LEARNING IMPACTS OF COOPERATIVE AND TRADITIONAL INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES.  By  Katie A. Ling                    A THESIS  Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of  Environmental Design  Master of Arts  2016    ABSTRACT LEARNING IMPACTS OF COOPERATIVE AND TRADITIONAL INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES By Katie A. Ling The purpose of this study is to explore the unique learning experiences that occur during an internship and, in particular, cooperative and traditional internships.  The cooperative internship is defined in this thesis as a learning community that serves real clients, achieves real deadlines, and completes real projects in an academic setting, offering direct support for students who participate.  The traditional internship, for specific use in this study, is defined as on-the-job practical experience and/or training.  The hypothesis being tested is: Students who participate in a cooperative internship will acquire different soft skills than subjects who participate in a traditional internship program.    The design of this study includes a voluntary video-recorded questionnaire and qualitative coding of the responses given by subjects being interviewed.  All interviews conducted were coded for expressions of professional and personal development, derived from the articulated experiences.  Open-ended responses were codified utilizing the Seven Soft Skill Clusters from the Comparative Analysis of Soft Skills (Crawford, et al., 2011) as framework for codification.  Responses were analyzed to compare any expressions of advantages and personal development between students with cooperative experience and students with traditional internship experience.  Findings suggest cooperative and traditional internship experiences yield different acquired soft skills.                       Copyright by KATIE A. LING 2016                    iv  TABLE OF CONTENTS   LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................... vi  LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................... viii  KEY TO SYMBOLS OR ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................... ix  CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1  CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................. 4 Conditions of Experiential Learning and Education ....................................................................... 6 Learner Characteristics and Environment ..................................................................................... 7 Learning Theory .............................................................................................................................. 7 High-Impact Educational Practices ................................................................................................ 8 Learning Community, Collaborative Assignments, Internships ............................................... 10 The Cooperative Internship .......................................................................................................... 12 The Traditional Internship ............................................................................................................ 14 Comparison of Cooperative and Traditional Internships ......................................................... 16 Soft Skills ....................................................................................................................................... 18 Conclusion of Literature Review .................................................................................................. 23  CHAPTER 3: METHODS ............................................................................................................................. 26 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................................ 31  CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................. 32 Communication ............................................................................................................................ 34 Decision-making/Problem-solving ............................................................................................... 35 Self-management ......................................................................................................................... 37 Teamwork ..................................................................................................................................... 39 Professionalism ............................................................................................................................. 41 Experiences ................................................................................................................................... 43 Leadership .................................................................................................................................... 45 Soft Skill Characteristics Added to Group .................................................................................... 47  CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS .................................................................................................. 49 Initial Observations ....................................................................................................................... 50 Communication ........................................................................................................................ 52 Decision-making/Problem-solving ............................................................................................ 53 Experiences ............................................................................................................................... 54 Leadership ................................................................................................................................. 56 Self-management, Teamwork, and Professionalism ................................................................ 56 Soft Skill Characteristic Discoveries .......................................................................................... 58            v  Limitations .................................................................................................................................... 60 Conclusion of Discussion .............................................................................................................. 62 Implications for Future Research ................................................................................................. 64  APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................................... 67 APPENDIX A: COOPERATIVE INTERNSHIP INTERVIEW PROTOCOL .............................................. 68 APPENDIX B: TRADITIONAL INTERNSHIP INTERVIEW PROTOCOL ............................................... 69 APPENDIX C: SUPPLEMENTAL AND CLARIFYING INFORMATION ON METHODS AND RESULTS . 70 APPENDIX D: SUPPLEMENTAL AND CLARIFYING INFORMATION ON METHODS AND RESULTS . 71 APPENDIX E: RESEARCH PARTICIPANT INFORMATION AND CONSENT FORM ............................ 72 APPENDIX F: SOFT SKILL CODIFICATION MATRIX ......................................................................... 75  REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................................. 77             vi  LIST OF TABLES   Table 1: High-Impact Educational Practices ....................................................................................... 9  Table 2: Descriptive Characteristics of Seven Most Employable Soft Skill Clusters .......................... 22  Table 3: Group and Skill Characteristic Totals .................................................................................. 33  Table 4: Communication Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation ................. 34  Table 5: Communication Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA ............................................................ 35  Table 6: Decision-making/Problem-solving Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation ........................................................................................................................................... 36  Table 7: Decision-making/Problem-solving Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA ............................... 37  Table 8: Self-management Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation .............. 38  Table 9: Self-management Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA ......................................................... 39  Table 10: Teamwork Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation ........................ 40  Table 11: Teamwork Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA .................................................................. 40  Table 12: Professionalism Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation ............... 42  Table 13: Professionalism Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA .......................................................... 42  Table 14: Experiences Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation ..................... 43  Table 15: Experiences Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA ................................................................ 44  Table 16: Leadership Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation ....................... 45  Table 17: Leadership Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA .................................................................. 46  Table 18: Subsequent Soft Skill Characteristics Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation ......... 47             vii  Table 19: Subsequent Soft Skill Characteristics One-way ANOVA .................................................... 48  Table 20: Qualitative Codification Matrix ......................................................................................... 75              viii  LIST OF FIGURES   Figure 1: Experiential Learning Theory Model (Kolb, 1984, p. 21) ..................................................... 4  Figure 2: Model of Experiential Learning Processes (Kolb, 1984, p. 42) ............................................ 4  Figure 3: Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................... 31            ix  KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS   APLU   Association of Public and Land-grant Universities  ELT  Experiential Learning Theory  IRB    LGU  MSU  Internal Review Board  Land Grant Unviersity  Michigan State University  UIC  WCBE  University of Illinois Chicago  World Class Built Environments                       1  CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION  Having an internship during a collegiate career offers the opportunity to learn about real-world professional practices while earning a formal education.  According to Michigan State , an internship is defined as supervised, career related work experiences leading to development of knowledge, skills, and abilities needed in a particular profession (2015).  Yardley, Tunissen, and Dornan highlight that internships are meant to give students positive working experiences, and help them learn the characteristics and culture of a certain firm or industry before committing to full time employment (2012).  Currently, literature showing investigations of experiential learning and its application in certain professions, as well as potential impacts upon students, is being reviewed and published more heavily.  It seems that experiential learning as a practice is utilized more readily in academic curricula, and is not simply an ambiguous system for gaining knowledge (Kolb, 1984).    Experiential learning theory offers something more substantial and enduring.  It offers the foundation for an approach to education and learning as a lifelong process that is soundly based in intellectual traditions of social psychology, philosophy, and cognitive psychology.  The experiential learning model pursues the framework for examining and strengthening the critical linkages among education, work, and personal development.  It offers a system of competencies for describing job demands and corresponding educational objectives and emphasizes the critical linkages that can be developed between ods.  It pictures the workplace as a learning environment that can enhance and supplement formal education and can foster personal development through meaningful work and career-development            2  opportunities.  And it stresses the role of formal education in lifelong learning and the development of individuals to their full potential as citizens, family members, and human beings (Kolb, 1984, pp. 3-4).   Various works regarding experiential learning theory are reviewed in this thesis, though these references seek only to focus on learning as it relates to that which occurs through internship experiences.  And although the definitions of experiential learning have been expounded upon, augmented, and widely debated over the years, being the catalyst for those subsequent definitions this thesis will utilize the Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) and Experiential Learning Model (Kolb, 1984) as a basis for the succeeding research.   This investigation seeks to examine literature published on traditional internships in comparison with literature on cooperative internships, and attempts to demonstrate how students may benefit from cooperative internship experiences by measure of social and employability skill development.  The following analysis and summarization of related literature illustrates key points which drive the comparison between traditional internships and cooperative internships and the succeeding effect produced on student learning.  The goal of this thesis is to demonstrate what benefits the cooperative internship may offer students, and how it could be utilized more comprehensively in the future.   The purpose of the following is to explore the unique learning that occurs in a cooperative internship experience compared to that of a traditional internship experience, utilizing the acquisition of soft skills as a mechanism of measurement.  Ronald Stadt and Bill Gooch (1977) define a cooperative internship as a program of employable education, organized by professors and employers through cooperation of rotating employment and educational instruction, where            3  students receive professional training in a vocation relating to their scholastic study that in that field.  A cooperative internship, for the specific interest of this study, will be defined from this point forward as a learning community that serves real clients, achieves real deadlines, and completes real projects in an academic setting, offering direct support for students who partake in this type of learning process.  An internship , for use in this paper, is on-the-job practical experience and/or training.  In examining the effects of internships on student learning, this study compares  self-assessed experiences in regard to soft skill acquisition during cooperative internships in comparison with  during traditional internships.  Paid or voluntary, internships can offer lessons in education that students would not otherwise find while sitting in the classroom, as internships tend to provide students with positive working experiences (Yardley, Tunissen, & Dornan, 2012).   The overall significance this study brings is the type of learning that internship experiences create, and how that information may be applied in various fields of study and discipline in the future.  What this thesis could offer to the body of knowledge as a whole is to further ignite the investigation of experiential learning, internships, and cooperative education, and to encourage educators to use the data showcased to engage students in a greater number of cooperative research and the laboratory method, learning change, and growth are seen to be facilitated best by an integrated process that begins with here-and-now experience followed by collection of data             4  CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW experience into knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, emotions, beliefs and senses.  It is the process Jarvis, Holford, & Griffin, 1998, pp. 46-47).  According to Green and Farazmand, experiential learning is also a pedagogy that enables successful learning outcomes (2012).  David Kolb described Experiential Learning as a cyclical process by which knowledge is created through the transformation of experience, through a four-stage sequence utilizing different adaptive learning modes (1984).  His creation of the Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) was, in part, inspired by the works of Kurt Lewin (1951) and Jean Piaget (1970).  The Lewinian Experiential Learning Model (Figure 1), also called The Experiential Learning Theory Model, is comprised of a four-staged sequence, modeled by four phases utilizing the adaptive learning modes of: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation (Kolb, 1984, p. 21).  Motivated by (1970, pp. 14-15), theories on learning and cognitive development (Kolb, 1984, p. 25), Kolb created the Experiential Learning Processes Model (Kolb, 1984, p. 42), found in Figure 2.  This model highlights the learning processes which take Figure 2: Model of Experiential Learning Processes (Kolb, 1984, p. 42) Figure 1: Experiential Learning Theory Model (Kolb, 1984, p. 21)            5  p. 42)  Devi Akella describes the Experiential Learning Theory Model (Figure 1) as one that stresses the learner involvement in all experiential educational practices, and highlights how that makes learning by experience so meaningful (2010).  Although Peter Jarvis (2006) argues that  (Figure 1) is a bit oversimplified, Estepp, Robert, and Carter express the indication that p. 81), so it stands as a point of beginning around which this literary analysis can be built.   The broad term of experiential learning can be broken down into many parts for simpler comprehension, and contains educational practices such as learning communities, collaborative learning, and internships (Kuh, 2008).  This type of experience-based learning may also be perceived as a lifelong endeavor, not solely literary comprehension and writing: experiential learning is an experience which involves all interpersonal relationships, thoughts, beliefs, feelings, all current knowledge and education, all occurring in a single moment in time (Kolb, 1984).  Yardley, Teunissen, and Dornan parallel Kolb by stating that learning continues to change as experience grows, and that previous experience not only affects how learners learn, but also affects their future ability to learn and problem-solve (2012).  Jarvis writes that a transformation and ensuing learning occurs after the initial experience, whether the time between the experience and reflection is short or long (Jarvis, 2006).  He theorizes also, that human learning tends to be so complex, researchers may never quite have the capability of knowing all of the nuances surrounding such study, and that we must be willing to continue revising our own theories again and again as more study unfolds (2006).              6  Sexton and Ungerer define the purpose of experiential learning as that which solidifies learning that has already taken place in the classroom, and allows students to practice what they learned, whether they learned in a classroom environment or fully outside the realm of the academic subject matter or environment (1975).  In  extended explanation, he emphasizes his belief that experiential learning should not be used in addition to formal methods of learningbut rather to suggest through experiential learning theory a holistic integrative  20-21).    Conditions of Experiential Learning and Education In Lifelong Learning and the Learning Society, Volume I (2006), Peter Jarvis illustrates the current formal education as a restrictive system of understanding, even if the educational system is gradually changing.  He continues with the explanation that the entire individual, mentally and physically, learns to gain new knowledge only when given the chance to be authentic, and that current educational systems eliminate that possibility due to the current educational system (2006).  This perspective is reinforced by Yardley, Teunissen, and Dornan, whereby they contend that experiential learning allows learners to exist in the context relevant to their own preferred career paths (2012), rather than within the context of curricula within current educational or academic trends.               7  Learner Characteristics and Environment For those who study human learning in particular, Ward, Herzog, and Michigan State University (1977) suggest paying close attention to the types of learners and each of their unique characteristics, and the environment within which the learner is situated.  Jarvis adds that humans Environments, external or internal, play a large role in experiential learning, as environment is a key factor if an individual learns based upon their own previous understanding (Yardley, Teunissen, & Dornan, 2012).  Based upon these interweaving ideas of human learning, it seems that not only conditions matter for the kind of knowledge gained by the learner (Jarvis, 2006; Ward et al., 1977; Yardley et al., 2012), but also the way students interpret a learning environment is influenced by their individual learning theories,-Gröhn & Engeström, 2003, p. 120).  And although there has been substantial research over past decades pertaining to this complex issue, Jarvis extrapolates that we as humans, or learning individuals, cannot necessarily be sure of all of the factors at play, whether it be the environment, subject matter, or learners themselves (2006).    Learning Theory Apart from environment and conditions each learner encounters based upon a specific situation, theories of learning remain ever-Learning Theory is that it offers a fundamentally different view of the learning process from that of the behavioral theories of learning based on an empirical epistemology of the more implicit theories of learning that underlie traditional educational methods,ds which are            8  mostly based upon an antiquated, optimistic philosophy (1984, p. 20).  Robert Sexton and Richard Ungerer (1975, p. 6) continue the conversation of learning theory by depicting themes stemming from a summation of theoretical discussions on experiential education:   worthwhile.    Experiential education is a revitalizing component for general education or liberal education.    Experiential is a vital component of training for identifiable professional fields.    Experiential education will foster a new role for the university in the community.    developing interpersonal skills or career awareness.   Experiential education, in  example (1975), falls under --fthe institution of formal education in a global sense at present.    High-Impact Educational Practices Though many theories have evolved consequentially from first describing the ELT (Kolb, 1984), experiential learning in itself can encompass many facets of education and knowledge creation.  For instance, High-Impact Educational Practices have been suggested in educational d capabilities to retain knowledge gained while actively learning (Kuh, 2008).  George D. Kuh describes these Practices as  follows: 1)            9  first-year seminars and experiences, 2) common intellectual experiences, 3) learning communities, 4) writing-intensive schedule, 5) collaborative assignments and projects, 6) undergraduate research, 7) diversity/global learning, 8) service learning, community-based learning, 9) internships, and 10) capstone courses and projects (2008).  The table below shows subgroupings of curriculum and their respective paraphrased definitions, (Kuh, 2008).   Table 1: High-Impact Educational Practices First-Year Seminars and Experiences:  Programs which bring groups of students together, emphasizing  critical inquiry,  frequent writing,  information literacy,  collaborative learning, and any skills which tailor to developing nd professional skills. First-year seminars may involve students with original ideas and theories paralleled with research by faculty.  Common Intellectual Experiences:  common courses arranged vertically, requiring each student to participate in a learning community. These programs combine themes including global inter-dependence and technology and society.  Learning Communities:  The main goal is to foster learning across curriculum and help students answer questions acrosclosely together with other classmates and with their professors. Some learning communities explore topics differing from their disciplines or individual perspectives; others connect professional courses with a certain subject matter covered during a course.  Writing-Intensive Courses:  Strongly encouraging writing at all levels of education in all disciplines, students revise and reproduce various versions of writing samples for audiences of differing professions. Effective use of this across curriculum has produced streamlined efforts in many academic areas on many campuses.  Collaborative Assignments and Projects:  Assignments and projects include two main goals: (1) to work and solve problems while in a team environment, and (2) to enhance a hose differing in ethnicity or cultural backgrounds from their own.              10  Table 1:  Undergraduate Research:  understanding key concepts in connection with their own research. The goal of undergraduate research is to drive students to investigate hotly-debated questions, use the newest technologies, and incite a sense of excitement in pursuing the answer to important questions.  Diversity/Global Learning:  Classes which help students learn about cultures, geographies, life experiences, worldviews, and backgrounds different than their own.  Students gender inequality.  These courses may take place on domestic campuses, or through study abroad programs.  Service Learning, Community-Based Learning:  Field-based learning and experiential learning are frequently required for these courses.  Students learn to give back to the community, and see that it is more than just earning college credit.  When interacting with community partners, they learn valuable lessons for work, citizenship, and life.   Internships:  Internships offer direct professional experience to students, where they may receive guidance from other professionals in that field or discipline.   Capstone Courses and Projects:  Projects created by seniors to showcase their work throughout a scholastic career.  Projects generally demonstrate how studied concepts may be integrated with other learned material.  The goal of presenting these subgroupings in this thesis is to offer insight into the sometimes misunderstood and less frequently acknowledged practices of learning.  The three practices which offer the most foundational information pertinent to this study are: the learning community, collaborative assignments, and internships.    Learning Community, Collaborative Assignments, Internships A learning community is a group which provides support to its individual memberallows for faculty and peer input, guides meaningful reflection, and can deliberately avoid confining the  of a particular class assignment.  Learning communities have the innate ability to offer innovative approaches to teaching and            11  learning (Zhu & Baylen, 2006) as well as offer environments which engender connection and learning through the interaction and collaboration of a diverse group of individuals (Howard & England-Kennedy, 2001; Zhu & Baylen, 2006).  Learning communities are thus communities of practice: groups of interconnected inquirers who value and practice specific behaviors that relate to the overall goal and conformity provide a diverse set of resources for their members and help preclude groupthink and nd-Kennedy, 2001, p. 79).   experiences shared and inteThe Lynch & Kogan suggest appropriate to their particular style of learning (2004, p. 172); in other words, the process of learning that is best-suited for the particular learner.  As Cole describes:  Process education is concerned first and foremost with the facilitation and development of skills.  Skills are organizations of behaviors which are highly transferable.  The skills which are most frequently emphasized in process education are those which relate to lcurriculum is selected for its utility in the facilitation and exercise of those skills.  The skills are the goals.  The curriculum content is the vehicle by which the goal of skill development may be realized (Cole, 1972, p. 3-4).              12  emphasis on competence-based methods of education, assessment, and certification signal s  The Cooperative Internship  The Cooperative Internship, is simply the combination and integration of on-the-job practical experience with academic classroom education or instruction (Cross, 1973).  Stadt and Gooch (1977) also describe this type of program as that which connects societal needs to those students helping bolster the surrounding community.  They continue to define cooperative internships as programs of employable education, organized by professors and employers through a cooperation of rotating employment and educational instruction, where students receive formal instruction and professional training in a vocation relating to their scholastic study, that  & Gooch, 1977).   Central to the success of a cooperative education internship is the ability of the student to exhibit high levels of technical and social skills.  Technical skills are important because they provide the foundation for the effective and efficient completion of the work task.  By exhibiting such skills, the student intern increases the chances of being retained by the sponsoring firm.  Additionally, since evidence of technical skill preparation is almost always a prerequisite for employment consideration, having a record of successful work experience and/or an educational credential increases potential job opportunities later on down the line (Bartkus, 2001, p. 48).              13  Tuomi-important aspect of competence.  It is viewed as a mixture of metacognitive knowledge and situations, an adequate individual learning theory and the willingness to test, elaborate, and refine 03, p. 120).  Students who work in real-life situations keep current with interests and trends, and that working with clubs, real project sites, and other social events may have positive effects (Stadt & Gooch, 1977).  Bartkus refines even further the benefits that skills learned in cooperative education may offer students and learners with these three (3) potential advantages:   First, by providing social skills instruction prior to the internship, the student intern will more likely be able to deal effectively with the eccentricities that often arise within the socially constructed work environment.  Additionally, by acquiring social skills expertise beforehand (and learning how and when such knowledge is appropriate), student interns will have a more comprehensive foundation upon which to foster additional professional growt  Second, social skills instruction will likely complesocialization efforts.  That is, social instruction can help sensitize student interns to the notion that organizations have their own distinct social cultures and that these cultures are subsumed under the broader context of soc  Finally, social skills instruction will more likely provide student interns with a greater competitive advantage after the internship has been completed.  In particular, since employers ordinarily pre-qualify job candidates based on evidence of technical expertise,            14  appropriate social skills training could make the added difference in terms of being extended a job offer (2001, pp. 48-49).   points out that not only may the student gain experience prior to an internship or entry-level position at a firm, but that the individual will be able to act appropriately, be more sensitive to the social structure and culture of any particular interpersonal environment, and have a competitive advantage over other students who may not have had social skill exposure (2001).   To review, cooperative internships for this thesis are defined as learning communities that serve real clients, achieve real deadlines, and complete real projects in an academic setting, offering direct support for students who partake in this type of learning process.  Additionally, the education, cooperative experience, and/or cooperative programs.    The Traditional Internship Traditional internships are those so defined an on-site work experience directly related to career goals and/or fields of interest(Morgan, 2015).  Nunley, Pugh, Romero, and Seals suggest that -specific skills acquired while studying for a degree may lessen training costs for Green and Farazmand build upon the statement by recounting that  Not all feel that traditional internships are advantageous to an experiential learner, however.  On the contrary, Paetcher and Open University (2001) describe learning in the            15  workplace as time and space in which learning occurs, but s business hours.  The authors insinuate learning in the workplace is a conditioned behavior which takes place only during an organizationhours of operation, and that the behaviors of the learner involved can only be measured through the comparison of tasks completed in the workplace environment (2001).  Paetcher and Open University continue:  that is motivated by the job, developed through the job and measureable only through observable behaviours linked to competencies that benefit the job.  Learning is recognized only in knowledge that the organization can access, knowledge which can be spoken, deconstructed and shared (for example, through dialogue), rather than knowledge which might be tacit and embedded in practice, communicative relations, visions, choices and intuition (2001, p.77).   In one publication tclaim that This growth may be in the form of enhanced networking, greater skill training, and better Heckman and Kautz bolster the previous study through their definition of personality traits held by individual learners: manifested through thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and therefore, must be inferred from measures of performance on tasks,Inferring here that the completion of tasks can be an important measuring tool for evaluating the ability of the learner (i.e. intern), Stadt and Gooch speculate work in real situations which are in keeping with interests and            16  abilities.  Contact with several levels of management and employee representatives and other community leaders via work site, club, and social functions has many positive, salut(1977, p. 19).  Aligned with the theory that learning is a continued process, David Kolb states two main goals that are present in the process of subject matter.  The other is to learn olearning how to learn from experience)(1974, p. 1).   What seems to be implied in the previous ideas is that learning does not necessarily stop , nor is there only one measurement for learning outcomes of interns.  And, especially if transformation of knowledge occurs after  experience, learning tends to continue no matter the duration of time between experience and reflection (Jarvis, 2006).  In summary, traditional internships, are good for the learner.  For the extent and specific purpose of this thesis, traditional internships are so defined as on-the-job practical experience and/or training.  Furthermore, tinternship may be used traditional internship experiencetraditional   Comparison of Cooperative and Traditional Internships Just as all internships may assist to serve as vehicles for human learning, both cooperative education and traditional internships are described as education that is outside the normal range of that included in a classroom environment (Sexton & Ungerer, 1975).  Cooperative education tends to nurture technical skill development and social skill development before an individual is thrown into a traditional internship which, in turn, increases the potential for future career success (Bartkus, 2001).  This statement seems to be true whether the cooperative education is an entry-           17  level position or an internship.  Kolb describes the intrinsic characteristics of non-formal education experiential.  The tools for this work involve many traditional methods that are as old as, or in some cases older than, the formal education system itself.  These methods include apprenticeships, internships, work/study programs, cooperative education, studio arts, laboratory Sometimes, though, traditional internships are only a one-semester course or occur only in one summer-long interval, and are not always required by the college or university (Green & Farazmand, 2012).   In his 2006 dissertation, Scott Lee describes the advantages of parallel cooperative internship programs where students attend class and work in a professional environment simultaneously, continuously applying apparent learning objectives and on-the-job training while earning an income (p. 19).  The fact that he relates this advantage as one of parallel cooperative education should give proof of the learning reinforcement inherent in the type of cooperative education just described, according to Howard and England-Kennedy (2001).  The two authors continue by breathing more life into the argument for cooperative education and programming:  The philosophical underpinnings and the practices of cooperative education naturally transgress boundaries of traditional understandings of education by broadening the landscape of learning opportunities for students[Students] are placed in real-world contexts and required to make various decisions, negotiate their different roles as students  and workers, develop relationships with co-workers and supervisors, take on responsibilities, and work as a member of a team.  This context for learning naturally leads to the previously-mentioned learning process and learning outcomes (2001, p. 77).              18   Soft Skills David Kolb articulates the creation of knowledge and meaning, occurs through the active extension and grounding of ideas and experiences in the external world and through internal reflection about the attributes of the1984, p. 52).  Relating to such learning, Lee (2006, p. 21) attests that colleges and universities create curricula specifically designed to developmental tasks which help students identify values, demonstrate socially responsible behavior, develop intellectual skills and competencies, and select and prepare for employment. Such curriculums have been developed because education is a process of changing H. P. Cole extends the thought that life skill acquisition may be the channel through which learners are able to acquire such proficiency and expertise: Skills of learning, of relating to others, or empathy, of analyzing and synthesizing information and experience, of planning and implementing action, of conceptualizing, 4).  David Kolb postulates that the motivation for learning comes Following, Cole continues:  Skills may be considered to be behavioral control systems which incorporate, select, and direct different response patterns and attitudinal and behavioral tendencies and capabilities in a series of actions toward some goal.  In skilled behavior, responses are attainment of some goal within a plan of action for attaining that goal (1972, p. 26).              19  From those ideas of life values and skill acquisition as a medium for learning, it seems fair to infer that learners continually access the knowledge they have gained if they apply said knowledge to their real life and personal interpretation of their own experiences.   Skills, for greater specificity, may be divided into two groups: 1) technical skills and 2) soft skills.  Since technical skills are the completion of physical or tactical task work, soft skills differ in that they are the personality traits, goals, motivations, and preferences that are valued in the Heckman and Kautz define in their abstract (2012).  Soft skills are also sometimes termed skills .  Kenneth R. Bartkus describes work-related social skills similarly to soft skills, though he divides such skills into three categories: 1) strategic social skills, 2) facilitating social skills, and 3) supplemental social skills (2001, p. 49).  Strategic social skills are those which are typically directed at achieving specific outcomes within a specific social context (e.g. teamwork, leadership), facilitating skills are more like technical skills an individual would need to accomplish objectives (i.e. organizational expertise to efficiently finish tasks), and supplemental skills include those needed to carry out the objectives of strategic and facilitating social skills (2001).  Cole deduces Process education recognized that people live by their skills.  Both productivity and quality   In the same vein, Jarvis states that learning processes are the elemental catalysts for life,  could the individual function effectively in the wider society.  It is essential to our humanity and, in fact, it is an existential process.  This does not mean that studies of learning need only to be philosophical, but it does demand that we recognise the philosophical            20  underpinnings of all theories of learning, in whatever academic discipline they are based.  Moreover, since learning is a human phenomenon, it might be asked whether all the theories of learning are only aspects of the same human process (2006, p. 3).   According to Zhu and Baylen (2005), the goal of many institutions of higher education is centered within creating the type of learning environments and process in which educated individuals thrive.  Green and Farazmand suggest that the responsibilities for professional and career development skills continue to increase content of the curriculum is selected for its utility in the facilitation and exercise of those skills-4).  The skills are the goals.  The curriculum content is the vehicle by which the -4).  Bartkus notices too, however, that although educational institutions have the opportunity to supply students with both technical skill development and social skill development, they have historically focused only on providing students with education in technical skill development (2001).  and practitioners in this area [assessment of prior experience-based learning in order to grant academic credit] are more concerned with what people learn  the identifiable knowledge and skill outcomes of learning from accumulated experience  than they are with how learning takes  In scholarly literature of recent though, social skills in the workplace are continuing to grow in popularity as topics of research (Bartkus, 2001), which may suggest their increasing importance to educational and academic institutions.   three aforesaid definitions of subdivided work-related social skills (2001), (2012) definition of soft skills, and the prominent similarity of soft skill and social skill meanings, the author formed one definition            21  for the specific use of this paper.  Therefore, for this thesis and for the simplicity of definition, soft skills are defined organize, and facilitate collaborative tasks, in, or while appropriately adapting to, a specific interpersonal or social setting.   This brings the reader to the topic of soft skill application and utilization.  Soft skills may predict and yield success retained by the individual (Heckman & Kautz, 2012) whether it be in academic or professional environments.  That said, Crawford, Lang, Fink, Dalton, and Fielitz, in their Comparative Analysis of Soft Skills (2011), gather and name common employable skills from surveys completed by employers, university alumni, university faculty, and students.  Literature to gather background information for the pertaining study was retrieved prior to evaluating said skills and skill clusters.  After the most important soft skill clusters were identified, Crawford et al. (2011), with help from APLU and UIC, prioritize and rank each cluster of skills to from their survey responses to create The Seven Most Employable Soft Skills.  The descriptive characteristics of each (Crawford et al., 2011, p. 9) are stated in the table below:                    22  Table 2: Descriptive Characteristics of Seven Most Employable Soft Skill Clusters Communication Listen effectively; communicate accurately and concisely; effective oral communication; communicate pleasantly and politely; effective written communication; ask good questions; communicate appropriately and professionally using social media Decision-Making/ Problem-Solving Identify and analyze problems; take effective and appropriate action; realize the effect of decisions; creative and innovative solutions; transfer knowledge from one situation to another; engage in life-long learning; think abstractly about problems Self-Management Efficient and effective work habits; self-starting; well-developed ethic, integrity and sense of loyalty; sense of urgency to address and complete tasks; work well under pressure; adapt and apply appropriate technology; dedication to continued professional development Teamwork Productive as a team member; positive and encouraging attitude; punctual and meets deadlines; maintains accountability to the team; work with multiple approaches; aware and sensitive to diversity; share ideas to multiple audiences  Professionalism Effective relationships with customers, business and the public; accept and apply critique and direction in the workplace; trustworthy with sensitive information; understand role and realistic career expectations; deal effectively with ambiguity; maintain appropriate décor and demeanor; select appropriate mentor and acceptance of advice Experience Related work or internship experiences; teamwork experiences; leadership experiences; project management experiences; cross disciplinary experiences; community engagement experiences; international experiences Leadership recognize when to lead and when to follow; respect and acknowledge contributions from others; recognize and deal constructively with conflict; build professional relationships; motivate and lead others; recognize change is needed and lead the change effort  Regarding social (soft) skills, success rates of individuals seem to improve when they engage in appropriate social interaction and effectively communicate in their interpersonal work find that their chances for career success will (Bartkus, 2001, p. 48).  Along the same theories, Green and Farazmand write about employers training new graduates less often while expecting more inherent skills from them, resulting in            23  collegiate educational institutions to encourage students to develop more and better skills throughout their collegiate experience (2012This must be achieved through learning,authors continue, the integration of knowledge and skills within courses and across the curriculum (Green & Farazmand, 2012, p. 21).  Nunley may inflNew graduates tend to enjoy more opportunities to succeed in their career choices (Bartkus, 2001) especially with skills acquired from an internship.    Conclusion of Literature Review As this may very well be only a small amount of the current body of knowledge of experiential learning, we as humans will most likely be unable to capture the entirety of the human learning experience (Jarvis, 2006).  What can be gained from this, is that in techniques of  to be facilitated best by an integrated process that begins with here-and-now experience followed by collection of ).  Kolb seems to refer to the Experiential Learning Theory Model (Figure 1) which suggests learners engage in active and experiential learning, then reflect upon those experiences afterward, where abstract conceptualization and active experimentation follow concrete experience and reflective observation.  Dewey proposes to reconsider the generally accepted definition of education, as the reaction and protest.  For it is an attempt to discover what education is and how it takes place.  Only when we identify education with schooling does it seem to be a simple thing to tell what            24  education actually is, and yet a clear idea of what it is gives us our only criterion for judging and e idea of education is continually being reconstructed as more research surfaces about what is best for the learner.  In The Child and the Curriculum (1902), Dewey returns to the experience of learning as a way to redefine education:  In the largest sense the logical standpoint is itself psychological; it has its meaning as a point in the development of experience, and its justification is in its functioning in the future growth which it insures. Hence the need of reinstating into experience the subject matter of the studies, or branches of learning.  It must be restored to the experience from which it has been abstracted.  It needs to be psychologized; turned over, translated in the immediate and individual experiencing within which it has its origin and significance (p. 22).   Land-Grant Universities (LGUs) themselves have a unique historical mission which focuses on the practicalities of experience through Niewolny, Schroeder-Moreno, Horn, Harmon, Fanslow, Williams, & Parr, 2012, p. 14).  These real world experiences reflect the Experiential Learning Theory (Kolb, 1974), the learning and practice practice, and experience (1916).  LGUs real-world contexts and purposeful activities(Jacobsen et al., 2012, p. 16) which avails the connection to real world practices in academic study.  Relating to future studies and research, Jacobsen et al. continue to describe a trend in curricula over the past century, where educators have created new and inventive ways to teach (in this instance, agriculture) students, and            25  challenge themselves  -experiences that reflect the complexitipost-graduation (2012, p. 17).   There is a solid foundation of existing literature available to assist the author in comparing perceived benefits and advantages of internship programs and cooperative education.  However, ure large enough to form adequate background information directly comparing cooperative internship experiences to traditional internship experiences, utilizing soft skill acquisition as a mechanism for measurement.  Although the goal of this literature review does not revolve around Land Grant Universities, it is there where the influence of any data used to strengthen educational practices with experiential learning may have the greatest effect.               26  CHAPTER 3: METHODS This study uses a sequential exploratory mixed-method approach.  John W. Creswell defines a sequential exploratory approach as a strategy that first implements qualitative research, then quantitative research, though not simultaneously (2009).  He continues by saying quantitative data collection then builds upon the qualitative findings from the previous phase (Creswell, 2009).  Carrying out a mixed-method study simply means that the method for which involves both qualitative and quantitative analysis.  The primary investigator hopes that this depiction of research methodology structure will help readers more clearly understand the organization discussed later on in this thesis.   cooperative internship program and the learning that occurs through participation in a traditional internship program is being compared.  The central research question and subsequent sub-question which develop from studying the previously-mentioned relationship are:  (1) What effect does a cooperative internship experience have on learning when compared to that of a traditional internship experience? a. Is there a sbetween the two groups?   Literature concerning experiential learning, skill development, internships, case studies, educational processes, cooperative learning, and learning theories were reviewed carefully to find the most relevant works to evaluate.  Subjects who had participated in a traditional or cooperative internship were contacted through the use of a university electronic mail server to create a subject            27  pool.  The study required each subject to have past experience or to have recently participated in a traditional or cooperative internship.  Out of those subjects, one group contained individuals who had participated in a cooperative internship at Michigan State University in the School of Planning, Design and Construction from 2013 to 2015.  The second group was composed of subjects who had some experience in a traditional internship program.  A traditional internship is defined for this paper as on-the-job training outside of an educational setting.   During the qualitative portion of the study, and after scheduling appointments, the primary researcher met with subjects individually to conduct the confidential interview.  Each of the sixteen subjects interviewed were given a verbal questionnaire (Traditional or Cooperative Internship Interview Protocol accordingly, based upon his or her internship experience).  Using open-ended questions regarding learning experiences in cooperative or traditional internships, the subjects gave answers regarding self-assessed learning outcomes.  While being interviewed, the primary investigator recorded the subjects for later reference and codification using a video-recording device.  Out of the sixteen interviews, two groups emerged and were named: the Traditional Group, comprised of eight subjects having traditional internship experience; and the Cooperative Group, those eight subjects having cooperative internship experience.  From this point onward, these groups will be referenced accordingly.   An important point to note is that all subjects (in pre-trial and actual study) were students pursuing a major in Landscape Architecture, Environmental Design, or Planning, Design, and Construction at the time of study.  To ensure the direction and applicability of the interview questionnaire, a pre-trial study (September 2014) was completed prior to the actual study (November 2014, December 2015).  Subjects from a graduate-level course at Michigan State            28  University were interviewed for the pre-trial experiment and those participants were limited to those not to be in the group of the sixteen subjects interviewed for the actual research of this thesis.  Based upon feedback received from those subjects surveyed in the pre-trial study, the primary researcher could establish full efficacy of the final interview protocol.  Once the interview protocol was re-formatted, it was then administered to participants of the World Class Built Environment (WCBE) Initiative of Michigan State University.  The interviewing protocol can be found in the appendices at the end of this thesis.  At the initial time of research, the cooperative internship group was originalcorresponding Interview Protocol (Appendix A).  Through subsequent literature review, this group name was changed to reflect the current name, the This survey design was approved for the use on human subjects by the Michigan State University Internal Review Board (IRB) through the IRB ID# x14-1148e and administered by the Michigan State University primary researcher.   The primary investigator transc-ended responses regarding his or or phrases, articulating or relating to the Seven Soft Skill Clusters described in the Comparative Anthen carried out a content analysis using latent coding of the transcriptions, with soft skill clusters and characteristics utilized as framework for research.  The coded responses from each group were then compared.   The framework for qualitative to quantitative codification included the researcher using forty-nine different codes representing forty nine different characteristics housed within seven            29  different clusters of soft skills (Communication, Decision-making/Problem-solving, Self-management, Teamwork, Professionalism, Experiences, Leadership).  Skill clusters were given categorical Communication clustDecision-making/Problem-and so on.  Each cluster contained seven unique characteristics within it.  The primary researcher coded each of the characteristics as shown in the following example: Communication Skill Cluster (1) isten CEand so forth until the seventh characteristic within this cluster professio   Characteristics of the Decision-making/Problem-solving Soft Skills Clustedentify and analyze  seventh characteristic in the Decision-making/Problem-solving cluster   This process continued until all soft skill characteristics were coded correspondingly.  By using this technique, the main researcher was able to record distinctive new variables if and when they appeared throughout the codification process.  New characteristics found would be given numerical codes starting at 50, regardless of within which skill cluster they were contained.  This codification matrix is found in the appendices of this thesis.   Data collection was statistically analyzed using computer program IBM SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) Software.  In this phase, the hypothesis (H1) tested was: Students who participated in a cooperative internship will gain different soft skills than subjects who participated in a traditional internship program.  The null hypothesis (H0), alternately, was: Students who participated in a traditional internship will gain the same soft skills as those who            30  participated in a cooperative internship.  Password-protected computers, video-recording equipment, and backup saving devices were used as instrumentation for the entire extent of the research process.   Key stakeholder supplemental communications included informal meetings with the Director and Associate Director of the School of Planning, Design and Construction at Michigan State University, and MSU design students who had participated in the WCBE Initiative (cooperative internship).  The purpose of these meetings knowledge of learning processes, and to adequately codify subsequent data and findings.  With the interface of both groups, the primary researcher was better able to gauge the types of learning which occurred, and whether the subjects themselves were able to articulate such outcomes.   Some biases throughout the study were observed.  Due to each of the interview subjects assessing his or her own educational gains, there was room for some human error.  As a precaution to human error, and for the sake of consistency, the primary investigator carried out all transcription, codification, and subsequent analysis.  However, the act of one researcher carrying out all codification processes did leave room for associated bias.  Latent coding by sheer definition offers a subjective perspective system, and opinions.  To reduce potential bias in further research, the author suggests utilizing multiple researchers to carry out codification and content analysis.  This is the first step in an exploratory study, a point at which a new body of knowledge may begin.                 31  Conceptual Framework    Self-management Figure 3: Conceptual Framework Collaborative Assignments and Projects Cooperative Internships EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING Conditions of Experiential Learning Environment Learner Characteristics Learning Theory High-Impact Educational Practices Learning Community Internships Traditional Internships Benefits of Internships = Soft Skills Communication Decision-making/Problem-solving Teamwork Professionalism Experiences Leadership            32  CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS A One-way ANOVA Test was carried out to quantitatively and statistically compare the soft skill development between two variables: the cooperative internship and the traditional internship.  The sample size for each group was eight, making the total sample size sixteen (N=16).  , and to test for a significant (p<0.1) difference between them, a One-way ANOVA was completed for each of the soft skill clusters: Communication, Decision-making/Problem-solving, Self-management, Teamwork, Professionalism, Experiences, and Leadership (Tables 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17).  An additional One-way ANOVA was completed for the soft skill characteristics (Table 19) the primary researcher discovered through the codification process described in the previous chapter.   The two research questions to be answered in this chapter are, What effect does a cooperative internship experience have on learning when compared to that of a traditional internship experience? and, compared between the two groups?  The main investigator found that each subject noted changes in perceived learning after his or her experience in either a cooperative or traditional internship (Table 3).  The researcher also found significant differences between group means as determined by One-way ANOVA carried out for each skill cluster (Tables 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19).  The hypothesis tested, students who participate in a cooperative internship will acquire different soft skills than subjects who participate in a traditional internship is supported within the dataset.  The total number of characteristics attained by each respondent within each group can be found in Table 3 below.              33  Table 3: Group and Skill Characteristic Totals              34  Communication The first ANOVA test compared the means between the traditional internship group and the cooperative internship group, with reference to the characteristics contained within the Communication soft skill cluster (Table 5).  These seven characteristics are as follows: Listen effectively, Communicate accurately and concisely, Effective oral communication, Communicate pleasantly and professionally, Effective written communication, Ask good questions, and Communicate appropriately using social media, numbered 1 to 7, correspondingly.  Below are tables concerned with the communication skill cluster.  The  Table 4: Communication Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation             35  Table 5: Communication Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA  Based upon the present dataset within the Communication Soft Skill Cluster, the primary researcher found through using a One-way ANOVA that only one of the group means differed significantly (p<0.1) in acquired soft skill characteristics.  F(1) = 4.26, p = 0.058.    Decision-making/Problem-solving The second One-way ANOVA that was completed was concerned with the Decision-making/Problem-solving soft skill cluster (Table 7).  The seven characteristics contained within this cluster are Identify and analyze problems, Take effective and appropriate action, Realize            36  effect of decisions, Creative and innovative solutions, Transfer knowledge from one situation to another, Engage in life-long learning, and Think abstractly about problems, numbered 8 to 14, respectively.  The following tables correspond to the Decision-making/Problem-solving Skill Cluster.   Table 6: Decision-making/Problem-solving Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation             37   Table 7: Decision-making/Problem-solving Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA  Based upon the present dataset within the Decision-making/Problem-solving Soft Skill Cluster, the primary researcher found, through using a One-way ANOVA, that  group mean differed significantly (p<0.1) in acquired soft skill characteristics.  That soft skill characteristic within the Decision-making/Problem-solving cluster had a significance level of F(1)=3.12, p = 0.099.    Self-management The third ANOVA test involved the Self-management soft skill cluster which contained the characteristics: Efficient and effective work habits, Self-starting, Well-developed work ethic,            38  integrity and sense of loyalty, Sense of urgency to address and complete tasks, Work well under pressure, Adapt and apply appropriate technology, and Dedication to continued professional development, numbered 15 to 21, singly (Table 9).  The following tables show data which pertain to the Self-management skill cluster.  The cooperative internship group is denoted  Table 8: Self-management Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation   Based upon the resulting dataset within the Self-management Soft Skill Cluster, the primary investigator found, through using a One-way ANOVA, that none of the group means differed significantly (p<0.1) in acquired soft skill characteristics.  The skill characteristic closest to being            39  significant within the Self-significance level of F(1) = 1.91, p = 0.188 between groups.   Table 9: Self-management Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA   Teamwork A fourth ANOVA test included the Teamwork soft skill characteristics, which are: Productive as a team member, Positive and encouraging attitude, Punctual and meets deadlines, Maintains accountability to the team, Work with multiple approaches, Aware and sensitive to diversity, and Share ideas with multiple audiences (Table 11).  These soft skill characteristics are numbered 22 through 28, respectively.  The following tables exhibit data            40  pertaining specifically to the Teamwork soft skill cluster.  The cooperative internship group is  Table 10: Teamwork Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation   Table 11: Teamwork Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA             41  Based upon the dataset and within the Teamwork Soft Skill Cluster the main researcher found, through using a One-way ANOVA, that none of the group means differed significantly (p<0.1) in acquired soft skill characteristics.  The characteristic closest to being significant within the Teamwork soft skill F(1)=1.17, p = 0.298.    Professionalism The fifth One-way ANOVA carried out pertained to the Professionalism soft skill cluster (Table 13).  The characteristics contained within the cluster included: Effective relationship with customers, businesses and the public, Accept and apply critique and direction in the work place, Trustworthy with sensitive information, Understand role and realistic career expectations, Deal effectively with ambiguity, Maintain appropriate décor and demeanor, and Select appropriate mentor and acceptance of advice, numbered respectively, from 29 to 35.  Tables below display data pertaining the Professionalism soft skill cluster.  The cooperative internship              42  Table 12: Professionalism Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation   Table 13: Professionalism Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA  Based upon the data, specifically within the Professionalism Soft Skill Cluster, the primary researcher found, through using a One-way ANOVA, that none of the group means differed            43  significantly (p<0.1) in acquired soft skill characteristics.  The soft skill characteristic closest to F(1)=2.57, p = 0.131.    Experiences After the fifth ANOVA test was done, a sixth One-way ANOVA was carried out pertaining to the Experiences soft skill cluster (Table 15).  The characteristics contained within this cluster, numbered 36 to 42 correspondingly, are as follows: Related work or internship experiences, work experiences, Leadership experiences, Project management experiences, Cross disciplinary experiences, Community engagement experiences, and International experiences.  The tables following signify data gathered from pertaining to the Experiences soft skill cluster.   Table 14: Experiences Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation              44  Based upon the dataset within the Experiences Soft Skill Cluster, the investigator found, through using a One-way ANOVA, that two of the group means differed significantly (p<0.1) in acquired soft skill characteristics.  Those characteristics within the Experiences skill cluster were the F(1)=3.50, p = 0.083, and F(1)=3.15, p = 0.098.   Table 15: Experiences Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA                45  Leadership The seventh One-way ANOVA test accomplished included the soft skill characteristics held within the Leadership cluster (Table 17).  These seven characteristics are numbered from 43 to 49, respectively.  They are:  Recognize when to lead and when to follow, espect and acknowledge contributions from others, Recognize and deal constructively with conflict, Build professional relationships, Motivate and lead others, and Recognize change is needed and lead the change effort.  The tables following signify data gathered pertaining to the Leadership soft skill cluster.  The cooperative internship group is  Table 16: Leadership Soft Skill Cluster Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation               46  Table 17: Leadership Soft Skill Cluster One-way ANOVA  Based upon the data in the Leadership Soft Skill Cluster, the primary researcher found, through using a One-way ANOVA, that only one of the group means differed significantly (p<0.1) in acquired soft skill characteristics.  The characteristic significant within the Leadership soft skill F(1)=3.50, p = 0.084.                   47  Soft Skill Characteristics Added to Group The eighth and final One-way Analysis of Variance test completed pertained to the soft skill characteristics found throughout the codification process (Table 19).  Four in total, these characteristics are numbered, respectively, 50 to 53 as follows: Effective graphic communication, Adapt well and quickly to new situations, Awareness of situational expectations, and Thinking critically.  Effective graphic communication (50) has been categorized under the Communication Soft Skill Cluster, Adapt well and quickly to new situations (51) is in the Self-management Cluster, Awareness of situational expectations (52) is found in the Professionalism Cluster, and Thinking critically (53) is contained within the Decision-making/Problem-solving Cluster.  The tables below exhibit data gathered from the four new-found soft skill characteristics.  The coo Table 18: Subsequent Soft Skill Characteristics Mean, Sample Size, and Standard Deviation                48  Table 19: Subsequent Soft Skill Characteristics One-way ANOVA  Based upon the specific data analyzed for the subsequent soft skill characteristics found, the main found, through using a One-way ANOVA, that none of the group means differed significantly (p<0.1) in acquired soft skill characteristics.  The soft skill characteristic closest to being significant within the final group of these four characteristics, successively categorized within the Professionalism soft skill cluster, Awareness of situational expectationswith a significance level of F(1)=1.25, p = 0.282.               49  CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS The two research questions to be answered and discussed in this chapter are, What effect does a cooperative internship experience have on learning when compared to that of a traditional internship experience? and, compared between the two groups?  After completing the statistical analysis, the primary investigator found that subjects noted changes in perceived learning after his or her experience in either a cooperative or traditional internship.  All sixteen subjects noted their learning abilities positively altered after either internship experience in comparison with their ability before participating.  Because of the broad nature of an exploratory study, the primary investigator employed a statistical significance value of p<0.1, instead of p<0.05 or p<0.01.  Although a confidence level of 90% is generally not considered high enough to be statistically significant, with relation to this study only, any relationship found with a significance level less than 0.1 was considered significant.  The purpose of the findings stated in the previous chapter was to uncover data with qualitative significance, which may have been lost within a non-exploratory study focusing on quantitative data deemed not statistically significant (p<0.05).  Justification for this basis was to provide a foundation for future research; to create an environment where investigators could develop experimentation to further analyze any quantitative data relationships that are statistically significant (p<0.1) within this study.  That said, the researcher did find significant differences between group means as determined by a one-way ANOVA carried out for each of the seven soft skill clusters (Tables 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19).  Consequently, the main investigator deemed post hoc tests unnecessary due to the experimental quality of the exploratory study.  Post hoc tests would be necessary in the event that more variables (i.e. subjects with            50  neither cooperative nor traditional internship experience, subjects with both cooperative and traditional internship experiences) were added.  Although t-tests are most commonly used for the comparison of two variables, in this case and for potential further research, a one-way ANOVA was used to allow multiple variables to be tested (between and within groups) in the future.    Initial Observations Most subjects, regardless of which internship experience he or she had, respond similarly to prompts throughout the interview questionnaire.  Upon being asked what expectations each subject had before participating, many suppose that he or she had few notions of what to expect, except that most thought they would learn to use different methods of operation other than those utilized in the classroom.  Many say their projects in class after the internship experience are more practical and realistic, rather than fanciful or unattainable as they had been before their internship experience.  Almost all subjects note a change in their intended direction after graduation, and many are simply excited to apply what they learned said she thought internships should be required for landscape architecture majors due to the benefits she had perceived to obtain.  Some also articulate that the feeling of being connected, and their ability to communicate with other professionals, is the most valuable part of the entire internship experience.   Due to the main investigator using personal judgment during the qualitative-to-quantitative codification process, latent coding is used throughout research.  Being that one researcher carried out all phases of codification procedures, the latent nature of the codification            51  process does allow personal biases to be present.  Context of phrases is sometimes difficult to establish due to certain phrases referencing a previous response or topic, and is assumed from previous data when coding material.  However, if a subject demonstrates strong self-awareness, the main investigator is concerned more with how each subject expresses his or her learning experience, rather than how he or she articulates what he or she perceives him- or herself to have learned.  Hence, the wording chosen by subjects to describe their experience in each response becomes primary to their articulated learning and self-assessment of that learning performed by each of the subjects during interviews.  As evidenced throughout interview video-recordings and transcription data, the majority of subjects verbalize how valuable each felt his or her internship had been, regardless of type.  The phrases following show instances of this occurrence within the opportunity to work on things that were really cool," "Combining methods of operation," and "You has similar responses: "I feel I can share with people my experience," "Anything I do is helpful for me to experience," "Learning about how to work," and "I could teach and they could teach me."  Each phrase collected from transcription data reveals one or more soft skill characteristics buried within it, each which description of his or her experience gives insight to said experience, allowing the primary researcher to codify each phrase by attaching it to one or more of the soft skill characteristics.  For illustrative purposes, the aforementioned phrases are coded to link to at least one of the soft skill categorized under the Experiences Soft Skill Cluster.              52  Some characteristics need specific delineation of meaning as a result of the coinciding definitions of each soft skill characteristic.  These characteristics had to be interpreted in a similar manner, thus the researcher has provided the following observations.  The Soft Skill Characteristic -management Skill Cluster, to the understanding of the researcher implies a desire to improve personal development as well as professional.  Engaging in lifelong learning, similarly, concurs with personal and professional nfers that the subject recognizes his or her part in the larger whole of the firm or program within which he or she had participated.   In the next section, the main investigator states the findings of statistical significance (characteristics within the skill clusters: Communication, Decision-making/Problem-solving, Experiences, and Leadership), immediately followed by a summary of the remaining three clusters.    Communication   The soft skill characteristic with a significant difference (p<0.1) in means between the two internship groups based upon a one-way ANOVA is significance level of F(1) = 4.26, p = 0.058.  Data reveal over double the amount of occasions within the traditional internship group when compared to the cooperative internship group (93 and 46, respectively), shown in Table 5.  The following sample taken from the raw dataset illustrates what kinds of actions may be adding to the differences found.  The quotation taking notes than I was prior to the internship" may suggest that within a traditional internship at            53  a professional institution, for instance, there are more opportunities for an intern to engage in written communication than during a cooperative internship program.  This dissimilarity could manifest in writing electronic-mail messages or taking notes during an office meeting during time spent in a traditional or summer internship.  Being that a cooperative internship takes place in an academic setting, there may be less of a need for written communication as there may be to, for illustration, oral communication.    Decision-making/Problem-solving Within the Decision-making/Problem-solving soft skill cluster, the descriptive characteristic that displays a significant difference (p<0.1) between group means is Realize effect of decisions, found in Table 3.  The primary researcher discovered, through using a one-way Analysis of Variance, that this characteristic has a significance level of F(1)=3.12, p = 0.099, and occurs 74 times within the cooperative internship group as opposed to 42 times within the traditional internship group.  The interpretation of this incongruity immediately follows.   The goals of most businesses are generally centered on increasing productivity and revenue.  That being said, during a traditional internship students are not always given opportunities to make decisions if outcomes of those choices could negatively affect  profit margin.  In other words, traditional internship students may not be given leadership roles or great responsibilities immediately upon entering the professional environment.  Thus, ramifications deriving from  decisions may be more apt to affect the intern and company on a broader scale than if the intern made decisions while holding a larger role.  Because            54  cooperative internships are not bound by profit objectives and instead are focused primarily on providing students with opportunities to learn through practical experience, they can offer students a greater number of roles within the program.  Leadership positions have the ability to affect a greater number of people than do non-leadership roles, and may produce more acute consequences as a result of decisions.  Being that cooperative internships take place in an academic setting, they embody a self-managing environment amplified by the lack of set hours.  In the case of cooperative internships, students who participate are more likely to work their own hours and not be structured in the way traditional internship students might.  Cooperative programs also require student interns (self-managers) to make more decisions affecting their own roles and management of time due to structuring their own work schedule.  This type of non-structure results in more consequences directly affecting self-managers (i.e. student interns) after making decisions.  Understandably then, students participating in cooperative internship programs would thus learn the effects of their own decisions with more immediacy due to their acute nature.  This detailed situation may offer insight as to why the primary researcher records more incidents of the descriptive characteristic previously mentioned within the cooperative group than in the traditional internship group.    Experiences  The main investigator notes two statistically significant (p<0.1) characteristics under the Experiences soft skill cluster-way Analysis of Variance shows significance levels of F(1)=3.50, p = and F(1)=3.15, p = 0.098 for   The number of incidents within each            55  internship group are as follows, with 137 occurrences within the cooperative group compared to 88 in the traditional group; and with 92 incidents in the cooperative group and 149 in the traditional group.  The explanation established in the previous section would lead readers to find these results opposing prior reasoning.  Such a discrepancy may be related to the qualitative data and, more specifically, how each subject articulates his or her own experiences to the interviewer.    The Michigan State University cooperative internship program referenced earlier (WCBE Initiative) encourages students to work together and collaborate with other professionals and faculty members outside of their own academic discipline.  So although cooperative students may participate in more leadership roles than the traditional students, they may only be able to articulate certain aspects of their experience.  Some leadership roles, too, may not have appeared as such.  For instance, leading a presentation to the president of a university requires leadership skills but may be articulated more along the lines of communicating effectively.  Although the communication cluster of soft skills may also be utilized in such an experience, students may have a harder time differentiating skillsets.  That being so, traditional internship students may have received smaller roles which, although may not have largely effected the firm, still required them to utilize leadership skills rather than teamwork skills.  The type of professional institution or company for which each traditional internship student worked may also be a factor for the differences found between groups.               56  Leadership  Based upon the data in the Leadership Soft Skill Cluster, the primary researcher finds through using a One-way ANOVA that only one of the group means differs significantly (p<0.1) in acquired soft skill characteristics.  That characteristic is significance level of F(1)=3.50, p = 0.084.  The cooperative group records a greater number of incidents than the traditional group: 26 times compared to 3 times, respectively.  Based upon the information regarding the collaborative nature of cooperative internships stated in sections preceding, the larger number of incidents occurring within the cooperative internship group is comprehensible.  Overall however, these frequencies are on the low end of the spectrum.  The main investigator suggests that the low number of frequencies may have been affected simply by of the types of questions asked to each subject during the confidential video-recorded interviews.    Self-management, Teamwork, and Professionalism Under the Self-Management soft skill cluster, none of the group means differ significantly (p<0.1) in acquired soft skill characteristics by using a One-way Analysis of Variance.  The characteristic that comes closest to being significant, however, is F(1) = 1.91, p = 0.188 between groups.  Subjects within the cooperative internship group record the most incidents (86 times), versus the traditional internship group (50 incidents) within the aforementioned soft skill characteristic.   By using a one-way ANOVA within the Teamwork Soft Skill Cluster, the main researcher finds that none of the group means differ by any statistical significance (p<0.1) in acquired skill            57  characteristics.  The descriptive characteristic closest to statistical significance is F(1)=1.17, p = 0.298 and a total frequency of 20 times compared to 12 times, occurring in the cooperative group versus the traditional group, correspondingly.   Within the Professionalism Soft Skill Cluster, all seven characteristics note higher frequencies of occurrence for the traditional internship group over the cooperative group.  The primary researcher finds however, by way of a One-way Analysis of Variance, that none of the group means differ significantly (p<0.1) in acquired characteristics.  The soft skill characteristic closest to statistical significance significance level of F(1)=2.57, p = 0.131, occurring 129 times and 192 times within the cooperative and traditional groups, respectively.   With the cooperative group noting higher frequencies in characteristics the investigator finds within Self-management and Teamwork soft skill clusters, it is not surprising that the primary researcher find the traditional group with higher frequencies within the descriptive characteristic under the Professionalism cluster.  As stated previously regarding the teamwork-oriented environment of cooperative internships, and the professional atmosphere and surroundings of traditional internships, it could be expected that future characteristics may be recorded similarly.  The primary researcher proposes that the justification for the foregoing clusters not proving statistically significant may be found, again, within the types            58  of prompts used during the subject interviews contained within the qualitative portion of the study.    Soft Skill Characteristic Discoveries As the initial Soft Skill Clusters and Characteristics are revealed from the Comparative Analysis of Soft Skills (Crawford et al., 2011, p. 9), throughout the codification process the primary researcher notices that some principles are not adequately represented by an employable skill.  Due to the nature of the sequential exploratory mixed-method research approach, the qualitative portion of the study allows the researcher to find unique variables throughout the codification process.  With this in mind, four new Soft Skill Descriptive Characteristics are established apart from the initial forty-nine.  The new-found characteristics are: Effective graphic communication (Communication cluster), Adapt well and quickly to new situations (Self-management cluster), Awareness of situational expectations (Professionalism cluster)(Decision-making/Problem-solving cluster).   Referenced formerly, all subjects were students at Michigan State University at the time of interview.  The  disciplines were limited to: Planning, Design, and Construction; Environmental Design; and Landscape Architecture.  Being that all subjects major within a design field, the skill professions.  The primary investigator determines this characteristic distinct and necessary for subjects in design majors because written, oral, and graphic communication definitions differ in their very character.  For example, landscape architects will many times need to send conceptual            59  designs or plans to clients without the opportunity to verbally explain or offer written clarification.  This means that graphically, the client must be able to understand completely the intention of the landscape architect in order to authorize continued design development.  Therefore, especially in planning and design fields, graphic communication is a distinctively separate skill.   Adapting quickly and adequately to unfamiliar situations becomes an essential and relevant skill upon entering a situation requiring adaptation of any kind.  The  soft skill characteristic acknowledges s and overall awareness of a given place which includes their external environment and social setting.  This characteristic diverges from any others because of its broad quality and lack of attachment to any specific situation.   The primary researcher coins a fundamental soft skill characteristic which results from subjects revealing their personal insight of appropriate etiquette in a given situation from their internship experience.  Without being constrained by any specific situation, this descriptive characteristic exhibits how subjects become aware of their immediate surroundings.  Situational context may be described by a certain person or people in a what is suitable to wear by context of circumstance, or appropriate points of discussion, regardless of their internship group experience.   Lastly, cal thinkingis the soft skill characteristic the investigator devises as a vital employable skill.  Thinking critically may not necessarily be attached to a particular problem or issue, per se, as humans can identify and analyze e.g. situations, issues, or events without any one            60  act of identifying and analyzing problems (Decision-making/Problem-solving skill cluster), the author finds the existing soft skill characteristic contrasting from that definition slightly.  The difference here is that the subjects seem to be thinking critically in some cases, simply by identifying and analyzing a situation, rather than identifying or analyzing any specific problem.  If readers do find any discrepancy with this definition, the author urges researchers to utilize the  Within the last collection of characteristics, both the cooperative and traditional groups record over eighty occurrences in group totals of each of the four added descriptive soft skill characteristics.   notes the highest frequency with 169 incidents within the cooperative internship group, whereas the traditional internship group documents 126 incidents (Table 3).  Awareness of situational expectations is also the new-found characteristic closest to being statistically significant (0.1), with a significance level of F(1)=1.25, p = 0.282.    Limitations Conveyed in an earlier chapter, per the broad nature of this exploratory study the primary researcher employs a statistical significance value of p<0.1, instead of p<0.05 or p<0.01.  Although a confidence level of 90% is generally not considered adequate for statistical significance, the purpose of such is to uncover qualitative data of significance, especially if suppressed within layers of quantitative data others deem not statistically significant in studies using values of p<0.05 or            61  p<0.01.  Justification for this basis is to provide a foundation for future investigators to build upon potential quantitative relationships and to develop further qualitative experimentation.   Because of the 90% confidence interval employed in the preceding research, there is a greater chance of committing a Type I Error (claiming significance when were is not) by accepting -stated hypothesis.  The main researcher warrants this possibility to provide future opportunities to discover qualitative relationships hidden within the strata of quantitative data, otherwise deemed not significant.  In a similar depiction, if the investigator fails to reject the null hypothesis, there would be a higher chance of committing a Type II Error, claiming there is no significance when significance may actually exist.  Again, the investigator justifies the potential risk due to the exploratory nature of this study, and proposes this research as a basis for more in-depth study and experimentation.   The greatest limitation throughout the study and research is sample size.  Because there are only sixteen subjects, variance may not be evident where it may normally be transparent with larger sample sizes.  In larger groups, the primary investigator would likely be better able to observe and measure variance between group means, allowing ensuing researchers to gather more applicable information pertaining specifically to either internship experience.   Within the period of study, the investigator did not vary the order in which interview transcription and succeeding codification processes began, which could give rise to limitations based upon experience with the codification process.  This could result in improved comprehension and familiarity with the coding process later on in the transcription process, meaning a lack of consistency could develop of earlier interviews and following codification.  One            62  suggestion the primary researcher makes is to coach each investigator, or allow him or her to practice codification prior to the actual study, so that he or she becomes familiar with the process.  For some subjects also, English is their secondary language, which may result in errors by the transcription process or the codification following.   At times, the primary interviewer observes how prompting and asking questions to delve more deeply into emore pertinent data.  As with any course of action however, the minute details of a process at times may only be acknowledged once a procedure has actually been completed.  As the subject interview process begins, only the questionnaire authorized through the MSU IRB process is followed.  Just as well, maintaining consistency of the entire process and research content serves as a safeguard against inaccuracy to uphold precision throughout the duration of research.   Despite all that has been found, there is still great potential for many avenues of further research.  Because the main investigator is unable to find a wide breadth of information to review vis-à-vis the specific relationship between internships and acquired soft skills, the researcher hopes that the exploratory method of this research offers a multitude of avenues for future study and experimentation.    Conclusion of Discussion At the beginning of this paper, the author discussed that having an internship during a collegiate career may offer students opportunities to learn about real-world experiences and            63  professional practices while earning a formal degree.  The primary researcher also described the process of experiential learning, what conditions and environments best allow for the creation of knowledge, and how internships fit into that field of study as an essential element.  As the investigation progressed, the main researcher examined literature published on experiential learning, soft skill development, and internships, and attempted to find research backing the suggested benefits that soft skills afford learners.  The primary investigator sought to uphold the proposition that students who participate in a cooperative internship acquire different soft skills than students who participate in a traditional internship.  previous findings, the primary researcher accepts that hypothesis.   Findings suggested that both cooperative and traditional internships afforded each student intern with different acquired soft skill characteristics, but there was not necessarily any conclusive indication which stemmed from these results.  This paper demonstrated how students might benefit from cooperative internship experiences, in contrast with traditional internship experiences, and supported that proposal with the types of soft skills acquired by each internship experience.  Each subject perceived his or her self-assessed learning capabilities to have improved after the internship experience when compared his or her own abilities prior to said experience.  Taking into consideration the limitation of a small sample size (N=16), these findings could suggest that learning outcomes through soft skill acquisition improve with experience in either a cooperative or traditional internship program.  The explanation of these findings the author offered in the aforementioned qualitative discussion in a preceding chapter.   Because each internship recorded different acquired characteristics resulting from either experience, students today may utilize this data as an indication of the type of internship to            64  procure based on their own goals and priorities.  For example, cooperative internships provide the unique opportunity for international students to obtain employment experience because the internships are on a university campus.  Just the same, traditional internships offer students to and professional industry prior to entering the workforce in a chosen field.  In essence, each internship may have its own niche within which to thrive.   To synthesize, it seems that regardless of the type of internship, subjects in both groups benefitted from their individual experiences.  More definitive benefits of each type of internship may be better understood when a larger sample size is used and alternative interview questions are proposed.  The above research should offer evidence that internship experiences during a collegiate career provide opportunities to learn hands-on, practical and professional skills while applying educational concepts, theories, and learned information for the student to be adequately prepared to enter the professional field upon graduation.  Therefore, researcher hopes this study will be utilized for future qualitative research out of which more experimentation can begin.    Implications for Future Research Exploratory studies have greater potential to become points of reference off of which many avenues of research may begin.  Further study into these topics encourages educators to use the data showcased to engage students in a greater number of internship experiences Because the means are found to be similar between the two groups (Tables 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19), it stands that students may develop similar skillsets from participating in a cooperative internship as compared to participating in a traditional            65  internship.  Prior to having any internship experience then, a cooperative internship may serve as a bridge in practicum and curriculum for students without previous work experience.  For, as Coll, Zegwa-op programs is that students internship may be uniquely beneficial to students, specifically with regard to international students, who may be unable to seek employment off-campus (i.e., meaning a traditional internship program outside university bounds).   During the codification of subject interviews, the primary researcher makes an observation that many subjects appear to become more knowledgeable of their own learning or learning processes over time.  This thought supports an idea from Jarvis, that the self-own experience changes over time and that during any learning process time is the hidden element, and impossible to discount because it is always present (2006, p. 16).  This idea that learning experience may be transformed over time could subtly affect each subject differently based upon the amount of time spent in either internship, or how long before the video-recorded his or her own learning builds upon itself, this could suggest that the greater the amount of time that  his or her learning may be.  These results suggest that subjects demonstrate their ability to articulate their learning and how they use such soft skills in their internship experience.   The future implications of these learning outcomes suggest that workplace learning and potential programs regarding workplace learning are necessary for students to get the most out of their education and be able to later apply what they learn.  Internships can offer an education            66  that would not otherwise be found while sitting in the classroom.  The hands-on approach that internships provide to participants paired with the applicability of concepts, the addition of differing methods of operation as well as the collaboration of ideas from different individuals, all create an environment in which a learner can thrive.  As cooperative internships are programs of employable education, the overarching goal of this thesis is to demonstrate what benefits cooperative internships offer, and how they may be utilized more comprehensively in the future.  What the primary investigator offers to the existing body of knowledge as a whole, is to utilize the previous findings as evidence to ignite the study of experiential learning, internships, and cooperative education on a broader scale.  The researcher encourages educators to use the data the author showcases here to engage students in a greater number of cooperative and traditional              67          APPENDICES            68  APPENDIX A: COOPERATIVE INTERNSHIP INTERVIEW PROTOCOL  1.   2. What is your major?  And what year are you here at MSU?    3. How did you get involved in the hybrid internship?    4. Why did you get involved/What interested you about the projects or type of work involved?   5. Did you have any initial thoughts when you first started participating in the W.C.B.E./Urban Collaborative program?    6. achieve from the experience?    7. Understanding that most projects you were involved in were multidisciplinary, do you think your participation has affected your ability to network or relate to people?  If so, how?    8. Do you think this internship experience has affected your ability to learn?  If yes, in what way?  9. Have you noticed any difference in your classroom mentality or abilities since participating in the hybrid internship?    10. What are some of your aspirations after graduation?  Have any of these been affected by participating in the hybrid internship?    11. What did you like most about this process?  What was the most valuable part of this experience for you?  12. What do you think was your biggest challenge?    13. Did you have any moment of awakening or eureka moment?  If so, when?  14.   This survey design was approved for human subjects by the Michigan State University Internal Review Board (IRB) and administered by the MSU researcher.              69  APPENDIX B: TRADITIONAL INTERNSHIP INTERVIEW PROTOCOL  1. For this interview, we will term the work you did at your firm your internship program or   2. What is your major?  And what year are you here at MSU?    3. How did you get involved in your internship?  What steps did you take?  4. Why did you get involved/What interested you about the projects or type of work involved?   5. Did you have any initial thoughts when you first started your internship program?   6. achieve from the experience?    7. Were any of your projects multidisciplinary?  Do you think your participation has affected your ability to network or relate to people?  If so, how?    8. Do you think this internship experience has affected your ability to learn?  If yes, in what way?  9. Have you noticed any difference in your classroom mentality or abilities since participating in your internship?    10. What are some of your aspirations after graduation?  Have any of these been affected by your experience in the internship you were a part of?    11. What did you like most about this process?  What was the most valuable part of this experience for you?  12. What do you think was your biggest challenge?    13. Did you have any moment of awakening or eureka moment?  If so, when?  14.    This survey design was approved for human subjects by the Michigan State University Internal Review Board (IRB) and administered by the MSU researcher.              70  APPENDIX C: SUPPLEMENTAL AND CLARIFYING INFORMATION ON METHODS AND RESULTS  The summary of a conversation with the Director and Associate Director of School of Planning, Design and Construction   Key factors in qualitative research, and quantitative coding of interviews While codifying data, watch for key factors in qualitative research Look for key factors while coding interviews Make sure they subjects clearly understood the interview questions Observe certain changes in people Did the subject see him/herself in the bigger picture?  Codification keywords Be open to new keywords and soft skill characteristics that may come up in the process Take notice of the purpose for each keyword Opportunities for exposure to a related experience  Look at each of the umbrella clusters, as well as the characteristics Many subjects may have multiple experiences within multiple skill clusters Examples of the big picture by subjects  During research analysis What was the overall picture? Where did certain experiences come from? Did any subject hit the ground running, or did any subject tentatively explore? Listen to experiences about meetings, and the overall process There may be many different levels of experiences and their utilization Observe how prepared a subject was for the real world How frequently did subjects have multiple experiences?  What did literature offer prior to surveys?   Observe what kind of paradigm subjects may be in: entry-level, professional, undergraduate What is traditional internship thinking? What is cooperative internship thinking? Internships differ in size and scope, budget, experience, communication, team Look for unique soft skills that were not already discovered within the cluster matrix  Were the subjects looking peering into the bigger picture? We, as in teamwork, is big in the professional world              71  APPENDIX D: SUPPLEMENTAL AND CLARIFYING INFORMATION ON METHODS AND RESULTS  A summary of a conversation with participants of the Michigan State University World Class Built Environments Initiative, by the primary investigator   Important benefits to recognize resulting from participation in a cooperative internship Organization: due to the massive amount of projects, course schedules, and student life Independence to work by oneself due to intermittent accountability Integrity throughout due to high standard set for oneself Self-management Ability to deal with ambiguity skillset integration Strengthened communication skills, vocabulary  Much collaboration of planning  Collaboration with other disciplines and colleagues - key  Public Sector -> Cooperative Internship Private -> Traditional Internship Cooperative internship allows a student to be student in a professional world Traditional internship allows for a different experience  Listening; key phrases; important information Ability to be true to oneself while adapting to social surroundings and professional environment Soft skills: student gaining this versus professional  Graphic communication to be added into codification process, consistent with design fields Overall awareness of bigger picture                 72  APPENDIX E: RESEARCH PARTICIPANT INFORMATION AND CONSENT FORM  You are being asked to participate in a research study. Researchers are required to provide a consent form to inform you about the research study, to convey that participation is voluntary, to explain risks and benefits of participation, and to empower you to make an informed decision. You should feel free to ask the researchers any questions you may have.   Study Title: Learning impacts of hybrid internships experiences Dr. Pat Crawford, Assoc. Professor and Katie A. Ling, Student School of Planning, Design, & Construction, Michigan State University 101 Human Ecology, East Lansing, MI 48824; 517-432-1148, crawf203@msu.edu  1.  PURPOSE OF RESEARCH   You are being asked to participate in a research study regarding your experience participating in a hybrid internship (Urban Collaborators or W.C.B.E.).    You have been selected as a possible participant in this study because you participated in either Urban Collaborative or W.C.B.E.  From this study, the researchers hope to learn if participation in a hybrid internship has any accelerated effect on student learning.     Your participation in this study will take about 20 minutes to an hour.    2. WHAT YOU WILL DO   If consenting, your part of the study will be to answer and explain your answers to the questions asked, based upon your experience in the aforementioned hybrid internships.  thesis material explaining any effects found of hybrid internships on student learning, to be completed by the Spring of 2016.   o You will be asked a series of questions regarding your experiences, learning, thoughts, and overall feelings about your time participating in the internship.   o At the end of the interview, you will be given a chance to give more information on anything already said, revise previous statements, and/or explain anything else you feel was missed in the preceding questions.    3. POTENTIAL BENEFITS    You will not directly benefit from your participation in this study. However, your participation in this study may contribute to the understanding of hybrid internships and the overall benefit it has on the University and future student learning.    4. POTENTIAL RISKS   study.              73   5.  PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY  The data for this project are being collected through interviewing questions and only analyzed by the researchers involved.  After codification of answers, neither the researchers nor anyone else will be able to link data to you.    Information about you will be kept confidential to the maximum extent allowable by law.   o Data will be stored in a password-protected computer, backed up by a password-protected hard drive and stored for three years.    The results of this study may be published or presented at professional meetings, but the identities of all research participants will remain anonymous.  6. YOUR RIGHTS TO PARTICIPATE, SAY NO, OR WITHDRAW     Participation is voluntary. Refusal to participate will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. You may discontinue participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.  You have the right to say no.  You may change your mind at any time and withdraw.   You may choose not to answer specific questions or to stop participating at any time.  o Choosing not to participate or withdrawing from this study will not make any difference in the quality of any services you may receive. o Whether you choose to participate or not will have no effect on your grade or evaluation. o You will be told of any significant findings that develop during the course of the study that may influence your willingness to continue to participate in the research.  7.  COSTS AND COMPENSATION FOR BEING IN THE STUDY   There are no costs related to this study and interviewing process.   o Procedures being performed for research purposes only will be provided free of charge by the investigators of study.   o You will not receive money or any other form of compensation for participating in this study.    8.  ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS   At any time you may opt out of any part of the study without any effect.    9.  CONTACT INFORMATION    If you have concerns or questions about this study, such as scientific issues, how to do any part of it, or to report an injury, please contact the researcher, Dr. Pat Crawford, School of Planning, Design, & Construction, Michigan State University, 101 Human Ecology, East Lansing, MI 48824; 517-432-1148, crawf203@msu.edu             74  If you have questions or concerns about your role and rights as a research participant, would like to obtain information or offer input, or would like to register a complaint about this study, you Protection Program at 517-355-2180, Fax 517-432-4503, or e-mail irb@msu.edu or regular mail at 207 Olds Hall, MSU, East Lansing, MI 48824.  10.  DOCUMENTATION OF INFORMED CONSENT.  Your signature below means that you voluntarily agree to participate in this video interview and research study.       _________________________________________   ___________________ Signature        Date   You will be given a copy of this form to keep.             75  APPENDIX F: SOFT SKILL CODIFICATION MATRIX   Table 20: Qualitative Codification Matrix              76  Table 210: ()              77          REFERENCES             78  REFERENCES   1. Akella, D. (2010). Learning together: Kolb's experiential theory and its application. Journal of Management & Organization, 16(1), 100-112. doi:10.5172/jmo.16.1.100  2. Bartkus, K. R. (2001). Social skills and cooperative education: A conceptual framework. Journal of Cooperative Education, 36(1), 48.  3. Cole, H. P. (1972). Process education: The new direction for elementary-secondary schools. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Educational Technology Publications.  4. Coll, R. K., Zegwaard, K., & Lay, M. (2001). 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