) intern journals aimed at exploring their efficacy in providing relevant data for the
evaluation of the SPS Summer Intern Program.
SPS Summer Intern Program
SPS summer internships are designed to create broad-based learning opportunities for
undergraduate physics majors in the areas of scientific research and science education
outreach/policy work.
Interns are selected based upon scholastic record, potential for future success, evidence of
participation in SPS events and activities, and evidence of experience in either science research
or in science education outreach/policy work. SPS carefully screens all applicants to assure a
good match between an organization’s specific needs and the student’s interests.
Successful applicants are placed in organizations and agencies in the Washington, DC area, such
as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Aeronautics
Space Administration (NASA) for research-based internships, or placed within professional
associations such as the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the American
Astronomical Society (AAS) for science education outreach/policy internships. These
organizations and associations utilize the energy and diversity of physics undergraduates to
enhance their programs in the advancement of physics and allied sciences, and seek to contribute
to students’ professional development through meaningful, hands-on engagement in projects
relevant to their programs. Participating agencies assign one or more mentors from senior staff to
guide interns’ work and overall experience.
As part of the SPS Summer Intern Program, students participate in an orientation session and
intermittent half-day field trips to broaden their exposure to physics and allied science
environments. Sometime during the internship, each student also gives a 20-minute professional
presentation on his or her work, accomplishments, and overall internship experience, to the staff
scientists of the American Institute of Physics and invited guests.
Interns receive a $3200 stipend, paid housing at George Washington University, and paid
transportation to and from Washington, DC, for eight and a half weeks of work over the summer.
During the academic year following their internship, students give a presentation on their
internship experience at an SPS zone meeting or other regional science meeting. Students with
exceptional presentations may be asked to speak about their internship at the American
Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) summer meeting, or other member society meeting.
Since the beginning of its summer intern program in 2001, SPS has provided internships to 37
undergraduates.
SPS Summer Intern Program Support
Organizations and professional associations who partner with SPS to mentor a summer intern
make a financial contribution to offset program expenses.
SPS also derives support for this program from the American Institute of Physics (AIP).
The awards and scholarship programs of SPS are made possible, in part, through generous
contributions of Sigma Pi Sigma members and friends. Scholarships and awards are supported by
income derived from designated funds that have been provided as gifts. In this way, the physics
alumni, and especially the Sigma Pi Sigma members, contribute to the generations of students
who follow them.
Goals of the SPS Summer Intern Program
The goals of the SPS Summer Intern Program align with SPS’ mission to (among others):
encourage and assist students interested in physics to develop the knowledge, competence,
enthusiasm, and social responsibility that are essential to the advancement of physics; stimulate
interest in advance study and research in physics; and develop collegiality among physics
students and professionals in physics and allied sciences (see
http://www.spsnational.org/governance/constitution/).
Benefits identified by SPS of participating in the SPS Summer Intern Program include (see
http://www.spsnational.org/programs/internships/benefits.htm):
To the student • Receive a unique learning experience, and a close-up look at the Washington, DC,
physics and allied sciences community; create access to networking opportunities and
professional connections;
• Integrate academic knowledge with field applications, improve competitiveness and
improve marketability upon graduation;
• Enhance technical and interpersonal skills through meaningful and challenging
professional assignments.
To the Institution/Agency • Enrich and diversify organization’s programs and scientific endeavors through the efforts
of eager, bright SPS undergraduate students;
• Secure direct contact with SPS students to facilitate/improve the understanding of this
population;
• Provide future employee recruitment opportunities;
• Impact the development of tomorrow’s leaders in physics.
2
To SPS • Augment the professional element to SPS membership.
• Forge effective partnerships between SPS and other institutions and agencies.
• Develop highly skilled SPS graduates who may choose careers in science and/or
managerial careers.
Purpose of Qualitative Analysis of Intern Journals
Gary White, Director, Society of Physics Students (SPS), Sigma Pi Sigma Director and Assistant
Director of Education, American Institute of Physics, requested the services of Ethnography &
Evaluation Research to qualitatively analyze a sample of student intern journals in order to
determine the usefulness of this type of program assessment in evaluating the SPS Summer
Intern Program.
SPS seeks both summative and formative information on their summer intern program from a
qualitative content analysis of interns’ journals: summative findings address the intellectual,
personal, professional and other types of gains that students take away from their intern
experience; formative results concerning strengths and weaknesses of the program allow the
program director to make informed policy decisions for the future direction of the SPS Summer
Intern Program based upon empirical evidence. Understanding qualitative differences discovered
by comparing and contrasting the types of gain students report from their experience either in the
science research or science education outreach/policy internship will also aid the program
director to assess the quality of both types of internship offered and direct recruitment of faculty
and industry partnerships in alignment with program objectives. Identification of any issues
related to gender is also an aim of this analysis.
Method
A qualitative analysis of a sample of SPS intern journals was conducted to identify activities,
attitudes, and gains that interns recorded in their journal entries while working in an SPS
internship. Particular emphasis was placed on exploring evaluation questions important to SPS:
What evidence recorded in interns’ journal demonstrates:






students’ intellectual, personal and professional gains from the internship experience?
opportunities to integrate academic knowledge with field applications?
gains in skills and knowledge that add value to their academic study?
enhanced preparation in knowledge and skills for advance academic study or entry to the
workforce?
clarification and/or confirmation of participants’ intended career paths?
knowledge of the physics and allied science community and increased opportunities for
professional networking and career development?
From the results of the analysis, what can be learned regarding:



formative information that highlights program strengths or that indicates areas in need of
improvement?
comparison and contrasts of the different types of gains students make from the two types of
summer experiences offered by SPS internships?
issues of gender?
3
To start, an intern’s weekly journal entries were compiled chronologically (from first to last) as
an individual document file. The resulting 20 document files varied in length depending upon
how much an intern had written, week to week or cumulatively. These files were then imported
into NVivo 7.0, a computer software program used for qualitative data analysis. In conducting a
content analysis, the analyst reads through all of the documents—the text data—searching for
information relevant to the evaluation questions. Text segments referencing distinct ideas are
tagged by code names. Codes are not preconceived, but empirical: each new code marks a
discrete idea not previously raised. All of the code names that are developed are collected in a
codebook. When the analyst reads a text passage that relates an idea previously encountered, the
same code name is used again to mark the relevant passage. Thus codes and their associated text
passages are linked, amassing a data set of code names and their frequency of use across the data
set. Once all of the text data is coded in this manner, codes similar in nature are grouped
together to define themes; the clustered frequencies, represented as grouped themes or
categories, describe both the range and relative weighting of issues in participants’ collective
report.
In addition to an analysis of the number and type of observations that participants recorded in
their weekly journals, an analysis looking at the actual number of participants reporting a
particular observation by type of internship and by gender has also been conducted. This analysis
allows for a very accurate assessment of students’ gains and views concerning participation in
the SPS Summer Intern Program, overall.
Sample Selection
A sample of 20 intern journals was selected from a set of 37. Intern journals were randomly
chosen within specific parameters to sample participant characteristics (race/ethnicity,
Americans with Disabilities Act status, type of home institution [i.e., 2-year colleges, R1
institutions, public and private colleges and universities], as well as a balance between the two
types of internship offered [science research or science education outreach/policy work], and
between men and women) so as to provide a view of the broadest range of SPS internship
participation possible. The intern journal sample is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Intern journal sample by gender and type of internship.
Gender
Research Internship
Science education outreach/policy internship
Men
Brent Janus (2002)
Justin Stimatze (2003)
Joseph York (2004)
Bridger Anderson (2005)
Alex Brown (2006)
Mark Lentz (2001)
Jason Tabeling (2003)
Matthew Shanks (2004)
Kibrom Tewolde (2004)
Matt Hall (2005)
Women
Eva Wilcox (2002)
Kathryn Peak (2002)
Christine Zaruba (2004)
Lindsay Windsor (2005)
Kacey Meaker (2006)
Melissa Hanafee (2003)
Stacey Elizabeth Sude (2003)
Heather Lunn (2004)
Rebecca Keith (2005)
Ann Deml (2006)
4
Internship Placement
 Four men and three women were placed at NIST (National Institute of Standards and
Technology), Washington, DC, for their internship;
 One man and two women worked at NASA (National Aeronautics Space Administration)
Goddard Space Flight Center for the summer;
 One man and three women had their internship working with ComPADRE (part of the
National Science Digital Library) organization;
 One man and two women spent their summer internship at NSF MRSEC (Materials
Research Science and Engineering Centers);
 Two men did their internship at the SPS National Office;
 One man interned at AAPT (American Association of Physics Teachers).
Participants’ intern placement is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. SPS internship placement by organization/association and by gender.
Organization/Association
Men
Women
Research Internship:
NIST, Washington, DC
Justin Stimatze (2003)
Joseph York (2004)
Bridger Anderson (2005)
Alex Brown (2006)
Eva Wilcox (2002)
Lindsay Windsor (2005)
Kacey Meaker (2006)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Brent Janus (2002)
Kathryn Peek (2002)
Christine Zaruba (2004)
ComPADRE
Kibrom Tewolde (2004)
Melissa Hanafee (2003)
Rebecca Keith (2005)
Ann Deml (2006)
NSF MRSEC
Matthew Shanks (2004)
Stacey Elizabeth Sude (2003)
Heather Lunn (2004)
SPS National Office
Mark Lentz (2001)
Jason Tabeling (2003)
AAPT
Matt Hall (2005)
Science education outreach/policy
internship:
Year of Internship Placement
Figure 3, below, shows the number of men and women in an SPS internship by their year of
participation:
5






one man in 2001 (first year of SPS internship program);
one man and two women in 2002;
two men and two women in 2003;
three men and two women in 2004;
two men and two women in 2005; and
one man and two women in 2006.
Figure 3. Internship placement by year and gender.
Year
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
TOTALS
Men
Women
1
1
2
3
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
10
10
The Data Set
SPS interns are required to submit a weekly journal as a way of documenting their internship
experience. However, reporting expectations are largely undefined and leave interns to decide for
themselves what to include, or indeed, how much to write. Initially, interns were simply directed
to “submit a weekly journal entry highlighting your work and/or a particular experience
associated with the internship.” Currently, while students are encouraged to enjoy their summer,
they are reminded that this is also a summer of work and to include details of their internship
activities along with other facets of their summer in Washington, DC. Interns are also reminded
that their journal entries will be made public:
Ahhh... the dog days of summer. Sun, sand and surf. Hotdogs, hamburgers, and apple pie.
But wait...you're an SPS Intern, so your summer also includes a variety of science, policy
and outreach-related activities.
Share a synopsis of your weekly activities and special events with your fellow SPS
members, potential interns, friends, family and sponsors in the space provided below.
We'll post your responses on the SPS website, and will develop several into feature
articles for the SPS Observer and Radiations, the official publication of Sigma Pi Sigma.
So get those fingers flying, and press submit!!
(http://www.spsnational.org/programs/internships/journals.htm)
All appropriate documents created by the student are published on the national Society of
Physics Students web site (http://www.spsnational.org/).
Since no word limit was imposed and parameters concerning what interns should write about
were somewhat loose—requesting only that they convey “a variety of science, policy and
6
outreach-related activities” and other weekly or special events—journal entries reflect a freeform
data set. Thus while we may expect commonalities among interns’ journals concerning weekly
activities and structured events, what they record in regards to learning gains is notable, as these
observations are offered spontaneously, without prompting.
Findings
Grouping of Observations and Major Parent Categories and Overview of Findings
Observations were sorted according to textual content into 14 distinct categories. These parent
categories divided into two groups: observations on program outcomes and general observations.
Broadly, analysis of interns’ journals identified: types of gains derived from participation in the
SPS Summer Intern Program; descriptions of general SPS internship elements; and program
evaluations.
Throughout this report, results are presented by type of internship and by gender to help the
discovery of any relevant differences that may be reflected in the number or type of observations
that interns provided in their written journal entries. Table 1 provides an overview of all interns’
observations by group, parent category, and type of internship; Table 2 provides the same
overview according to gender. In discussing detailed breakouts of the major parent categories,
tables showing the actual number of participants reporting a particular observation are also
presented according to type of internship and by gender. Quotations were selected to be
representative of the sample by type of internship, gender, and year of participation. Quotations
illustrating category content are used largely in full to provide context and show the
interrelatedness of program outcomes, as described by the interns themselves. As interns’
journals are a matter of public record, quotations are attributed.
Overview of observations of program outcomes
Nearly 70% of participants’ observations (67%, see Tables 1 and 2) described benefits from
participating in the SPS Summer Intern Program. They discussed gains in:





personal growth (20%)
personal-professional gains (14%)
increased understanding of how science research and science education outreach/policy
work is actually done, and other intellectual gains (13%)
enhanced understanding of professional work contexts and preparation for advance study
and entry to the workforce (9%)
increased understanding of professional norms and practice and demonstration and
development of character traits necessary to professional practice (8%)
Small numbers of participant observations also mentioned gains in: skills (2%), career
clarification and confirmation (1%) and enhanced educational experience (just two comments).
Overview of general observations
One third of participants’ comments (33%, see Tables 1 and 2) were grouped as general
observations. A majority of interns’ observations comprising general observations described:
7


general SPS internship elements (18%)
program evaluations (10%)
A small number of comments also mentioned: specific ways in which mentors supported their
work as interns (1%); how gains were produced (1%); and miscellaneous comments (2%).
Table 1. Number and percent of all observations by group, category and type of internship.
N of Obs.
% of Obs.
Parent Category
N of
% of
Sci. ed.
Sci. ed.
TOTAL
Obs.
Obs.
outreach/
outreach/
ALL
Res.
Res.
policy
policy
OBS.
OBSERVATIONS OF
PROGRAM OUTCOMES
Gains from program participation:
Personal growth
140
19%
134
22%
274
Personal-professional gains
102
14%
95
15%
197
"Thinking and working like a
106
14%
65
10%
171
professional"
%
ALL
OBS.
20%
14%
13%
49
7%
73
12%
122
9%
69
18
13
9%
2%
2%
34
7
1
5%
1%
0%
103
25
14
8%
2%
1%
1
0%
1
0%
2
0%
Subtotal: Program outcomes
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
SPS general internship elements
Program/internship evaluations
Structural elements of supervising
How gains were produced
Miscellaneous
498
67%
410
66%
908
67%
135
66
12
8
19
18%
9%
2%
1%
3%
115
75
5
7
11
18%
12%
1%
1%
2%
250
141
17
15
30
18%
10%
1%
1%
2%
Subtotal: General observations
TOTALS
241
739
33%
100%
212
622
34%
100%
453
1361
33%
100%
Enhanced understanding of
professional work and
preparation for advanced
study and entry to the
workforce
Becoming a professional
Skills
Career clarification and
confirmation
Enhanced educational
experience
8
Table 2. Number and percent of all observations by group, category and gender.
N of
% of
N of
% of
TOTAL
Parent Category
Obs.
Obs.
Obs.
Obs.
ALL
Men
Men
Women
Women
OBS.
OBSERVATIONS OF PROGRAM
OUTCOMES
Gains from program participation:
Personal growth
131
22%
143
19%
274
Personal-professional gains
90
15%
107
14%
197
"Thinking and working like a
62
10%
109
14%
171
professional"
Enhanced understanding of
%
ALL
OBS.
20%
14%
13%
53
9%
69
9%
122
9%
45
9
2
8%
2%
0%
58
16
12
8%
2%
2%
103
25
14
8%
2%
1%
1
0%
1
0%
2
0%
393
66%
515
68%
908
67%
122
55
7
2
16
207
600
20%
9%
1%
0%
3%
35%
100%
128
70
10
13
14
246
761
17%
9%
1%
2%
2%
32%
100%
250
141
17
15
30
453
1361
18%
10%
1%
1%
2%
33%
100
%
professional work contexts
and preparation for
advanced study and entry to
the workforce
Becoming a professional
Skills
Career clarification and
confirmation
Enhanced educational experience
Subtotal: Program outcomes
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
SPS general internship elements
Program/internship evaluations
Structural elements of supervising
How gains were produced
Miscellaneous
Subtotal: General observations
TOTALS
Discussion of Parent Category Contents
Observations of Program Outcomes
Interns’ observations of gains derived from participation in the SPS Summer Intern Program
encompassed: personal growth; personal-professional gains; increased understanding of how
science research and science education outreach/policy work is actually done, and other
intellectual gains; enhanced understanding of professional work contexts and preparation for
advance study and entry to the workforce; and increased understanding of professional norms
and practice, as well as the demonstration and development of character traits necessary to
professional practice. Small numbers of observations also registered gains in skills, career
clarification and confirmation, and enhanced educational experience. These benefits reflect the
9
multiple dimensions of students’ growth and learning as a result of their SPS summer internship
experience in Washington, DC.

Personal growth. (n=274, 19% res., 22% ed. out./pol.; 22% men, 19% women)
The highest number of all observations reported in interns’ journals described gains in personal
growth as an outcome of participating in the SPS Summer Internship Program (20%, see Tables
1 and 2). Observations grouped in this category detail interns’ sightseeing excursions, other
personal time spent outside their internship, including strong collegiality and friendship among
the interns as a community, and reflections on ways in which they had grown personally over the
summer.
In line with directions from SPS that journal entries should relate events and activities of interest
to their family and peers, over half of interns’ comments within this category discussed
sightseeing and leisure time activities outside of their intern work (31% and 25% respectively,
see Tables 3 and 4). Ninety-five percent of the interns (n=19: 10 res., 9 ed. out./pol.; 10 men, 9
women) highlighted the benefit of living for a period of time in the nation’s capitol, in which
they had ample opportunity to explore the wealth of museums, science exhibits, music, theater,
street life and other attractions; 80% (n=16: 9 res., 7 ed. out./pol.; 9 men, 7 women) mentioned
things they had done during personal time away from their internship (see Table 5):
For fun we hit up the Shakespeare Theater and a Classical music concert. Lady
Windermere’s Fan was the play. It was pretty good. I will have to remember some of
those quotes. "Experience is what fools call their mistakes". "I can resist everything
except temptation". (Bridger Anderson, Research Internship, 2005)
This weekend was great too! Friday, my roommate and I went to the Washington
Haunted Walk with Anthony and learned a bunch about the haunted Lafayette Park and
White House. We learned that Dolly Madison lived in the yellow house on the corner and
about parallels to the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy. (Heather Lunn, Education
outreach/policy internship, 2004)
Last weekend, Heather and I went to see Monticello and ride pedal boats in the tidal
basin. We had a really REALLY great time - it's probably been one of my very favorite
days here. …While we were paddling around, we ran into a bunch of ducks…. They
followed us around nearly half the basin… Once our two hours were up, we went back to
dock the U.S.S. Duck (that is what we named our boat) and got a picture to remember the
day by.… Then we went to take pictures of Monticello (the Jefferson Memorial). It was
really cool. I think we both took a gazillion pictures. We walked around some more and
then headed to Pentagon City to get a few groceries. We stopped at Aunti Ann's and got a
pretzel dog and a dutch ice -MAN ALIVE that's good eatin! I highly recommend it - it's
just in the food court right there in the mall. On Sunday, we went and did a bunch of
shopping. We had both been pinching pennies lately, so we had to purge ourselves of all
of all the moderation. And purge we did! :) (Christine Zaruba, Research internship, 2004)
10
Table 3. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of personal growth, by type of internship.
N of
% of
Obs.
Obs.
N of
% of
Sci. ed. Sci. ed.
Obs.
Obs.
Out./
Out./
Type of Observation
TOTAL
Res.
Res.
policy
policy
OBS.
%
OBS.
Opportunities for sightseeing
Personal time away from research/science
education/policy outreach work
Peer collegiality, fooling around, socializing
in evening, helping each other
Parents, family, friends come to visit; Some
going to visit
Learning interesting things not related to
internship
39
34
28%
24%
47
34
35%
25%
86
68
31%
25%
41
29%
26
19%
67
24%
6
4%
14
10%
20
7%
6
4%
7
5%
13
5%
Novel personal experiences Really wonderful
8
6%
3
2%
11
4%
Internship has been a wonderful personal
growth experience
TOTALS
6
4%
3
2%
9
3%
140
100%
134
100%
274
100%
Table 4. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of personal growth, by gender.
N of
% of
N of
% of
Obs.
Obs.
Obs.
Obs.
Type of Observation
TOTAL
Men.
Men.
Women Women
OBS.
%
OBS.
Opportunities for sightseeing
45
34%
41
29%
86
31%
Personal time away from research/science
education/policy outreach work
Peer collegiality, fooling around, socializing
in evening, helping each other
Parents, family, friends come to visit; Some
going to visit
Learning interesting things not related to
internship
33
25%
35
24%
68
25%
24
18%
43
30%
67
24%
14
11%
6
4%
20
7%
6
5%
7
5%
13
5%
Novel personal experiences Really wonderful
5
4%
6
4%
11
4%
Internship has been a wonderful personal
growth experience
TOTALS
4
3%
5
3%
9
3%
131
100%
143
100%
274
100%
11
Table 5. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing personal growth by type of internship and gender.
N of
Research
Interns
N of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
% of
Research
Interns
% of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
% of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
INTERNS
%
INTERNS
Opportunities for sightseeing
10
9
50%
45%
10
9
50%
45%
19
95%
Personal time away from research
policy outreach work
9
7
45%
35%
9
7
45%
35%
16
80%
7
6
35%
30%
7
6
35%
30%
13
65%
Internship has been a wonderful
personal growth experience
6
3
30%
15%
4
5
20%
25%
9
45%
Parents, family, friends come to
visit; Some going to visit
3
5
15%
25%
4
4
20%
20%
8
40%
Learning interesting things not
related to internship
3
4
15%
20%
3
4
15%
20%
7
35%
Novel personal experiences really
wonderful
4
3
20%
15%
2
5
10%
25%
7
35%
Type of Observation
Peer collegiality, fooling around,
socializing in evening,
helping each other
12
Saturday morning, Ann made pancakes for all of us, and we headed off for a day at the
National Zoo. We saw the pandas, snakes, turtles, fish, elephants, birds, and some
Canadians (no, really. There was a display of Canadian culture, displayed by authentic
Canadians). There was a particular bird that was about the size of a buzzard, but made the
sound of a shrieking child. Although deafening, it was pretty impressive. (Alex Brown,
Research Internship, NIST, 2006)
I have been hearing about the Smithsonian Institute from the time that I was in grade
school.… The first building on my "to see" list was the National Museum of Natural
History. This was the building that housed something that I had longed to see: dinosaurs!
LOOK! There's bunches of them! The fossils of these ancient giants intrigued me. In this
area of the building was also the Ice Age fossils which were, to my surprise, as or more
impressive than the ancient reptiles. The towering giant land sloth looked like something
from a Sci-Fi movie and the American mastodon looked like an ancient tank. It was
amazing to think that these mammals roamed the earth that I now stand on less than
15,000 years ago is just humbling. I saw fossil after fossil of reptiles and mammals that
looked as if they were from another world, yet they were merely from another time. The
past, present and future of creation and evolution makes my simple mind dizzy. …The
Smithsonian Institute definitely has the most impressive collection of rarities of which I
have ever heard and certainly the most impressive that I have ever seen. That's one
museum down, and only 14 more to go! I look forward to each and every one! (Mark
Lentz, Education outreach/policy, 2001)
Nearly one quarter of interns’ comments (24%) referenced time spent with their SPS peers and
SPS directors and were recorded in 65% of interns’ journals (n=13: 7 res., 6 ed. out./pol.; 7 men,
6 women). Descriptions of time spent together outside of their intern work responsibilities
included accounts of going out at night, eating meals together, and relaxing with one another.
This set of observations demonstrates the strong collegiality that developed between interns
during personal time away from their internship:
All of the interns are fun and easy to hang out with. We’ve already had some good times
on the metro carrying our groceries back, and our daily trips to Pentagon City for things
we forgot to pack or simply need are priceless. I think this is going to be a very fun
summer. (Joseph York, Research internship, 2004)
Monday night Andy played his guitar as he often does, but Katherine also sang for us. It
is fun to see them so excited about their music. Also this week, Jackie bought a bag of
toys for us to share. We have been playing with them every night since then, outside and
in the hallway. …After work, Katherine also cut Pat's hair. It is very cute and natural for
her at shoulder length now. …Katherine and her fiancé, Tyler, cooked a Cajun meal that
we all got to try. It was hot but very delicious, and they told us all about crawfish farms
as a result. (Ann Deml, Education outreach/policy internship, 2006)
Brent, Katie, Lauren, and myself got together Monday to watch "Strangers on a Train" by
Alfred Hitchcock on the lawn of the National Mall. This was part of the Screen on the
Green series which shows several movies outdoors during the summer. Of course, let's
13
not leave out the fact that admission is free! Once again, D.C. comes through with
awesome entertainment value! (Jason Tabeling, Education outreach/policy internship,
2003)
With more swing dancing, Sunday night dinner together with all the interns, a little stroll
around DuPont Circle, and the discovery of a real grocery store open 24 hours, I'm
enjoying the city, the culture, and the company =) (Lindsay Windsor, Research
internship, 2005)
Though only a small number of observations (3%), almost half of the interns (45%) (n=13: 6
res., 3 ed. out./pol.; 5 men, 4 women) stated that the SPS Summer Intern Program had been a
tremendous personal growth experience. These comments reflect students’ positive personal
development over the summer: their increased sense of self, confidence, and growing
independence. These comments also demonstrate the cumulative impact of accreted program
gains. Not surprisingly, many of these observations were offered in interns’ final journal entries:
My lessons from this summer are so many and so varied it's hard to break them down….
I realized that my worst fears can sometimes be part of the greatest benefits. My biggest
fear coming here this summer was that I would be given something I had no experience
with and would be expected to be competent in it. I had no experience with organic
chemistry or semiconductor electronics before coming here, but needed to quickly gain a
basic understanding of all the jargon and ideas that form the basis of this work. Though it
was quite challenging, it wasn't too much, and I found I really enjoyed the intense
learning and studying. Wenyong said yesterday that it's when you're stretched the most
that you have the best time because you're learning the most. I agree. It's been a summer
of being stretched, but in a new way, and I'm so glad I came. Many thanks to all of you
who have made this possible!!! (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship, 2005)
My experience this summer truly was different than any of my previous summers away
from home (this was the eighth in a row). This time I was, to a much greater degree than
before, on my own in a completely new place. When people talk about their study abroad
experiences, I think of my time in DC because at first it was about as foreign to me. By
the end I was fairly comfortable and able to take advantage of many opportunities I
would not normally have that are available in this larger city. (Matt Hall, Education
outreach/policy internship, 2005)
It sure does seem weird, even for me now, to think about how I just picked up and left for
2 months, without knowing anyone or ever coming here before. I thought something like
that wasn't in me, but I honestly believe that it was something I needed to do for myself. I
am having a once in a lifetime experience here in DC and I would've been so mad at
myself if I wouldn't have taken this internship. Even though I had to go from my own
apartment to living in a dorm, it really isn't all that bad! I work in a really nice place, and
it is about to get really exciting again. I will be leading a summer camp at the U of MD
and teaching girls physics! I wish I would've had an opportunity like they do of joining
these programs. I am really getting excited and I hope everything goes well. I also
learned a few things about myself, but I am not! sure they are appropriate to talk about
14
here. I now know that I can leave home for two months without my world crashing down,
which is good to know. (Heather Lunn, Education outreach/policy internship, 2004)
In closing, I'd like to sincerely thank Gary White and Liz Caron for their help, advice,
and tireless efforts to keep us all sane throughout the internship process. Special thanks to
Dr. Vogel for always taking the time to help me understand and for being patient even
when I was behind schedule, to Dr. Seiler for making all the NIST interns in Division 812
feel like part of a family, and to Dr. Suehle for always letting me think out loud and for
his helpful advice on several matters of programming style. Thanks to the SPS interns for
proving that no matter how different our backgrounds, the goals and ideals of science can
bring us together as friends. I wish you all continued success. It was a pleasure to get to
know you all. A professional nod to Mr. Klenzing, who provided not only fascinating
conversations on topics ranging from advanced mathematics to Italian opera but was also
a fine colleague who I hope to have the opportunity to work with again some day.
Finally, heartfelt thanks to Erin, Sky, and Stuart for taking me into the fold and
expanding my horizons. This summer was an incredible experience and I sincerely hope
that SPS members reading this will consider this program for their next internship. (Justin
Stimatze, Research internship, 2003)
About one third of interns (n=7; 4 res., 3 ed. out./pol.; 2 men, 5 women) mentioned novel
experiences and learning about new things. Taken together, these were 12% of interns’
comments in this category:
Wednesday night I went to swing dancing lessons with Lindsay. I learned how you are
supposed to take your steps "step, step, rock-step". This much different than how I first
learned to take steps. I will go again with her next week. (Bridger Anderson, Research
internship, 2005)
Anthony knocked on my door and he and Allison invited me to go to the Capital Building
with them to see President Reagan [lying in state]. We stood in line for a solid six hours,
something I NEVER thought I would do, but it was well worth the wait. We were very
fortunate though because when it was our turn it happened to be time for a guard change.
Amazing. Truly amazing. I stood there looking at the coffin, watching the soldiers come
change places and all of a sudden feet no longer hurt, backs no longer ached, knees felt
no weakness. It was just a moment of pure, honest respect and it FILLED the room. You
could nearly reach out and touch it. It is amazing how close you can feel to a room full of
strangers. We went outside and signed the condolence books for Mrs. Reagan and caught
a taxi home. …We made it though and all it cost was some sore feet and six and a half
hours of waiting - not a bad deal for something I'll remember for the rest of my life.
(Christine Zaruba, Research internship, 2004)
I also talked to a lot of people and learned about the development of racial stereotyping in
children, the biochemistry of oil spills, invasive butterfly species, and a million other
things that I can't remember right now. (Kacey Meaker, Research internship, 2006)
Saturday most of us went together to see some sights. First we checked out the botanical
gardens, which were very cool. There are exotic plants from across the globe and some
15
you could find in your backyard. Next, we moved on to the Smithsonian Air and Space
Museum. As a model rocket builder and stargazer I thought it was awesome. I saw
fullscale rockets, a bunch of space suits and a model of the Hubble Space Telescope. I
learned a lot about our space race with Russia. (Matt Hall, Education outreach/policy,
(2005)
In sum, intern observations comprising the category of personal growth emphasize participants’
opportunities to explore Washington, DC and take in the wealth of learning the city has to offer.
Comments in this set of observations also related the strong collegiality that developed between
SPS interns in their time away from work: going places and doing things together, eating
together, relaxing together, and show the sense of community that is engendered by their living
closely together over the summer weeks. Nearly half of interns specifically noted their SPS
summer internship as a wonderful personal experience that helped them as young adults to
discover themselves.

Personal-professional gains. (n=197, 14% res., 15% ed. out./pol.; 15% men, 14% women)
Ranking second in number of intern observations on program outcomes, a somewhat smaller
percentage of all observations (14%, see Tables 1 and 2), described personal-professional
gains—personal gains associated with interns’ professional work experience. Participants’
comments in this category largely emphasized the benefits of professional collegiality built upon
close interaction with other interns at work. Positive interactions with their supervisors also
contributed to participants’ successful internships. Thus, observations of collegiality collected in
this category relate to professional collegiality with interns and supervisors at the internship, as
distinct from observations of personal collegiality that developed among interns outside of work,
as discussed above. Another set of intern comments collected in the personal-professional gains
category mention affective benefits from their professional work experience, such as feeling a
sense of accomplishment or gains in confidence, among others.
Professional collegiality
Over half of intern comments in the personal-professional gains category (54%, see Tables 6 and
7) mentioned participating in group activities organized by SPS, developing collegial work
relations with other interns and a sense of belonging to a community. Professional collegiality
was a benefit recorded by 60% of interns (n=12; 6 res., 6 ed. out./pol.; 5 men, 7 women). These
comments show the positive relationships that developed between interns working together,
helping one another, and learning from one another and the sense of community professional
collaboration engendered:
Erin and I have our desks right next to each other, which has been very nice in getting to
know one another and learning about our available resources. (Ann Deml, Science
education outreach/policy internship, 2006)
Thursday brought more annoyance from the solid angle problem. However I did have
some good correspondence with my roommate Adam about the problem, it felt good to
be discussing a problem and working through it with him. (Matthew Shanks, Science
education outreach/policy internship, 2004)
16
Table 6. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of personal-professional gains by type of internship.
N of Obs. % of Obs.
Type of Observation
N of
% of
Sci. ed.
Sci. ed.
Obs.
Obs.
Out./
Out./
TOTAL
%
Res.
Res.
policy
policy
OBS.
OBS.
Professional collegiality
Belonging to community: group SPS social
activities
Peer collegiality in general
Very strong sense of community/
belonging to a community
Peer collegiality working with other intern
Work peers invite intern to lunch off site
Intern supervises another intern for
program outside SPS
Belonging to community at internship
Subtotal
Supervisor Mentoring
Supervisor collegiality; opportunity for
closer interactions
Supervisor provides meaningful
interaction: shares knowledge,
experience, good guidance
Supervisor provides meaningful good
feedback to intern
Supervisor is patient
Supervisor is cool, laid back
Supervisor is nice, understanding
Subtotal
Personal gains from professional work:
Excited that results are good/will be
publishable; Outreach work has gone
so well; Personal satisfaction with
good results produced
Being taken seriously; Active participation
exciting; Feedback from professionals
encourages bonding to the profession
Gains in confidence: Knowledge of subject
Gains in confidence: Sense of
accomplishment
Making an original contribution is
EXCITING, feels thrill of discovery
Gains in confidence Knows
instrumentation way around lab
Subtotal
TOTALS
21
21%
21
22%
42
21%
12
12
12%
12%
12
7
13%
7%
24
19
12%
10%
1
5
4
1%
5%
4%
6
1
0
6%
1%
0%
7
6
4
4%
3%
2%
4
59
4%
58%
0
47
0%
49%
4
106
2%
54%
9
9%
14
15%
23
12%
9
9%
9
9%
18
9%
2
2%
6
6%
8
4%
0
1
1
22
0%
1%
1%
22%
1
0
0
30
1%
0%
0%
32%
1
1
1
52
1%
1%
1%
26%
11
11%
11
12%
22
11%
0
0%
6
6%
6
3%
3
3
3%
3%
1
0
1%
0%
4
3
2%
2%
3
3%
0
0%
3
2%
1
1%
0
0%
1
1%
21
102
21%
100%
18
95
19%
100%
39
197
20%
100%
17
Table 7. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of personal-professional gains by gender.
Type of Observation
Professional collegiality
Belonging to community: group SPS social
activities
Peer collegiality in general
N of Obs. % of Obs. N of Obs. % of Obs.
Men
Men
Women
Women
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
25
28%
17
16%
42
21%
9
10%
15
14%
24
12%
Very strong sense of community/belonging
to a community
Peer collegiality working with other intern
7
8%
12
11%
19
10%
3
3%
4
4%
7
4%
Work peers invite intern to lunch off site
2
2%
4
4%
6
3%
Intern supervises another intern for program
outside SPS
Belonging to community at internship
3
3%
1
1%
4
2%
3
3%
1
1%
4
2%
52
58%
54
50%
106
54%
Supervisor collegiality; opportunity for
closer interactions
Supervisor provides meaningful interaction:
shares knowledge, experience, good
guidance
Supervisor provides meaningful good
feedback to intern
Supervisor is patient
16
18%
7
7%
23
12%
9
10%
9
8%
18
9%
4
4%
4
4%
8
4%
0
0%
1
1%
1
1%
Supervisor is cool, laid back
1
1%
0
0%
1
1%
Supervisor is nice, understanding
0
0%
1
1%
1
1%
30
33%
22
21%
52
26%
7
8%
15
14%
22
11%
0
0%
6
6%
6
3%
1
1%
3
3%
4
2%
0
0%
3
3%
3
2%
0
0%
3
3%
3
2%
0
0%
1
1%
1
1%
8
90
9%
100%
31
107
29%
100%
39
197
20%
100%
Subtotal
Supervisor Mentoring
Subtotal
Personal gains from professional work:
Excited that results are good/will be
publishable; Outreach work has gone so
well; Personal satisfaction with good
results produced
Being taken seriously; Active participation
exciting; Feedback from professionals
encourages bonding to the profession
Gains in confidence: Knowledge of subject
Gains in confidence: Sense of
accomplishment
Making an original contribution is
EXCITING, feels thrill of discovery
Gains in confidence Knows instrumentation
way around lab
Subtotal
TOTALS
18
Table 8. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing personal-professional gains by type of internship and gender.
Type of Observation
Professional collegiality
Belonging to community: group SPS social activities
Peer collegiality in general
Very strong sense of community/belonging to a community
Peer collegiality working with other intern
Work peers invite intern to lunch off site
Intern supervises another intern for program outside SPS
Belonging to community at internship
Supervisor Mentoring
Supervisor collegiality; opportunity for closer interactions
Supervisor provides meaningful interaction: shares
knowledge, experience, good guidance
Supervisor provides meaningful good feedback to intern
Supervisor is patient
Supervisor is cool, laid back
Supervisor is nice, understanding
Personal gains from professional work:
Excited that results are good/will be publishable; Outreach
work has gone so well; Personal satisfaction with good
results produced
Being taken seriously Active participation exciting Feedback
from professionals encourages bonding to the profession
Gains in confidence Knowledge of subject
Gains in confidence Sense of accomplishment
Making an original contribution is EXCITING, feels thrill of
discovery
Gains in confidence Knows instrumentation way around lab
N of
Research
Interns
N of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
% of
Research
Interns
% of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
% of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
INTERNS
%
INTERNS
7
6
5
1
2
2
4
6
1
4
1
0
35%
30%
25%
5%
10%
10%
20%
30%
5%
20%
5%
0%
6
5
3
1
2
1
5
7
3
4
1
1
30%
25%
15%
5%
10%
5%
25%
35%
15%
20%
5%
5%
11
12
6
5
3
2
55%
60%
30%
25%
15%
10%
3
0
15%
0%
2
1
10%
5%
3
15%
6
5
6
4
30%
25%
30%
20%
7
5
5
4
35%
25%
25%
20%
12
9
60%
45%
2
0
1
1
4
1
0
0
10%
0%
5%
5%
20%
5%
0%
0%
3
0
1
0
3
1
0
1
15%
0%
5%
0%
15%
5%
0%
5%
6
1
1
1
30%
5%
5%
5%
5
6
25%
30%
4
7
20%
35%
11
55%
0
3
0%
15%
0
3
0%
15%
3
15%
3
1
2
1
0
0
15%
5%
10%
5%
0%
0%
1
0
0
3
1
2
5%
0%
0%
15%
5%
10%
4
1
2
20%
5%
10%
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
19
After another week at NIST, I have to admit that I almost feel more at home there than I
do at the GWU dormitory. The working environment exemplifies all the things I love
about my normal schoolwork; the constant learning, encountering interesting new
subjects, and collaboration with motivated colleagues, all combined with the thrill of
doing something with practical applications. I'm really looking forward to introducing the
other SPS interns to this beautiful campus when Jeff and I give the NIST tour in the very
near future. (Justin Stimatze, Research internship, 2003)
Friday was the last day of work…. We made brownies and lemon-lime bars that we
brought to work to thank everyone for being so wonderful all summer. Emily invited a
bunch of people from the hall into Cynthia and Emily's office where we had brownies,
listened to music, and Cynthia asked her typical philosophical questions. I was kind of
sad though, because it was our last day of work and I really didn't want to leave everyone.
(Kacey Meaker, Research internship, 2006)
Participating in and the development of a broader group collegiality were also noted in interns’
journals. Descriptions of engaging in group activities were noted by 55% of interns (n=11; 7 res.,
4 ed. out./pol.; 6 men, 5 women). In these entries, interns related these larger group activities
both as part of their work, i.e., organized tours, science education outreach events or attending
events on Capitol Hill, as well as more relaxed social interactions with SPS program staff, such
as evenings out in DC, get-togethers, and picnics:
After the presentations on Tuesday, we had a tour of AGU (American Geophysical
Union), which was very informative. On Wednesday, Jack took us to a play at the Arena
Stage on Waterfront. Crowns, an excerpt of The African American Praise in Church was
very deep and very profound. It had a great message and I learned the reason behind
wearing Hats on Sunday praise services! After the show, all the interns had dinner at
TGIF. Thanks a lot once again Jack! (Kibrom Tewolde, Science education outreach/
policy internship, 2004)
Tweak; practice; meantime, let's have some more fun
A tour of the Pentagon and wars that we won
And a play called Crowns we went to go see
Thanks, Bridger and John =) …tweedle-ee-dee…
At NIST, we spent time with a Nobel Prize winner
Time, Einstein, and clocks he explained with great flair
Later we met with him as a small group apart
Dr. Phillips was chatty, engaging, so smart!
Friday we went to NIST's nuclear building
Bridger and I joined the SURF kids in touring
I learned about how nuclear waste is produced
About collisions with neutrons, and radiation reduced
(Lindsay Windsor, Research internship, 2005: journal entry in iambic pentameter)
20
The ACP picnic in the afternoon was a lot of fun. There was very good food, and I got to
meet Jeff’s girlfriend, Margie, as well as Andy’s parents who were all very nice. In the
“Physics is Cool” room of demonstrations and activities for the kids, I helped mostly with
a hot and cold water activity. It did not always work right away, but I still enjoyed talking
with the participants. (Ann Deml, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2006)
Friday we had the AIP picnic. It was pretty fun. I let Mika paint my face up. When I went
to the concert I still had red paint on my face that I hadn't been able to wash off yet. I met
Liz's kids. Luke wanted to hold my hand as we stepped past some of the equipment that
was available for the kids to play on. Little Cole was so well behaved. A bunch of people
were holding him and he didn't make very much noise. Poor guy seemed pretty tired
throughout the whole picnic though. (Bridger Anderson, Research internship, 2005)
The week ended with a cookout at Gary White's house. We met his family and also Liz
Dart Caron's family came. There was tasty food, including some great gumbo that Gary
made, and some fun stories. We got to play with some cool magnets and physics-ish toys.
Overall I think it was a very pleasant, relaxing evening. Thanks again, Gary. (Matt Hall,
Science education outreach/policy internship, 2005)
The following quotation is representative of several interns’ accounts concerning finding oneself
as part of a community; it generated strong statements of thanks and friendship:
Last, but by no means least, interacting and collaborating with the other SPS interns has
really been incredible. It's gratifying to know that, despite our varying origins and
sometimes dramatically different backgrounds, we have all been brought together by the
unifying subjects of science and learning. I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these
remarkable people, and I hope that the friendships built here will last a lifetime. (Justin
Stimatze, Research internship, 2003)
This set of comments in the personal-professional gains category demonstrates interns’
engagement with: their work peers, professional and organized SPS activities, and also with each
other as an SPS community.
Supervisor mentoring
In a second subset of observations in the personal-professional gains category, just over a quarter
of interns’ comments (26%) described a collegial relationship with their supervisors, both inside
and outside of the internship. Sixty percent of interns (n=12; 6 res., 6 ed. out./pol.; 7 men, 5
women) mentioned opportunities for closer interactions with their supervisors:
A big part of a research physicist's life appears to be lunch. People gather in the cafeteria
or outside under a big tree to discuss their research, philosophy, religion, politics, or
anything in which a couple of them have interest. I join in on those discussions and
groups when I stay on NIST's campus for lunch, but the best midday meals are when Dr.
Nguyen invites me out to lunch with him. We have gone to a great Chinese restaurant a
few times so far, and yesterday, he took me to a Vietnamese soup place. The food I've
been having is amazing, but rather spicy. I think he likes taking me to these places
21
because while I'm turning red and wiping my forehead, he's pouring more chili sauce on
his soup and smiling with a calm, dry face. It's a great life, being an SPS Intern, and
there's no better lab to be an intern in than at NIST. (Alex Brown, Research internship,
2006)
Yom Revee ee—Presentation day! My first business presentation went quite well…and
the group leader, Eric Vogel, was impressed with the work Bridger and I had done.
Whew! Eric actually ended up joining Bridger and me for lunch a little bit after the
meeting, and it was an awesome opportunity to talk with him. Bridger had to leave
shortly, but I got to hear a lot about his work, his family, and how he got into physics,
and it was fun to share a little bit of my world and my interest in physics too. I was happy
to have a more personal contact with the boss. (Lindsay Windsor, Research intern, 2005)
I went to lunch with Fred and I met his daughters and another scientist, Joe Santos, took
us on a tour of the DDL lab on Friday. (Christine Zaruba, Research internship, 2004)
After this breakfast, we went to the Rayburn building, which is one of the House office
buildings, to observe a hearing before a subcommittee of the science committee. The
hearing was about reprocessing our spent nuclear fuel and whether or not we should
invest in doing so. It was fascinating to watch the hearing process and listen to the
ensuing debate. Even more interesting were the things I learned later on when we met
with Jack Hehn to discuss the hearing. He told us about a lot of the subtle things that
were going on. For instance, the order in which people were allowed to speak and the
order in which things were said and to whom mattered very much. The chairwoman made
a point to talk about bipartisan actions, only to have the ranking minority member say
something contrary early in his opening remarks. We had all missed that, but it was very
important. I think most of us are interested in seeing other hearings if we can. (Matt Hall,
Science education outreach/policy internship, 2005)
Nearly half the interns (45%) (n=9; 5 res., 4 ed. out./pol.; 5 men, 4 women) specifically
mentioned ways in which supervisors supported their learning during their internship.
Meaningful interactions with their supervisor included the sharing of knowledge, experience, the
modeling professional practice, and good guidance. Interns learned from these opportunities:
After completing the reading assignments I had been given the previous week I was
finally in a position to decipher what everyone was talking about. I had a firm grip on the
science behind the instrumentation I would be using. Not all of this came through reading
though. Everyday I spent an hour discussing topics with my lead advisor so that he could
explain or clarify anything I was struggling to understand. This is when he introduced me
to the primary means of data collection and analysis. All of the data NEAR collected
before it went into darkness are stored in a restricted database online. This made retrieval
easy and convenient. I had finally begun my work. (Brent Janus, Research internship,
2002)
On Monday I finally got to sit down and talk to Jayne about my project. I had been
working on the DNA project, but she originally wanted me to work on a new project
22
about cyclodextrins. Cyclodextrins are these really cool little molecules made up of about
6-9 and sometimes more units of glucose formed in a ring. The inside is hydrophobic and
the outside is hydrophilic so they are often used in pharmaceuticals to make normally
insoluble compounds more soluble. We're using them as a kind of model for enzymes,
because proteins are normally far too big to use in this way. After talking about which
project I should work on, I decided to focus primarily on the cyclodextrin project,
because I found out through reading a lot of journal articles that a lot of the DNA stuff
had already been done before. Jayne's really nice, and she's very helpful when I have
problems with my calculations. (Kacey Meaker, Research internship, 2006)
I finally found Dr. Berg and he was kind enough to take me through the demos room and
explain to me the apparati of which I was unfamiliar. As it turns out, many of the setups
that I didn't understand were sort of magic tricks. They were optical illusions, and very
impressive ones at that! While we were touring the demos room, we were also gathering
equipment for a demonstration session on properties of light and sound that he was to be
giving within the next few hours to a group of junior high students. I was very interested
to see "the man" in action…. The very next day I went back to the University of
Maryland and watched Dr. Berg perform his sound and light waves show to a group of at
least 60 junior high students. His excitement and magician style presentation was
impressive. His ability to explain concepts via everyday relation and graphic analysis of
his demos in a diverse and amusing way was something that the students seemed to enjoy
and no doubtedly learned from. He was very engaging. He would generally start off a
demonstration by asking the students what they think would or should happen. Then after
having explained and demonstrated a concept he would ask the students another question
that was related to the concept and the correctness of the students’ answers would
improve greatly. The entire program made me think back to one of my favorite daytime
shows as a younger student, "Mr. Wizard's World". It was a learning program that was
extremely interesting and engaging. It was very exciting and most of all, I learned from it.
(Mark Lentz, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2001)
There are several viable ideas for the light portion of the SOCK, many of which have
been explored in previous year's SOCKs. The lessons could focus on the properties of
light as waves and particles or the observation of various materials' spectra. Gary and I
spent quite a while trying to reach a purely qualitative understanding of some light
phenomena, in order to devise a means to convey new concepts to children. We played
with a tray of water to try to visualize the change in a wave's propagation through various
slit sizes, forming passages between 2 sponges. We tried using spandex in the same
respect. We also toyed with the idea of illustrating constructive and destructive
interference at a level eighth graders could understand. Gary tirelessly indulged my
qualitative questions with tedious sketches of light geometry. What an amazing teacher!
(Stacey Elizabeth Sude, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
Personal gains from professional work
In the last set of observations in the personal-professional gains categories, one-fifth of intern
comments described personal, affective gains as an outcome of participation. Interns said that
they gained confidence due to their learning and also from a sense of accomplishment. A small
23
majority of interns (n=11; 5 res., 6 ed. out./pol.; 4 men, 7 women) noted how happy and excited
they were to get good results and were relieved and satisfied to find their work activities
successful:
On Wednesday, Gary White visited NIST and spent some time talking with Dr. Vogel
and I. It was satisfying to be able to discuss my project with more technical confidence, a
benefit of the steep learning curve I encountered during my first week. (Justin Stimatze,
Research internship, 2003)
The internship is coming to a close. One week remaining, much work to be done. I think
all the interns are feeling the push to the end now. I realized with some pleasure that I
reached, this week, the threshold of an actual working knowledge of my project. I have
read enough papers on dust in the solar corona to be able to pick one up and understand
its contribution to the debate without having to look up every third term. It's a fun place
to be with a topic. (Kathryn Peak, Research internship, 2002)
The tour of NASA-Goddard on Monday was unbelievable, given that I've wanted such a
thing since about the age of 11. Several clean rooms and filter walls, and much to my
shock I was actually able to use some of what I knew from my engineering endeavors to
answer questions about AC and air pressure in said rooms. Total dork stuff, but it made
me feel good. (Melissa Hanafee, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
Both last Friday and today I've been running the temperature-dependent measurements
for my device. We're getting tons and tons of data, and then the next few weeks will be
spent "creating a story" to make sense of it all. Wednesday I gave my second presentation
of the summer. I spent Tuesday drawing up data tables, making pretty graphs, analyzing
data, and sticking the analysis into a Powerpoint presentation; then all evening Tuesday I
spent making it look cohesive, professional, and color-coordinated. So much work, but
really rewarding to have a finished, quality presentation that I can be proud of. (Lindsay
Windsor, Research internship, 2005)
Observations captured in the personal-professional gains category detailed interns’ highly
positive interactions with peers and supervisors at their internship and highlighted their
opportunities for professional interactions. The development of a broader, group collegiality was
also noted in interns’ descriptions of participating in larger group activities, both as part of their
work, as well as more relaxed social interactions with SPS program staff. A last set of comments
in this category described personal gains associated with their professional work experience,
such as satisfaction in the project’s success, the thrill of getting “good” results, and gains in
confidence as a result of their SPS internship experience.
24

Thinking and working like a professional. (n=171, 14% res., 10% ed. out./pol.; 10% men,
14% women)
Close in number of observations to the personal-professional gains category, 13% interns’
comments described intellectual benefits derived from the SPS Summer Intern Program (see
Tables 1 and 2). A majority of comments in this category described participants’ applied
learning gains—gains associated with understanding how science and education outreach/policy
work is applied in professional, hands-on practice—gains that interns directly related to
engagement in authentic, professional work (67%). Another 33% of intern observations
described increases in knowledge per se. (See Tables 9 and 10.)
Applied learning gains
In the “thinking and working like a professional” gains category, 56% of interns’ comments
discussed applied learning gains—gains from doing hands-on work—and 80% of interns (n=16:
8 res., 8 ed. out./pol.; 8 men, 8 women, see Table 11) mentioned “learning by doing” in writing
about their internship activities. These comments largely described students’ daily work. These
accounts show how actively involved interns were with their projects and the opportunity for
interns to integrate academic knowledge with field applications:
I had the task of going through the orbital data very carefully. It was important to weed
out data that had been corrupted but at the same time preserve as much as possible to
limit the uncertainty of our conclusions. Also, for the purposes of analysis I had to divide
the data into two categories-high (~200 km) and low (~35 km) orbit. Having uncorrupted
data for the Gamma Ray Spectrometer from these two points will help in determining
overall composition. Around Friday I had finished and had finally produced my first
spectrum. The rest of the spectra will probably be finished early next week. The programs
that will be used to analyze them for elemental composition are being constructed here at
NASA. Interactive Data Language (IDL) is the platform being used to construct the
programs. As they are not finished quite yet I will probably take a few days to work with
IDL and the main programmer and then start my analysis late next week. I'll let you
know. (Brent Janus, Research internship, 2002)
Work is going pretty well. I started writing a basic introduction of my project and all the
different aspects of it, and I'm actually really starting to understand how cool it really is. I
finished all of the minimized structures in Maestro and then used this other fun program
called Moe to do docking and scoring. I've also been reading a lot of book chapters about
how all the programs work so I know the physics behind it as well. I found two new
proteins called zonulin and zot that I will start looking at as well in Maestro and Moe.
This has been a very productive week until Friday when my x-terminal broke again.
(Kacey Meaker, Research internship, 2006)
25
Table 9. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of "thinking and working like a professional" by type of
internship.
Type of Observation
Gains in the application of knowledge and skills:
Expresses learning by doing; Hands-on
experience; Applied learning
Increased understanding of how science
research/science education outreach/policy
works in applied practice
Understanding results produced fit theoretical
models
Learned research design/Developed, planned
science education outreach activities
Subtotal: Applied learning gains
Increased knowledge:
New knowledge gains
Opportunity to integrate coursework with handson work; understanding connections/transfer
between/within sciences
Subtotal: Knowledge gains
TOTALS
N of
Obs.
Res.
% of
Obs.
Res.
N of
Obs. Sci.
ed. Out./
policy
% of Obs.
Sci. ed.
Out./
policy
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
26
25%
25
38%
51
30%
11
10%
12
18%
23
13%
13
12%
1
2%
14
8%
1
1%
6
9%
7
4%
51
44
56%
12
9
68%
0%
18%
14%
95
27
28
48%
0%
25%
26%
39
37
23%
22%
55
106
52%
100%
21
65
32%
100%
76
171
44%
100%
Table 10. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on "thinking and working like a professional" by gender.
N of
% of
N of
Type of Observation
Obs.
Obs.
Obs.
% of Obs. TOTAL
%
Men
Men
Women
Women
OBS.
OBS.
Gains in the application of knowledge and skills:
Expresses learning by doing; Hands-on
21
34%
30
28%
51
30%
experience; Applied learning
Increased understanding of how science
9
15%
14
13%
23
13%
research/science education outreach/policy
works in applied practice
Understanding results produced fit theoretical
models
Learned research design/Developed, planned
science education outreach activities
4
6%
10
9%
14
8%
2
3%
5
5%
7
4%
Subtotal: Applied learning gains
Increased knowledge:
New knowledge gains
Opportunity to integrate coursework with handson work; understanding connections/transfer
between/within sciences
36
59
28
22
54%
0%
26%
20%
95
11
15
58%
0%
18%
24%
39
37
56%
0%
23%
22%
Subtotal: Knowledge gains
TOTALS
26
62
42%
100%
50
109
46%
100%
76
171
44%
100%
26
Table 11. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing gains in “thinking and working like a professional” by type of internship and gender.
Type of Observation
Gains in the application of knowledge and
skills:
Expresses learning by doing; Hands-on
experience; Applied learning
Increased understanding of how science
research/science education
outreach/policy works in applied
practice
Understanding results produced fit
theoretical models
Learned research design/Developed,
planned science education outreach
activities
Increased knowledge:
New knowledge gains
Opportunity to integrate coursework with
hands-on work; understanding
connections/transfer between/within
sciences
N of
Research
Interns
N of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
% of
Research
Interns
% of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
% of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
INTERNS
%
INTERNS
8
8
40%
40%
8
8
40%
40%
16
80%
6
5
30%
25%
5
6
25%
30%
11
55%
7
1
35%
5%
3
5
15%
25%
8
40%
1
3
5%
15%
1
3
5%
15%
4
20%
7
8
6
5
35%
40%
30%
25%
5
6
8
7
25%
30%
40%
35%
13
13
65%
65%
27
Wednesday brought a fun opportunity. A few of us got to go to a third grade class to
teach a lesson/do an experiment. Basically we got to play with some kids while having
them learn, which they may not have realized. It was great. It reminded me of my Cub
Scout camp counselor days, which I loved (I did that for the 5 summers before coming to
college). This was also a chance to get kids excited about science, and I think that is
certainly a good thing. I spent most of the week at work creating physics trivia questions
and finding more information about where to buy time capsules. It's tough to think of
good questions. I'm thinking about going to museums to wander around looking for
inspiration. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. On Wednesday Mika, Morgan
and I got to go to the third grade class again. This time we helped the kids analyze the
data they collected last week. They made predictions and graphs. I'm really surprised to
see how far along they are on their math skills. I don't know if I'm misremembering my
education or if schools are moving faster now. The kids all had a great time, and I think
all of us did too. (Matt Hall, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2005)
I survived my first conference call on Thursday about the scholarship clearinghouse. We
were able to lay out some guidelines in terms of criteria and format for the website. I am
now working on a letter to send out to scholarship providers asking them to post their
info on our website as well as obtaining a more concise list of sources I need to contact.
So if you're reading this and you know of any good science scholarships... I also made
some headway on the SOCKs project. I sent in a request to purchase the materials for the
SOCKs we are making, hopefully the shipment arrives soon. I'm also working on a letter
to send out to introduce the new SOCK for 2005. We want to make this one special since
it is the World Year of Physics and we've been throwing around some ideas to include in
the SOCKs. The cool thing is one of these ideas involved marshmallows! so I got to eat
plenty of those. Unfortunately some pictures taken, I have to try to confiscate them.
(Melissa Hanafee, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
What I've learned this week is that I like little kids better than middle schoolers.
Elementary aged children tend to be a bit more disorganized but generally follow
directions when they are given. (Matthew Shanks, Science education outreach/policy
internship, 2004)
Understanding that research results produced fit theoretical models was noted by 40% of interns
(n=8; 7 res., 1 ed. out./pol.; 3 men, 5 women). Most citing this gain were engaged in a science
research internship:
At work, I've been analyzing my SE data and preparing my end-of-summer presentations
for the group and for ACP. My data is fitting the models, and the numbers are reasonable!
(Alex Brown, Research internship, 2006)
The other project of the week has been to do some modeling of the hafnium films, for
which we had to fabricate a dielectric function because hafnium dioxide has no published
dielectric function. Part of that is because the function changes depending on how the
film is grown, and even how thick it is made. We have made a lot of progress in fitting a
28
function to our experimental data, so there is hope that in studying these functions we
will find publishable data. (Eva Wilcox, Research internship, 2002)
Data analysis—We have so much data that analyzing it all is a lot of work, but also
rewarding to discover trends that fit with theoretical models. We've found some patterns
and repeatable behavior, and I've organized the information on one looooong 26-slide
powerpoint presentation. (I will have much editing to do for the presentation at the end of
the summer nobody wants to hear me talk that long!) =) We're still working on the story
to make sense of the data. (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship, 2005)
The one observation of this type offered by a science education outreach intern demonstrates
understanding teaching in practice, the need to think about learning from different points of
view, and seeing how an inquiry-based teaching practice helped students to learn:
Camp started this week. I've got twenty-five or so eighth grade girls in an afternoon roller
coaster workshop, which is part of the Summer Girls science day camp at the University
of Maryland. …Bridget and I have given lessons and demonstrations on kinetic and
potential energy, centripetal force, gravity, and friction. To illustrate aspects of energy
and centripetal force, we rolled a ball along a roller-coaster-shaped track and reminded
the girls that they would have to keep these concepts in mind when constructing their
own roller coasters out of K-nex. To indicate the universality of the force of gravity, we
used free-falling objects. Each student dropped two objects of varying sizes and shapes
and recorded their observations about the objects landing. Their hypotheses about the
results; ranging from the effect of the height from which the objects were dropped, the
respective weights of the objects, and the objects reactions to air; were shared with the
class and then subjected to further testing. The girls all participated and seemed very
engaged. For friction, we employed a fun, hands-on demo; the students compared the
difficulty of pulling a classmate seated on a rubber surface with that of pulling her on a
smooth spandex surface. The girls immediately acknowledged the role of friction in the
phenomena they witnessed, without coaxing. It was rewarding to see them spontaneously
thinking in scientific terms about their observations…. Outreach work is great. I like to
think it's serious; an adult must think like a kid in order to understand how kids learn and
what they are capable of learning at a particular stage. (Stacey Elizabeth Sude, Science
education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
Just 20% of interns discussed learning how to design research or active involvement in
developing science education outreach activities. Of the four, three of these interns were engaged
in science education outreach/policy work (n=4; 1 res., 3 ed. out./pol.; 1 men, 3 women):
In terms of research and research process, I learned about clean rooms, about the steps in
the process of designing and conducting an experiment, and about how to write a
scientific paper (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship, 2005)
This week has been interesting at times and mind numbing at others. Let's begin with
Monday. On Monday Heather and I did some last minute preparations for the CNSF
event and worked out how we were going to get to the event. Other than that I also
received an email from Jeff, one of the guys who I am helping with the summer camp. I
29
also worked on sketching out some sort of lesson plan type thing for coefficient of
restitution and friction. (Matthew Shanks, Science education outreach/policy internship,
2004)
I also had a chance this week to try out ideas for the SOCK. During the GK-12 seminar
on Wednesday, Ashley presented the cylinder-dropping experiment to the other fellows
and I presented a light lesson. The focus of my lesson was a spectral scavenger hunt. I
collected various spectral sources from UM s immense physics demo stock, from
mercury vapor tubes to variable intensity filaments, threw in some glow sticks and lasers,
and let the fellows loose with diffraction grating glasses to search for substances based on
continuous and discrete spectra. (Stacey Elizabeth Sude, Science education
outreach/policy internship, 2003)
The above sets of observations encompass interns’ applied learning gains: gains in applying their
learning in the context of authentic, professional practice.
Increased knowledge
The remaining observations in this category are comprised of interns’ comments stating
knowledge gains. Observations on knowledge gains per se were of two kinds: new knowledge
(17%) and transfer of knowledge between coursework and hands-on work in the field (16%).
Gaining new knowledge was a benefit recorded in 65% of all intern journals (n=13: 7 res., 6 ed.
out./pol.; 4 men, 8 women):
This week I began to learn how the spectra data is analyzed to both identify particular
elements within the asteroid and determine how much of those elements are present. The
first is standard spectroscopy stuff. Using a program that plots the data and fits a line
peaks occur at different energy levels. Since different elements emit gamma rays at
different energies then a peak at a certain energy indicates a particular element. For
example, a peak at 320 keV indicates 51Cr, which is an isotope generally used to
calibrate the instrument. Elemental abundance is determined through a calculation
relating the number of times the detector was set off to the number of photons (in this
case, gamma rays) required to do so. That's all very scientific to the average person. I
apologize. Needless to say, I am learning a lot. Very shortly we will all be attending a
tour at Eva's workplace, NIST. Hopefully, we will get to see some of their physics labs
and stuff. It should be interesting. (Brent Janus, Research internship, 2002)
Well, this is the second week of my internship, and I am enjoying myself! There are
times when things seem a bit hectic, but I just take one thing at a time and seem to do
okay! I have learned so much about some of the programs that Matt and I are going to be
representing at the CNSF event next week. I didn't even know that these programs
existed, but now I am trying to be the expert on them, I am excited about the event!
(Heather Lunn, Science education outreach/policy, 2004)
I suppose I should reflect on my summer a little bit as this is my last journal entry. I
learned so much this summer I don't even know where to start. I learned some Unix and a
lot of computer programs, and I also learned a lot of biology and chemistry and even
30
some physics. But I also learned a lot more important stuff. (Kacey Meaker, Research
internship, 2006)
Thursday brought more annoyance from the solid angle problem. However I did have
some good correspondence with my roommate Adam about the problem, it felt good to
be discussing a problem and working through it with him. So I worked on that some and
also on creating a more fleshed out lesson plan on bounciness. That brings us to today,
Friday. Today has been alright, I finally figured out why my answer to the solid angle
problem was not giving me the correct answer in the limit of a whole sphere. The
problem lay in my assumption that I needed to think of the area of a dome as a sort of
shrinking cylinder and thus take into account height of said cylinder. This, while
seemingly a decent assumption was completely wrong, the height factor in fact does not
matter in my treatment because all I am doing is summing circumferences and that
depends on the angle existing from the vertical to the edge of the triangle created by
tacking a 2D slice of the cone. Anyway, besides that I went to the lecture on chaos during
lunch today that was given by Phil Schewe (Matthew Shanks, Science education
outreach/policy internship, 2004)
Sixty-five percent of interns also mentioned increased conceptual understanding of the
connections between and within the sciences (n=13: 8 res., 5 ed. out./pol.; 6 men, 7 women):
One of the obstacles that I had earlier in the week was getting used to the different
terminology between Chemists and Physicists. I am pretty familiar with all the concepts,
but the Chemists decided to give their own names to everything. It must be fun for them.
(Bridger Anderson, Research internship, 2005)
This week the research got fun and interesting! In fact, the hafnium data that I have been
analyzing turned out to have some interesting features in the dielectric functions for the
samples. These features, or the lack thereof, describe whether the material is amorphous
or crystallized. So, now my job is to make connections between what types of samples
(how they are grown, annealed, etc.) have these features and develop a working theory as
to why or when the hafnium becomes crystallized. I don't know how much more I can say
as my advisor plans to write a paper on this very soon. (Eva Wilcox, Research internship,
2002)
My group's project is so, so fun. I'm researching the conductivity of organic polymers on
the nanoscale. I didn't realize I would enjoy the research this much. I spent a lot of time
researching the materials I would need for the actual project, and in the process learned a
ton about organic materials. (Who knew I would need orgo?) (Lindsay Windsor,
Research internship, 2005)
I was especially surprised by finding that there were 2 VERY opposite camps on the
goals of what our jobs as physics teachers are. The main part that sticks in my mind was
hearing Commander Lawrence Norris (Naval Academy, NSBP) say that, "My job is to
produce physics Ph.D.'s" and to have Bernie Khoury (Executive Officer of AAPT)
violently disagree in favor of educating everyone through HS, then letting people choose
31
if they want to continue a science education. I guess I was surprised because I thought the
one was symptomatic of the other, that they weren't so separate that separate programs
would have to be considered for each. I really got an education on how much effort goes
into effective teaching! (It makes me doubly impressed by those who do this work.)
(Melissa Hanafee, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
Overall, interns noted several types of intellectual gains. A majority described applied learning
gains in terms of their active engagement in authentic work and the opportunity to integrate
academic knowledge with field applications. Some interns (less than half) went further and
mentioned their results fitting theoretical models, demonstrating a high-level intellectual gain.
Four interns discussed another high-level intellectual gain: participating in the design of their
research or participating in lesson planning and development for science education outreach
activities. Interns also described gains in new knowledge, as well as increased understanding of
connections within and between the sciences.

Enhanced understanding of professional work contexts and preparation for advance
study and entry to the workforce. (n=122, 7% res., 12% ed. out./pol.; 9% men, 9% women)
To meet the objective of developing collegiality among physics students and professionals in
physics and allied sciences, the SPS Summer Intern Program has specifically structured the
program to provide opportunities for interns to interact with professionals in varied fields and
work contexts. Attending congressional hearings and sessions with law- and policy makers as
well as intern-organized tours of their work sites enhanced understanding of professional life and
practice. As part of relating the activities of their internship, participants discussed the
experience of these opportunities to meet with, talk with, and learn from politicians, science
researchers, and science education outreach and policy practitioners in authentic professional
contexts. Observations collected in this category demonstrates the ways in which the half-day
field trips to attend various congressional hearings and tours of government research labs
broadened interns’ exposure to physics and allied science environments.
Responses in this category (9% of all observations, see Tables 1 and 2) emphasized the ways in
which program participation enhanced interns’ preparation for professional work and graduate
study by providing an up-close view of professionals and their work contexts. Fewer in number,
other intern comments comprising this category mentioned gains in knowledge and skills that
enhanced their preparation for advance study and entry to the workforce, networking
opportunities, and glimpsing a more personal view of professionals’ lives.
Descriptions of meeting and talking with well-known, important people were nearly one quarter
of interns’ observations in this category (24%, see Tables 12 and 13) and were recorded by 65%
of interns (n=13: 5 res., 8 ed. out./pol.; 7 men, 6 women; see Table 14). Conversing with
respected scientists and politicians, among others, provided a larger view of the professional
working world:
32
Table 12. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of enhanced understanding of professional
work contexts and preparation for advance study and entry to the workforce by type of
internship.
Type of Observation
Opportunities to meet and talk with important
people discussing science
N of
Obs.
Res.
11
% of
Obs.
Res.
N of
Obs.
Sci. ed.
Out./
policy
% of
Obs.
Sci. ed.
Out./
policy
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
22%
18
25%
29
24%
More realistic understanding how
professionals work in practice
Opportunity to see professional working
context; Increased knowledge of physics
and allied science community
7
14%
13
18%
20
16%
4
8%
15
21%
19
16%
Opportunity to find out what hands-on work
in this field is like
5
10%
7
10%
12
10%
Knowledge gains that enhance preparation
for/transfer to advance study or
workforce entry
5
10%
6
8%
11
9%
Enhanced skills for advance study or entry to
workforce
Opportunities for professional networking and
career development
5
10%
4
5%
9
7%
3
6%
4
5%
7
6%
Opportunities to see who, what personal life
of a scientist is like
4
8%
3
4%
7
6%
Career networking advice/help provided by
professional
3
6%
3
4%
6
5%
Learning "real life stuff," work world in
practice
TOTALS
2
4%
0
0%
2
2%
49
100%
73
100%
122
100%
33
Table 13. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of enhanced understanding of professional
work contexts and preparation for advance study and entry to the workforce by gender.
N of
Obs.
Men
% of
Obs.
Men
N of
Obs.
Women
% of
Obs.
Women
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
Opportunities to meet and talk with
important people discussing science
14
26%
15
22%
29
24%
More realistic understanding how
professionals work in practice
10
19%
10
14%
20
16%
Opportunity to see professional working
context; Increased knowledge of
physics and allied science community
10
19%
9
13%
19
16%
Opportunity to find out what hands-on work
in this field is like
4
8%
8
12%
12
10%
Knowledge gains that enhance preparation
for/transfer to advance study or
workforce entry
5
9%
6
9%
11
9%
Enhanced skills for advance study or entry
to workforce
3
6%
6
9%
9
7%
Opportunities for professional networking
and career development
2
4%
5
7%
7
6%
Opportunities to see who, what personal life
of a scientist is like
2
4%
5
7%
7
6%
Career networking advice/help provided by
professional
3
6%
3
4%
6
5%
Learning "real life stuff," work in practice
0
0%
2
3%
2
2%
TOTALS
53
100%
69
100%
122
100%
Type of Observation
34
Table 14. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing enhanced understanding of professional work contexts and preparation
for advance study and entry to the workforce by type of internship and gender.
N of
Research
Interns
N of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
% of
Research
Interns
% of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
% of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
INTERNS
%
INTERNS
Opportunities to meet and talk with
important people discussing
science
Opportunity to see professional
working context; Increased
knowledge of physics and allied
science community
5
8
25%
40%
7
6
35%
30%
13
65%
2
9
10%
45%
5
6
25%
30%
11
55%
More realistic understanding of how
professionals work in practice
3
6
15%
30%
5
4
25%
20%
9
45%
Opportunity to find out what hands-on
work in this field is like
Knowledge gains that enhance
preparation for/transfer to
advanced study or workforce
entry
Enhanced skills for advanced study or
entry to workforce
Opportunities for professional
networking and career
development
Opportunities to see who, what
personal life of a scientist is like
Career networking advice/help
provided by professional
Learning "real life stuff," work world
in practice
5
3
25%
15%
3
5
15%
25%
8
40%
2
5
10%
25%
4
3
20%
15%
7
35%
1
3
5%
15%
2
2
10%
10%
4
20%
2
1
10%
5%
1
2
5%
10%
3
15%
4
3
20%
15%
2
5
10%
25%
7
35%
2
3
10%
15%
2
3
10%
15%
5
25%
2
0
10%
0%
0
2
0%
10%
2
10%
Type of Observation
35
What's up? My name is Heather Lunn and it is my first week at AIP. I have learned so
much this week it is unreal. The first day I met so many people (many of who are
extremely important) and I still don't remember all of their names! ...I will be
representing AIP at the CNSF event on June 22 along with another intern and I have
learned volumes about the programs already. Beware world: AIP is out to change
everyone's view (children's too) about how and what science really is. They are also
working their butts off to improve our science and math teachers across the nation. This
is very important to me because I know what it is like to have a horrible teacher for a
subject that is very important to me. In other words, I am very excited to go to the CNSF
event at Capitol Hill in DC. (Heather Lunn, Science education outreach/policy internship,
2004)
The Coalition for National Science Funding CNSF was on Tuesday evening at the
Rayburn Bldg at Capitol Hill. Matt and Heather, the interns at MRSEC were presenting
so Allison and me went to support them. There was a very exquisite reception together
with a plethora of famous faces. We met a lot of VIPs so to speak; from school presidents
to NSF chair people to organization CEOs to Congressmen. That was a very encouraging
and eye-opening event. We had a good time. (Kibrom Tewolde, Science education
outreach/policy internship, 2004)
From there, we waltzed off to meet with Gail Porter, who directs the Public and Business
Affairs Office for NIST. (The process of arranging this meeting was a little complicated
but quite fun - I got to meet NIST's Chief of Staff and some of the other head officers
along the way =) ). She gave an informative tour on the main exhibits in the Admin.
building, focusing mostly on how NIST is involved in the real world and how their
standards, processes, and technology are really fundamental for so much of modern
industry and commerce. (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship, 2005)
Fifty-five percent of interns, (n=11: 2 res., 9 ed. out./pol.; 5 men, 6 women) mentioned learning
about a broad variety of work activities within physics and allied sciences in their accounts of
visiting government research labs and other SPS field trips. These professional development
opportunities informed interns’ knowledge of future work possibilities. These were 16% of
observations collected in the category:
After our talks on Thursday we went to NASA to see what Christine has been up to this
summer and to see what NASA is up to in general. It was really cool there. We got to go
in their clean room and see what some of their engineers were working on in there. We
also got to see a new satellite that will be launching this fall. NASA is a place I would not
mind receiving a paycheck from later in life. They get to play with some fun stuff over
there, and I'm jealous. That sums up this week. Stay tuned next week for my last full
week entry (single tear to the left eye)! (Joseph York, Research internship, 2004)
The rest of the week involved relatively little time at work as we started with a NIST tour
Monday afternoon. I went to work with Kristen for the morning at the American
Astronomical Society (AAS) which I had never been to before. The tour was interesting,
and I liked seeing the labs that Alex and Andy work in, the molecules that Kacey has
36
been working with, and other things that I have heard them and Pat talking about all
summer. (Ann Deml, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2006)
Jeff and I have also been busy planning a tour of our workplace [at NIST] for the other
interns. …We're both really looking forward to introducing the other interns to our
supervising scientists and giving them a close-up view of our work. Although, in my
case, that work consists mainly of typing long cryptic strings of text on a keyboard and
staring intently at print outs of code covered in hand-written notes of various colors.
However, the theoretical model behind the simulation is fascinating and I hope I can
properly convey my excitement for the project to the other interns. (Justin Stimatze,
Research intern, 2003)
On Friday, our division chief gave a presentation for all the summer students during
which he gave an introduction to all the types of work people in the division are doing,
and as an added incentive, he brought pastries, popcorn, Oreos, Cheetos, and candybars.
(Alex Brown, Research internship, 2006)
Forty-five percent of interns discussed greater understanding of how professionals operate in the
“real, working world” and enhanced knowledge of how national science policy is formed
(n=9: 3 res., 6 ed. out./pol.; 5 men, 4 women):
I was invited to attend the entire editors meeting and really enjoyed it. The editors
themselves along with Bruce, the director of ComPADRE, were interesting to meet. It
was a nice change from working at my computer all day, and I learned a lot about the
ComPADRE project overall. I now know about many of the tools used for the other
ComPADRE collections and was very interested in speaking with the web technicians
about the special features available. The meeting also allowed for me to learn more about
my role in the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PTEC) collection that is being
developed. Afterwards, I drafted a letter to send to all of the PTEC member institutions to
get more information about their physics teacher education programs. With my title as
editor, I will play a part in posting that information when it is returned. (Ann Deml,
Science education outreach/policy internship, 2006)
I attended a hearing in Congress on Wednesday about NSF funding. It was very
interesting, mostly because the representatives are really trying to find a way to pass a
new budget for NSF, doubling its funding to match the doubling of NIH funding. This is
because the technology supporting NIH comes from research supported by NSF. In
addition, NSF supports educators with grants, there is a large concern because the 50% of
the science and math teachers leave after five years to work in industry or research for
double the money. It is hoped that we can remedy this problem by paying teachers more.
The next stage after this hearing is for appropriation of funds, this one merely was
collecting information as to why NSF should receive additional funding. (Eva Wilcox,
Research internship, 2002)
As far as work goes, I've been staying busy on the computer still and we are ever so close
to finishing the paper. The hearing on Capital Hill was interesting too—and boo Mr.
Wyden (D) from Oregon, boo! We don't believe a word you said! As far as the NIST tour
37
went, I was pretty surprised to see so many similarities to NASA (NASA is still better
though, tee hee hee...) Well, it's been a great week, and thanks to everyone for making it
so. (Christine Zaruba, Research intern, 2004)
Ashley and I also talked with Alicia Torres, Director of Media and Government Relations
for AIP. She gave us insight into the interactions between AIP and major media
networks, as well as government. One of AIP's primary media projects at this time are the
Discoveries and Breakthroughs in Science (DBIS) reports; short, broadcast-ready science
news reports that are aired by local news programs and are aimed at increasing the
public's appreciation and awareness of current science. Alicia also showed us some of the
methods used by AIP to get the attention of government. AIP periodically sends
congressmen and senators informational packets about the importance of science and
science education accompanied by conceptually intriguing physics toys. (Stacey
Elizabeth Sude, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
My roommate in college always used to tell me that 80% of learning was done outside
the classroom and I finally know what she meant by it. I'm learning a lot not just about
my project but also about being a scientist and how to find a job and how to be a
professional from the people in my group. I've been learning a lot about real life stuff that
I've never really thought about before. (Kacey Meaker, Research internship, 2006)
Forty percent of interns also described how knowledge and skill gains from their internship
experience transferred to and enhanced their preparation for advance study and workforce entry
(n=8: 5 res., 3 ed. out./pol.; 3 men, 5 women). This set of observations was also 16% of
comments in the “enhanced preparation” category:
Wenyong taught me a lot about what it means to do research in graduate school, and I
learned the crucial importance of finding a good advisor. Wenyong also taught me about
the practical lifestyle difference between theorists and applied physicists, and I studied
the options for my future both in science and in science policy…. This summer I'm
working at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on the Radiation Portal Monitoring
Project. We develop technical solutions for homeland defense against nuclear weaponry.
It is fascinating work, and I'm enjoying learning about nuclear physics and radiation
detection. The SPS internship was definitely excellent experience that helped prepare me
for this summer's work as well through exposure to real lab experience, helpful advisors,
and glimpses into the world of science policy. As I begin my final year of college, I'm
looking towards taking a little bit of time to travel after graduation before starting
graduate school in security studies or nuclear engineering. (Lindsay Windsor, Research
internship, 2005)
Well, I've made it through the 3rd week and I am still alive!! Matt Shanks and I had our
big CNSF event this past Tuesday June 22, 2004, and it was really exciting and nervewrecking at the same time. I learned that if you don't force yourself to go talk to all of the
important people, they won't come talk to you. That is how it is in many jobs and other
situations. So that is something that I will try to get used to as life goes on for me and I
have to talk to more important people at school, work, and meetings. I talked to the
38
Science Adviser to the President of the US, without knowing it, and it was easier that
way. Although, I wish I would've known before hand so I could have been even more
careful in how I worded things--you know first impressions are everything!! (Heather
Lunn, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2004)
Looking back on my internship experience now that I am back in the crazy flow that is
life at school, it seems that its effects have been even greater than I thought they were
several months ago as the internship ended. I have begun to see the value to AAPT of the
work that I was doing for them…. I learned some valuable skills during my internship-the
most important of which deal with working with other people. I have talked before about
my dislike for working in an office, but honestly I do miss the people and the
environment sometimes.… I will need to learn to adapt better to the politics of the office
environment and culture, but my experience this summer will help to make that transition
easier. The connections that I have made with the people I met and worked with this
summer will continue to be valuable as I finish school and move on to new adventures.
(Matt Hall, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2005)
I applied for several high school teaching positions and was offered all of them, despite
my lack of student teaching experience. I believe my lack of formal experience was offset
by the SOCK curriculum development portion of my internship. (Jason Tabeling, Science
education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
Thirty-five percent of interns (n=7: 4 res., 3 ed. out./pol.; 2 men, 5 women) described
opportunities to see their supervisors as real people with personal lives (these observations were
only 6% of all comments in this category). From these entries, we see that interns were aware of
the ways in which their supervisors juggled family responsibilities and the realities of personal
life:
As far as work went, I started a day late because my scientist, Dr. Fred Herrero, had to
pick his daughter up at the airport on Monday - she had been in Italy for two weeks. But
on Tuesday we hit the ground running!!! (Christine Zaruba, Research internship, 2004)
Sunday was given over to reading a new book and finishing Stephen Hawking's The
Theory of Everything. (Thank you Daddoo!) Tomorrow Justin and Jeff are going to give
the rest of us an afternoon tour of NIST (the National Institute of Standards and
Technology), and my boss will be back in town after spending the weekend both moving
into a new apartment and traveling out of state to see family. (Melissa Hanafee, Science
education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
One of the best things about this summer was the really great role models that I had the
privilege of working with and learning from. They were all such wonderful people who
are really smart and determined, and I learned a lot about how to balance career and
personal life, how to deal with unhelpful people at work, and lots of other practical things
that you don't actually learn in a classroom. (Kacey Meaker, Research internship, 2006)
A smaller number of interns, five, noted opportunities for professional networking and career
development (n=5: 2 res., 3 ed. out./pol.; 2 men, 3 women). These comments were 20% of
39
category observations. Though few in number, these interns clearly appreciated the chance to
connect with and receive help from professionals in the field:
At the NIST picnic this week I met the head of the microelectronics division. He
suggested a bunch of places that I should apply to if I wanted a job in semiconductor
development. I prepared my new resume and will meet with him on Monday, maybe he
knows some bigwigs personally and will be willing to put in a good word for me if I
apply. (Bridger Anderson, Research internship, 2005)
During lunch, I was asked by a man at my table what field of physics most interests me,
and I said that I really liked what I had done this summer, but I was interested in looking
into astrophysics, because I've never taken a course on it, and I wanted to see what it's all
about. The man then handed me his card, and it was Kevin Marvel, the Executive Officer
of American Astronomical Society! So that turned out well. (Alex Brown, Research
internship, 2006)
This was a high-speed week. Following a frenzied bout of effort towards our projects, we
all prepared and presented our work to date as a formal event on Friday. Several people
from each of our projects/institutions were there to cheer us on and help to answer
audience questions, which was quite pleasant. Very profitable in networking terms as
well - I ended up talking with Tony and his boss at NASA about pro's and con's of using
tungsten shielding in the "prototype tricorder" they're making, relaxing a bit with Dr.
David Seiler from NIST (also a Purdue University graduate :-) ), and emailing with Dr.
Theodore Hodapp, Program Director in the Division of Undergraduate Education at NSF.
It makes me nervous just to look back over the list! I wasn't nervous at the time though must have been the business suit. ;-) Later in the afternoon we got to tour the American
Geophysical Union building (Dupont Circle) and meet some of the scientists working
there …We discussed AGU's programs, its online publications, and some of Phillip's
work there, as well as viewed presentations on EarthData (leader in airborne imaging,
mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)) and START (System for Analysis,
Research and Training, which is aimed at coordinating global efforts related to climate
change). (Melissa Hanafee, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
SPS Executive Committee members were present including my advisor, Dr. Earl
Blodgett. I really enjoyed talking with him and the others there, because we were able to
have much more sincere and personal conversations than those at the Coalition for
National Science Funding exhibit had been. (Ann Deml, Science education
outreach/policy internship, 2006)
This category of observations shows a range of benefits from students’ participation in the SPS
Summer Intern Program that enhanced their understanding of professional work contexts and
prepared them for advance study and entry to the workforce. Seeing different work
environments, talking with professionals, learning about what professionals do in their work,
gaining a closer view of professions and professionals’ personal lives, and making connections
with important people in the field were program outcomes valued by SPS interns.
40

Becoming a professional. (n=103, 9% res., 5% ed. out./pol.; 8% men, 8% women)
Similar in number of observations as the “enhanced preparation” category, 8% of interns’
comments were collected in the “becoming a professional” category (see Tables 1 and 2).
Interns’ observations in the “becoming a professional” category were fairly balanced between
two types: 55% of interns’ comments discussed coming to a better understanding of the realities
of working in science research and of developing and conducting science education outreach
activities in the field. The remaining 45% of comments mention the development of attitudes,
traits and behaviors that underpin work as science researchers and science education
outreach/policy professionals (see Tables 15 and 16).
Understanding the realities of professional work
Authentic, applied experiences showed interns the realities of working in science research and
the difficulties of conducting science education outreach activities in practice. Most of interns’
observations in this category show that interns learned that the work can be slow, that there are
difficulties and mistakes with instrumentation and with producing results, that carrying out
science activities with and teaching school-aged children is easier said than done (32%). This
type of observation was found in 65% of interns’ journals (n=13: 7 res., 6 ed. out./pol.; 7 men, 6
women)(see Table 17). Interns’ comments show the ways in which students not only went about
their daily tasks, as noted above in comments comprising the “thinking and working like a
professional” category, but also include additional descriptions of the realities encountered in
actually doing the work—breaking a piece of equipment when learning a new technique,
surmounting difficulties and setbacks, handling the pressure of deadlines, having to plan ahead,
or pick up supplies:
Research has been going well. I've analyzed nearly all the ellipsometry data, and my
results have been forwarded to the sample manufacturer. My photoemission work is slow
going, as the instrument is not cooperating right now. (Alex Brown, Research internship,
2006)
Monday's work was a little more challenging as I was searching for information about
very specific topics and had difficulty finding good results. (Ann Deml, Science
education outreach/policy internship, 2006)
This week we did a lot of research at NIST. We got some good data for our work
functions. Now our SPM is acting up and spitting all sorts of peculiar things at us.
(Bridger Anderson, Research internship, 2005)
In about 2 days I was able to learn how to use the Scanning Probe Microscope. It's pretty
simple once you've run through it a few times. The biggest thing is just being patient with
the $150,000 machine. I take my time so that I don't break anything. I broke a worn down
tip yesterday. I zoomed in too far onto the surface of the material. No problem, new tips
aren't too expensive, but I won't make a habit of breaking them. Today I accurately
scanned a 2x2 micron section of gold. If it wasn't gold, then it was a pretty stationary
speck of dust. (Bridger Anderson, Research internship, 2005)
41
Table 15. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of “Becoming a professional” by type of
internship.
Type of Observation
Increased understanding of the realities of
professional work—
Science research/science education outreach/
policy work slow going;
Difficulties/mistakes with
instrumentation and producing
results/working with children
Trial and error is necessary in research work
Learning as we go: supervisor and intern feel
way forward Unknown future
Research requires waiting, patience,
perseverance
Understanding that confronting/overcoming
difficulties is part of science
research/science education
outreach/policy work
Sheer bad luck work effects results
Keeping good notes is important
Strange results present a mystery to be
unraveled
Expresses understanding the results must be
repeatable
Subtotal: Understanding realities of professional work
Demonstrated attitudes and behaviors necessary
to professional work—
Going above and beyond, putting in extra
effort
Excitement at prospect of working with real
scientists; excited/enthusiastic about
ensuing internship
Gains personal view of who scientists are as
real people
References increased patience and care with
work tasks
Intern recognizes that different info for
different audiences important in
presentations
Intern is aware/careful to maintain personal
life separate from professional life
Learned to work and THINK independently
Learned importance of balancing personal
and professional life
Describes outreach work as "playtime"
Expresses "feeling like a scientist"
Subtotal: Demonstrated attitudes and behaviors
TOTALS
N of
Obs.
Res.
% of
Obs.
Res.
N of Obs.
Sci. ed.
Out./
policy
% of Obs.
Sci. ed.
Out./
policy
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
21
30%
12
35%
33
32%
6
2
9%
3%
0
2
0%
6%
6
4
6%
4%
2
3%
2
6%
4
4%
2
3%
2
6%
4
4%
2
1
1
3%
1%
1%
0
1
0
0%
3%
0%
2
2
1
2%
2%
1%
1
1%
0
0%
1
1%
38
55%
19
56%
57
55%
15
22%
2
6%
17
17%
4
6%
8
24%
12
12%
5
7%
2
6%
7
7%
1
1%
2
6%
3
3%
2
3%
0
0%
2
2%
1
1%
0
0%
1
1%
1
1
1%
1%
0
0
0%
0%
1
1
1%
1%
0
1
31
69
0%
1%
45%
100%
1
0
15
34
3%
0%
44%
100%
1
1
46
103
1%
1%
45%
100%
42
Table 16. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations of “Becoming a professional” by gender.
Type of Observation
Increased understanding of the realities of
professional work—
Research/science education outreach/ policy work
slow going; Difficulties/mistakes with
instrumentation and producing
results/working with children
Trial and error is necessary in research work
Learning as we go: supervisor and intern feel way
forward Unknown future
Research requires waiting, patience, perseverance
Understanding that confronting/overcoming
difficulties is part of science research/science
education outreach/policy work
Sheer bad luck work effects results
Keeping good notes is important
Strange results present a mystery to be unraveled
Expresses understanding the results must be
repeatable
Subtotal: Understanding realities of professional work
Demonstrated attitudes and behaviors necessary to
professional work—
Going above and beyond, putting in extra effort
Excitement at prospect of working with real
scientists; excited/enthusiastic about ensuing
internship
Gains personal view of who scientists are as real
people
References increased patience and care with work
tasks
Intern recognizes that different info for different
audiences important in presentations
Intern is aware/careful to maintain personal life
separate from professional life
Learned to work and THINK independently
Learned importance of balancing personal and
professional life
Describes outreach work as "playtime"
Expresses "feeling like a scientist"
Subtotal: Demonstrated attitudes and behaviors
TOTALS
N of
Obs.
Men
% of
Obs.
Men
N of
Obs.
Women
% of
Obs.
Women
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
18
40%
15
26%
33
32%
2
1
4%
2%
4
3
7%
5%
6
4
6%
4%
2
2
4%
4%
2
2
3%
3%
4
4
4%
4%
1
2
0
0
2%
4%
0%
0%
1
0
1
1
2%
0%
2%
2%
2
2
1
1
2%
2%
1%
1%
28
62%
29
50%
57
55%
7
7
16%
16%
10
5
17%
9%
17
12
17%
12%
1
2%
6
10%
7
7%
1
2%
2
3%
3
3%
0
0%
2
3%
2
2%
1
2%
0
0%
1
1%
0
0
0%
0%
1
1
2%
2%
1
1
1%
1%
0
0
17
45
0%
0%
38%
100%
1
1
29
58
2%
2%
50%
100%
1
1
46
103
1%
1%
45%
100%
43
Table 17. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing gains in “Becoming a professional” by type of internship and gender.
N of
Research
Interns
N of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
% of
Research
Interns
% of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
%
of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
INTERNS
%
INTERNS
7
6
35%
30%
7
6
35%
30%
13
65%
Trial and error is necessary in research work
Learning as we go Supervisor and intern feel way
forward Unknown future
Research requires waiting, patience, perseverance
4
2
0
1
20%
10%
0%
5%
2
1
2
2
10%
5%
10%
10%
4
3
20%
15%
1
1
5%
5%
1
1
5%
5%
2
10%
Understanding that confronting/overcoming difficulties
is part of science research/science education
outreach/policy work
Sheer bad luck work effects results
Keeping good notes is important
Strange results present a mystery to be unraveled
2
2
10%
10%
2
2
10%
10%
4
20%
2
1
1
0
1
0
10%
5%
5%
0%
5%
0%
1
2
0
1
0
1
5%
10%
0%
5%
0%
5%
2
2
1
10%
10%
5%
Expresses understanding the results must be repeatable
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
2
7
10%
35%
5
4
25%
20%
9
45%
5
3
1
2
2
2
2
0
25%
15%
5%
10%
10%
10%
10%
0%
4
1
1
0
3
4
2
2
20%
5%
5%
0%
15%
20%
10%
10%
7
5
3
2
35%
25%
15%
10%
1
0
5%
0%
1
0
5%
0%
1
5%
1
1
0
0
5%
5%
0%
0%
0
0
1
1
0%
0%
5%
5%
1
1
5%
5%
0
1
1
0
0%
5%
5%
0%
0
0
1
1
0%
0%
5%
5%
1
1
5%
5%
Type of Observation
Increased understanding of the realities of professional
work—
Research/policy/education outreach work slow going;
Difficulties/mistakes with instrumentation and
producing results/working with children
Demonstrated attitudes and behaviors necessary to
professional work—
Excitement at prospect of working with real scientists;
excited/enthusiastic about ensuing internship
Going above and beyond, putting in extra effort
Gains personal view of who scientists are as real people
References increased patience and care with work tasks
Intern recognizes that different info for different
audiences important in presentations
Intern is aware/careful to maintain personal life
separate from professional life
Learned to work and THINK independently
Learned importance of balancing personal and
professional life
Describes outreach work as "playtime"
Expresses "feeling like a scientist"
44
A Bad Week for the Microprobe. The low temperature microprobe was doing great until
last Thursday morning. The vertical axis of one of the probes broke. This meant that the
whole probe socket had to be taken out of the vacuum apparatus. John (one of my
advisors) and I ended up swapping around components of probes to make two
functioning low temperature microprobes to work with. (Joseph York, Research
internship 2004)
This week I started by running force field and semi-empirical calculations with just the
cyclodextrins with some amino acids attached on. I also absconded with a three-button
mouse, because I need a middle button to rotate my molecules. I was having a lot of
problems with my semi-empirical ones. They kept failing and giving me really weird
output messages. I spent almost three whole days doing and redoing them and trying to
get them to work. Finally they started working yesterday afternoon at 4. So I was
frantically trying to get them all exported and into Altix before I had to leave at 5:30. It
was such a great feeling to finally be getting them done. I was feeling really frustrated
and upset about my research, but then I figured it out all by myself (well mostly). And so
research is going pretty well right now. Today I'm going to meet with Jayne and go over
the first set of results and then hopefully start on another set of calculations. (Kacey
Meaker, Research internship, 2006)
I learned a lesson myself on Monday. Some time during the course of the scavenger hunt,
a red laser went missing. (Thankfully, it wasn't the pricy green one.) I was inclined to
avoid dealing with the incident, but this response didn't seem adequate. Though the red
laser is not an expensive or rare item, I felt I needed to make a statement about the
unfortunate event to the students. I had to figure out a way to convey the importance of
respecting other people's property without inadvertently accusing any number of innocent
bystanders. Bridget and I decided to conduct an anonymous group survey, in which each
student was to write down anything she knew about the disappearance of the laser on a
scrap paper and hand it in to us. We told everyone that we would like to see the laser
returned, but that we would not hold anything against anyone with information.
Unfortunately, the survey was not fruitful, but I think we made a point, which I now
recognize is the most significant goal of the disciplinary action. I am learning more every
day about teaching and handling students in this age group. (Stacey Elizabeth Sude,
Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
Yesterday I made about 8,000 copies for my summer camp and it was nerve wrecking to
make sure every thing was ready for 12:30--and it was! Boy, those girls sure have a
bunch of energy!! Some of them have already started building their roller coasters
because they were so excited. Others sorted the K'nex from last year because all the
pieces were mixed together. The 4th week has been stressful because I felt like I had 5
separate things to do and they all needed to be done NOW. (Heather Lunn, Science
education outreach/policy internship, 2004)
Yom Chameeshee—Because the equipment for taking new data was in use, we used
Thursday to prepare a different sample for measurement. Having learned my way around
the clean room (in theory, anyway, for the exam), it was interesting to go back to spin
polymer and use the evaporator and UV oxide cleaner again. This time, I knew what the
45
instruments were for, what I was doing and why, and could notice all the tubs of HF
sitting around on the counters nearby. I also discovered that one of the chemicals I
ordered was supposed to appear at the airport at 3 PM that day, but the company had
neglected to inform me that I was responsible for going to pick it up. Hence, Friday
morning’s errand I would much rather be taking measurements, but there was no way to
get around it. (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship, 2005)
Along with confronting difficulties in accomplishing their work, some interns noted growing
awareness that this type of work required particular temperamental attributes, including patience
and perseverance:
This week was definitely a test of patience. I found out why people with computer
dependent jobs often curse the machine's fickle nature. While creating my website, I ran
across numerous problems with the design program. After many long hours, I was finally
able to improvise around the problem and get back to where I started. (Jason Tabeling,
Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
Thursday is where my patience with the children was truly tried. Thursday was an all day
field trip to a minor league baseball game. Let me tell you, taking kids in a van and
getting them all relatively happy is not the easiest thing. Then we got to the game and all
they seemed to do was complain about the heat. In the end we took them back early and
let them hang out until their parents picked them up. (Matthew Shanks, Science education
outreach/policy internship, 2004)
The summer has finally settled into a routine and the project is really starting to come
together. The week was primarily spent debugging, documenting, and refining the
program. The debugging itself is painfully slow, due to the fact that I can only tell if the
calculations are correct at any particular step of the simulation by comparing the output
of both implementations as they run side-by-side. However, many minor issues have been
resolved and watching the new code run through its paces is very satisfying. (Justin
Stimatze, Research internship, 2003)
Small numbers of observations and actual numbers of interns (refer to Tables 15, 16, and 17)
documented other types of gains associated with increased understanding of professional
practice, including understanding that: trial and error is necessary, results must be repeatable and
that sheer bad luck may affect results. There is “no easy way” to do this work:
I worked a whopping 3 days at NIST this weekend. We finally found the secrets to
recording good data and getting stable readings on the SKPM. Flatten all saved data
before jpeg exporting. Don't allow the SKPM tip holder to be overlapping the copper
tape. The tape and tip holder weren't touching, but they were close enough were we were
seeing effects of small amounts of current (we shouldn't have had any current flowing).
Aaron and I got Friday off for our hard work and accomplishments. I finally have the
surgical precision required to mount and un-mount tips without killing them. The tip
survival rate is up from about 50% to 90%. I haven't killed any tips in days. (Bridger
Anderson, Research internship, 2005)
46
This week, I got the hang of running the equipment: I didn't break or drop a single thing!
We have improved the way we do the repeatability measurements, so that more factors
are held constant than we used to. Now we keep track of the humidity and temperature, as
well as use a very stable sample: stable because it has been open to the air for a very long
time so the oxide layer has stopped growing. (Eva Wilcox, Research internship, 2002)
This week I spent a few days looking through the data and clearing out certain dates with
obvious problems. At times major solar events or other phenomenon increased the count
rate in the detectors by several orders of magnitude. It was sheer bad luck that NEAR was
in orbit at the peak of the Sun's active cycle. Nevertheless, there still appears to be a large
amount of data that is usable and plans are to finish cleaning the spectra by next week.
(Brent Janus, Research internship, 2002)
Well that s about all I did this week. Now what I learned this week was pretty simple.
There is no easy way to teach. It seems like teaching has to adapt and be flexible for
whoever you are teaching. That’s really about it. (Matthew Shanks, Science education
outreach/policy internship, 2004)
This set of observations demonstrates interns’ active engagement in authentic work contexts and
the opportunity it provided for understanding what working in the field was actually like as a
professional. Beyond gains in understanding the nature of work in their field, interns recognized
that this work required patience and perseverance, and further demonstrated understanding of
professional work norms and practice.
Demonstrated attitudes and behaviors necessary to professional work
A second subset of observations grouped in the “becoming a professional” category described
attitudes and behaviors necessary to becoming professionals in the field. Most of these
observations (17%) expressed sincere curiosity, interest in, enthusiasm for and excitement at the
prospect of their internship and working with respected professionals. Such comments were
recorded by nearly half the interns (45%, n=9: 2 res., 7 ed. out./pol.; 5 men, 4 women):
When I got to the university, I was quite curious to see some of the demonstration tools
that I had either read about or seen pictures of on the extensive website. In my searching
for Dr. Berg, I found myself in a basement with rooms full of what looked like physics
experiments that had been left standing. There were bicycle rims fixed to swivel stands
that are used to teach about conservation of momentum, ballistic chambers that are used
to teach about many different physical concepts, electron beam setups that are used to
teach about the quantum nature of matter and many, many more. These enormous rooms
were filled with such setups. They were organized and appeared to be in extremely good
working order (I couldn't stop myself from trying out a few of them!). My immediate
thought when I saw all of this was, "Wow, this must have taken quite a bit of time and a
lot of work!" But to think that this extensive collection was constantly being used! (Mark
Lentz, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2001)
While the supercomputers and control centers were a fantasy, the accomplishments that
the organization has achieved are very real. My disappointment turned to excitement as I
began talking with my advisors, a group of highly skilled veterans of NASA more than
willing to share their time and knowledge with an undergraduate. All that was required to
47
be excited about an old PC and a bunch of physicists was to realize that this was how it
worked. These guys had been on the inside of many of the unmanned missions
throughout the Solar System for the last several decades. This was exciting in itself, but
nothing was as thrilling as realizing that for the next eight weeks, I would be one of them.
(Brent Janus, Research internship, (2002)
Overall, the internship is off to a very active and exciting start. I feel privileged to work
in such a beautiful, comfortable building at ACP and to be amongst so many interesting
and caring people. I have never been exposed to the mechanisms of the science,
education, and policy worlds in such an intimate and mentored way. (Stacey Elizabeth
Sude, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
Another 12% of observations in this subcategory spoke of interns’ exhibiting extra effort and
intellectual engagement—going above and beyond assigned responsibilities, especially in terms
of educating themselves on the project and in preparing for presentations. These comments were
recorded by 35% of interns (n=7: 5 res., 2 ed. out./pol.; 4 men, 3 women):
I am currently finishing the very last of the single base pair calculations, and Maestro
started working again so I can start testing bigger molecules on Amber. I've been reading
and working through this book called Teach Yourself Unix in a Week, so I'm learning
stuff about it and how cool it actually is. Oh no I'm turning into a Unix nerd. The world
might come to an end, but it is rather fun to use now. I'm also still reading books and
papers about DNA and computational chemistry. The NIST library is really cool. There
are so many awesome books about such cool things, but it makes me sad because I want
to read all the books about everything, but that's sort of impossible. Yesterday I went with
Alex to the library and got two new books for fun. One is a Richard Dawkins book that I
have been meaning to read for a while, and the other is a book about controversies in
biology. (Kacey Meaker, Research internship, 2006)
My project is turning out to be really interesting. The solar corona is amazing! For
instance, did you know that (in white light) it is one hundred times brighter at the solar
limb than just one solar radius out? And its radiation is layered with four different
coronae. The K-corona (K for something German that looks like "continuous") is the
light scattered off electrons, while the F-corona (F for our buddy Fraunhofer) is the light
scattered off dust particles. While the K-corona dominates near the sun, beyond two solar
radii they are equally matched in brightness. The other, less powerful contributions are
the E-corona (E for emission) and T-corona (T for thermal). Texts on the solar corona try
and get rid of the F to study the K, but it's the F-corona that I'm interested in! So I've been
reading lots of papers on interplanetary dust instead. My goal is to have a paper
summarizing what is known about the population of dust grains at about three solar radii.
And the project is allowing me to learn both about the sun and about dust, two topics I
had never studied in much detail before. So things are going well, assuming I can stop
panicking about how much I have left to do! (Oh, that's right, I'm NOT panicking. I
forgot.) (Kathryn Peak, Research internship, 2002)
48
I get to take cool measurements with fun toys, and the subject is so interesting that I
started reading a textbook in my free time—who would have thought? I had a brilliant
insight over the weekend that Mika s old chem textbook was still sitting around her dorm,
and it could be exactly what I needed to clear up a bunch of lingering questions for me
before I gave a presentation for the NIST group on Wednesday. Mika generously donated
to my cause (more happy to get rid of it than anything else, I think), and I proceeded to
read the entire textbook Monday and Tuesday. Much of the book was physics I already
knew or chemistry I recognized from high school, but the new information was
EXACTLY what I needed to know and hence fascinating to study. (Lindsay Windsor,
Research internship, 2005)
I spent most of the week at work creating physics trivia questions and finding more
information about where to buy time capsules. It's tough to think of good questions. I'm
thinking about going to museums to wander around looking for inspiration. If anyone has
any ideas, I'd love to hear them…Thursday was easily one of the most exciting and
interesting days so far. We had the opportunity to go to a constituent breakfast for Dianne
Feinstein, one of the senators from California. She spoke a bit and introduced her staff
and interns. We were a little disappointed with some of what she had to say. This has
sparked our interest in going to as many other events like this as we can. We started
researching our other senators and hope to visit more of them. (Matt Hall, Science
education outreach/policy internship, 2005)
Small numbers of observations and actual numbers of interns discussed other types of attitudes
and gains important to practicing the profession (refer to Tables 15, 16, and 17). The balance of
observations demonstrating attitudes and behaviors requisite to professional practice discussed
demonstrated gains in interns’ tolerance, patience and perseverance, their ability to think
creatively and to work through problems independently, exhibiting extra diligence and care with
work tasks and techniques, and showing greater intrinsic interest in their field. The following
quotations are representative of these types of observations:
One of the biggest things I have learned so far is that I may feel competently
overwhelmed with tons to do, but haste makes waste, and if you only want to do it once,
take your time. Fortunately, I learned this the easy way! :) (Heather Lunn, Science
education outreach/policy internship, 2004)
As far as at work goes, the microprobe station is just not functioning as well as we'd like
it to right now. We're doing everything we can to get it down and running so that I can
take several measurements before leaving. I might not get them done in time for our
presentations on the 27th, but that is not discouraging me from keeping at the station.
(Joseph York, Research internship, 2004)
Then there was pizza for lunch which really made my day. Then it came time for me to
go to the summer camp. I was honestly dreading seeing those kids again. However, I
steeled myself and threw myself into the tempest and was pleasantly surprised. Today the
children were energetic and bouncy and chaotic but they were all doing pretty much what
they were supposed to and being good sports about it. That made me happy. (Matthew
Shanks Science education outreach/policy internship, 2004)
49
This summer I also learned to do a lot of independent work and how to figure a lot of
things out by myself. (Kacey Meaker, Research internship, 2006)
I've also enjoyed being at NASA this summer, I must say. I've decided that I enjoy
spending my summers at places where all people do is research. It's such a different
atmosphere than school, being somewhere that only has students around for two months
of the year instead of nine. Walking past offices and overhearing conversations on all
aspects of earth and space science always warms the heart. (Kathryn Peek, Research
internship, 2002)
One intern commented that he had learned about professional norms and how to handle himself
professionally:
THE journey has come to a STOP. As they say, for every beginning there is an END and
thus this would be my last journal entry. It has been a great battle, a surmountable one at
that. I have had such a great time in the corporate world and the memories would surely
stick with me forever. I have learned the essence of accomplishing tasks in a manner
endowed with professionalism and efficiency. (Kibrom Tewolde, Science education
outreach/policy internship, 2004)
Reflected by a peer’s observation, one intern noted a sense of actually feeling like a scientist:
With Monday came proof in two forms that my job is awesome. .. Finally taking
measurements on the device we fabricated! The results seemed to show a new discovery
about the polymer we tested. In Morgan's words to me later that night, “You're a real
scientist!” (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship, 2005)
Intern comments collected in the “becoming a professional” category conveyed (in almost equal
measures) increased understanding of the nature of professional work and the demonstration and
development of attitudes and behaviors viewed as character traits necessary for professional
work in the field.
Remaining intern observations on program outcomes are very small in number. Comments
concerning gains in skills were 2% of gains observations. The “career clarification and
confirmation” category was 1% all intern comments. Two comments were offered concerning
the transfer of knowledge between the internship and future coursework (see Tables 1 and 2).

Skills. (n=25, 2% res., 1% ed. out./pol.; 2% men, 2% women)
Participants’ few comments in the “skills” category include interns’ observations on gains in:
working with various computer software programs (48%) reported by 35% of interns (n=7: 5
res., 2 ed. out./pol.; 4 men, 3 women). Aside from developing skills in working with computer
software, interns also reported learning to operate lab instruments (20% of observations) reported
by 20% of interns (n=4: 3 res., 1 ed. out./pol.; 2 men, 2 women)(see Tables 18, 19, and 20). Two
men, both in research internships, mentioned working with newly developed software
50
Table 18. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on gains in skills by type of internship.
N of
% of
Obs.
Obs.
Type of Observation
N of % of Sci. ed. Sci. ed.
Obs. Obs.
Out./
Out./ TOTAL
%
Res.
Res.
policy
policy
OBS.
OBS.
Working with computer software programs
Working with new instrumentation
8
4
44%
22%
4
1
57%
14%
12
5
48%
20%
Learning new techniques
Working with new software program developed
for analysis of data
Web development skills
3
17%
0
0%
3
12%
2
0
11%
0%
0
2
0%
29%
2
2
8%
8%
Answered difficult questions after presenting
1
6%
0
0%
1
4%
TOTALS
18
100%
7
100%
25
100%
Table 19. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on gains in skills by gender.
N of
Obs.
Men
% of
Obs.
Men
N of
Obs.
Women
% of
Obs.
Women
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
Working with computer software programs
Working with new instrumentation
Learning new techniques
Working with new software program developed
for analysis of data
Web development skills
Answered difficult questions after presenting
4
2
1
44%
22%
11%
8
3
2
50%
19%
13%
12
5
3
48%
20%
12%
2
0
0
22%
0%
0%
0
2
1
0%
13%
6%
2
2
1
8%
8%
4%
TOTALS
9
100%
16
100%
25
100%
Type of Observation
51
Table 20. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing gains in skills by type of internship and gender.
N of
Research
Interns
N of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
% of
Research
Interns
% of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
% of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
INTERNS
%
INTERNS
Working with computer software
programs
4
3
20%
15%
4
3
20%
15%
7
35%
Working with new instrumentation
3
1
15%
5%
2
2
10%
10%
4
20%
Learning new techniques
Working with new software program
developed for analysis of data
2
0
10%
0%
1
1
5%
5%
2
10%
2
0
10%
0%
2
0
10%
0%
2
10%
Web development skills
Answered difficult questions after
presenting
0
2
0%
10%
0
2
0%
10%
2
10%
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Type of Observation
52
specifically designed for research purposes. Learning webpage development was a benefit
reported by two women in science education outreach/policy internships:
Anyway it was busy busy busy last week. I made about a million different charts and
plots and runs on Simion and Kaleidagraph. I know Kaleidagraph sounds all fun and
whiz poppy, like kaleidoscope, but don't be fooled. It's not quite as much fun... It's pretty
easy to use though, so that's good. I like it better than having to use Excel to make the
graphs. It's alright that I've had to make so many though because we are gonna use them
for a big long paper that we are writing up, so it's not like I'm just doing them for busy
work, I'm just anxious to get to the soldering and stuff on the actual detector. (Christine
Zaruba, Research internship, 2004)
The online research to order the materials got tedious, but today I got to play with the lab
equipment for the first time. It's really expensive and pretty technical stuff, but I got it to
work quite well and had a huge sense of accomplishment =) I've always thought that life
in a lab would be so removed from humanity that it wouldn't be terribly interesting, but
I'm surprised by how much it excites me and captures my interest. I can't wait to see the
results of the experiment - and even if nothing terribly exciting happens, the process will
still be interesting and worthwhile. (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship, 2005)
I worked a whopping 3 days at NIST this weekend. We finally found the secrets to
recording good data and getting stable readings on the SKPM. Flatten all saved data
before jpeg exporting. Don't allow the SKPM tip holder to be overlapping the copper
tape. The tape and tip holder weren't touching, but they were close enough were we were
seeing effects of small amounts of current (we shouldn't have had any current flowing).
Aaron and I got Friday off for our hard work and accomplishments. I finally have the
surgical precision required to mount and un-mount tips without killing them. The tip
survival rate is up from about 50% to 90%. I haven't killed any tips in days. (Bridger
Anderson, Research internship, 2005).
Around Friday I had finished and had finally produced my first spectrum. The rest of the
spectra will probably be finished early next week. The programs that will be used to
analyze them for elemental composition are being constructed here at NASA. Interactive
Data Language (IDL) is the platform being used to construct the programs. As they are
not finished quite yet I will probably take a few days to work with IDL and the main
programmer and then start my analysis late next week. I'll let you know. (Brent Janus,
Research internship, 2002).
I learned/am learning Dream Weaver, and am making my first web pages for the
questionnaire submission form. (Yes, my first web pages. I take another (tiny) step
towards true geekdom.) (Melissa Hanafee, Science education outreach/policy internship,
2003)
Skills gains predominantly described gains in working with computer software and programs
designed for their research or in webpage development.
53

Career clarification. (n=14, 9% res., 5% ed. out./pol.; 8% men, 8% women)
This small category of gains includes participants’ observations on program outcomes associated
with helping interns as students to: discover an increased interest in science (29% of comments)
recorded by 15% of interns (n=3: 3 res., 0 ed. out./pol.; 1 men, 2 women); realize how much they
“loved” doing science research (29%) recorded by two interns (10%), both of whom were
women (n=2: 2 res., 0 ed. out./pol.; 0 men, 2 women). Very small numbers of observations and
actual numbers of interns discussed confirming and solidifying their interest in a field of study,
being introduced a new area of interest, or clarifying a field of study. (See Tables 21, 22, and
23):
I am teaching physics to eighth-graders and it is really fun. They began building their
roller coasters this week and they are really excited to get them done. They had a bit of
trouble with the friction issue, but most of them tried different angles and heights of the
hills to compensate for friction and at least 4 groups got their cars to go through most of
the track they had built!! They were screaming and yelling and jumping up and down
because they were so happy! (Heather Lunn, Science education outreach/policy
internship, 2004)
The afternoon was spent at the American Geophysical Union, learning more about the
AGU and the other organizations housed within the building. A presentation I found
particularly interesting was given by a representative of EarthData Inc. One of the topics
covered was the use of rapidly acquired GIS data in the recovery and rescue efforts after
the September 11 attack. The ability to quickly deliver critical data to ground teams
within a matter of hours will be an increasingly powerful tool in other catastrophic
situations and the company is on the cutting edge of technological innovation in the field.
This application of physics, geoscience, and technology really appeals to me and I think I
may have to learn more about the subject when I return home. (Justin Stimatze, Research
internship, 2003)
I suppose I should reflect on my summer a little bit as this is my last journal entry. I
learned so much this summer I don't even know where to start. I learned some Unix and a
lot of computer programs, and I also learned a lot of biology and chemistry and even
some physics. But I also learned a lot more important stuff. I finally realized how much I
love research. I guess I sort of knew that before, but I guess I just realized how much I
truly love it. I loved going to work and reading papers and looking stuff up and putting
things together in a certain way that no one else has thought of before. (Kacey Meaker,
Research internship, 2006)
Working at NIST this summer, I discovered that I really enjoyed doing research, much
more than I thought I would. I quickly realized that I much prefer experimental rather
than theoretical physics. Because I love to learn and be challenged, experimenting this
summer allowed me to continually stretch myself in studying, learning, and discovering
new things. (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship, 2005)
54
Table 21. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on gains in career clarification by type of
internship.
N of
% of
Obs.
Obs.
Type of Observation
N of
% of
Sci. ed. Sci. ed.
Obs.
Obs.
Out./
Out./ TOTAL
%
Res.
Res.
policy
policy
OBS.
OBS.
Increased interest in science, generally
4
31%
0
0%
4
29%
Opportunity to discover I LOVE research!
4
31%
0
0%
4
29%
3
23%
0
0%
3
21%
1
8%
0
0%
1
7%
1
8%
0
0%
1
7%
0
0%
1
100%
1
7%
13
100%
1
100%
14
100%
SPS interns offered jobs at place of
internship
Likes research, but AFFIRMS interest in
TEACHING
Clarified area of interest, field of study to
pursue
Considering new career ideas: web
development
TOTALS
Table 22. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on gains in career clarification by gender.
N of
Obs.
Men
% of
Obs.
Men
N of
Obs.
Women
% of
Obs.
Women
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
Increased interest in science, generally
1
50%
3
25%
4
29%
Opportunity to discover I LOVE research!
0
0%
4
33%
4
29%
SPS interns offered jobs at place of
internship
Likes research, but AFFIRMS interest in
TEACHING
Clarified area of interest, field of study to
pursue
Considering new career ideas: web
development
0
0%
3
25%
3
21%
0
0%
1
8%
1
7%
0
0%
1
8%
1
7%
1
50%
0
0%
1
7%
TOTALS
2
100%
12
100%
14
100%
Type of Observation
55
Table 23. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing gains in career clarification by type of internship and gender.
Type of Observation
N of
% of
Sci ed
Sci ed
N of
outreach/
% of
outreach/
Research policy Research policy
Interns
Interns
Interns
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
% of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
%
INTERNS INTERNS
Increased interest in science, generally
3
0
15%
0%
1
2
5%
10%
3
15%
Opportunity to discover I LOVE
research!
2
0
10%
0%
0
2
0%
10%
2
10%
SPS interns offered jobs at place of
internship
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Likes research, but AFFIRMS interest
in TEACHING
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Clarified area of interest, field of study
to pursue
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Considering new career ideas: web
development
0
1
0%
5%
1
0
5%
0%
1
5%
56
Walking past offices and overhearing conversations on all aspects of earth and space
science always warms the heart. I love teaching too much to work at a research institution
for forever, but they do make wonderful internship experiences. (Kathryn Peak, Research
internship, 2002)
Ironically, I am now giving more consideration to a career which will probably put me in
an office (working on web design and development). (Matt Hall, Science education
outreach/policy internship, 2005)
Though few in number, a small number of interns registered gains in: an increased interest in
their fields of study; discovering a real passion for the profession of science research; and
benefits of confirming, clarifying and focusing pre-existing interests and career ideas.

Enhanced educational experience. (n=2: 1 res., 1 ed. out./pol.; 1 men, 1 women)
A couple of interns (10%) mentioned that learning taken from their internship experience would
benefit their future coursework (see Tables, 24, 25 and 26):
This week I've also been thinking about all the pros and cons of going to a large research
university. I go to a school which has state-of-the-art laboratories, professors whose
research gets published on the front pages of magazines like Physics Today or Nature,
incredible funding, and outstanding capabilities. I also go to a school where the
professors aren't there to teach and where it's easy to overlook all these possibilities and
get lost in the crowd. I've been inspired this summer to go back to college and take
advantage of all the resources at school - especially the labs and the connections I have
here to the outstanding researchers there - and I've also been inspired to see how I can
search out the encouragement and investment of our faculty as support for wherever I
head next in my academic or professional life. (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship,
2005)
It's time to close with some thank you’s to SPS, AAPT, Carol, Dr. Hein, Liz, Gary, Jack
and everyone else who helped me this summer. It really has been a great experience.
Thanks also to anyone who took the time to read about what I've been up to all summer.
DC is a fun place to be. I hope to come back someday. Now it's time to take the things
I've learned and head home to use them. (Matt Hall, Science education outreach/policy
internship, 2005)
Table 24. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on enhanced educational experience by type
of internship.
N of Obs. % of Obs.
Type of Observation
Sci. ed.
Sci. ed.
N of
% of
Out./
Out./
TOTAL
%
Obs. Res. Obs. Res.
policy
policy
OBS.
OBS.
Skills/knowledge gained during
internship will transfer to future
coursework
1
100%
57
1
100%
2
100%
Table 25. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Observations on enhanced educational experience by
gender.
Type of Observation
Skills/knowledge gained during
internship will transfer to future
coursework
N of
Obs. Men
% of
Obs. Men
N of Obs.
Women
1
100%
1
% of Obs. TOTAL
Women
OBS.
100%
2
%
OBS.
100%
Table 26. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Number of interns citing gains in enhanced educational
experience by type of internship and gender.
Type of
Observation
Skills/knowledge
gained
during
internship
will transfer
to future
coursework
N of
% of
Sci ed
Sci ed
N of outreach/ % of outreach/
Research policy Research policy N of N of
% of
Interns Interns Interns Interns Men Women Men
1
1
5%
5%
1
1
5%
% of
TOTAL
%
Women INTERNS INTERNS
5%
2
10%
In summary, nearly 70% of interns’ observations described program outcomes encompassing a
broad range and variety of personal, intellectual and professional benefits. Interns’ observations
of program outcomes related gains in: personal growth, personal-professional gains directly
related to their engagement at their internship; increased understanding of how science research
and science education outreach/policy work is actually done, and other intellectual gains;
enhanced understanding of professional work contexts and preparation for advance study and/or
entry to the workforce; increased understanding of the nature of professional work, norms and
practice, as well as the demonstration and development of attitudes, traits and behaviors that
underpin work as science researchers and science education outreach/policy professionals. Few
numbers of observations and interns also reported gains in skills, career clarification and
confirmation or enhanced educational experience. Collectively, interns report program outcomes
demonstrating multiple dimensions of students’ learning from SPS Summer Intern Program
participation.
58
General Observations
Following a majority of observations reporting program outcomes, a remaining 33% of intern
observations were grouped as general observations. The majority of comments in this category
described general elements comprising internship experiences (18%), followed by intern
program evaluations (10%) (see Tables 1 and 2).

SPS general internship elements. (n=250, 18% res., 18% ed. out./pol.; 20% men, 17%
women)
The largest percentage of comments in the grouped in “general observations” provided
descriptions of general internship elements (32%, see Tables 27 and 28). While these structural
elements are embedded in intern accounts describing program outcomes, as discussed above,
here they are counted in terms of reports of basic program elements.
From their accounts, it is patent that interns are participating in authentic work in which they had
the opportunity to integrate academic knowledge with field applications. Ninety-five percent of
interns (n=19: 9 res., 10 ed. out./pol.; 10 men, 9 women) offered clear descriptions of their
active engagement in their projects:
I have been learning how to do many things and of course this entails making many
mistakes. I threw an optic for a mirror out of alignment so my advisor took the
opportunity to redesign the optic entirely. I then turned to data analyzation and modeling
of thin film samples to determine such things as thicknesses of Hafnium dioxides and
optical constants like the dielectric function of Hafnium dioxide, and hit many program
glitches. By today, however, I am back taking data again and running the system almost
on my own (I naturally am still making some really blatant mistakes) and analyzing the
repeatability of the Spectroscopic Ellisometry system, compared to the commercial
vacuum ultraviolet system in the next lab over. (Eva Wilcox, Research internship, 2002)
I have learned that PhysTEC is a program to improve our teachers by improving our
students and building out from there. It seems like a wonderful program, especially for
those of us who have had a baaaaad teacher or prof. I have also learned a bit about
comPADRE and that is going to be an awesome project when it is expanded even more.
It is so great to have a resource like that that helps teachers, students, and the general
public with physics and astronomy. Very exciting! I also learned about the demos I will
be doing at the summer camps--very cool! I will be putting a pencil through a piece of
plywood, looking at stuff in a vacuum, and doing the 'ol pull the table cloth out from
under the plates and wine glasses! Well, I have very exciting and busy weeks ahead,
that's all for now folks! (Heather Lunn, Science education outreach/policy internship,
2004)
The realities of software development asserted themselves with a vengeance on Monday
morning, with one final logic error that had to be removed. Fortunately, I found it quickly
and spent Tuesday and Wednesday running the simulator through a set of well-defined
59
Table 27. GENERAL: Observations of SPS general internship elements by type of internship.
N of
Obs.
Res.
% of
Obs.
Res.
N of Obs.
Sci. ed.
Out./
policy
% of
Obs. Sci.
ed. Out./
policy
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
Describes policy outreach work tasks:
hands-on work
39
29%
42
37%
81
32%
Group SPS professional field trips
meetings
34
25%
26
23%
60
24%
Discusses purpose of research
outreach work: expresses
understanding
19
14%
12
10%
31
12%
Time preparing poster for presentation
11
8%
8
7%
19
8%
Gives presentation to internship group
10
7%
3
3%
13
5%
Gives presentation to SPS intern
group
Attended congressional hearing on
NSF budget/stem cell research:
how science is funded/argued
9
7%
3
3%
12
5%
3
2%
8
7%
11
4%
Attended orientation session at
beginning of summer
4
3%
4
3%
8
3%
AIP representative to CNSF
0
0%
5
4%
5
2%
Attended safety training meetings
4
3%
0
0%
4
2%
Attended informational meetings
1
1%
2
2%
3
1%
Attending conferences: Mortarboard
Society, AAPT
1
1%
2
2%
3
1%
135
100%
115
100%
250
100%
Type of Observation
TOTALS
60
Table 28. GENERAL: Observations of SPS general internship elements by gender.
N of
Obs.
Men
% of
Obs.
Men
Describes policy outreach work tasks:
hands-on work
Group SPS professional field trips
meetings
46
38%
35
27%
81
32%
28
23%
32
25%
60
24%
Discusses purpose of research outreach
work: expresses understanding
11
9%
20
16%
31
12%
Time preparing poster for presentation
9
7%
10
8%
19
8%
Gives presentation to internship group
5
4%
8
6%
13
5%
Gives presentation to SPS intern group
9
7%
3
2%
12
5%
Attended congressional hearing on NSF
budget/stem cell research: how
science is funded/argued
5
4%
6
5%
11
4%
Attended orientation session at
beginning of summer
4
3%
4
3%
8
3%
AIP representative to CNSF
1
1%
4
3%
5
2%
Attended safety training meetings
1
1%
3
2%
4
2%
Attended informational meetings
Attending conferences: Mortarboard
Society, AAPT
2
1
2%
1%
1
2
1%
2%
3
3
1%
1%
122
100%
128
100%
250
100%
Type of Observation
TOTALS
61
N of
% of
Obs.
Obs.
TOTAL
Women Women
OBS.
%
OBS.
Table 29. GENERAL: Number of interns citing SPS general internship elements by type of internship and gender.
Type of Observation
Describes policy outreach work
tasks: hands-on work
Group SPS professional field
trips meetings
Discusses purpose of research
outreach work: expresses
understanding
Time preparing poster for
presentation
Gives presentation to internship
group
Gives presentation to SPS intern
group
Attended congressional hearing
on NSF budget/stem cell
research: how science is
funded/argued
Attended orientation session at
beginning of summer
AIP representative to CNSF
Attended safety training
meetings
Attended informational meetings
Attending conferences:
Mortarboard Society,
AAPT
N of
Research
Interns
N of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
% of
Research
Interns
% of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
% of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
INTERNS
%
INTERNS
9
10
45%
50%
10
9
50%
45%
19
95%
10
10
50%
50%
10
10
50%
50%
20
100%
8
7
40%
35%
7
8
35%
40%
15
75%
5
5
25%
25%
5
5
25%
25%
10
50%
5
3
25%
15%
5
3
25%
15%
8
40%
7
3
35%
15%
5
5
25%
25%
10
50%
3
6
15%
30%
3
6
15%
30%
9
45%
4
4
20%
20%
4
4
20%
20%
8
40%
0
3
5
0
0%
15%
25%
0%
1
1
4
2
5%
5%
20%
10%
5
3
25%
15%
1
2
5%
10%
2
1
10%
5%
3
15%
1
1
5%
5%
1
1
5%
5%
2
10%
62
test situations designed to stress each module. The simulator passed with flying colors
and I spent most of the week walking around with a huge grin on my face. Not only was
the new simulator producing more precise output than the old code (a side effect of the
extra two digits of precision in floating point numbers provided by the new development
environment), but it was doing it in a small fraction of the old execution time. I then
spent a few hours polishing up the code and checking the structure of the modules to
make sure that everything was internally self-consistent. (Joseph York, Research
internship, 2004)
When the convention got going, we found ourselves leaping on everyone who came to
our booth, delineating the merits of the various projects. We advertised PTRA and
Phystec, initiatives to improve the pedagogy of physics teachers; Spin-Up TYC, an effort
to increase the quality of community college physics departments; and ComPADRE and
Physics Central, comprehensive websites that provide information about physics for
physicists, teachers, students, or the general public. After a while we began to relax and
adopt a more conversational style to convey our message. Some of the notable people we
attracted during the exhibition were NSF officials, staffers for congressmen, and
representatives on the House Committee on Science, including Vernon Ehlers (R), who
has a Ph.D. in physics and is sympathetic to our cause. We learned later that eight
congressmen attended the event. This week was an opportunity to learn about and
directly participate in the policy efforts of the science community. It was an investigation
of the communication paths between science, government, and the public. (Stacey
Elizabeth Sude, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
All interns (100%, n=20: 10 res., 10 ed. out./pol.; 10 men, 10 women) reported group SPS field
trips and opportunities to see a variety of physics and allied science work environments. (Interns’
gains from these experiences were described above, i.e., interns’ enhanced preparation.) This
type of observation comprised 24% of the comments collected in this category:
We had a group tour of NIST last Thursday where Anthony and I got to show the rest of
the crew (minus Heather who was busy) the NIST campus and what we are doing at
NIST. They got to see our new buildings and clean room which is all class 100 for those
dying to know (aka VERY clean). I think the most fun part of the trip was riding in the
elevator in the new clean room building that you could honestly fit an elephant in and still
have room to fill. The door to the elevator was about fifteen feet wide to give you a clue
as to how big it was. (Joseph York, Research internship, 2004)
The tour of NASA-Goddard on Monday was unbelievable, given that I've wanted such a
thing since about the age of 11. Several clean rooms and filter walls, and much to my
shock I was actually able to use some of what I knew from my engineering endeavors to
answer questions about AC and air pressure in said rooms. Total dork stuff, but it made
me feel good. We talked a great deal with Dr. Trombka the most about upgrades for the
Hubble and a few cosmology experiments slated for the upcoming few years. (I had
heard his name from the VERITAS project at Purdue, and he is an absolute joy to talk
to.) (Melissa Hanafee, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
63
Seventy-five percent of interns (n=15: 8 res., 7 ed. out./pol.; 7 men, 8 women) provided clear
accounts demonstrating conceptual and practical understanding of their work objectives and
assigned responsibilities (12% of category observations discussed this). Interns new what was
expected of them:
My mentor, Dr. Vogel, arrived at NIST on Tuesday. The following days were filled with
my questions and our discussions of the project goals. We've decided to make a quick
two week detour away from the original specifications of my internship to port our
existing chunk of simulation software from Visual Basic to standard C++. We felt that
this would be a valuable addition to the project and that it would streamline the process of
adding more functionality to the simulator at a later point in the summer. I'm planning to
implement the algorithm in a very modular way so that it can be easily extended and I
feel the structure and clarity of C++ is perfect for the job. Another feature of the
reimplementation will be the strict separation between the GUI generating the parameter
file, the simulation driver, and the actual algorithm. I'm really excited at the prospect of
getting my hands dirty, so to speak, and I feel the process of recoding the algorithm will
really force me to grapple with the nuances of the theoretical background of the project.
Hopefully, it will also greatly simplify the task of adding more advanced features to the
computational model. (Justin Stimatze, Research internship, 2003)
I am investigating the strengths of the different bonds that hold DNA together moving
toward investigating this interesting problem where when DNA is pulled with a specific
force it will double in length. I am studying the interactions of the bases with each other,
sets of bases pairs with other base pairs, and the interactions of the whole chain when it is
stretched out. It's really cool and interesting, and I've been reading a lot of interesting
books and papers about it. On Monday I finally got to sit down and talk to Jayne about
my project. I had been working on the DNA project, but she originally wanted me to
work on a new project about cyclodextrins. Cyclodextrins are these really cool little
molecules made up of about 6-9 and sometimes more units of glucose formed in a ring.
The inside is hydrophobic and the outside is hydrophilic so they are often used in
pharmaceuticals to make normally insoluble compounds more soluble. We're using them
as a kind of model for enzymes, because proteins are normally far too big to use in this
way. After talking about which project I should work on, I decided to focus primarily on
the cyclodextrin project, because I found out through reading a lot of journal articles that
a lot of the DNA stuff had already been done before. Jayne's really nice, and she's very
helpful when I have problems with my calculations. (Kacey Meaker, Research internship,
2002)
One of my main jobs this summer is to find scholarships for the scholarship
clearinghouse that will be on the Nucleus website. So I've been pretty busy with that,
trying to find applicable scholarships for the website. It's harder than I originally thought
it would be…. (Rebecca Keith, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2005)
Forty percent of interns (n=8: 5 res., 3 ed. out./pol.; 5 men, 3 women) mentioned time spent
preparing for presentations and half (n=10: 7 res., 3 ed. out./pol.; 5 men, 5 women) said that they
gave presentations at their internships as well as to the SPS group as a whole. Overall, however,
64
observations of this type were relatively few in number, as they are for the rest of the
observations collected in this category (refer to Tables 27 and 28):
Hey everybody, this last week flew by. The final pressure is starting to build up because
our Powerpoint presentations for this summer's work are due by noon on Wednesday
(yikes!). I've been working on mine for a while now and our weekly meetings here at
NIST have been beneficial with all the excel work I did for them. My presentation is
coming together fairly smoothly, in fact there is too much to talk about. (Joseph York,
Research internship, 2004)
Presentations are due this week and that took a big chunk of my time. I was frantically
trying to analyze all the survey data I had gathered and man was that a lot of data. I think
I know every little icon on the excel spreadsheet by now. But I had used Microsoft
Powerpoint for my work and after consulting with Gary, I learned that I have to give a
dual presentation with Allison. So the question of how to go about it came to the table. I
worked with Alison diligently on this matter and we had something along the lines of a
presentation to turn in. Thursday was the practice presentation sessions and I had
received quite a few constructive criticisms, so did everyone else, and hence cleaned up
my work. As a matter of fact, the final presentations are on Tuesday july 28 and I'm still
trying to make it smoother. (Kibrom Tewolde, Science education outreach/policy
internship, 2004)
I spent a lot of time out of the office this week because of our final presentations.
Tuesday afternoon was spent rehearsing, which was very helpful. Then on Wednesday
was the real deal. Everybody did well, getting a lot of positive comments from the
audience. Naturally I noticed the little things about mine that were not quite right and had
to be convinced that it was good. A bunch of people came to see us speak about our
experiences this summer. Sometime over the next year we will each need to give our talk
at a professional meeting. (Matt Hall, Science education outreach/policy internship,
2005)
This week I presented twice: once for the entire AIP general public, and once for about 5
people in my research group. The difference for me was that the AIP presentation was
relatively short and general since I had a general audience with a lot of people, while the
group presentation was twice as long and included all the details of my research. I greatly
enjoyed both actually, although I always get nervous in front of large groups. I was
pleased with the good questions asked about my research in both cases. It was rewarding
to see so many important people at the AIP presentation. It was a completely new
experience on the other hand, to give a technical, detailed presentation and I am very glad
I had that opportunity. My group was well pleased with the amount and type of work I
have accomplished this summer. (Eva Wilcox, Research internship, 2002)
Forty-five percent of interns (n=9: 3 res., 6 ed. out./pol.; 3 men, 6 women) mentioned attending
congressional hearings (i.e., policy hearings concerning NSF science education funding and
restrictions on stem cell research). Most were in science education outreach/policy internships.
However, as the following quotations demonstrate, attending congressional hearings was not
65
necessarily chosen according to internship type: a research intern reports learning about national
science education funding policy and a science education outreach intern discussed learning
about stem cell research:
Thursday was the epitome of DC-ness, attending a House Science Committee hearing on
the research budget of the Department of Energy. Did you know that the DOE provides
40% of the research support in the physical sciences? This astounded me. They fund
things in cosmology, graduate student research, and other useful things. (Useful to my
career, that is.) And their funding has remained flat (at or below the rate of inflation)
since the fall of the USSR. At the hearing, the director of the DOE Office of Science
spoke about their funding needs, and two Nobel laureates (1996 in Chemistry and 1990 in
Physics) spoke about the role of the DOE in physical science research. Most of the
conversation centered on getting the younger generations interested in science. They
discussed society's perception of scientists, and how it affects youth as they choose their
careers. They also debated such topics as the need for alternative energies, and why it is
socially acceptable to be scientifically ignorant. It was a fascinating hearing, and it
reminded me how easy it is to disappear into the ivory tower of science, but how
important it is to remain politically active throughout a scientific career. (Kathryn Peak,
Research internship, 2002)
We went to a senate hearing regarding Adult Stem cells on Capital Hill on Tuesday, July
13th and it was quite a show. Lawyers vs. Scientists. The battle was quite a spectacle.
The scientists presented their testimonies and then the lawyers just ripped them apart with
yes or no questions. The scientists were getting frustrated in the end because they were
not concise in the manner they tried to answer the senators' objections. Never the less, the
doctors had a valid alibi; patients that had been treated with stem cells and that had
shown dramatic improvements in their lives. It was an experience that will stay in my
mind for a while because I realized that no matter how legitimate your case is; it’s all
about articulating it in a manner that will make everybody quiet. That's all it is... (Kibrom
Tewolde, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2004)
Small numbers of observations and actual numbers of interns (refer to Tables 27, 28, and 29)
mention other structural elements of their internships, such as attending the SPS orientation
session, safety trainings, or other informational meetings:
Monday served as our Orientation Day. We met many people serving in a variety of
positions and it quickly became too many to remember. There are also an overwhelming
number of acronyms continually used within the American Institute of Physics. (Ann
Deml, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2006)
On Monday morning, we were given a half-day orientation at the beautiful American
Center for Physics. The dedicated and enthusiastic staff immediately made us feel
welcome and they provided a fascinating tour of the various organizations that make up
the American Institute of Physics. (Justin Stimatze, Research internship, 2003)
66
Yesterday we had our quarterly Division safety meeting. Woohoo!!!! Just kidding it was
rather boring. We talked about how you have to have stickers on your phone that give the
room, paper signs outside the rooms to say whose office it is, and hazard labels outside
the door and on any cabinets and refrigerators that contain chemicals. Of course, a large
group of us are only theoretical, so we don't really have any chemicals or other safety
hazards…. These two guys came to tell us about (sell us) ergonomic chairs. Mostly they
just talked about why this one chair is really great and how to get one and stuff. And I
learned that my desk and chair are not ergonomic at all. My desk is too high, and my
chair doesn't bend or provide lumbar support or anything. Oh well I guess I will manage
to survive. It's kind of funny though. So that concluded our safety meeting. (Kacey
Meaker, Research internship, 2006)
Thursday Heather and I had several meetings to help us learn about the programs we will
be representing at the CNSF event up on Capitol Hill. (Matthew Shanks, Science
education outreach/policy internship, 2004)
Comments comprising the category of “general internship elements” highlight the structural
elements of the SPS Summer Intern Program and inform understanding of the role of structural
elements in supporting interns’ success and achieving program objectives. Descriptions of
engaging in authentic work, group SPS field trips and structured opportunities for interns to see a
variety of physics and allied science work environments, interns’ clear understanding of project
objectives and work responsibilities, preparing for and giving presentations, attending
congressional hearings, and other structured activities (i.e., the SPS orientation session, safety
trainings, or other informational meetings) show the ways in which SPS supported interns’
learning over the summer through its program structure.

Positive, “mixed,” and negative program/internship evaluations. (n=141, 9% res., 12%
ed. out./pol.; 9% men, 9% women)
The next largest number of responses collected under general observations (10% of all
observations, see Tables 1 and 2) related intern program evaluations, the majority of which were
highly positive, with very few “mixed” and negative observations.
Positive evaluations
Eighty-nine percent of interns’ evaluative observations were positive (see Tables 30 and 31).
Ninety percent of interns (n=18: 9 res., 9 ed. out./pol.; 8 men, 10 women) described how much
they were enjoying their internship work and 75% mentioned how much they were enjoying
themselves, what a great summer they were having, and how “time was flying by” (n=15: 8 res.,
7 ed. out./pol.; 7 men, 8 women) (see Table 32). Positive program evaluations of these types
were 32% and 33% of intern observations, respectively:
Everyone was very excited to return home that evening and tell each other about their
positions. (Ann Deml, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2006)
Tuesday was less hectic and I had no problem of finding a project to get into. The
projects I'm involved in seem to be a lotta fun so I'm psyched up about them. (Kibrom
Tewolde, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2004)
67
Table 30. GENERAL: Observations of program/internship evaluations by type of internship.
N of
% of
Obs.
Obs.
Type of Observation
N of % of Sci. ed. Sci. ed.
Obs. Obs.
Out./
Out./
TOTAL
%
Res.
Res.
policy
policy
OBS.
OBS.
Positive program/internship evaluations
Time flying by, really enjoying self; Great
summer
20
30%
27
36%
47
33%
Enjoying, highly engaged in science
research/ science education
outreach/policy work; Examples
21
32%
24
32%
45
32%
Likes location, setting; Washington, DC is
a nice place
9
14%
3
4%
12
9%
Great food
Excellent staff, excellent support
Group hiking trip good
SPS "goody bags" are nice
SPS is protective, provides good
supervision of interns
4
3
2
1
0
6%
5%
3%
2%
0%
7
1
1
1
1
9%
1%
1%
1%
1%
11
4
3
2
1
8%
3%
2%
1%
1%
60
91%
65
87%
125
89%
When available supervisor gives good
guidance, but often is not available
Good experience, overall, but afternoons
are SLOW
3
5%
1
1%
4
3%
1
2%
2
3%
3
2%
Sometimes lonely; no one around at work
Feels slightly misinformed about what
internship work would be
1
0
2%
0%
0
1
0%
1%
1
1
1%
1%
Wants MORE peer group interaction
0
0%
1
1%
1
1%
Negative feeling about Washington, DC,
but redeemed by seeing instance of
niceness
0
0%
1
1%
1
1%
Subtotal
Negative program/internship evaluations
Opportunities for professional networking
NOT engaging
5
6
3
8%
0%
4%
11
1
8%
0%
2%
4
8%
0%
3%
Washington, DC is NOT a nice place;
people are rude
0
0%
1
1%
1
1%
1
66
2%
100%
4
75
5%
100%
5
141
4%
100%
Subtotal
Mixed program/internship evaluations
Subtotal
TOTALS
68
Table 31. GENERAL: Observations of program/internship evaluations by gender.
N of
% of
N of
% of
Type of Observation
Obs.
Obs.
Obs.
Obs.
TOTAL
Men
Men
Women Women OBS.
Positive program/internship evaluations
Time flying by, really enjoying self;
22
37%
25
31%
47
Great summer
Enjoying, highly engaged in science
17
28%
28
35%
45
research/science education outreach/
policy work; Examples
Likes location, setting; Washington, DC
8
13%
4
5%
12
is a nice place
Great food
4
7%
7
9%
11
Excellent staff, excellent support
2
3%
2
2%
4
Group hiking trip good
1
2%
2
2%
3
SPS "goody bags" are nice
1
2%
1
1%
2
SPS is protective, provides good
0
0%
1
1%
1
supervision of interns
55
92%
70
86%
Subtotal
125
Mixed program/internship evaluations
When available supervisor gives good
1
2%
3
4%
4
guidance, but often is not available
Good experience, overall, but afternoons
1
2%
2
2%
3
are SLOW
Sometimes lonely; no one around at
0
0%
1
1%
1
work
Feels slightly misinformed about what
0
0%
1
1%
1
internship work would be
Wants MORE peer group interaction
0
0%
1
1%
1
Negative feeling about Washington, DC,
1
2%
0
0%
1
but redeemed by seeing instance of
niceness
3
5%
8
10%
Subtotal
11
Negative program/internship evaluations
Opportunities for professional
networking NOT engaging
Washington, DC is NOT a nice place;
people are rude
Subtotal
TOTALS
%
OBS.
33%
32%
9%
8%
3%
2%
1%
1%
89%
3%
2%
1%
1%
1%
1%
8%
1
2%
3
4%
4
3%
1
2%
0
0%
1
1%
2
60
3%
100%
3
81
4%
100%
5
141
4%
100%
69
Table 32. GENERAL: Number of interns citing program evaluations by type of internship and gender.
% of
Research
Interns
% of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
% of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
INTERNS
%
INTERNS
7
40%
35%
7
8
35%
40%
15
75%
9
9
45%
45%
8
10
40%
50%
18
90%
5
2
25%
10%
5
2
25%
10%
7
35%
3
3
15%
15%
2
4
10%
20%
6
30%
Excellent staff, excellent support
3
1
15%
5%
2
2
10%
10%
4
20%
Group hiking trip good
2
1
10%
5%
1
2
5%
10%
3
15%
SPS "goody bags" are nice
1
1
5%
5%
1
1
5%
5%
2
10%
SPS is protective, provides good supervision
of interns
Mixed program/internship evaluations
When available supervisor gives good
guidance, but often is not available
0
1
0%
5%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
2
1
10%
5%
1
2
5%
10%
3
15%
Good experience, overall, but afternoons are
SLOW
Sometimes lonely; no one around at work
Feels slightly misinformed about what
internship work would be
Wants MORE peer group interaction
Negative feeling about Washington, DC, but
redeemed by seeing instance of niceness
1
2
5%
10%
1
2
5%
10%
3
15%
1
0
0
1
5%
0%
0%
5%
0
0
1
1
0%
0%
5%
5%
1
1
5%
5%
0
0
1
1
0%
0%
5%
5%
0
1
1
0
0%
5%
5%
0%
1
1
5%
5%
1
3
5%
15%
1
3
5%
15%
4
20%
0
1
0%
5%
1
0
5%
0%
1
5%
Type of Observation
Positive program/internship evaluations
Time flying by, really enjoying self; Great
summer
Enjoying, highly engaged in science research/
science education outreach/policy work;
Examples
Likes location, setting; Washington, DC is a
nice place
Great food
Negative program/internship evaluations
Opportunities for professional networking
NOT engaging
Washington, DC is NOT a nice place; people
are rude
N of
Research
Interns
N of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
8
70
This summer is going by so fast. I'm having a lot of fun out here. (Bridger Anderson,
Research internship, 2005)
Well, this is the second week of my internship, and I am enjoying myself! There are
times when things seem a bit hectic, but I just take one thing at a time and seem to do
okay! (Heather Lunn, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2004)
I had a great time this summer. DC has started to grow on me, even the crazy humidity. I
don't want to start getting mushy, so thanks everyone who made this internship an
enjoyable and memorable one! (Rebecca Keith, Science education outreach/policy
internship, 2005)
This summer was an incredible experience and I sincerely hope that SPS members
reading this will consider this program for their next internship. (Justin Stimatze,
Research internship, 2003)
Hello again, and welcome to Summer Adventures with Lindsay! Wow – I can't believe
that today is my last day in DC. How shall I sum up my summer? These past eight weeks
have flown by, but I've learned so much in such a short time. This internship gave me the
chance to learn tons about conducting research, but also much more about DC and
science policy. And the internship provided the opportunity to do research, but the people
I worked with this summer at NIST were the ones who really made my first research
experience so excellent. Many thanks are due =) (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship,
2005)
I hope everyone has had as much fun as me. This has been a great experience. (Joseph
York, Research internship, 2004)
Small numbers of observations and actual numbers of interns (refer to Tables 30, 31, and 32)
discussed: liking Washington, DC, the great food, and the excellence of SPS staff and their
support of interns:
I love DC - it's a wonderful city with so many important people working in important
buildings and doing so many important things. I love the convenience of being downtown
and within walking distance of a plethora of stores, restaurants, the metro, theatres, etc. quite disparate from Ithaca! And how weird is it to walk home and pass the White
House?! (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship, 2005)
D.C. is a terrific place to go running. There is a national monument on every street
corner. (Bridger Anderson, Research internship, 2005)
The ACP picnic on Monday was fantastic. The food was amazing, and the physics
demonstrations were a blast. There were various door prizes, but since most of the interns
were doing demonstrations for kids, we weren't around to hear the drawings, so no lcd
televisions, dvd recorders, or $100 gas cards for us. (Alex Brown, Research internship
2006)
71
Sunday morning I made a French toast breakfast for Kristen and me just because she is a
great roommate. In the afternoon Erin, Kacey, and I went to Arlington Cemetery. We
watched the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and walked
around a lot, but my favorite thing was seeing the Iwo Jima statue. Sunday night we
began a new tradition for ourselves as an intern group and had an amazing supper
together. Everyone was home even those who had been gone for the weekend, and we
had some really great food. It was incredibly nice to all be together sort of like a family.
(Ann Deml, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2006)
The week ended with a cookout at Gary White's house. We met his family and also Liz
Dart Caron's family came. There was tasty food, including some great gumbo that Gary
made, and some fun stories. We got to play with some cool magnets and physics-ish toys.
Overall I think it was a very pleasant, relaxing evening. Thanks again, Gary. (Matt Hall,
Science education outreach/policy internship, 2005)
Some of interns’ final journal entries invoked reflective accounts of their summer intern
experience. While portions of the following quotations have been used as illustrative evidence
throughout this analysis, I think it worthwhile to provide here, in their fuller context, some
quotations that provide summative statements relating program outcomes and that particularly
exemplify interns’ positive experience of participating in the SPS Summer Intern Program:
I suppose I should reflect on my summer a little bit as this is my last journal entry. I
learned so much this summer I don't even know where to start. I learned some Unix and a
lot of computer programs, and I also learned a lot of biology and chemistry and even
some physics. But I also learned a lot more important stuff. I finally realized how much I
love research. I guess I sort of knew that before, but I guess I just realized how much I
truly love it. I loved going to work and reading papers and looking stuff up and putting
things together in a certain way that no one else has thought of before. This summer I
also learned to do a lot of independent work and how to figure a lot of things out by
myself. One of the best things about this summer was the really great role models that I
had the privilege of working with and learning from. They were all such wonderful
people who are really smart and determined, and I learned a lot about how to balance
career and personal life, how to deal with unhelpful people at work, and lots of other
practical things that you don't actually learn in a classroom. I also learned so much from
my fellow interns that there is no way for me to detail everything. Thanks again guys!!!
You are what made the summer so great. Cheers!!!! (Kacey Meaker, Research internship,
2006)
One final thought: Yesterday I looked back at the pictures of our orientation day. It is so
strange for me to think that only two weeks ago, we did not know each other at all and
had no idea what was going to be happening. I feel like we have all been together for so
much longer and already I would not give up this experience. Thanks so much to
everyone who is contributing to it! (Ann Deml, Science education outreach/policy
internship, 2006)
In closing, I'd like to sincerely thank Gary White and Liz Caron for their help, advice,
and tireless efforts to keep us all sane throughout the internship process. Special thanks to
72
Dr. Vogel for always taking the time to help me understand and for being patient even
when I was behind schedule, to Dr. Seiler for making all the NIST interns in Division 812
feel like part of a family, and to Dr. Suehle for always letting me think out loud and for
his helpful advice on several matters of programming style. Thanks to the SPS interns for
proving that no matter how different our backgrounds, the goals and ideals of science can
bring us together as friends. I wish you all continued success. It was a pleasure to get to
know you all. A professional nod to Mr. Klenzing, who provided not only fascinating
conversations on topics ranging from advanced mathematics to Italian opera but was also
a fine colleague who I hope to have the opportunity to work with again some day.
Finally, heartfelt thanks to Erin, Sky, and Stuart for taking me into the fold and
expanding my horizons. (Justin Stimatze, Research internship, 2003)
My lessons from this summer are so many and so varied it's hard to break them down, but
here are several areas: Academically I learned tons about chemistry. I learned about
benzene rings and pi conjugation, and refreshed my memory on a lot of basic chem too. I
learned more about how structure is related to function, and of course about organic
conducting polymers. I figured out what nanotechnology is like in the real world – not
like the self-replicating robot abstract idea, but what is being researched and used on such
a small scale and what it's good for. In terms of research and research process, I learned
about clean rooms, about the steps in the process of designing and conducting and
experiment, and about how to write a scientific paper. I learned too that labs have lots of
fun, expensive toys to play with – and I learned how to use several of them. I experienced
the joy of discovery and the frustration of finicky experiments. Wenyong taught me a lot
about what it means to do research in graduate school, and I learned the crucial
importance of finding a good advisor. Wenyong also taught me about the practical
lifestyle difference between theorists and applied physicists, and I studied the options for
my future both in science and in science policy. I learned about people skills. At work,
the group leader of our division was really effective, and watching his leadership style
was interesting and helpful. I also found out that connections are really, really important
even in the sciences. I learned to listen more to the chatty people around me, and to be
unafraid to pose deep personal questions to people I've only known for a few weeks
(remember the 4 AM game of war, kids? =) ) At work, I learned what "business casual"
means, and I learned that NIST is not. I learned how to give a Powerpoint presentation,
and I experienced having a job that ends when I leave the workplace (unless there's a
presentation the next day!). I learned about living in a city, taking the metro, and finding
a grocery store. I experienced living in a city with four Starbucks within a four-block
radius, and loved it. I found that Amtrack is not the best way to go from DC to Boston,
but I learned how to take the train. I found out that the Washington Memorial actually is
open, and that DC professional theatre and music is absolutely wonderful. Personally I
discovered that I really enjoyed doing research, much more than I thought I would. I was
also reminded that I love to learn and love to be challenged, and quickly get bored if I'm
not – which I think made those first few weeks of research all the more exciting because
they were intense learning and challenging. And finally, I realized that my worst fears
can sometimes be part of the greatest benefits. My biggest fear coming here this summer
was that I would be given something I had no experience with and would be expected to
be competent in it. I had no experience with organic chemistry or semiconductor
73
electronics before coming here, but needed to quickly gain a basic understanding of all
the jargon and ideas that form the basis of this work. Though it was quite challenging, it
wasn't too much, and I found I really enjoyed the intense learning and studying.
Wenyong said yesterday that it's when you're stretched the most that you have the best
time because you're learning the most. I agree. It's been a summer of being stretched, but
in a new way, and I'm so glad I came. Many thanks to all of you who have made this
possible!!! (Lindsay Windsor, Research internship, 2005)
The large majority (nearly 90%) of interns’ evaluative observations offered highly positive
accounts of their internship experiences. Ninety-percent of interns mentioned enjoying, and
being highly engaged in their internships.
“Mixed” evaluations
Only 8% of interns’ evaluative program observations were of a mixed nature (n=11) (see Tables
30 and 31). Mixed evaluative observations related something positive and negative. Three
interns said that their supervisor provided good guidance when available, but often was not
available (2 res., 1 ed. out./pol.; 1 men, 2 women) (see Table 32). Three interns noted an overall
good experience, but that sometimes afternoons were “slow going.” Because no one was around
at work, one woman research intern, felt lonely on occasion. While the majority of interns
described clear understanding of their project and work responsibilities, as noted above, one
woman, a science education outreach intern, expressed feeling slightly misinformed about what
the nature of the internship work would be. One intern, also a woman in a science education
outreach, voiced wanting a bit more peer group interaction. A male science education outreach
intern thought people in DC were rude, but seeing an instance of niceness, reconsidered his
assessment.
Negative evaluations
Just 4% of interns’ evaluative program evaluations were of a negative quality (n=5) (see Tables
30 and 31). Four interns (three from the same 2005 cohort) said that a particular organized event
was not interesting or a disappointment. A final negative comment (the same male science
education outreach intern offering the mixed evaluation above) concluded, after all, that DC was
a rude city and not a nice place.
Overwhelmingly, interns recorded highly positive statements of their SPS Summer Intern
Program experience, with only a few “mixed” and negative observations.

Structural elements of supervising. (n=17, 3% res., 2% ed. out./pol.; 3% men, 2% women)
One percent of all intern observations mentioned structural elements provided by their intern
supervisors (vs. by SPS, discussed above) (see Tables 1 and 2). Forty percent of interns (n=8: 4
res., 4 ed. out./pol.; 3 men, 5 women) attended an orientation session at their internship
placement. Thirty percent (n=6: 6 res., 0 ed. out./pol.; 3 men, 3 women) said their supervisor had
provided them background literature to help familiarize them with their projects. One research
intern reported that his supervisor held weekly group meetings with the research group.
74
Table 33. GENERAL: Observations of structural elements of supervising by type of internship.
N of
Obs.
Res.
% of
Obs.
Res.
N of
Obs.
Sci. ed.
Out./
policy
Supervisor provides orientation to intern
5
42%
5
100%
10
59%
Supervisor provides reading materials/
background info for project
6
50%
0
0%
6
35%
Supervisor holds regular group meetings
1
8%
0
0%
1
6%
TOTALS
12
100%
5
100%
17
100%
Type of Observation
% of Obs.
Sci. ed.
Out./
policy
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
Table 34. GENERAL: Observations of structural elements of supervising by gender.
N of
Obs.
Men
% of
Obs.
Men
N of
Obs.
Women
% of Obs.
Women
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
Supervisor provides orientation to intern
4
57%
6
60%
10
59%
Supervisor provides reading materials/
background info for project
3
43%
3
30%
6
35%
Supervisor holds regular group meetings
0
0%
1
10%
1
6%
TOTALS
7
100%
10
100%
17
100%
Type of Observation
Table 35. GENERAL: Number of interns citing structural elements of supervising by type of
internship and gender.
N of
Research
Interns
N of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
Supervisor provides
orientation to
intern
4
Supervisor provides
reading
materials/
background
info for project
Supervisor holds
regular group
meetings
Type of Observation
% of
Research
Interns
% of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
% of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
INTERNS
%
INTERNS
4
20%
20%
3
5
15%
25%
8
40%
6
0
30%
0%
3
3
15%
15%
6
30%
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
75

How gains were produced. (n=15, 1% res., 1% ed. out./pol.; 0% men, 2% women)
Though a small number, comments in this category highlight how these interns learned: 1%
percent of all intern observations detailed how gains were produced (see Tables 1 and 2). Three
interns (1 res., 2 ed. out./pol.; 1 men, 2 women, see Table 38) said that the process of planning
for, practicing, and giving presentations was valuable in improving their presentation skills.
Three interns (1 res., 2 ed. out./pol.; 1 men, 2 women) described how intensive, authentic work
experience produced gains unavailable in “classroom” learning. One science education outreach
intern said that her present science education outreach/policy internship involved entirely
different learning than that of a previous research experience:
This week was all about getting my Powerpoint presentation done for the real deal that is
TOMORROW (July 27th)! On Tuesday I gave a crude presentation to my NIST group to
get their input on my speech, and I did the same thing with my AIP group on Thursday.
Everybody has given me some pointers that I've taken into account on my presentation
and I feel it's now a solid presentation (Joseph York, Research internship, 2004)
I learned a lot about how to balance career and personal life, how to deal with unhelpful
people at work, and lots of other practical things that you don't actually learn in a
classroom. (Kacey Meaker, Research internship, 2006)
I found I really enjoyed the intense learning and studying. (Lindsay Windsor, Research
internship, 2005)
This was a somewhat low-key workweek. There were several meetings (staff,
ComPADRE, phone, etc.), and I scheduled future meetings with even more people, but
there was none of the late-into-the-night equipment running that I'm used to. (Melissa
Hanafee, Science education outreach/policy internship (2003)
Table 36. GENERAL: Observations on how gains were produced by type of internship.
N of
Obs.
Res.
% of
Obs.
Res.
N of Obs.
Sci. ed.
Out./
policy
% of Obs.
Sci. ed.
Out./
policy
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
Peer group learning beneficial: improved
presentation; general increase in
learning from constructive feedback
“Real life” learning can not be learned in
classroom; active participation
Intensive learning
4
50%
5
71%
9
60%
2
25%
1
14%
3
20%
2
25%
0
0%
2
13%
Different type of research experience than in
previous experience: different learning
experience
0
0%
1
14%
1
7%
TOTALS
8
100%
7
100%
15
100%
Type of Observation
76
Table 37. GENERAL: Observations on how gains were produced by gender.
N of
Obs.
Men
% of
Obs.
Men
Peer group learning beneficial: improved
presentation; general increase in learning
from constructive feedback
“Real life” learning can not be learned in
classroom; active participation
2
100%
7
0
0%
Intensive learning
0
Different type of research experience than in
previous experience: different learning
experience
TOTALS
Type of Observation
77
N of
% of
Obs.
Obs.
Women Women
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
55%
9
73%
3
23%
3
20%
0%
2
15%
2
13%
0
0%
1
8%
1
7%
2
100%
13
100%
15
100%
Table 38. GENERAL: Number of interns citing how gains were produced by type of internship and gender.
N of
Research
Interns
N of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
% of
Research
Interns
% of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
% of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
INTERNS
%
INTERNS
Peer group learning beneficial:
improved presentation;
general increase in learning
from constructive feedback
1
2
5%
10%
1
2
5%
10%
3
15%
“Real life” learning can not be
learned in classroom; active
participation
2
1
10%
5%
0
3
0%
15%
3
15%
Intensive learning
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Different type of research
experience than in previous
experience: different
learning experience
0
1
0%
5%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Type of Observation
78

Miscellaneous. (n=30, 3% res., 2% ed. out./pol.; 3% men, 2% women)
Two percent of all intern observations were collected in a “miscellaneous” category (see Tables
1 and 2). This category captures comments not easily categorized elsewhere. Two important
types of “miscellaneous” observations included: six interns who noted that their supervisor was
away (5 res., 1 ed. out./pol.; 2 men, 4 women, see Table 41) and four (2 res., 2 ed. out./pol.; 2
men, 2 women) who reported working independently while their supervisor was away, mostly
with good pre-planned direction:
Wow. Wow. Did I say wow? This sure has been a busy week. It has absolutely just flown
by! I can't believe it - I swear that yesterday was Monday! Anyway, it was a really good
week. I made a lot of progress on my project. Fred was out 2 days, but I had plenty to
keep me busy. I got together with him (Christine Zaruba, Research internship, 2004)
Well, this week was largely uneventful. Mostly because my adviser is on vacation. He
gave me a good start last week, and came in on Monday just to check in, but it was a
week of being self-directed (Kathryn Peak, Research internship, 2002)
This week, my supervisor was at a conference presenting a paper, so I was kind of on my
own at work. I continued to analyze the SE data, and tried some more to take data on the
IPE instrument, but it appears to need repairs. (Alex Brown, Research internship, 2006)
Before Gary left for vacation and business last week, he charged me with the task of
ordering supplies for and assembling variable intensity light sources for the light portion
of the SOCK. He suggested that I purchase battery holders and batteries, bulb holders and
bulbs, 1 F capacitors, and alligator clips in order to construct the lamps. (Stacey Elizabeth
Sude, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
Another observation in this category was an intern’s hope that students he worked with came
away from their experience with a view of science that was less “nerdy”:
What I've learned this week is that I hate to leave camp. This time around I had to leave
the kids and deal with their questions on why I was leaving. It was hard to tell them I had
to leave and wouldn't see them again. I really enjoyed getting to know them and I hope
they don't fall into the pitfall of believing learning isn't fun because of the nerdy
stereotype (Matthew Shanks, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2004)
Another relates an intern’s understanding that the science being taught needed to be aimed at the
appropriate level:
Gary and I spent quite a while trying to reach a purely qualitative understanding of some
light phenomena, in order to devise a means to convey new concepts to children. We
played with a tray of water to try to visualize the change in a wave's propagation through
various slit sizes, forming passages between 2 sponges. We tried using spandex in the
same respect. We also toyed with the idea of illustrating constructive and destructive
interference at a level eighth graders could understand. (Stacey Elizabeth Sude, Science
education outreach/policy internship, 2003)
79
Table 39. GENERAL: Miscellaneous observations by type of internship.
N of
Obs.
Res.
% of
Obs.
Res.
N of Obs.
Sci. ed. Out./
policy
% of Obs.
Sci. ed.
Out./
policy
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
Supervisor is away
With supervisor away intern
has to work
independently
6
3
32%
16%
1
1
9%
9%
7
4
23%
13%
Easy adjustment to internship
re. living situation
2
11%
2
18%
4
13%
Long commute by subway to
internship
3
16%
0
0%
3
10%
Living in university dorm
room
Student sick: goes to ER
1
5%
1
9%
2
7%
1
5%
0
0%
1
3%
Family member passed away
1
5%
0
0%
1
3%
Credit card cancelled
1
5%
0
0%
1
3%
1st research exp
1
5%
0
0%
1
3%
2nd research exp
0
0%
1
9%
1
3%
Hopes outreach students have
learned about real
scientists; corrected
stereotypes
Understanding teaching at
appropriate level
0
0%
1
9%
1
3%
0
0%
1
9%
1
3%
Observations of student
learning gains from
education outreach work
0
0%
1
9%
1
3%
Peers in college SPS chapter
tell about intern
experience: motivate
increased involvement
Strong mentoring in college
SPS chapter is positive
experience important to
intern's involvement in
SPS
TOTALS
0
0%
1
9%
1
3%
0
0%
1
9%
1
3%
19
100%
11
100%
30
100%
Type of Observation
80
Table 40. GENERAL: Miscellaneous observations by gender.
N of
% of
Type of Observation
Obs.
Obs.
N of Obs.
Men
Men
Women
% of
Obs.
Women
TOTAL
OBS.
%
OBS.
Supervisor is away
2
13%
5
36%
7
23%
With supervisor away intern has
to work independently
1
6%
3
21%
4
13%
Easy adjustment to internship re.
living situation
Long commute by subway to
internship
2
13%
2
14%
4
13%
2
13%
1
7%
3
10%
Living in university dorm room
2
13%
0
0%
2
7%
Student sick: goes to ER
1
6%
0
0%
1
3%
Family member passed away
1
6%
0
0%
1
3%
Credit card cancelled
1st research exp
1
0
6%
0%
0
1
0%
7%
1
1
3%
3%
2nd research exp
1
6%
0
0%
1
3%
Hopes outreach students have
learned about real scientists;
corrected stereotypes
1
6%
0
0%
1
3%
Understanding teaching at
appropriate level
0
0%
1
7%
1
3%
Observations of student learning
gains from education
outreach work
0
0%
1
7%
1
3%
Peers in college SPS chapter tell
about intern experience:
motivate increased
involvement
Strong mentoring in college SPS
chapter is positive
experience important to
intern's involvement in SPS
TOTALS
1
6%
0
0%
1
3%
1
6%
0
0%
1
3%
16
100%
14
100%
30
100%
81
Table 41. GENERAL: Number of interns citing miscellaneous observations by type of internship and gender.
Type of Observation
Supervisor is away
With supervisor away intern has to work
independently
Easy adjustment to internship re. living
situation
Long commute by subway to internship
Living in university dorm room
Student sick: goes to ER
Family member passed away
Credit card cancelled
1st research exp
2nd research exp
Hopes outreach students have learned
about real scientists; corrected
stereotypes
Understanding teaching at appropriate
level
Observations of student learning gains
from education outreach work
Peers in college SPS chapter tell about
intern experience: motivate increased
involvement
Strong mentoring in college SPS chapter
is positive experience important to
intern's involvement in SPS
N of
Research
Interns
N of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
% of
Research
Interns
% of
Sci ed
outreach/
policy
Interns
N of
Men
N of
Women
% of
Men
% of
Women
TOTAL
INTERNS
%
INTERNS
5
3
1
1
25%
15%
5%
5%
2
1
4
3
10%
5%
20%
15%
6
4
30%
20%
2
2
10%
10%
2
2
10%
10%
4
20%
3
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
15%
5%
5%
5%
5%
5%
0%
0%
0%
5%
0%
0%
0%
0%
5%
5%
2
2
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
10%
10%
5%
5%
5%
0%
5%
5%
5%
0%
0%
0%
0%
5%
0%
0%
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
15%
10%
5%
5%
5%
5%
5%
5%
0
1
0%
5%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
0
1
0%
5%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
0
1
0%
5%
1
0
5%
0%
1
5%
0
1
0%
5%
1
0
5%
0%
1
5%
82
One intern mentioned strong mentoring in the SPS chapter at his university was important to his
increased involvement with SPS and the SPS Summer Intern Program:
Mark's involvement in SPS chapter activities was low-key at first. He would basically
listen to what other members in the chapter were working on, such as presentations,
outreach programs, and papers. It was with the united chapter effort of organizing and
hosting an SPS Zone Meeting that his involvement grew. From this experience and with
the immense support of his chapter advisor, Dr. White, he got involved in physics and
science outreach projects. His involvement in his chapter's outreach activities have turned
out to be some of the most rewarding experiences he's had. The positive feedback, thank
you's and complements that he's received from students, teachers and fellow classmates
after having given an outreach presentation have been quite moving and very inspiring.
When he first got involved in these projects, he had no idea that they would have such a
positive impact in so many ways. His involvement in outreach programs also played a
large part in his being selected as an SPS Intern at the American Institute of Physics
(AIP). (Mark Lentz, Science education outreach/policy internship, 2001)
The remaining comments are, generally, simple statements about their summer living experience
(i.e., living in university dorms, long metro rides) and individuals’ unique problems (i.e., getting
sick and going to the ER, having a credit card cancelled, etc.) (refer to Tables 39, 40 and 41).
In summary, just over a third of all intern observations were grouped as general observations.
The majority described structural program elements supporting intern learning and highly
positive program evaluations. Very small numbers of comments and actual numbers of interns
reported: supervisors’ structural internship elements, intern views on how their learning was
enabled, and other miscellaneous observations.
As a final review, broadly, analysis of interns’ journals identified: types of gains derived from
participation in the SPS Summer Intern Program; descriptions of general SPS internship
elements; and program evaluations. Nearly 70% of participants’ observations described benefits
from participating in the SPS Summer Intern Program. They discussed gains in: personal growth,
personal-professional gains; increases in applied understanding of how science research and
science education outreach/policy work is actually done; gains in knowledge; enhanced
understanding of professional work contexts and preparation for advance study and entry to the
workforce; increased understanding of professional norms and practice, as well as demonstrated
and developed character traits deemed important to professional work in the field. Few
observations were offered concerning gains in skills, career clarification and confirmation, or
enhanced educational experience. The remaining one-third of intern comments were grouped as
general observations. A majority of interns’ comments comprising general observations
described SPS internship elements and program evaluations. A small number of interns also
mentioned: specific ways in which mentors supported their work as interns; how gains were
produced and miscellaneous comments. Collectively, intern observations described a rich, multifaceted range of benefits derived from program participation and the structural elements
supporting learning. Highly positive program evaluations offered by interns were testament to
the fun, hard work, and community experienced by these participants in the SPS Summer Intern
Program.
83
Analyses of Internship Type and Gender
One of the objectives of analyzing SPS intern journals was to uncover discernable differences in
the reports of participants engaging in a science research vs. science education outreach/policy
internship, or between men’s and women’s experience of the SPS Summer Intern Program.
In looking at percentages of observations offered by interns in science research vs. those in
science education outreach/policy internships (see Table 1) and those offered by men vs. women
(see Table 2), we can see that for each category of findings (across program outcomes, as well as
general observations), that both sets are well-aligned. Observations of program outcomes were
67% of science research interns’ comments as compared to 66% of science education
outreach/policy interns’ and 66% of men’s comments as compared to 67% of women’s.
Remaining general observations, obviously, reflected proportionately balanced results.
The top ranking categories in program outcomes—personal growth and personal-professional
gains—show evenly distributed percentages, both for internship type and gender. The one
instance where we see a slight imbalance appears to be idiosyncratic to the type of internship:
14% of research vs. 10% for science education outreach/policy intern observations discussed
gains in “thinking and working like a professional.” This is due to a much higher number of
science research interns (n=7: 3 men, 5 women) vs. science education outreach interns (just one)
(see Table 11) who reported understanding results produced in their research work fit theoretical
models. Indeed, one would not necessarily expect science education outreach/policy interns to
report this type of gain from their experience.
As the sample is small (20 interns), differences in percentages between types of internship and
gender become less meaningful in the lower ranked categories, i.e., for inference from findings
for “enhanced preparation” (9% of all observations) and “becoming a professional” (8% of all
observations) categories, or below.
However, in reviewing tables of individual breakouts of each category presented throughout this
report, we again see that percentages of observations by type of internship and gender are well
balanced. This is also true for actual numbers of interns citing a particular observation. There are
two instances of variation by research type. Deviations by type of internship at this discrete level
are again explained by the different work experiences offered in science research internships
from those in science education outreach/policy work. A noticeably higher number of science
education outreach/policy interns mentioned opportunities to see professional work contexts,
increased knowledge of physics and allied science community, and how work is done in practice:
9 vs. two research interns (5 men, 6 women) (see Table 14). This is likely due to observations
offered by the five education outreach interns (1 man, 4 women) who were representing the
American Institute of Physics at the CNSF (no science research interns reported this). In the
“becoming a professional” category, four science research (2 men, 2 women) , but no science
education outreach/policy interns (see Table 17) reported learning that trial and error is necessary
in research work: again, not a gain necessarily to be expected from a science education
outreach/policy internship. Thus, there were no important differences between the types of gains
that were reported by those participating in science research internships vs. those participating in
science education outreach/policy internships.
84
Overall, there were no discernable differences between men’s and women’s accounts of their
SPS Summer Intern Program. Tables showing actual numbers of interns reporting a particular
gain are balanced according to gender across the data set. Small variations in the numbers of
observations offered by men as compared to women show that, for example, women offered
more and repeated comments on peer collegiality and expressed a strong sense of belonging to a
community more often than men, while men offered more observations than women concerning
opportunities for closer interaction with their supervisors (see Table 7). However, Table 8 shows
that interns’ citing these gains were balanced by gender. Appendix A provides an overview of
actual numbers of interns reporting a particular gain by type of internship and by gender.
Virtually all observations were balanced across type of internship and gender.
To get a big picture of the number of interns taking away gains from the SPS Summer Intern
Program, I looked at the number of gains codes used in coding individual interns’ journal entries
as well as the total number of gains observations coded (see Appendices B and C). We find that
two women, both in a science research internship were the “highest gainers”: Lindsay Windsor
(2005) and Kacey Meaker (2005) cited the highest number of gains and offered the most gains
observations, accounting for 26% of all interns’ gains observations. An additional six interns
came out as “high gainers” and accounted for 36% of all gains observations (see Figure 4).
Given the range of gains cited (11 as a minimum and 48 as the maximum), these interns’ journals
contained half or more of all gains codes used. Thus, four women (two science research and two
science education outreach/policy interns) and four men (also two science research and two
science education outreach/policy interns) show that gains for interns are balanced according to
type of internship and gender.
Figure 4. Gains codes used per journal, total number of gains observations coded, and
percent of all gains observations, by intern.
INTERN
Lindsay Windsor, Science research, 2005
Kacey Meaker, Science research, 2006
Melissa Hanafee, Science education outreach/policy, 2003
Bridger Anderson, Science research, 2005
Matt Hall, Science education outreach/policy, 2005
Justin Stimatze, Science research, 2003
Matthew Shanks, Science education outreach/policy, 2004
Stacey Elizabeth, Science education outreach/policy, 2003
Kibrom Tewolde, Science education outreach/policy, 2004
Ann Deml, Science education outreach/policy, 2006
Alex Brown, Science research, 2006
Heather Lunn, Science education outreach/policy, 2004
Eva Wilcox, Science research, 2002
Christine Zaruba, Science research, 2004
Brent Janus, Science research, 2002
Kathryn Peek, Science research 2002
Joseph York, Science research, 2004
Rebecca Keith, Science education outreach/policy, 2005
Jason Tabeling, Science education outreach/policy, 2002
Mark Lentz Policy/ Outreach 2001
TOTAL OBSERVATIONS
85
TOTAL
GAINS
CODES
48
38
27
26
24
24
23
21
18
17
16
16
14
14
14
13
12
12
11
11
TOTAL
OBS.
123
113
56
47
65
63
60
40
43
70
54
33
27
22
17
18
14
13
16
14
908
% ALL
OBS
14%
12%
6%
5%
7%
7%
7%
4%
5%
8%
6%
4%
3%
2%
2%
2%
2%
1%
2%
2%
100%
Findings from varied analyses of the intern journal data set all show that benefits to interns’ were
similar regardless of type of internship or gender.
Discussion
As stated at the outset of this report, SPS provided no direction as to word limit and only broad
guidelines as to what interns should write about in their weekly journals, suggesting that “a
variety of science, policy and outreach-related activities” and other weekly or special events be
included. Without specific instruction of what or what not to include beyond this, interns’ journal
entries reflect a freeform data set. Thus while commonalities among interns’ journals concerning
weekly activities and structured events may be expected, what they record in regards to learning
gains is notable, as these observations are offered spontaneously, without prompting. It is an
important finding, then, that results from the qualitative analysis of a sample of intern journals
should show that almost 70% of interns’ observations described program outcomes
encompassing a broad range and variety of personal, intellectual and professional benefits,
demonstrating the multiple dimensions of student learning derived from the SPS Summer Intern
Program. Nonetheless, it is important to keep in mind that interns’ may very well have gained
benefits that they did not report. For instance, interns’ may indeed have made greater gains in
career clarification and in seeing the transfer of their learning to future coursework, but simply
did not record these insights in their journal entries. Thus, it is likely that at lease some intern
gains are under-reported.
The highest number of all observations reported in interns’ journals described gains in personal
growth as an outcome of participating in an SPS summer internship (20%). Ninety-five percent
of interns wrote about the numerous opportunities to explore Washington, DC and to take in the
wealth of learning the city has to offer. A large majority of journal entries (80%) also included
accounts of other personal time spent outside their internship, such as reading, shopping, and
going out in DC. Comments related to interns’ personal growth also described the strong
collegiality that developed between SPS interns in their time away from work. Two–thirds of
interns mentioned going places and doing things together with other SPS interns in their time off.
As well, nearly half of interns specifically noted their SPS summer internship as a wonderful
personal experience that helped them as young adults to discover themselves. Thus the largest
set of benefits discussed by interns in their journal entries reflect personal gains they took away
from their experience. In a recent report presenting outcomes from a Carleton College offcampus field research program in marine biology, personal growth also ranked first among
outcomes (Hunter, 2006). Personal gains are important because they speak to the goals of
educating students as well-rounded human beings and of helping students to develop as young
adults capable of participating in a complex world. Indeed, providing a holistic education that
meets the needs of the “whole” student is a longstanding tenet of education that is still viewed as
a central purpose of colleges and universities today (Dewey, 1933, 1938; Shor, 1987; Giroux,
1988; Freire, 1990; Boyer Report, 1998; Baxter Magolda, 1999, 2001, 2004). From SPS interns’
journal entries, it is clear that living in and exploring Washington, DC, as well as living closely
among a group of peers, strongly contributed to their personal growth.
The SPS Summer Intern Program is somewhat unique in that it offers two types of internships:
hands-on undergraduate research (UR) experience in the sciences and authentic professional
experience in science education outreach/policy work. In providing a UR experience in the
86
sciences and an internship in the field of science education and policy, it is interesting to
compare gains from the SPS Summer Intern Program with those identified by recent research
studies examining the benefits to students of UR programs (Ward, Bennett and Bauer, 2002;
Zydney, et al., 2002; Bauer and Bennett, 2003; Lopatto, 2004; Seymour, et al., 2004; Russell,
2005; Hunter, Laursen & Seymour, 2006) as findings from these studies provide extra framing
for interpreting results.
Ranking second in number of intern observations on program outcomes, a smaller percentage of
all observations described personal-professional gains—personal gains associated with their
hands-on professional work experience, including developing professional collegiality with work
peers and supervisors. Participants’ comments in this category emphasized the benefit of
professional collegiality built upon close interaction with other interns at their workplace. Gains
in professional collegiality were reported by 60% of interns. Sixty percent of interns also
mentioned opportunities for closer interactions with their supervisors. Nearly half mentioned
ways in which their supervisors acted in a collegial manner by supporting their learning, sharing
knowledge and experience, modeling professional practice, and offering good guidance.
Participating in and the development of a broader group collegiality were also noted in 55% of
interns’ journals. In these entries, interns related larger group activities both as part of their work,
i.e., organized tours, science education outreach events or attending events on Capitol Hill, as
well as more relaxed social interactions with SPS program staff. While a majority of interns
(55%) noted how happy and excited they were to get good results and were relieved and satisfied
to find their work activities successful, only a handful of interns’ (four) went further, expressing
gains in confidence due to their learning and sense of accomplishment. Intern’s personalprofessional gains demonstrate the positive affective gains associated with authentic professional
work experience. These gains support professional socialization and students’ identity
development as young professionals.
Close in number of observations to the personal-professional gains category, comments collected
in “thinking and working like a professional” described intellectual benefits derived from the
SPS Summer Intern Program. Overall, interns noted several types of intellectual gains. A
majority of interns (80%) described applied learning gains in terms of their active engagement in
authentic work and opportunities to integrate academic knowledge with field applications. Some
interns (eight) went further and mentioned their results fitting theoretical models, demonstrating
a higher-level intellectual gain from their experience. Four interns discussed another high-level
intellectual gain: participating in the design of their research or participating in lesson planning
and development for science education outreach activities. Sixty-five percent of interns also
described gains in new knowledge, as well as increased understanding of connections within and
between the sciences. These gains highlight interns’ applied learning, intellectual growth and
increased understanding of how professionals work by engaging in hands-on practice.
To meet the objective of developing collegiality among physics students and professionals in
physics and allied sciences, the SPS Summer Intern Program has specifically structured the
program to provide opportunities for interns to interact with professionals in varied fields and
work contexts. Attending congressional hearings and sessions with law- and policy makers as
well as intern-organized tours of their work sites enhanced understanding of professional life and
practice. As part of relating the activities of their internship, 65% of interns discussed
87
opportunities to meet with, talk with, and learn from politicians, science researchers, and science
education outreach and policy practitioners in authentic professional contexts. These
observations demonstrate the ways in which the half-day field trips to attend various
congressional hearings and tours of government research labs broadened interns’ exposure to
physics and allied science environments (reported by 55% of interns). Talking with their
supervisors and other professionals, learning about what professionals do in their work, gaining a
closer view of professionals balancing work life and personal life, and making connections with
important people in the field were program outcomes recorded in SPS intern journal entries.
Intern comments collected in the “becoming a professional” category conveyed (in almost equal
measures) increased understanding of the nature of professional work and the demonstration and
development of attitudes and behaviors viewed as character traits necessary for professional
work in the field. As with the above categories, these types of gains are evidence that interns’ are
developing as young professionals and that authentic learning experiences encourage their
professional socialization. These outcomes are viewed as important to students “becoming
professionals” and ensuring a future professional workforce.
Gains categories comprised of observations related to participants’ personal growth, personalprofessional gains, “thinking and working like a professional,” “enhanced preparation”
“becoming a professional,”—and, in much smaller numbers, career clarification and skills—
match those described by Seymour, et al. (2004) and Hunter, Laursen & Seymour (2006) in their
study to establish the benefits to students of undergraduate research experiences. Interns’
emphases on the personal, intellectual and professional growth that they experienced as a result
of program participation are similarly reported. Gains cited across these categories all document
the depth of participants’ engagement in their learning, and, again, reflect participants’ holistic
learning (Shor, 1987; Giroux, 1988; Freire, 1990; Boyer Report, 1998; Baxter Magolda, 1999,
2001, 2004). Importantly, these learning gains demonstrate program benefits that are consistent
with national science education policy objectives and are promoted by relevant national funding
organizations and institutions of higher education (Boyer Commission, 2002; National Science
Foundation, 2000, 2003a; National Research Council, 1999, 2000, 2003a, 2003b).
Comments comprising the category of “general internship elements” highlight the structural
elements of the SPS Summer Intern Program and inform understanding of the role of structural
elements in supporting interns’ success and in achieving program objectives. From their
accounts, it is clear that interns were participating in authentic work (95% of interns offered clear
descriptions of their active engagement in their projects and 75% of interns provided clear
accounts demonstrating conceptual and practical understanding of their work objectives and
assigned responsibilities). All interns reported group SPS field trips and opportunities to see a
variety of physics and allied science work environments. Nearly half mentioned attending
congressional hearings. Descriptions of engaging in authentic work, participating in group SPS
field trips and structured opportunities for interns to see a variety of work contexts, interns’ clear
understanding of project objectives and work responsibilities, and other structured activities (i.e.,
the SPS orientation session, safety trainings, or other informational meetings) show that the SPS
program structure is successful in supporting intern’s learning and in meeting stated program
objectives.
88
The majority (nearly 90%) of intern program evaluations were highly positive. Ninety percent of
interns described how much they were enjoying their internship work and 75% mentioned how
much they were enjoying themselves, what a great summer they were having, and how “time
was flying by.” Interns’ positive evaluations reflect and corroborate personal gains reported from
their SPS intern experience.
Overall, observations made by participants in science research vs. science education
outreach/policy internships and by men and women were similar in nature and in number.
Indeed, there is remarkable alignment in the balance of observations recorded by science
research vs. science education outreach/policy interns and between men’s and women’s
observations in every category across the data set. From analyses of the data set, it is evident that
the many benefits which interns described as outcomes of program participation were reported
equally by science research interns as by science education outreach/policy interns and by men
as by women.
Findings from the qualitative analysis of a sample of intern journal entries exploring the efficacy
of this type of program assessment as a tool for program evaluation document strong impacts on
participants’ personal, professional and intellectual development and provide empirical evidence
that the SPS program structure is well aligned with and supports the achievement of its program
objectives. Overwhelmingly positive program evaluations are testament to interns’ excellent
experiences with the SPS Summer Intern Program.
Conclusions
Observations recorded in intern journals support the conclusion that program objectives aimed at
encouraging and assisting students interested in physics to develop knowledge, competence
enthusiasm and social responsibility, interest in advance study and research in physics, and
collegiality among physics students and professionals in physics and allied sciences, are being
met. Evidence of many of the learning gains associated with program participation, i.e., personal
growth, personal-professional development, gains in intellectual understanding of how a
profession operates in hands-on practice, exposure to varied work contexts and possibilities (and
gaining connections to them), as well as increased understanding of the nature of professional
work, norms and practice and demonstrated attitudes and behaviors necessary to students’
continuing on in the profession, are benefits that coincide with research documenting the
beneficial outcomes of similar intensive, mentored learning experiences.
Collectively, intern observations on their personal growth, personal-professional benefits,
intellectual gains in “thinking and working like a professional,” enhanced understanding of and
preparation for advance study and workforce entry, increased understanding of the nature of
professional work, as well as the development of professional attitudes and behaviors, document
powerful program outcomes. Highly positive program evaluations of interns’ intensive,
experiential learning complement interns’ gains observations. Findings from the qualitative
analysis of a sample of SPS intern journals demonstrate a breadth of important personal,
intellectual and professional outcomes resulting from program participation in the SPS Summer
Intern Program.
89
Qualitative analysis of interns’ journals shows their efficacy as a tool for program assessment.
However, as previously stated, open-ended guidelines for interns’ journal entries likely means
that at least some gains are under-reported. Although intern journals are clearly useful as a
program assessment tool, there is a weakness in that they do not collect the same information
from every participant consistently, e.g., as a survey would. Too, analyzing this qualitative data
for the purposes of program evaluation is costly and time intensive.
A strong benefit of having conducted this qualitative analysis is that SPS now has a framework
upon which a grounded survey instrument that can query all participants about all gains, or other
issues, may be built. Indeed, qualitative research typically precedes survey development. Thus,
having identified the range and type of benefits interns report from program participation, SPS is
now in a good position to move forward in developing an instrument that will provide greater
consistency and accuracy of data to aid in evaluating program outcomes. Development of such
an instrument, might, in fact, serve as the basis of a future SPS summer intern opportunity.
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92
APPENDIX A. Number of interns offering a particular observation, by type of internship experience and by gender.
Total N
Sources for
RESEARCH
Journals
Total N
Sources for
POLICY/
EDUC
OUTREACH
Journals
Total N
Sources for
RESEARCH
Journals
Total N
Sources for
POLICY/
EDUC
OUTREACH
Journals
Total N
Sources
for Men's
Journals
Total N
Sources
for
Women's
Journals
% N of
Sources
for Men's
Journals
% N of
Sources
for
Women's
Journals
TOTAL N
SOURCES
% N of
SOURCES
Group SPS professional field trips
meetings Opportunity to see other allied
fields environments
10
10
50%
50%
10
10
50%
50%
20
100%
Opportunities for tourist sightseeing
museums, etc.
10
9
50%
45%
10
9
50%
45%
19
95%
Describes policy outreach work tasks
Hands on work
9
10
45%
50%
10
9
50%
45%
19
95%
Enjoying, highly engaged in
research/policy outreach work;
Examples
Personal time away from research
policy outreach work
9
9
45%
45%
8
10
40%
50%
18
90%
9
7
45%
35%
9
7
45%
35%
16
80%
Expresses learning by doing Hands on
experience Applied learning
8
8
40%
40%
8
8
40%
40%
16
80%
Discusses purpose of research outreach
work Expresses understanding
8
7
40%
35%
7
8
35%
40%
15
75%
Time flying by, really enjoying self;
Great summer
8
7
40%
35%
7
8
35%
40%
15
75%
Peer collegiality, fooling around,
socializing in evening, helping each
other
New knowledge gains
Opportunity to integrate coursework
with hands on research Increased
understanding of connections/transfer
between/within sciences
Research/policy outreach work slow
going; Difficulties/mistakes with
instrumentation and producing
results/working with children
7
6
35%
30%
7
6
35%
30%
13
65%
7
8
6
5
35%
40%
30%
25%
5
6
8
7
25%
30%
40%
35%
13
13
65%
65%
7
6
35%
30%
7
6
35%
30%
13
65%
OBSERVATIONS
93
Opportunities to meet and talk with
important people discussing science
5
8
25%
40%
7
6
35%
30%
13
65%
Peer collegiality in general
Supervisor collegiality Opportunity for
closer interactions
6
6
6
6
30%
30%
30%
30%
5
7
7
5
25%
35%
35%
25%
12
12
60%
60%
Increased understanding of how science
research/policy/education outreach
works in applied practice
6
5
30%
25%
5
6
25%
30%
11
55%
Belonging to community: group SPS
social activities
7
4
35%
20%
6
5
30%
25%
11
55%
Excited that results are good/will be
publishable; Outreach work has gone so
well; Personal satisfaction with good
results produced
5
6
25%
30%
4
7
20%
35%
11
55%
Opportunity to see professional
working context; Increased knowledge
of physics and allied science
community, how science research
policy outreach work is done in practice
Time preparing poster for presentation
Gives presentation to internship group
Internship has been a wonderful
personal growth experience
2
9
10%
45%
5
6
25%
30%
11
55%
5
7
6
5
3
3
25%
35%
30%
25%
15%
15%
5
5
4
5
5
5
25%
25%
20%
25%
25%
25%
10
10
9
50%
50%
45%
Supervisor provides meaningful
interaction: shares knowledge,
experience, good guidance
More realistic understanding of science
and how professionals work in practice
5
4
25%
20%
5
4
25%
20%
9
45%
3
6
15%
30%
5
4
25%
20%
9
45%
Excitement at prospect of working with
real scientists; excited/enthusiastic
about ensuing internship
2
7
10%
35%
5
4
25%
20%
9
45%
Attended congressional hearing on NSF
budget Stem Cell How science is
funded argued
Parents, family, friends come to visit;
Some going to visit
3
6
15%
30%
3
6
15%
30%
9
45%
3
5
15%
25%
4
4
20%
20%
8
40%
Understanding results produced fit
theoretical models
7
1
35%
5%
3
5
15%
25%
8
40%
Opportunity to find out what hands on
work in this field is like
5
3
25%
15%
3
5
15%
25%
8
40%
Gives presentation to SPS intern group
5
3
25%
15%
5
3
25%
15%
8
40%
94
Attended orientation session at
beginning of summer
4
4
20%
20%
4
4
20%
20%
8
40%
Supervisor provides orientation to
intern
Learning interesting things not related
to internship
4
4
20%
20%
3
5
15%
25%
8
40%
3
4
15%
20%
3
4
15%
20%
7
35%
Novel personal experiences Really
wonderful
Knowledge gains that enhance
preparation for/transfer to advanced
study or workforce entry
4
3
20%
15%
2
5
10%
25%
7
35%
2
5
10%
25%
4
3
20%
15%
7
35%
Opportunities to see who, what personal
life of a scientist is like
4
3
20%
15%
2
5
10%
25%
7
35%
Going above and beyond, putting in
extra effort
5
2
25%
10%
4
3
20%
15%
7
35%
Working with computer software
programs
Likes location, setting; Washington, DC
is a nice place
4
3
20%
15%
4
3
20%
15%
7
35%
5
2
25%
10%
5
2
25%
10%
7
35%
Very strong sense of
community/belonging to a community
5
1
25%
5%
3
3
15%
15%
6
30%
Supervisor provides meaningful good
feedback to intern
2
4
10%
20%
3
3
15%
15%
6
30%
Great food
Supervisor provides reading
materials/background info for project
3
6
3
0
15%
30%
15%
0%
2
3
4
3
10%
15%
20%
15%
6
6
30%
30%
Supervisor is away
Peer collegiality working with other
intern
Career networking advice/help
provided by professional
5
1
1
4
25%
5%
5%
20%
2
1
4
4
10%
5%
20%
20%
6
5
30%
25%
2
3
10%
15%
2
3
10%
15%
5
25%
Gains personal view of who scientists
are as real people
3
2
15%
10%
1
4
5%
20%
5
25%
AIP representative to CNSF
Learned research design/Developed,
planned sci ed outreach activities
0
1
5
3
0%
5%
25%
15%
1
1
4
3
5%
5%
20%
15%
5
4
25%
20%
Trial and error is necessary in research
work
Understanding that
confronting/overcoming difficulties is
part of research
4
0
20%
0%
2
2
10%
10%
4
20%
2
2
10%
10%
2
2
10%
10%
4
20%
95
Gains in confidence Knowledge of
subject
Enhanced skills for advanced study or
entry to workforce
3
1
15%
5%
1
3
5%
15%
4
20%
1
3
5%
15%
2
2
10%
10%
4
20%
Working with new instrumentation
Excellent staff, excellent support
Opportunities for professional
networking NOT engaging
3
3
1
1
1
3
15%
15%
5%
5%
5%
15%
2
2
1
2
2
3
10%
10%
5%
10%
10%
15%
4
4
4
20%
20%
20%
With supervisor away intern has to
work independently
3
1
15%
5%
1
3
5%
15%
4
20%
Easy adjustment to internship re living
situation
2
2
10%
10%
2
2
10%
10%
4
20%
Learning as we go Supervisor and
intern feel way forward Unknown
future
Work peers invite intern to lunch off
site
Belonging to community at internship
Being taken seriously Active
participation exciting Feedback from
professionals encourages bonding to the
profession
Opportunities for professional
networking and career development
2
1
10%
5%
1
2
5%
10%
3
15%
2
1
10%
5%
2
1
10%
5%
3
15%
3
0
0
3
15%
0%
0%
15%
2
0
1
3
10%
0%
5%
15%
3
3
15%
15%
2
1
10%
5%
1
2
5%
10%
3
15%
References increased patience and care
with work tasks
1
2
5%
10%
1
2
5%
10%
3
15%
Increased interest in science, generally
Attended safety training meetings
Attended informational meetings
Group hiking trip good
When available supervisor gives good
guidance, but often is not available
3
3
1
2
2
0
0
2
1
1
15%
15%
5%
10%
10%
0%
0%
10%
5%
5%
1
1
2
1
1
2
2
1
2
2
5%
5%
10%
5%
5%
10%
10%
5%
10%
10%
3
3
3
3
3
15%
15%
15%
15%
15%
Good experience, overall, but
afternoons are SLOW going
1
2
5%
10%
1
2
5%
10%
3
15%
Peer group learning beneficial
improved presentation; general increase
in learning from constructive feedback
1
2
5%
10%
1
2
5%
10%
3
15%
REAL life learning Can not be learned
in classroom Active participation
2
1
10%
5%
0
3
0%
15%
3
15%
Long commute by subway to internship
3
0
15%
0%
2
1
10%
5%
3
15%
96
Research requires waiting, patience,
perseverance
1
1
5%
5%
1
1
5%
5%
2
10%
Sheer bad luck work effects results
Keeping good notes is important
Intern supervises another intern for
program outside SPS
2
1
2
0
1
0
10%
5%
10%
0%
5%
0%
1
2
1
1
0
1
5%
10%
5%
5%
0%
5%
2
2
2
10%
10%
10%
Making an original contribution is
EXCITING, feels thrill of discovery
2
0
10%
0%
0
2
0%
10%
2
10%
Learning "real life stuff," work world of
science in practice
2
0
10%
0%
0
2
0%
10%
2
10%
Intern recognizes that different info for
different audiences important in
presentations
Learning new techniques
Working with new software program
developed for analysis of data
2
0
10%
0%
0
2
0%
10%
2
10%
2
2
0
0
10%
10%
0%
0%
1
2
1
0
5%
10%
5%
0%
2
2
10%
10%
Web development skills
Opportunity to discover I LOVE
research!
Skills/knowledge gained during
internship will transfer to future
coursework
Attending conferences Mortarboard
Society AAPT
0
2
2
0
0%
10%
10%
0%
0
0
2
2
0%
0%
10%
10%
2
2
10%
10%
1
1
5%
5%
1
1
5%
5%
2
10%
1
1
5%
5%
1
1
5%
5%
2
10%
SPS "goody bags" are nice
Learning presentation skills helps
professional development
1
1
1
1
5%
5%
5%
5%
1
0
1
2
5%
0%
5%
10%
2
2
10%
10%
Living in university dorm room
Strange results present a mystery to be
unraveled
1
1
1
0
5%
5%
5%
0%
2
0
0
1
10%
0%
0%
5%
2
1
10%
5%
Expresses understanding the results
must be repeatable
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Supervisor is patient
Supervisor is cool, laid back
Supervisor is nice, understanding
Gains in confidence Sense of
accomplishment
Gains in confidence Knows
instrumentation way around lab
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0%
5%
5%
5%
5%
0%
0%
0%
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
0%
5%
0%
0%
5%
0%
5%
5%
1
1
1
1
5%
5%
5%
5%
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
97
Intern is aware/careful to maintain
personal life separate from professional
life
Learned to work and THINK
independently
Learned importance of balancing
personal and professional life
1
0
5%
0%
1
0
5%
0%
1
5%
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Describes outreach work as "playtime"
Expresses "feeling like a scientist"
Answered difficult questions after
presenting
SPS interns offered jobs at place of
internship
Likes research, but AFFIRMS interest
in TEACHING
0
1
1
1
0
0
0%
5%
5%
5%
0%
0%
0
0
0
1
1
1
0%
0%
0%
5%
5%
5%
1
1
1
5%
5%
5%
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Clarified area of interest, field of study
to pursue
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Considering new career ideas: web
development
0
1
0%
5%
1
0
5%
0%
1
5%
SPS is protective, provides good
supervision of interns
0
1
0%
5%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Sometimes lonely; no one around at
work
Feels slightly misinformed about what
internship work would be
1
0
5%
0%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
0
1
0%
5%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Wants MORE peer group interaction
Neg feeling about DC but redeemed by
seeing instance of niceness
0
0
1
1
0%
0%
5%
5%
0
1
1
0
0%
5%
5%
0%
1
1
5%
5%
Washington, DC is NOT a nice place;
people are rude
0
1
0%
5%
1
0
5%
0%
1
5%
Internship holds regular group meetings
Intensive learning
Different type of research experience
than in previous experience: different
learning experience
1
1
0
0
0
1
5%
5%
0%
0%
0%
5%
0
0
0
1
1
1
0%
0%
0%
5%
5%
5%
1
1
1
5%
5%
5%
Student sick Goes to ER
Family member passed away
Credit cards cancelled
1st research exp
2nd research exp
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
5%
5%
5%
5%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
5%
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
5%
5%
5%
0%
5%
0%
0%
0%
5%
0%
1
1
1
1
1
5%
5%
5%
5%
5%
98
Hopes outreach students have learned
about real scientists, not stereotypes
0
1
0%
5%
1
0
5%
0%
1
5%
Understanding different learning styles
in practice
0
1
0%
5%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Observations of student learning gains
from education outreach work
0
1
0%
5%
0
1
0%
5%
1
5%
Peers in college SPS chapter tell about
intern experience; Motivate further
increased involvement
0
1
0%
5%
1
0
5%
0%
1
5%
Strong mentoring in college SPS
chapter is positive experience important
to intern's involve in SPS
0
1
0%
5%
1
0
5%
0%
1
5%
99
APPENDIX B: All men’s observations by category and type of internship.
Brent
Janus
Research
2002
Justin
Stimatze
Research
2003
Joseph
York
Research
2004
Bridger
Anderson
Research
2005
Alex
Brown
Research
2006
Mark
Lentz
Policy/
Outreach
2001
Jason
Tabeling
Policy/
Outreach
2002
Matthew
Shanks
Policy/
Outreach
2004
Kibrom
Tewolde
Policy/
Outreach
2004
Matt Hall
Policy/
Outreach
2005
TOTAL
OBS
MEN
1
1
1
8
10
1
1
4
8
10
45
Personal time away from research policy
outreach work
1
6
1
1
7
0
1
4
5
7
33
Peer collegiality, fooling around, socializing
in evening, helping each other
0
1
2
3
9
0
2
4
0
3
24
Parents, family, friends come to visit; Some
going to visit
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
1
10
0
14
Learning interesting things not related to
internship
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
4
6
Novel personal experiences Really wonderful
Internship has been a wonderful personal
growth experience
1
0
0
1
0
1
4
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
4
Expresses learning by doing Hands on
experience Applied learning
2
4
1
1
0
0
2
6
1
4
21
Increased understanding of how science
research/policy/education outreach works in
applied practice
1
1
0
1
0
2
0
4
0
0
9
Understanding results produced fit theoretical
models
1
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
4
Learned research design/Developed, planned
sci ed outreach activities
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
2
4
0
2
0
0
0
2
0
1
11
PARENT CATEGORIES
PROGRAM OUTCOMES
Personal growth
Opportunities for tourist sightseeing
museums, etc.
"Thinking and working like a
professional"
Application of knowledge and skills: gains in
understanding how science research is
conducted in practice
Increased knowledge
New knowledge gains
100
Opportunity to integrate coursework with
hands on research Increased understanding of
connections/transfer between/within sciences
1
8
0
2
2
0
0
1
1
0
15
0
4
2
1
3
0
2
5
1
0
18
Trial and error is necessary in research work
Learning as we go Supervisor and intern feel
way forward Unknown future
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
Research requires waiting, patience,
perseverance
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
2
Understanding that confronting/overcoming
difficulties is part of research
Sheer bad luck work effects results
Keeping good notes is important
Strange results present a mystery to be
unraveled
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
2
0
Expresses understanding the results must be
repeatable
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
1
2
10
0
0
0
2
7
25
Peer collegiality in general
Very strong sense of community/belonging to
a community
0
0
0
5
1
1
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
1
0
1
0
9
7
Peer collegiality working with other intern
Work peers invite intern to lunch off site
Intern supervises another intern for program
outside SPS
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
2
3
Belonging to community at internship
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
Supervisor Mentoring
Supervisor collegiality Opportunity for closer
interactions
0
3
0
1
1
1
0
2
3
5
16
Supervisor provides meaningful interaction:
shares knowledge, experience, good guidance
Supervisor provides meaningful good
feedback to intern
2
3
0
1
0
1
0
2
0
0
9
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
0
4
Supervisor is patient
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Increased understanding of the realities of
professional work—
Research/policy outreach work slow going;
Difficulties/mistakes with instrumentation and
producing results/working with children
Personal-professional gains
Professional collegiality
Belonging to community: group SPS social
activities
101
Supervisor is cool, laid back
Supervisor is nice, understanding
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
Excited that results are good/will be
publishable; Outreach work has gone so well;
Personal satisfaction with good results
produced
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
3
1
0
7
Being taken seriously Active participation
exciting Feedback from professionals
encourages bonding to the profession
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Gains in confidence Knowledge of subject
Gains in confidence Sense of accomplishment
Making an original contribution is
EXCITING, feels thrill of discovery
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
Gains in confidence Knows instrumentation
way around lab
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
1
2
1
0
1
5
14
More realistic understanding of science and
how professionals work in practice
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
5
2
1
10
Opportunity to see professional working
context; Increased knowledge of physics and
allied science community, how science
research policy outreach work is done in
practice
0
0
0
0
3
2
0
1
1
3
10
Opportunity to find out what hands on work in
this field is like
0
1
0
0
1
0
2
0
0
0
4
Knowledge gains that enhance preparation
for/transfer to advanced study or workforce
entry
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
2
5
Enhanced skills for advanced study or entry to
workforce
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
3
Opportunities for professional networking and
career development
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
Opportunities to see who, what personal life
of a scientist is like
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
2
Career networking advice/help provided by
professional
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
Learning "real life stuff," work world of
science in practice
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Personal gains from professional work
Enhanced career preparation
Opportunities to meet and talk with important
people discussing science
102
Becoming a professional
Going above and beyond, putting in extra
effort
0
4
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
7
Excitement at prospect of working with real
scientists; excited/enthusiastic about ensuing
internship
1
3
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
7
Gains personal view of who scientists are as
real people
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
References increased patience and care with
work tasks
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
Intern recognizes that different info for
different audiences important in presentations
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Intern is aware/careful to maintain personal
life separate from professional life
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
Learned to work and THINK independently
Learned importance of balancing personal and
professional life
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Describes outreach work as "playtime"
Expresses "feeling like a scientist"
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Skills
Working with computer software programs
Working with new instrumentation
Learning new techniques
Working with new software program
developed for analysis of data
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
4
2
1
2
Web development skills
Answered difficult questions after presenting
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Career clarification and confirmation
Increased interest in science, generally
Opportunity to discover I LOVE research!
SPS interns offered jobs at place of internship
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
Likes research, but AFFIRMS interest in
TEACHING
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Clarified area of interest, field of study to
pursue
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Considering new career ideas: web
development
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
103
Enhanced educational experience
Skills/knowledge gained during internship
will transfer to future coursework
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
SUBTOTAL: PROGRAM OUTCOMES
17
63
14
47
54
14
16
60
43
65
393
3
4
3
6
4
1
4
7
5
9
46
Group SPS professional field trips meetings
Opportunity to see other allied fields
environments
1
3
3
1
5
2
1
2
5
5
28
Discusses purpose of research outreach work
Expresses understanding
2
3
1
0
1
2
0
0
1
1
11
Time preparing poster for presentation
Gives presentation to internship group
Gives presentation to SPS intern group
Attended congressional hearing on NSF
budget Stem Cell How science is funded
argued
Attended orientation session at beginning of
summer
0
0
0
0
3
1
0
0
2
1
2
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
0
2
9
5
9
5
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
4
AIP representative to CNSF
Attended safety training meetings
Attended informational meetings
Attending conferences Mortarboard Society
AAPT
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
1
0
4
4
3
1
0
0
3
4
3
22
0
3
2
1
2
0
1
3
2
3
17
0
3
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
2
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
4
2
1
1
0
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
SPS general internship elements
Describes policy outreach work tasks Hands
on work
Program strengths Positive program
evaluations
Time flying by, really enjoying self; Great
summer
Enjoying, highly engaged in science
research/science education outreach/policy
work; Examples
Likes location, setting; Washington, DC is a
nice place
Great food
Excellent staff, excellent support
Group hiking trip good
SPS "goody bags" are nice
SPS is protective, provides good supervision
of interns
104
Structural elements of supervising
Supervisor provides orientation to intern
Supervisor provides reading
materials/background info for project
0
1
2
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
4
3
Internship holds regular group meetings
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
How learning occurs
Learning presentation skills helps professional
development
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Peer group learning beneficial improved
presentation; general increase in learning from
constructive feedback
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
REAL life learning Can not be learned in
classroom Active participation
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Intensive learning
Different type of research experience than in
previous experience: different learning
experience
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
Good experience, overall, but afternoons are
SLOW going
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
Sometimes lonely; no one around at work
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Feels slightly misinformed about what
internship work would be
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Wants MORE peer group interaction
Neg feeling about DC but redeemed by seeing
instance of niceness
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
Mixed program/internship evaluations
When available supervisor gives good
guidance, but often is not available
Negative program/internship evaluations
Opportunities for professional networking
NOT engaging
Washington, DC is NOT a nice place; people
are rude
Miscellaneous
Supervisor is away
With supervisor away intern has to work
independently
105
Easy adjustment to internship re living
situation
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
Long commute by subway to internship
Living in university dorm room
Student sick Goes to ER
Family member passed away
Credit cards cancelled
1st research exp
2nd research exp
Hopes outreach students have learned about
real scientists, not stereotypes
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
1
1
1
0
1
1
Understanding different learning styles in
practice
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Observations of student learning gains from
education outreach work
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Peers in college SPS chapter tell about intern
experience; Motivate further increased
involvement
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
Strong mentoring in college SPS chapter is
positive experience important to intern's
involve in SPS
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
SUBTOTAL: GENERAL
OBSERVATIONS
7
30
24
19
27
9
6
26
26
33
207
TOTALS
24
93
38
66
81
23
22
86
69
98
600
106
APPENDIX C: All women’s observations by category and type of internship.
PARENT CATEGORIES
Eva
Wilcox
Research
2002
Kathryn
Peek
Research
2002
Christine
Zaruba
Research
2004
Lindsay
Windsor
Research
2005
Kacey
Meaker
Research
2006
Melissa
Hanafee
Policy/
Outreach
2003
Stacey
Elizabeth
Sude
Policy/
Outreach
2003
Heather
Lunn
Policy/
Outreach
2004
Rebecca
Keith
Policy/
Outreach
2005
Ann Deml
Policy/
Outreach
2006
TOTAL
OBS
WOMEN
Personal growth
Opportunities for tourist sightseeing museums,
etc.
1
1
3
7
6
5
0
6
1
11
41
Personal time away from research policy
outreach work
1
0
2
4
11
3
0
3
0
11
35
Peer collegiality, fooling around, socializing in
evening, helping each other
0
0
3
6
17
4
0
0
1
12
43
Parents, family, friends come to visit; Some
going to visit
0
0
0
2
2
1
0
1
0
0
6
Learning interesting things not related to
internship
0
1
0
2
3
1
0
0
0
0
7
Novel personal experiences Really wonderful
Internship has been a wonderful personal
growth experience
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
2
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
6
5
Expresses learning by doing Hands on
experience Applied learning
3
1
0
11
3
4
5
1
2
0
30
Increased understanding of how science
research/policy/education outreach works in
applied practice
0
1
0
6
1
3
1
2
0
0
14
Understanding results produced fit theoretical
models
4
0
2
2
1
0
1
0
0
0
10
Learned research design/Developed, planned
sci ed outreach activities
0
0
0
1
0
0
3
0
1
0
5
2
4
3
3
0
0
9
4
5
4
4
3
2
2
2
2
1
0
0
0
28
22
"Thinking and working like a professional"
Application of knowledge and skills: gains in
understanding how science research is
conducted in practice
Increased knowledge
New knowledge gains
Opportunity to integrate coursework with
hands on research Increased understanding of
connections/transfer between/within sciences
107
Increased understanding of the realities of
professional work—
Research/policy outreach work slow going;
Difficulties/mistakes with instrumentation and
producing results/working with children
2
0
0
2
7
0
2
0
1
1
15
Trial and error is necessary in research work
Learning as we go Supervisor and intern feel
way forward Unknown future
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
4
3
Research requires waiting, patience,
perseverance
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
Understanding that confronting/overcoming
difficulties is part of research
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
Sheer bad luck work effects results
Keeping good notes is important
Strange results present a mystery to be
unraveled
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
Expresses understanding the results must be
repeatable
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
3
1
0
0
0
11
17
Peer collegiality in general
Very strong sense of community/belonging to
a community
1
0
0
0
2
1
2
0
4
4
2
0
0
0
3
0
1
0
0
7
15
12
Peer collegiality working with other intern
Work peers invite intern to lunch off site
Intern supervises another intern for program
outside SPS
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
4
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
4
4
1
Belonging to community at internship
Supervisor Mentoring
Supervisor collegiality Opportunity for closer
interactions
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
2
1
2
0
0
1
0
7
Supervisor provides meaningful interaction:
shares knowledge, experience, good guidance
0
0
0
1
2
2
4
0
0
0
9
Supervisor provides meaningful good
feedback to intern
0
0
0
1
0
2
0
0
0
1
4
Supervisor is patient
Supervisor is cool, laid back
Supervisor is nice, understanding
Personal gains from professional work
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
Personal-professional gains
Professional collegiality
Belonging to community: group SPS social
activities
108
Excited that results are good/will be
publishable; Outreach work has gone so well;
Personal satisfaction with good results
produced
3
0
1
4
2
0
2
2
1
0
15
Being taken seriously Active participation
exciting Feedback from professionals
encourages bonding to the profession
0
0
0
0
0
3
2
0
1
0
6
Gains in confidence Knowledge of subject
Gains in confidence Sense of accomplishment
Making an original contribution is
EXCITING, feels thrill of discovery
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
2
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
3
3
Gains in confidence Knows instrumentation
way around lab
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
5
1
4
2
2
1
0
15
More realistic understanding of science and
how professionals work in practice
0
0
0
4
2
1
3
0
0
0
10
Opportunity to see professional working
context; Increased knowledge of physics and
allied science community, how science
research policy outreach work is done in
practice
0
0
0
1
0
1
2
1
1
3
9
Opportunity to find out what hands on work in
this field is like
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
4
0
0
8
Knowledge gains that enhance preparation
for/transfer to advanced study or workforce
entry
0
1
0
4
0
0
1
0
0
0
6
Enhanced skills for advanced study or entry to
workforce
0
0
0
5
0
0
1
0
0
0
6
Opportunities for professional networking and
career development
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
4
5
Opportunities to see who, what personal life of
a scientist is like
0
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
5
Career networking advice/help provided by
professional
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
3
Learning "real life stuff," work world of
science in practice
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
Enhanced career preparation
Opportunities to meet and talk with important
people discussing science
Becoming a professional
109
Going above and beyond, putting in extra
effort
0
2
0
4
4
0
0
0
0
0
10
Excitement at prospect of working with real
scientists; excited/enthusiastic about ensuing
internship
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
1
0
1
5
Gains personal view of who scientists are as
real people
0
1
2
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
6
References increased patience and care with
work tasks
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
2
Intern recognizes that different info for
different audiences important in presentations
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
Intern is aware/careful to maintain personal
life separate from professional life
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Learned to work and THINK independently
Learned importance of balancing personal and
professional life
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
Describes outreach work as "playtime"
Expresses "feeling like a scientist"
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
Skills
Working with computer software programs
Working with new instrumentation
Learning new techniques
Working with new software program
developed for analysis of data
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
5
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
3
2
0
Web development skills
Answered difficult questions after presenting
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
1
Career clarification and confirmation
Increased interest in science, generally
Opportunity to discover I LOVE research!
SPS interns offered jobs at place of internship
Likes research, but AFFIRMS interest in
TEACHING
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
3
0
0
1
1
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
4
3
1
Clarified area of interest, field of study to
pursue
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
Considering new career ideas: web
development
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Enhanced educational experience
110
Skills/knowledge gained during internship will
transfer to future coursework
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
SUBTOTAL: PROGRAM OUTCOMES
27
18
22
123
113
56
40
33
13
70
515
3
0
1
7
8
3
5
2
3
3
35
Group SPS professional field trips meetings
Opportunity to see other allied fields
environments
1
1
2
8
9
3
1
2
2
3
32
Discusses purpose of research outreach work
Expresses understanding
3
3
0
2
4
1
2
3
2
0
20
Time preparing poster for presentation
Gives presentation to internship group
Gives presentation to SPS intern group
Attended congressional hearing on NSF
budget Stem Cell How science is funded
argued
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
2
0
0
3
2
1
1
2
2
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
3
0
0
0
10
8
3
6
Attended orientation session at beginning of
summer
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
4
AIP representative to CNSF
Attended safety training meetings
Attended informational meetings
Attending conferences Mortarboard Society
AAPT
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
4
3
1
2
Time flying by, really enjoying self; Great
summer
1
0
3
3
1
2
0
4
3
8
25
Enjoying, highly engaged in research/policy
outreach work; Examples
2
2
1
5
3
1
2
7
2
3
28
Likes location, setting; Washington, DC is a
nice place
0
2
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
Great food
Excellent staff, excellent support
Group hiking trip good
SPS "goody bags" are nice
SPS is protective, provides good supervision
of interns
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
1
0
1
7
2
2
1
1
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
SPS general internship elements
Describes policy outreach work tasks Hands
on work
Program strengths Positive program
evaluations
111
Structural elements of supervising
Supervisor provides orientation to intern
Supervisor provides reading
materials/background info for project
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
2
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
6
3
Internship holds regular group meetings
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
How learning occurs
Learning presentation skills helps professional
development
0
0
0
3
0
2
0
0
0
0
5
Peer group learning beneficial improved
presentation; general increase in learning from
constructive feedback
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
REAL life learning Can not be learned in
classroom Active participation
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
3
Intensive learning
Different type of research experience than in
previous experience: different learning
experience
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
3
Good experience, overall, but afternoons are
SLOW going
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
Sometimes lonely; no one around at work
Feels slightly misinformed about what
internship work would be
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
Wants MORE peer group interaction
Neg feeling about DC but redeemed by seeing
instance of niceness
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
5
Mixed program/internship evaluations
When available supervisor gives good
guidance, but often is not available
Negative program/internship evaluations
Opportunities for professional networking
NOT engaging
Washington, DC is NOT a nice place; people
are rude
Miscellaneous
Supervisor is away
112
With supervisor away intern has to work
independently
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
3
Easy adjustment to internship re living
situation
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
Long commute by subway to internship
Living in university dorm room
Student sick Goes to ER
Family member passed away
Credit cards cancelled
1st research exp
2nd research exp
Hopes outreach students have learned about
real scientists, not stereotypes
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
Understanding different learning styles in
practice
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
Observations of student learning gains from
education outreach work
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
Peers in college SPS chapter tell about intern
experience; Motivate further increased
involvement
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Strong mentoring in college SPS chapter is
positive experience important to intern's
involve in SPS
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
SUBTOTAL: GENERAL
OBSERVATIONS
14
12
15
50
42
23
17
22
17
34
246
TOTALS
41
30
37
173
155
79
57
55
30
104
761
113