Graduate Student Intern Supervision---21st Century Style

I could not help but noticing a plethora of paper forms offered on Teachers Pay Teachers for supervision of graduate speech/language pathology interns, especially for a public school placement.

I have a secret to share---those interns are probably gifted in using technology for most of their needs.  I would suggest that the rest of us strive to keep up with them, and embrace technology when supervising. As much as possible, go paperless!

screenshot of partial Google form

Here's what I do:

Paper--

• IEPs still need to stay in paper form.  I'm not allowed to share these electronically. I share the paper documents with my interns who can copy student goals and objectives onto their lesson plans.
• Therapy documentation---although I use Google forms and spreadsheets for my own therapy documentation, my interns record therapy notes by hand.  I feel that they need to do this before progressing to e-forms. In this format, I can also sign off on their therapy notes.

Paperless---

• Our Schedules---I create an intern schedule and share it via Google spreadsheets.  I also share my own schedule which is intertwined with the intern's since I need to supervise, model appropriate therapy, and observe.
• Lesson plans---I've created a very simple lesson plan form that I share via Google docs.  A graduate intern can save it, copy it for each session, and after typing into it, can share it electronically with me.
• Feedback---I use a Google form to offer feedback to my intern weekly.  I have one form for evaluations and one form for therapy.  Feedback from each form entry is automatically sent to a spreadsheet shared between me and the intern. This method is invaluable because it shows growth over time, and provides a way for the intern to see strengths and weaknesses instantly (online).  No secrets, no surprises.      My interns have appreciated this; there's never been a negative comment from them.  In addition, this method helps me to stay on track with supervision and to remember what I've observed and written.  

Interns taking a class at UNC

 If you are interested in learning more about using Google forms and spreadsheets in graduate intern supervision, click HERE.   You will find links there to templates you can use for your own use to edit as you need to. After I started using Google forms and spreadsheets for feedback and for showing clinical skill growth, it has been the only way. My forms are closely aligned with ASHA supervision rubrics.

sample form after a few weekly feedback entries

If you have questions, please leave a comment below.  Too much paper confuses me---in this century, digital is the way to go.

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