The purpose of this project was to evaluate the Virginia Cooperative Extension internship program from the perspective of student participants and their supervisors. Three focus groups were conducted with internship supervisors from the summer of 2019. Student survey data was used to identify concerns from the student perspective to inform the…

Higher education institutions identify and support practices that enhance student engagement and increase student success. In this article, we explored student learning facilitated through High Impact Practices (HIPs) (i.e., in-class undergraduate research, service learning, internships) integrated in the Sustainability & Conservation…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to gain insight into the effect of COVID-19 on Virginia preservice teachers' efficacy. The current study compared teacher efficacy scores of two different cohorts. Cohort 1 completed the preservice teaching internship in 2017-2018, while Cohort 2 completed the preservice teaching internship during the…

We used 14 years of state licensure and classroom data from Virginia to follow 19,878 special education teachers (SETs) who completed either the alternative route (AR) internship or traditional programs. Findings reveal that a greater percentage of SETs of color participated in AR programs compared to traditional licensure programs, while a…

Practical training is important for community college students to gain high-impact real-world experience. This study aims to evaluate the impact of practical training of remote internships of community college and two-year associate degree students on spatiotemporal GIS learning during the pandemic. Anonymous pre- and post-internship surveys and…

The global COVID-19 pandemic has caused many adaptations to preservice teacher preparation, especially supporting completion of field-based internship experiences. This mixed methods research project utilized surveys to analyze the impact of virtual settings on (1) intern (n=14) and mentor teacher (n=5) experiences and relationships; and (2) the…

This design case documents the development of a new online training program to teach circuit court interns in Wise County, Virginia, how to create smart land records, or land record abstracts stored on a blockchain. The authors first describe the instructional context behind land record abstraction and the clients' original specifications for the…

Purpose: Coworkers' positive attitudes toward working with people with disabilities is vital for the successful and long-term employment of people with disabilities. The purpose of the present study was to examine the organizational factors associated with working with individuals with disabilities. Method: This was accomplished by sampling…

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 impacted not only how students in our public and private schools were taught, but also how the professors prepared preservice teachers to become future teachers. Striving to build a community of practice among a new cohort of M.A.Ed-Elementary Education preservice teachers, faculty worked…

In late 2020, Virginia community colleges participated in a national study of community college workforce education. Virginia was one of 14 states where education authorities volunteered to encourage colleges to respond early enough in 2020 to receive preliminary statewide results in January 2021. This brief compares Virginia to the 14 states in…

The Center for Cybersecurity Education and Research at Old Dominion University has expanded its use of high impact practices in the university's undergraduate cybersecurity degree program. Strategies developed to promote student learning included learning communities, undergraduate research, a robust internship program, service learning, and…