Placements at a Distance (Out-of-State or Area)

Some universities allow interns to be placed at a distance from their home university. For example, interns may be placed in another state or in a portion of the state that is not typically visited by university supervisors. Internship experiences of placements at a distance need to closely reflect the experiences provided to interns who are placed locally. For example, cooperating teachers in these distance placements need to meet the requirements (e.g., years of experience, mentoring knowledge and skills) the university sets for all cooperating teachers, and the length of the experience is to be identical to local placements.

While these placements at a distance can be a rewarding experience for interns, it should be recognized that they can present challenges to faculty and staff in the home university(e.g., placement and supervision). Following are possible considerations for the intern and the program faculty and staff when placing and supervising these distant placements.

Placement

  • Placement requests are made by authorized faculty or staff
  • The intern may be asked to provide contact information to the authorized faculty/staff
  • Initial contact needs to be made well in advance of the internship experience
  • The intern is responsible not only for typical “program fees,” but also for additional costs (e.g., supervision) related to these unique placements

Supervision

  • Supervision may occur in a variety of ways
  • Colleagues from universities near the placement may be contacted to provide supervision. If a professional from one of these neighboring institutions is providing supervision, s/he would visit and observe the intern as frequently as required by other interns in the home program
  • Advances in technology could be incorporated to provide adequate and equitable supervision. For example, videotapes of sample classes could be sent or transmitted electronically to the university supervisor for feedback, and conference calls could provide three way conversations between the mentor teacher, the intern, and the university supervisor.