EDU 610: Principal and Administrator Internship

Overview

The administrative internship at Jones International University is a required component of the M.Ed. Principal and Administrator Licensure Degree. Designed to prepare students for assuming the role of a licensed school or school district administrator by providing the opportunity to put theory into practice in the field, EDU 610 is a project-based internship course and experience conducted under the joint supervision of a JIU School of Education instructor and a licensed school administrator. Students will make arrangements in the course to complete a minimum of 200 clock hours of contact in the field under the supervision of a school administrator and complete a portfolio project that documents their internship experiences.

Because JIU’s Teacher and Administrator Licensure degrees are recognized by the Colorado State Board of Education as approved preparation programs for licensing educators, EDU 610 is built around Colorado’s competency-based performance standards for public school principals and administrators. These standards reflect the national standards and guidelines recommended for school leaders by many national school administrator organizations. You will learn more about these organizations further along in the course. Even though many JIU students are seeking administrator licensure in states other than Colorado, they will discover that the standards-based administrative principles adopted for Colorado are typical of those in most states.

Students are expected to make suitable arrangements for the individualized administrative internship experience either prior to beginning EDU 610, by contacting the course instructor or Dean of Education, or during the first two weeks of the course. The field experience should be completed by the end of the last module (Module 8) of EDU 610, but may be extended beyond the course by special approval.

A portfolio project documenting supervised internship activities and developed under JIU’s Course Project Rubric is due at the end of Module 8. Details of required and elective internship activities to be documented in the portfolio will be covered in Module 2.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Apply relevant leadership knowledge and skills to practical situations in a school or school district.
• Work cooperatively with supervisory personnel in the field while developing direct field-based applications of theory to practice.
• Put into practice standards-based administrative principles in a field-based setting.
• Actively participate in school administrative decision making under the direction of a school site coordinator.
• Identify and describe national organizations and other resources that provide guidelines for the knowledge, skills and best practices associated with professional administrative roles and responsibilities.
• Complete a portfolio-ready course project that documents the intern’s field- based activities and accomplishments, including a vita ready for presentation.
• Demonstrate professionalism and decision-making skills in all matters related to administrative performance standards.

Course Requirements

Academic advisor permission required for registration.

Required Texts
EDU 610 texts are available from the JIU/MBS bookstore