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Business and Industry: Technology Internship Resources for Pre-service Education Students By Dr. Jill T. White Abstract Higher education programs aimed at preparing undergraduate pre-service education students to become technology-proficient and technology-current have an alternative to traditional classroom instruction by partnering with local businesses and industries as resources for student technology internships. Technology internship experiences for pre-service education students within business and industry environments provide opportunities for engaging pre-service education majors in state-of-the-art authentic learning environments. This study describes the outcomes of a summer internship program whereby pre-service education students actively engaged in eight weeks of technology-rich field experiences within business and industry environments. Implications of the study are aimed toward schools and colleges of education programs interested in developing strong partnerships between business and industry for the purpose of enriching the technology education preparation of prospective teachers. Article Traditionally the preparation of prospective teachers has included required undergraduate general education and professional education courses including educational technology courses, classroom observations within preK-12 classrooms, and student teaching experiences. The inclusion of business and industry as resources for undergraduate students to prepare for teaching careers has not typically been an integral part of the preparation of pre-service education students. However, higher education programs aimed at preparing undergraduate pre-service education students to become technology-proficient and technology-current have an alternative to traditional classroom instruction through business and industry internship experience options designed to engage pre-service education majors in state-of-the-art technologies. Connecting college and university education programs with community agencies, local businesses, and regional industries offers a plan for providing technology-rich educational experiences for preparing pre-service teachers for 21st century teaching and learning environments. This study reports the outcomes of a project aimed at preparing for Tomorrow’s Teachers and Tomorrow’s Technologies (T4 Internship Project) through a summer authentic learning internship. The T4 Internship Project involved 104 pre-service education students engaged in eight weeks of technology-rich field experiences within business and industry environments. This report focuses on the following study components: (a) purpose of the study; (b) review of the literature, background, and rationale for the study; (c) description of the T4 internship program; (d) methodology of the study; (e) analysis of data procedures; (f) results of the study; and (g) implications of the study for schools and colleges of education interested in developing strong partnerships between business and industry for the purpose of enriching the technology education preparation of prospective teachers. Literature Review, Background, and Rationale for the Study A review of research findings and implications related to preparing teachers to effectively integrate technology into their teaching summarized by the Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET) from the fall of 2002 addresses two areas of consideration related for preparing prospective teachers to use technology: (1) Technology Integration – the need for models or strategies that are effective for preparing new teachers to integrate technology and (2) Technology Confidence – the need for strategies that build teacher confidence and interest in technology (Cradler, Freeman, Cradler, & McNabb, 2002). Research findings addressing the first consideration suggest that pre-service teachers will utilize technology in the classroom if their own college learning has included the use of technology; if their pre-service program has included experiences with observing and working with practicing teachers; and if their general education coursework has included hands-on experiences with technology (Cradler, Freeman, Cradler, & McNabb, 2002). Some of the research findings aimed at answering the second consideration suggest that pre-service teachers benefit from mentors who are experienced with technology and with considerable collaboration with colleagues who are technology proficient (Cradler, Freeman, Cradler, & McNabb, 2002). These research considerations underlie the T4 Internship Project for preparing prospective teachers to use technology. Additional research findings that support the T4 Internship Project include the encouragement of early field experiences for pre-service students in both two-year and four-year institutions including working with industry and business in order “to learn about the role of technology in the workplace” (Benson, 1998, p. 127). This technology-based school-to-work-to-classroom conceptual viewpoint utilizes a service learning experience and is corroborated by several authors (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996; Beyerbach, Walsh, and Vannatta, 2001; and Zhang, 2000). Research findings from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) recommend that teacher preparation involve “courses that are tied to a service learning experience and capstone projects that require rigorous integration and synthesis of knowledge” (Carini & Kuh, 2003, p.397). These research findings and literature review justification provide the framework for the components utilized by the Tomorrow’s Teachers and Tomorrow’s Technologies (T4) Internship Project. Description of the T4 Internship The T4 Internship Project consists of an eight-week summer internship (8:00am-5:00pm) for pre-service education students placed in business or industry positions to job-shadow, assist, intern, and model the role of technology professionals within specific companies or agencies. This unique authentic learning internship provides pre-service education majors with a perspective of the use of technology that is very different from the instructional technology preparation students typically receive within their regular college coursework. After completing their summer internship program, pre-service students then develop and deliver multimedia presentations of their summer experiences (connecting the use of technology in the workplace to the application of technology in education) in preK-12 schools during the fall semester as an integral part of their internship experience. This school-to-work-to-school approach highlights authentic learning and student engagement in the following areas: (a) provides preK-12 students as well as preK-12 veteran teachers greater insights into the use of technology in diverse careers; (b) bridges the gap between school uses of technology and real world uses of technology; and (c) identifies the progression of technological advancements in business and industry and the corresponding future technological needs in education. Examples of the types of business/industry to education technology internships utilized by the T4 Internship Project include the following: (a) web page manager for a telecommunications corporation; (b) subscription accounts manager for a broadcasting company; (c) multimedia marketing and public relations director for senior and assisted living facilities; (d) scheduling, budgeting, and landscaping coordinator for city parks and recreation facilities; (e) web page developer for an electric company; (f) e-banking officer; and (g) e-networking coordinator for multi-branch lumber company. The strong tie between higher education and the business community serves as a natural framework for the business to education internship that is generally not afforded pre-service education students. Selected internships with their corresponding school site follow-up presentations are presented in Figure 1. Selected anecdotal information obtained from T4 Project interns depicts the essence of the pre-service educator internship experience: (a) one intern laid computer cable across the state with the other employees from a lumber company; (b) an intern was faced with the task of assisting a Catholic charities organization and church-school administrators (all nuns with little or no computing background) with the purchase and design of setting up a new computer laboratory; (c) one intern was handed the responsibility of designing, preparing, and delivering a multimedia promotional presentation to four different assisted living facilities (including the home office and board of directors); (d) another intern successfully mapped (using computer generated aerial mapping) all of the rivers within the state; (e) an intern assisting the city parks department performed a statistical comparative analysis of the usage of each city pool and recreational center to determine facility maintenance needs; (f) an intern designed a web page for a broadcasting company and was introduced to advertising, fashion design, local celebrities and the latest video and DVD technology equipment; (g) a very surprised intern was handed the responsibility to train a department of 20 employees in the use of spreadsheet software on the first day of her internship; (h) an intern who had worked part time for four years with a car rental company prior to his internship with the T4 Project was placed in the same car rental company but assigned a very different job—he was responsible for the computer driven national security program for several car rental locations; (i) an intern (freshman) served as the key trainer and workshop leader to train 15 university teacher education faculty to use power-point in their classrooms; and (j) a sophomore intern set up individual web pages for all of the sales people at an advertising agency. These types of authentic learning experiences engage pre-service education students in specific technology applications that are not generally possible within the traditional higher education preparation program for prospective teachers. Methodology The methodology used in the study is described relative to the project purpose, design, instrumentation, sample, and analysis of data procedures. Purpose The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of the T4 internship project on pre-service educators’ confidence levels and attitudes toward using technology. The study was conducted to respond to the need to explore alternatives for preparing pre-service education students in state of the art uses of technology. The research question aligned with this purpose examines the following: What is the impact of the T4 internship program on pre-service education students’ confidence levels and attitudes regarding their use of technology? Design The Tomorrow’s Teachers and Tomorrow’s Technologies (T4) Project incorporated a pre and post assessment design of the pre-service education students who participated in the business/industry driven technology summer internship program to examine data pertinent for preparing pre-service educators to use technology in their prospective teaching careers. Pre-service education majors (N=104) who participated in the T4 Internship experience were assessed prior to their internship experience, monitored by external observers visiting the specific internship sites four times during the eight week internship (every two weeks), and post assessed upon completion of the internship experience. Both quantitative and qualitative assessment outcomes were measured. Instrumentation Pre and post outcome measures included participants’ self- reported perceptions of their respective technology knowledge and skill levels relative to each of the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) Standards and their self-reported attitudes toward social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools (ISTE 2005). Part I of the assessment measure used in the study is comprised of a checklist of knowledge and skills aligned with the National Educational Technology Standards (ISTE, 2000) whereby participants reflect on their level of confidence relative to a listing of technology operations, concepts, and content based on focus areas designated by the NETS for Teachers Curriculum and Content Standards (ISTE, 2005). Part II of the assessment measure used in the study consists of participants’ self-reported attitudes toward social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools (ISTE 2005). Weighted values assigned to the checklist generate scores ranging from 0 to 300. Two outcome scores representing level of confidence in using technology (operations, concepts, and content) and degree of attitude toward issues surrounding the use of technology (social, ethical, legal, and human issues) are produced by the instrument used in the study. Sample Description The sample of pre-service education students who participated in the study consisted of freshman and sophomore education majors from an urban college in the Midwest. Data were collected from three summer internship sessions for a total of 104 pre-service education students participating in the T4 service learning internship. The pre-service education students voluntarily enrolled in the T4 Internship program. Table 1 depicts the demographic description of the sample of undergraduate students who participated in the study. Analysis of Data Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis procedures were employed in the study. Pre and post data were collected from three summer internship sessions for a total of 104 pre-service education students participating in the T4 service learning internship. The dependent t test procedure was used to determine significant mean differences between pre and post assessments for the purpose of examining pre-service students’ Qualitative data collection procedures included focus group discussions with the pre-service education students, individual interviews with pre-service education students, and observations of pre-service education students in their internship roles conducted by project staff. Additionally, individual interviews were conducted with businesses-industry representatives who hosted the internships. Topics included in the qualitative data collection and analyses include the following: (a) internship relevance; (b) internship engagement; (c) connections between education and business-industry; and (d) tomorrow’s technologies. Results of the Study Results of the data analyses for the pre and post confidence level and attitude outcomes indicate significant mean differences (p < .001 and p < .01 respectively) in support of the T4 Internship experience as an effective program for increasing pre-service education students’ confidence levels for using technology and for increasing pre-service education students’ attitude levels toward positive support of the social, ethical, legal, and human use of technology. These results indicate strong support for preparing prospective teachers using non-traditional business-industry internships in preparing tomorrow’s teachers to use technology in their teaching careers. Qualitative data collected from project participants indicate that the additional experiences within the internships in computer science and educational technology that were afforded these pre-service education majors were perceived to be extremely helpful in building technology proficiency skill levels. Participants also expressed positive comments regarding the real world relevance that was provided them through the T4 Internship. An overwhelming theme of the qualitative data retrieved through participant interviews is the focus on technological applications in real world settings encountered in the internships and the benefit of this knowledge for future teachers to carry to their prospective classrooms. Additional qualitative benefits expressed by the business-industry partners who participated in the T4 Internship Project is the strong partnership and collaborative connection effort that emerged between higher education pre-service education programs and local businesses-industries. Implications of the Findings If higher education is to meet the needs of supplying technology competent teachers for 21st century preK-12 classrooms then alternative approaches to traditional classroom lectures focused on the use of technology must be examined. One outreach option available for higher education is an internship program for pre-service teachers within the business-industry technology environment. Findings of this study suggest that pre-service education students who have experienced an eight-week summer technology internship within business or industry environments report increased confidence in their understanding and use of technology as well as increased positive attitudes toward social ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology. The integral blend of higher education and business-industry in the successful preparation of technology-proficient prospective teachers serves both industrial and educational environments. Businesses and industries, primary proponents of tomorrow’s technologies, are key players and critical contributors in the role of providing technology-rich internship experiences for preparing pre-service teachers for 21st century teaching and learning environments. Implications of the study for schools and colleges of education programs include sound supportive empirical evidence and positive qualitative information in support of the T4 internship program as an exemplary model of a student engagement and authentic learning program effectively enriching the technology education preparation of prospective teachers.
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