Internship Preparation Lessons Educator Guide

Overview

NAF's Internship Preparation Lessons include content specifically designed to prepare students for internship and internship alternative experiences. The Internship Preparation Lessons help students set individual goals, plan for an intentional first day, and engage confidently in their workplace. These lessons engage students through activity and play, allowing students to take ownership of their own internship readiness. Explore these lessons for strategies that help your students be their authentic selves and thrive in the internship experience.

NAF gathered feedback from school districts, teachers, employer partners, and two special research teams composed of student leaders to identify key objectives as well as build and test content for these lesson plans. In our discussions with educators and students, we encouraged them to share their insights about equity and preparedness. Educators outlined various important themes including imposter syndrome, the importance of future ready/durable skills, and managing student expectations. Many of these same themes were reiterated by students who also included work ethic, the power of networking, and adaptability. In their own words, participants shared insights from internship experiences to articulate how to best prepare students and employers to learn from one another, to communicate, to handle conflict, to change workplace culture, and to create the types of environments where people thrive because of their differences, and not despite them.


Design and Implementation

Design: Internship Preparation Lessons are designed intentionally to provide the most impactful internship readiness experience. As you implement these lessons, consider the following design elements:

Classroom Implementation: Lessons are designed to prepare all students for success going into and through completion of the internship experience.


Skills Focused

Providing continuous opportunities to develop skills throughout their internship preparation experience allows all students to see themselves as a capable and contributing member of a professional workplace. NAF's Internship Preparation Lessons allow students to develop and practice many college and career readiness skills through activities focused on individual growth and practical application.

Students explore:

Note: In preparing students to navigate the dynamics of diversity and professional environments, the phenomenon of "code switching" was discussed by students and teachers as an important, yet controversial set. Code-switching is practiced as a balancing act between professional acumen, multicultural competence, and maintaining personal authenticity. It is a concept that can be reviewed with students to help them learn to transition from school culture to work culture. Code-switching teaches students not to value a single set of professional cultural standards, but to understand there are different types of communication, collaboration processes, and standards depending on the industry and community. There is no "right" way of working or being in these settings; on the contrary, code switching is a lens used to help students identify the different cultures they may find themselves in and then empowers them to make choices about how they want to authentically "show up" in these environments.


Lesson Access


Internship Preparation Lessons