Empowering Parents through Play

“Growing and Learning Together through Play” is a newly developed curriculum for caregivers of children 2-5 years. The curriculum uses research findings to design parenting education workshops aimed at improving early child language acquisition and spatial skills. The goal of the workshops is to mitigate achievement gaps experienced by children in marginalized communities. The curriculum has been piloted with bilingual communities in New York City. For the internship, the Empowering Parents through Play Project, the intended outcome is to work closely with parent educators at CCE-NYC to implement and evaluate the delivery of the parenting education workshops.

Roles and responsibilities 

The student intern will be responsible for assisting in multiple project tasks and will work with a multidisciplinary team of faculty researchers, educators, and child development professionals. The student intern's role and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Support parent educator at CCE-NYC in implementing remote sessions for the Growing and Learning Together Through Play Workshop Series.
  • Assist in editing, reviewing, and disseminating content materials as needed.
  • Review feedback from previous workshop participants for content adjustments and considerations.
  • Develop a Logic Model (road map) for program evaluation.
  • Attend team Zoom meetings and schedule weekly check-ins with the field supervisor and faculty mentor. 
  • Provide general administrative support for team members, including assisting with scheduling workshops and program recruitment.

Qualifications and previous coursework

This opportunity is available to students in Cornell University's College of Human Ecology.

We are looking for a student intern who is completing an undergraduate program in Human Development, Psychology, Child Development, Family Studies, or related fields. Previous course work in Human Development: Infancy & Childhood (HD 1150) and Research Methods in Human Development (HD 2830) is strongly recommended. Bilingual in spoken English and Spanish, and previous experience and continued interest in working with children and/or families in an educational setting is a plus. The ideal intern will demonstrate enthusiasm for working with families and can flexibly adjust to project demands.

Learning outcomes 

The student intern will have the opportunity to learn the process of developing a logic model for program evaluation. The student will also have the opportunity to learn about the various projects and community programs currently taking place in CCE-NYC.