2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Internships are a critical pathway towards early career opportunities for students, especially in high-demand fields in information and communication technologies (ICT). This NSF-funded research-practice partnership between a large two-year institution, a 4-year research institution, and a large Local Educational Agency aims to improve internship outcomes by developing (1) a Career and Leadership Readiness Institute (CLRI) program, (2) an internship program for CLRI completers, and (3) a professional learning (PL) program targeted at internship supervisors for students in Northern Virginia Community College’s (NOVA) Information and Engineering Technologies programs. The goals of Super PL are to (1) increase access and improve internship outcomes and (2) develop a PL program to improve intern supervision. Over the first 4 project years, Super PL has placed 92 students in internships at LEA partner Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS), provided career development services for 218 students through CLRI, and trained 37 front-line intern supervisors in effective supervisory practice.

While there is widespread agreement that internship participation improves student career outcomes, empirical models of that process and the role of supervision remain underdeveloped in the literature. Through a quasi-experimental mixed methods research design, this poster will explain how the project has worked to (a) improves outcomes (i.e., professional socialization, attitudes toward ICT disciplines, degree completion, persistence in ICT careers) for CLRI completers placed in internships compared to CLRI completers who are not placed in internships; and (b) improves supervisors coaching of interns (i.e., confidence for supervising, effective coaching skills). This project has also developed a valid and reliable assessment of intern professional socialization, which is currently lacking in the field. Since supervision quality and characteristics are critically important in determining student learning experiences and outcomes in diverse fields, the model is expected to be valuable across disciplines and for all workplace learning opportunities. This poster paper will provide results from program implementation and share the model for supervisor professional development.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number 2055324. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.