Evaluation of an internship

Quality and benefit of a practical training phase at an out-of-school place of learning

Abstract

Practical phases during studies do not automatically lead to good learning results. Therefore, on the basis of a questionnaire, the practical training phase at out-of-school places of learning of the University of Duisburg-Essen was evaluated by 130 students and 17 learning sites. The results show that the practical training phase has a high benefit for students and learning locations. Student satisfaction correlates with the application of the knowledge acquired at the university in the diverse didactic situations of the learning sites and the theory-based reflection of external and own learning scenarios. This reflection and the elaboration of didactic upon material by students are also of great value for the out-of-school places of learning. The success of the practical training phase lies in the close interaction between the actors; it is successful as it is based on a concept of agreed objectives and procedures. The coordinated collaboration of university and out-of-school places of learning was proven to be particularly effective for the students’ learning. The results and digital tools that were available are useful and transferable to practical training phases of other institutions.