Professional Development Workshops

Network-wide workshops provide training in youth development, evaluation, authentic reflection, retention and other areas. Designed in consultation with members, these workshops offer a forum for internship staff to share ideas and address issues of concern. They are conducted throughout the year and hosted at different member sites.

Sample Member Workshops:

  • Sound Evaluation & Assessment: A Cumulative Reflective Process (5-part   series)
  • Walking Hand-in-Hand: Youth Development Principles & Internship Programs
  • Keeping Interns in the Program: Challenges & Solutions
  • Keeping Interns Involved: Alumni Intern Endeavors

You can download resources from some of our workshops on the resource page.

Structured Site Visits to Member Organizations

Structured site visits to member organizations are arranged for staff and youth to encourage first-hand sharing of practices and challenges.

Site visits have included:

Rocking the Boat interns and apprentices helped visiting CIN members row along the Bronx River Estuary in their own hand-built 14 and 17-foot Whitehall boats (originally used in New York City harbor in the 18th and 19th centuries). The students described the current state of the environment surrounding the river and their restoration efforts.

The New York Hall of Science put visiting CIN members through the same rigorous training experiences as their own exhibit "explainers." The CIN guests tried out their new skills, working with the Science Hall visitors as "novice" explainers at the exhibition site.

 

Collaboration to Expand Interns' Awareness

Collaborations and exchanges among member programs are organized to expand interns' knowledge, experiences, and career-knowledge options.

One collaboration was initiated when the Central Park Conservancy invited members to participate in guided ecological tours of the Hallet Sanctuary, which has been restored after 70 years and remains closed to the general public. Central Park Conservancy interns led interns from the Prospect Park Alliance and the American Museum of Natural History's program through the Sanctuary.

In another exchange, interns from the Beth Israel Medical Center, the Central Park Conservancy and the Prospect Park Alliance attended the final presentations in which interns at the American Museum of Natural History presented creative scenarios about their mentors’ careers.