Continuing Success in Your Practicum: Midpoint Check-In

Congratulations, you are halfway through your practicum! You have already spent a lot of time at your practicum and hopefully learned many new things, and there is another half of your experience still to come.  This is a great time to reflect on what you have done so far, and to set goals to guide the rest of your time at your placement. Taking a check-in with yourself and site will help you get the most out of your practicum experience.

Check-in with yourself

Are you happy with your performance at this site? Are you completing duties in areas where you wanted more experience? Are there any additional areas in which you would like more information or training? Thinking about your responses to these questions will give you an idea of how you are doing, whether there is any room for improvement, and identify next steps. You still have another half of your time at your site to make changes!

Review course requirements

If your practicum is part of a course, review your assignments and determine your status. Do you have any assignments that need to be done by the end of the year that need some setting up? This is a good time to put them on your supervisor’s radar to make sure that they will be completed by the end of your experience.

Check in with your supervisor(s)

The middle of your practicum is a great time to schedule a formal hour of candid communication about your experiences with your supervisor. Are they happy with what you have done so far? Are there any areas of development that you can work on during the rest of your time? This is also a good time to bring up any ideas for new experiences and to review course requirements with your supervisor so that you are all on the same page.

Add and revise goals

After you have checked in with yourself, reviewed your course requirements, and your talked with your supervisor(s), revise your goals from the beginning of your practicum, and add any new goals that may have emerged. Is there are new area where you would like more experience? Do you feel like you met your goal in some areas? Taking time now to reflect will help to give you a roadmap for the rest of your time at your practicum.

Check out how to set yourself up for success at your practicum by reading the first part of this three part series: https://career.uconn.edu/blog/2019/09/19/setting-yourself-up-for-success-in-your-practicum/

By Kalle Nelson
Kalle Nelson Graduate Assistant