For Current Mentors

If you are a current mentor of a Big Picture South Burlington student, let us first say - THANK YOU! The Learning Through Internship (LTI) experience is a cornerstone of Big Picture Learning and your role in our students’ education is so important!

We have included on this page resources for you to support your intern in his or her work with you. Your internship should have begun with a “Shadow Day” in which the student gets to learn more about your business or organization, and a chance to see what the day-to-day activities look like.

If a student decides to work with your organization, you and the student’s advisor will find a time to complete a “Learning Through Internship” (LTI) Contract: Blank Internship (LTI) Contract

Your Big Picture student will also be required to log his or her hours each day, and this can happen either online (using a Google spreadsheet, for example), or on hard copy. Either way, at the end of the internship, we would like one piece of paper with the hours recorded to be printed off an signed by the mentor for verification: Hours Log for LTI

During the internship, your student will also complete outside of their internship time a few  projects to learn from their experience with you:

• An “anthropology” project to learn about the culture of the business/organization and about the people whom you serve: Internship Anthropology Project
• An interview with you, their mentor, to learn how you got to where you are today and what your life is now like in your current position: Mentor Profile Questions
• Working with his or her advisors, the student will also develop a project plan to carry out an independent project to complement their learning at the internship site. He or she will likely use your expertise as a reference for evaluating the quality of the project, but should also be consulting outside sources of information to complete their work: Blank Project Plan

Here is a sheet to help better understand LTI-based projects: BPSB Internship Project Planning.

Here is a link to LTI Project examples from the MetWest Big Picture school in Providence, RI: LTI Project Example List for Mentor Guide)

After each internship day, the student will complete a short journal entry that will be shared with his or her advisor. We have also asked them to document their internship using video, photos, or other means so that they can share their experience at the student exhibitions at the end of the term (to which you will receive an invitation!). If you have questions or reservations about this, please let us know.

Finally, throughout the internship period, the student’s advisor will conduct a few site visits to check in with you, and will ask you to complete a short midpoint assessment and a final assessment at the end of the term.

If you have any questions about any of this, please check in with your student and/or contact their advisor at any time.

Many Thanks,

The Big Picture South Burlington Staff