Course Syllabus

FAML 498R Internship

Instructor:         Betsy Montoya

Email:                 montoyae@byui.edu

Links to an external site.

Office hour:      Wednesday, 4-5pm MT in zoom, or by appointment using the Google link below

Book an appointment: https://calendar.app.google/564Ym6HcFxGQinu59Links to an external site.

Zoom:                 https://byui.zoom.us/my/montoyaeLinks to an external site.

Course Description

Family 498R is a required internship experience which allows a student the opportunity to select a professional family services or family life education setting in which they will work for a minimum of 160 hours, completed across a 7-16 week time period, applying concepts and developmental knowledge gained in major coursework, to strengthen and enrich the lives of individuals, couples and families while deepening understanding and sharpening skills through hands on experiences and professional mentoring.

Course Outcomes

  • Students will apply knowledge and skills pertaining to marriage and family studies in real-world professional settings
  • Students will demonstrate leadership, professionalism and confidence in a work environment.
  • Students will be better prepared to gain admission to graduate school if that is part of their educational plan.
  • Students will demonstrate competence and growth through reflection and self-assessment, as well as evaluation from their site supervisor, helping them to secure employment upon graduation from BYU-Idaho.

Required Textbooks:

There are no textbooks required for this course.

Course Policies

Calculation of the Final Grade:

The final grade in this course will be the result of a combination of coursework and evaluation of the intern by their site supervisor. The supervisor evaluation will impact the final grade if the performance is rated as mediocre to poor, and/or moderately unprofessional to unprofessional. If this is the supervisor's report, the highest grade earned will be a C- and could be lower, depending on coursework. A passing grade will not be issued if the minimum requirements of the internship, by department policy and as entered on the student's approved internship application, are not met. 

Student interns work in a variety of settings, with many different age groups and populations. As such, you are asked to review ethical guidelines from two different professional organizations. One is the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the other is the National Council on Family Relations. Professional ethics are essential, no matter the age group or the setting in which you work!

A BYU-Idaho student intern must:

  • Maintain health insurance coverage during the period of the internship.
  • Comply with all employer policies/procedures at the internship site.
  • Maintain BYU-Idaho Honor and Dress and Grooming standards.
  • Follow professional/ethical guidelines, including but not limited to the following:

National Association for the Education of Young Children:

    • Never harm participants.
    • Strive to ensure that programs and services for participants are based on current knowledge and research.
    • Respect and support families in their task of nurturing children.
    • Stay informed on and maintain high standards of professional/ethical conduct, including respecting privacy and maintaining confidentiality.
    • Respect colleagues and support them in maintaining professional/ethical standards.
    • Engage in an ongoing process of self-reflection, realizing that personal characteristics, biases, and beliefs have an impact on families.
    • Be open to new ideas and be willing to learn from the suggestions of others.
    • Continue to learn, grow, and contribute as a professional.

(Adapted from NAEYC Statement of Commitment).

 

National Council on Family Relations:

Ethical Principles of Family Life Educators

  1. Relationships with Individuals and Families

The Family Life Educator will:

  1. be aware of the influence we have and avoid practices that harm or exploit.
  2. respect cultural beliefs, backgrounds, and differences, and engage in practice that is responsive to diversity.
  3. respect individuals’ and families’ right to privacy, and maintain confidentiality at all times, except when disclosure is necessary to prevent harm.
  4. treat individuals and families with warmth, respect, and sensitivity to their needs and rights as developing persons.
  5. regard individuals and families as complex, interactive systems.
  6. strive to understand individuals, families, and communities within their contexts.
  7. practice with humility from a strengths-based perspective.
  8. support healthy interpersonal relationships.
  9. engage individuals, families, and communities as partners in problem solving and decision-making.
  10. advocate in partnership with individuals, families, and communities.
  11. communicate respectfully and clearly in our work with individuals, families, and communities.  
  12. communicate openly and truthfully about the nature and extent of Family Life Education services provided.
  13. provide services and program environments that are safe and nurturing.
  14. collaborate with individuals, families, and communities in the design, implementation, and evaluation of Family Life Education programs and services. 
  15. support individuals, families, and communities as they make decisions about the use of resources to best meet their needs.
  16. encourage individuals, families, and communities to reflect upon their values, and promote their healthy development and well-being.
  17. support the right of all individuals and families to have access to quality education, health, and community resources.
  18. acknowledge and strive to maintain professional boundaries and not exploit families or individuals when multiple relationships exist.
  19. openly acknowledge potential conflicts of interest.
  20. strive to ensure that all individuals, families, and communities have access to and are encouraged to participate in Family Life Education.
  1. Relationships with Colleagues and the Profession

The Family Life Educator will:

  1. value and promote diversity and work collaboratively with colleagues.
  2. demonstrate integrity and strive to make ethical decisions.
  3. recognize the difference between personal and professional values in our professional interactions.
  4. define our role as Family Life Educators and practice within our level of competence.
  5. engage in current, evidence-informed practice.
  6. be committed to ongoing professional development to enhance our knowledge and skills.
  7. obtain informed consent when providing services or conducting research.
  8. use policies and support systems for addressing difficult situations.
  9. follow the mandatory reporting of abusive behavior in a respectful and prudent manner.
  1. Relationships with Community/Society

The Family Life Educator will:

  1. be knowledgeable about community resources and make and accept informed, appropriate referrals.
  2. be aware of the boundaries of our practice and know when and how to use other community resources for the benefit of individuals and families.
  3. communicate clearly and cooperate with other programs and agencies in order to best meet individuals’ and families’ needs.
  4. advocate for laws and policies that empower individuals, families, and communities and reflect our changing knowledge base.
  5. respect and uphold laws and regulations that pertain to our practice as Family Life Educators and offer expertise to legal authorities based on professional knowledge.

CFLEs verify that they have read these ethical principles and will use the principles to guide their professional practice as a CFLE.

 

Adapted from the Minnesota Council on Family Relations Ethical Thinking and Practice for Parent and Family Life Educators (2016) by members of the Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) Advisory Board Ethics Subcommittee: Dorothy Berglund, Ph.D., CFLE; Dawn Cassidy, M.Ed., CFLE; Bryce Dickey, M.S., CFLE; Susan Meyerle, Ph.D., CFLE; and Ahlishia Shipley, Ph.D., CFLE. Approved by the CFLE Advisory Board in May 2018.

 

https://www.ncfr.org/cfle-certification/cfle-code-ethicsLinks to an external site.

 

Department Policy Regarding Intellectual Property and Course Materials

All of the materials in this course are covered by fair use and copyright law and are proprietary (intellectual property). Students are not permitted to sell, post, trade, share, distribute, or send any information contained in this course (including outlines, handouts, syllabi, exams, quizzes, PowerPoint presentations, lectures, audio and video recordings, or images of the same, etc. including your own work for this course) to any parties outside of this course (ie Course Hero, Quizlet, Google Docs, etc.) by any means (e.g., posting, uploading, attachments, etc.) without the express written permission from the creator of these works and the Department Chair. Any of these actions violate the Academic Honesty policies of Brigham Young University-Idaho (please see Academic HonestyLinks to an external site.Links to an external site.) and will be dealt with as such. The materials in this course are also intellectual property and taking any materials from the course and posting them outside of this course in any manner will be construed as theft and distribution of intellectual property. If you engage in any of these actions, or use any of these materials without authorization, the instructor has the right to impose an appropriate academic sanction (e.g., give you a failing grade for the assignment and/or fail you from the course). Additionally, the respective Course Lead, Program Lead, and/or Department Chair also reserve the right to impose appropriate academic sanctions regardless of any imposed by the instructor.

Course Assignments

*All writing in this course is expected to be the highest quality. Be sure to proofread your papers and check for any spelling or grammatical errors (history indicates that "spell-check" is insufficient).

Syllabus Quiz (50 points possible) You will carefully read the syllabus and complete the online syllabus quiz posted in I-Learn. This assignment is due by the due date in W01 that the canvas course opens to students. Late assignments will be docked 10% per day that they are late.

Internship Goals and Actions (50 points possible) You will establish specific goals, with related actions to focus your internship experience. Goals are what you hope to accomplish and actions are the specific steps you will take to accomplish the goals.

  • Your goals and actions should relate to what you hope to accomplish in the internship and the professional growth you hope to obtain from the experience, based on the Magarrell (2003) criteria located in this course. See below for the Magarrell (2003) criteria.
  • You should set four specific goals, with at least two actions related to each goal, one goal from each of the four Magarrell (2003) criteria sections. You will report on your progress toward these goals in your final internship paper.
  • Please submit your goals and actions assignment by uploading it in I-Learn.
  • It is due by the due date in W01 of your internship course. Read the directions for this assignment in the module link to the assignment. 

Weekly reflections journal (25 points per week possible)- Always due on Mondays

You will need to write a weekly reflection journal for each week during your internship experience. These will be submitted as you go, not all at the end of the semester. For each reflection entry you are to think deeply about and make connections between your academic training in the classes you've completed in the Marriage and Family Studies major and your actual hands-on experiences in the internship. Although you will provide a brief description of what you experienced that week, this will not be the primary focus of your reflection journal. You will not just provide a description of what you did at the internship site, but rather connections and reflections. Reflections entries should be NO LESS than 500 words. If approached properly the reflection process can lead to great personal growth in confidence and skills. Please be aware that your reflection entries will be read only by the Internship Coordinator and the TA. All personal thoughts, insights, frustrations, etc. will remain confidential.

Formatting matters! 

  1. Read the directions carefully and include ALL required information.
  • Submit reflection entries by uploading them to I-Learn the Monday after the week the of work completed. Late journal entries will lose up to 50% of points possible.
  • Interns are nearing the end of their education at BYU-Idaho and, as such, should have the capacity to provide deep, meaningful reflection. Therefore, weekly journals that do not possess adequate depth will receive deductions. Note that there are columns for 16 reflection entries but you only need to submit one reflection per week that you serve in your internship.

Internship Presentation (50 points possible)

The purpose of the power point presentation is to inform new or potential Marriage and Family Studies majors about possible internship and career possibilities in the field.

  • You will create a power point presentation about your internship experience and share it via YouTube, Prezi, or Zoom/Kaltura so it can be shared with future interns. In the video, you should narrate your presentation slides. To submit the assignment, upload the link to the Internship Presentation assignment on I-Learn.
  • In the power point respond to the following points:
  1. How did you find/arrange the internship?
  2. What were your responsibilities in the internship?
  3. How did you contribute to the site at which you served?
  4. How did you benefit personally from the experience?
  5. Describe at connections between at least two previous courses and what you experienced during your internship. Include the course names and numbers of at least two different courses.
  6. Would you recommend this site/experience to other students?
  7. If yes, whom should students contact to arrange an internship at the site?
  • Be sure to proofread carefully and make the presentation appealing and professional. The presentation should last approximately 6-10 minutes. You will not be able to share everything about your experience.
  • Prepare your outline/main points. Remember, your video should only be 6-10 minutes long. Do your best! Many students in the FAML 150 online class will be looking at your presentation for years to come (no pressure).
  • You can use YouTube, Prezi.com, ScreenPal, Canva or Zoom/Kaltura (found at byui.edu)  to record and narrate your presentation video. Slides are required. 
  • If you create a video that needs to be uploaded (anything other than Prezi), upload this video to YouTube. If unfamiliar with how to upload a video to YouTube, watch this video: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZvBuqRxaPs). You may also create a Prezi (prezi.com) and upload the public Prezi link rather than creating a YouTube video.
  • If you run into any technical difficulties, please call 208-496-9000 and they can help.
  • Submit the Internship Presentation in the correct assignment drop box on I-Learn. You will need to do this by the due date. For those who complete their internship early, it is recommended that you submit this assignment the week following completion of your internship hours.

Internship Report (100 points possible)

You will write a final written report about your internship experience and whether your goals were used and met. Please refer to the Goals and Actions assignment which ought to have been submitted at the beginning of your internship. There are four sections in the final report:

  1. Introduction- briefly describe your internship duties.
  2. Evaluate how each of your four internship goals from the Magarrell (2003) criteria furthered your preparation as a professional in the field of Marriage and Family Studies.
  3. Reflect on how your internship experience has strengthened you as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
  4. Conclusion

The Internship Report should be between 3-5 pages, double-spaced, the page count does not include the title page. This assignment will be written in APA 7.

  • Submit the Internship Report by uploading it to I-Learn by the due date. For those who complete their internship early, it is recommended that you submit this assignment the week following completion of your internship hours.

 

Weekly Signed Time Logs Do not let 1 point fool you! Completing your weekly signed time logs is required to provide documentation of hours worked to pass the internship class. You will complete weekly time logs to be signed by your supervisor, documenting the hours you worked at the internship site.

  • Note that you must complete the full 160 hours at the internship site to complete the internship and these hours must be spread over a minimum of 7 weeks.
  • Per University policy, students are to complete at least 10 hours per week.
  • You should complete the time logs weekly, but do not send them to me weekly. Keep them and turn them all in at the end of your internship experience. To submit them you can scan them or take photos of them and upload them to I-Learn as PDF or copy photos of each into a word doc. If you choose to use the Google sheet to track time, take a screenshot of each page and paste it into a doc. Do not submit the link to the Google sheet as your assignment.

Online Self Evaluation (25 points possible) - You will complete an online "Internship Self Evaluation". This can be found in the Course Conclusion module. Make sure you take the one worth 25 points. 

  • If you and your supervisor agree to a change in the end date for your internship please let me  know as soon as possible.

Online Employer Evaluation of Intern (75 points possible) -Your supervisor will complete an online "Internship Employer Evaluation of Intern" form regarding your work as an intern. This evaluation is a “make or break” your final grade. You are expected to complete all requirements honestly and give your very best work; behave as a representative of the University and the Church at all times. If your performance is reviewed as poor, your final grade will be poor. 

  • IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT YOUR SUPERVISOR COMPLETES THIS REQUIRED EVALUATION. The supervisor will receive instructions from the BYU-I Academic Discovery Office about how to access and submit the Employer Evaluation form via e-mail about 2 weeks before the end date of your internship experience. 
  • If your supervisor has not received this email by the appointed time, you will need to contact the Internship Office or Sister Montoya
  • If you and your supervisor agree to a change in the end date for your internship please let me know as soon as possible.
  • Your supervisor will send the completed Evaluation to the Internship Office. The Internship Office will process it and then forward it on to me so I can review your performance and give you credit for the assignment. 

Magarrell Criteria (2003) for goals assignment AND final internship report

The ability to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses on the job and then modify your actions accordingly is essential to maintaining employment and expanding your growth as a professional. You will read the following criteria and select one goal from each of the four sections. Your goals assignment will be submitted during the first week of your internship semester. Then, as you prepare your final internship report at the end of your internship, evaluate yourself according to the goals you had set from the following criteria developed by Magarrell (2003, pages 37-40):

Job competence

Criteria:

Decision Making: the ability to make sensible, efficient, and effective decisions while taking into account the opinions and concerns of those affected by such decisions.

Problem Solving: seeking different solutions by processing information in new ways in order to evoke useful solutions to challenges being faced by others.

Organizational Skills: the capacity to clearly see what needs to be done and then to proceed in an orderly, logical manner. Also, the ability to involve others in projects such that both efficiency and effectiveness are maintained.

Productivity: creation or production of quality products within reasonable time constraints, whether it be working directly with clientele, or producing materials to assist the Experience Provider.

Initiative: recognition and completion of assignments without being told; doing more than is required; taking on challenging, routine, or mundane projects with zest; assuming responsibility for beginning, or originating new ideas or methods to benefit the Experience Provider.

Professionalism

Criteria:

Personal Appearance: maintaining a professional tasteful image; dressing in accordance with Agency policy: neat, clean, and orderly.

Attitude: a mental and neutral state of readiness, exerting a positive directive or dynamic influence upon the individual's response to all objects, people, and situations with which it is related.

Punctuality: being on time; promptness; immediateness.

Dependability: the quality of being reliable, able to be counted on to do what is expected or required; trustworthy; showing levelheadedness or steadiness in what you have committed to do.

Confidentiality/Trust: keeping information and other experiences within the agreed upon context (i.e., private, limiting the sharing of information).

Adaptability: the ability to change to meet the needs of the agency, clientele, or project without too much difficulty; appropriate flexibility.

Interpersonal Relations

Criteria:

Participant Relations: connections with participants; showing appropriate respect; maintaining a helpful yet professional relationship.

Empathy: the ability to understand what another is going through, thereby allowing you to appropriately direct the individual to needed resources or resolutions.

Staff Relations: connections with staff; appropriate regard and working relations.

Cooperation: the ability to work with others in harmony, carry your share of the workload, and labor or act with others toward a common objective or goal.

Friendliness: extending yourself to others in an amiable and respectful manner.

Communication, Verbal: the ability to accurately transfer meaningful information via spoken words and body language such that the message is received and understood by recipient; proficiency in the oral expression of thoughts, feelings, and information such that confusion and repetition are limited.

Communication, Written: the capacity to accurately transfer meaningful information using written instruments (memos, reports letters, email, etc.) such that the message is received and understood by the recipient; proficiency in the written expression of thoughts, feelings, and information such that confusion and repetition are limited.

Personal attributes

Criteria:

Creativity: the ability to envision and develop unique ways of approaching and carrying out projects or solving problems; bringing to mind possibilities that have not been previously entertained; inventiveness.

Enthusiasm: an intense or eager interest in what is being done, accompanied by excitement, energy, and optimism; an infectious attitude that radiates to others.

Persistence: the willingness to stick to a task under unexpected circumstances until it is satisfactorily complete; endurance; resoluteness; tenacity; persevering in mundane or difficult tasks and seeing them through to completion.

Assertiveness: the willingness to actively participate, state, and maintain a position, until convinced by the facts that other options are better; requires initiative and courage to act.

Stability: mentally and emotionally healthy; steady in purpose; firmly established; durable; enduring.

Self-Motivation: the capacity to draw from within the necessary energy and enthusiasm to complete a duty; the ability to stay focused and on-task when unmonitored by a supervisor or other external control.

Desire to Learn: the willingness to expend the effort to understand and learn what is needed to fulfill responsibilities; openness to receiving feedback and incorporating that information where possible; having an attitude of inquiry and a willingness to do the required research or study to reach a desirable end.

 

AI Policy

In accordance with the BYU- Idaho Honor Code, honesty and integrity are expected in all course work and behavior. While there are some uses for AI in completing college assignments, and some of you will use AI programs such as ChatGPT for your work in your internship, assignments for this course are to be your original writing and work. The ability to express your own thoughts, reflections, ideas and experiences accurately and well is an essential part of earning a college degree. If you do use AI as part of your internship site work, you are expected to follow ethical and legal requirements. If you ever have any concerns about what you are asked to do in the professional environment, please communicate with me and we will discuss the situation and counsel together. I am here to guide and support you in learning.

 

Course Grading

The total points for the course will vary based on the number of weeks served in the internship. Grades will be determined based on the following scale:

Grade

Percentage Range

A

100% - 94%

A-

93.99% - 90%

B+

89.99% – 87%

B

86.99% – 84%

B-

83.99% – 80%

C+

79.99% – 77%

C

76.99% – 74%

C-

73.99% – 70%

D+

69.99% – 67%

D

66.99% – 64%

D-

63.99% - 60%

F

>60%

University Policies

Students with Disabilities

Brigham Young University-Idaho is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have a disability and require accommodations, please contact the Disability Services OfficeLinks to an external site. at (208) 496-9210 or visit their website and follow the Steps for Receiving AccommodationsLinks to an external site.. Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with students and instructors by the Disability Services Office.

This course may require synchronous meetings. If you are currently registered with the Disability Services Office and need an interpreter or transcriber for these meetings, please contact the deaf and hard of hearing coordinator at (208) 496-9219.

Other University Policies

Student Honor and Other Policies

Please read through the document called University PoliciesLinks to an external site.. It gives important information about the following topics:

  • Student Honor
    • Academic Honesty
    • Student Conduct
      • Sexual Harassment
  • Student with Disabilities
  • Complaints and Grievances
  • Copyright Notice

Go to the Student Resources module to review further resources and information.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due