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Your student has stated that "developing a network of professionals" during their WIL experience is a goal. On your check-in with them during their WIL experience you ask how that goal is progressing. They state "not well" as the company does not host any networking events. You then encourage them to ask their colleagues and/or boss about how you might meet more people in the industry (you prompt them taking initiative). Next time you check in you learn they have attended a business luncheon as they were invited once their boss knew of their goal. Your student however said they sat at the table with their regular colleagues so did not really meet anyone new. You then prompt the student to think about not just what did or did not happen at the lunch but also why that happened, how they felt, what else might have been done and by whom (critical reflection). You do not tell them what to do, just to reflect. With some additional prompting they respond that maybe they could have brought some business cards and tried to meet people before they were seated, or asked their colleagues to introduce them to someone, or stay late and start a conversation with someone about the topic the luncheon speaker spoke about. You encourage them to try those recommendations at a future event, either sponsored by their work or on own, but related to their work. |
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You then ask the student to write a short reflective piece about networking based on what they tried and observed, but one that could be shared with other students from different disciplines and employment situations (so that they are forced to think at a generalized principle level, not specific to a business luncheon, or their particular context). You may need to heavily coach the student at first to get them to realize that one of the most important transferable skills they have gained (and will transfer to future situations) is taking initiative. The written exercise should reveal several generalizable networking principles that the student might use in future situations where they need to take initiative to meet new people (e.g. " look at the event agenda and find free times you could move about the room before the program starts, have a relevant question as a conversation opener, bring business cards for follow up, ask where else to go to meet others in the industry, etc.). |
That is the knowledge and skills that are transferable across contexts - taking initiative and formulating a plan. The specific topic of the luncheon speaker, the nature of the business, what they are studying, etc., are the contextual details that vary and need to be adapted to in new and different contexts. The job of the WIL educator is to help the student get to a place, through prompted reflection at first, where students think deeply about an issue they identify and come to generalizable conclusions regarding what they experienced. These are the most powerful insights to again for ensuring skill and knowledge transfer, especially when future situations might look very different.
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