When I was an undergraduate at the University of Iowa, I and my fellow student workers at the Main Library cataloged books in a shelving room, loaded up carts, and made our way around the library returning books to their proper locations. At the time I didn’t think I was learning anything particularly valuable, but looking back I see that I learned quite a bit. We worked in teams, and my partner was an annoying young man we’ll call “Mike.” (I’m sure Mike would have a lot to say about my foibles as well.) Mike’s work and communication styles were vastly different from mine, but we learned to work together. We became a good team and developed a mutual sense of humor that got us through some tedious times. I appreciated his ability to identify the most efficient routes to shelve books, and he valued my attention to detail. Together, we shelved thousands of volumes, ensuring students and faculty could complete research, projects, and papers. Of course, I gained valuable knowledge about the library too.

Today at Iowa, we employ thousands of undergraduates in an incredible variety of settings. As the largest student employer on campus, the Division of Student Life has paid special attention to how student employment can complement academic learning, and the outcomes we aim for are very similar to those that faculty members target in their courses: the ability to work as a part of a team, effective oral and written communication skills, problem-solving, knowledge of diversity, openness to other perspectives, and the ability to negotiate conflict.

One way we ensure that student employees attain these outcomes is through IOWA GROW® (Guided Reflection on Work), an intervention program that helps students reflect on what they’ve learned from their employment and practice a particularly important skill: transferring learning from one context to another. Twice per semester, student employees have brief, structured conversations with their supervisor focusing on four simple questions:

• How is your work fitting in with your academics?
• What are you learning at work that you can transfer to the classroom?
• What are you learning in class that might help you at work?
• What are you learning at work that you think will help you in your future career?

Supervisors serve as learning partners both within and beyond the IOWA GROW® conversations and are a critical component of student employment. In addition to providing structure and guidance on job tasks, supervisors are caring educators, connections with the institution, and supportive figures who serve as a consistent presence in student life away from home. (At Iowa, training opportunities for supervisors are available through the Supervising Today’s Students series.)

IOWA GROW® also uses two specific structures to help students construct and retain meaning from their work experiences: prompts and scaffolding. Prompts are cues that help guide students while they figure out what a particular experience at work means to them. (According to the National Research Council, prompts increase the quality and depth of reflection and dramatically increase transfer of learning.) Scaffolding is a structure that supports students at the “zone of proximal development,” a level of ability at which a particular student can perform tasks (such as reflecting on the connections between work and academics) with external support, though they may not yet be engaging in this transfer and reflection on their own.

The outcomes of support programs like these are compelling. Students who work on campus are more likely to stay in school, and those who have the opportunity for reflection that IOWA GROW® provides are much more likely to make meaningful connections between work and academics. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook 2016 survey indicates that, in addition to knowledge of a particular discipline, employers are looking for just the sorts of skills that students gain from campus employment at Iowa: the ability to work as part of a team, written and oral communication skills, and problem-solving skills.

Student employment is a win-win: Important work gets done, and students gain important connections with the UI community while building skills for success within and beyond the classroom. If Mike and I were undergraduates at the UI right now, I am certain we’d be getting even more out of our re-shelving work.