In partnership with CAPA International Education (CAPA)

Learning Through Internships COURSE DESIGNATOR SDNY 3006

LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION English

NUMBER OF CREDITS 3

COURSE DESCRIPTION Learning through Internships is a unique educational experience that gives students the opportunity to apply classroom learning to the workplace experience, and the social environment of the host culture, whilst also developing professional skills and earning academic credit. The purpose of the course is for you to contextualize and analyze the wider significance of your internship activities. Therefore a variety of teaching and learning methods will be used, including seminars, online discussion, independent study and research, and presentations. Classroom seminars conducted at the beginning and mid-way through the semester, give you the unique opportunity to consider your internship experience and host organization from a strategic perspective while concentrating on a specific focus area that is of most interest to you and relevance to your internship, specifically personal/professional development, organizations, or workplace culture and regulation. You will listen to the individual experience of other students, compare and contrast activities with others, and consider the experience in terms of personal development. Topic modules designed for each focus area and completed online, are designed to provide a background in relevant theory and practice through set readings and online reflective discussion/postings and to enrich the internship experience. Finally by engaging in action research during your internship you will have the opportunity to integrate all aspects of learning with the internship itself.

COURSE OBJECTIVES • • • • • •

To build, develop and document your analytical and critical thinking skills about the internship experience. To link the internship experience with a consideration and analysis of current and historical aspects of Australian working culture so that you can then compare these with the US workplace and culture. To actively participate in the life of your host culture through your internship placement. To be able to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the host organization culture through the completion of a research paper that complements the discussions and lectures. To create a participative and critically challenging program to promote personal development on a number of levels. To provide an assessment framework that requires students to demonstrate participation, skills development, and professional awareness within a rigorous academic context.

LEARNING OUTCOMES On completion of the program students will be able to: • apply the skills obtained from your internship role; • evaluate the validity of a variety of management theories and models in terms of their practical and conceptual value; • reflect analytically on your organization through both oral and written reports; • enhance the capability for independent and collaborative enquiry; • enhance capability of effective communication face-to-face, online, in writing and in groups; • develop the ability to think logically and critically; • develop skills to function in a globalized environment and multicultural society; and • evaluate the validity of a variety of management theories and models in terms of their practical and conceptual value. Students will have developed their skills in a variety of areas during the program and will have engaged with the following:

• • • • • • • • • •

Responsibility and accountability Independent and interdependent learning and interning Critical thinking and problem analysis Cultural awareness Cross-cultural communication Goal orientation Personal reflection Self-confidence Resilience and adaptability Appreciation of others

METHODOLOGY There are two components to LTI. The site based internship provides you with a unique opportunity to learn by active participation at a host organization in order to develop skills and aptitudes relevant to your career aspirations, critical analytical skills, and to assist future professional development. You will be able to develop self-confidence, self-awareness, and an awareness of others in a practical setting. You will also be able to initiate the development of a network of international contacts to assist your future professional development. • In preparation for the site based internship, all internship students attend an Internship Orientation prior to week 1, with an introduction to the internship experience, led by the CAPA Internship Team. It covers initial expectations, advice on interview matters, and a general introduction to workplace cultures and communication styles in Australia. The academic course is intended as a forum for you to connect the tasks which you are doing at the internship to its broader social and cultural context and relevant theoretical frameworks. The seminars and online topic modules will reveal the nature of Australia’s workplace dynamics and allow you to actively participate in debate and interact with CAPA Faculty and peers. • All students will attend three full class seminars during the semester: an initial introductory seminar, a midsemester checkpoint seminar and a final seminar in which all interns will showcase their major assignment (research paper) to other students and CAPA Faculty through individual conference style poster presentations. • Each student will be asked to choose one of three focus areas for independent research and reflection supported by online Faculty moderated activities: personal/professional development, organizations, or workplace culture and regulation comparing Australia and the US. This will form the basis for a major written assessment task and final seminar poster presentation. You will be placed in a team based on your focus area. Each team will meet in an initial topic specific workshop in week 3 during which Faculty will provide an overview of the key concepts and theories for the chosen topic area, assist students in framing their research, and provide an opportunity to discuss and resolve any emerging issues. Finally, each week, students will be assigned reading material and two online activities to be completed for the week. The first activity will be a reflective journal entry on what is happening in your internship. CAPA Faculty and your Student Services advisor will monitor this and respond to any issues you raise. The second activity will involve reading the set material and engaging in an online discussion forum with other students. This activity will also help you in developing your research paper.

REQUIRED READING AND RESOURCES GENERAL TEXTS Belbin, R. M. 2012. Team Roles at Work. 2nd Ed Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Clegg, Stewart and Hardy. Cynthia (2006). The SAGE Handbook of Organization Studies, Sage 2nd Edition, London: SAGE Schweitzer, H.F., King M.A., 2009. The Successful Internship. 3rd Edn. Belmont CA: Brooks/Cole Stewart R Clegg, Cynthia Hardy and Tyrone Pitsis (3rd Edition) (2011). Managing and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice, London: SAGE JOURNALS Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources PAGE



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Harvard Business Review Human Resource Management Journal; London Journal of Industrial Relations; Sydney Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies Journal of Management Development; Bradford Management Development Review; Bradford Organization: The Critical Journal of Organization, Theory and Society

GRADING CAPA PROGRAM AND INSTRUCTOR POLICY The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because the value of an academic course depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work and class behavior. This means to gain full attendance you must attend all classes, you must not be late (unless with a valid reason) and you must be respectful of the professor and of other students by not talking/whispering in class when others are talking or presenting. Persistent lateness or lack of attention in class, i.e., reading materials other than the work assigned, may result in a low or zero grade for participation, and possible referral to the CAO. No electronic equipment will be used in class, including laptops, phones, ipods, cell phones, etc, unless you have written permission from the Chief Academic Officer prior to the course. If you are caught using any electronic equipment, you may receive a zero grade for participation. Plagiarism will be dealt with very seriously, and will be referred to the Chief Academic Officer in London. You may receive an F for the course. If all work is not submitted by the end of the program, you will receive an F for the course. CLASS PARTICIPATION AND ATTENDANCE Attendance at all classes is mandated by CAPA; students who miss a class without permission from CAPA’s Chief Academic Officer will have their grade for the course lowered. Informed participation is expected in every class, so students must have read the full assignment carefully before coming and be ready to discuss it if called upon. At any meeting there may be a brief, pass-fail two-minute quiz on some utterly obvious fact in the assigned reading. Students will also be asked to complete informal in-class writing assignments on a regular basis, which will require them to demonstrate their familiarity with the assigned materials. Students who repeatedly demonstrate unsatisfactory performance on these quizzes and exercises will be penalized in the participation grade. CRITERIA FOR GRADING AND GRADING STANDARDS

Grading Rubric A

93+

AB+ B BC+ C CD+ D F

90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82 77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 60-66