For Site Hosts
Interested in hosting SILS interns? Submit your site info by clicking here!
Your role as a site supervisor for a SILS intern
The student is ultimately responsible for his/her own learning, though as a professional in the field your guidance and facilitation of learning opportunities for the student are invaluable. Specifically, after agreeing to host a student and developing an outline of duties, the site supervisor:
- makes arrangements at the site for the student's arrival
- orients the student to the site
- meets with the student regularly
- communicates progress to the SILS faculty supervisor
- evaluates the student work upon completion of the internship
Who else will be part of the field experience program?
In addition to yourself there are three other players in the field experience program, here are their roles and responsibilities:
- SILS student intern: Upon contacting and negotiating an initial agreement with you the host, the student must gain approval from two members of the SILS faculty: the student's advisor and a faculty member who will act as supervisor of the student's fieldwork.
Prior to beginning the internship the student will develop a fieldwork agreement that outlines learning objectives and strategies to meet these, all to be approved by you the host and the SILS faculty supervisor.
During the field experience the student must complete 135 hours at your site and maintain a daily reflective log of the experience. In addition the student has other review and evaluation criteria to complete for the faculty supervisor.
- SILS faculty supervisor: The faculty supervisor is the link between the School and the host site. They are responsible for approving the field work agreement and reviewing and monitoring student progress. At the conclusion of the internship the faculty supervisor assigns a grade after conferring with you the site host and certifying all requirements have been met.
- Fieldwork Coordinator: The fieldwork coordinator's responsibility is to ensure that the fieldwork experience works smoothly for the school, the various sites and the students. The coordinator maintains the list of potential sites as well as the various records pertaining to the program. Also, the fieldwork coordinator serves as the point of contact within the school for information about fieldwork. To contact the fieldwork coordinator email fieldexperience@ils.unc.edu
Literature on making the most of a field experience program
Guidelines for Practices and Principles in the Design, Operation and Evaluation of Student Field Experience