September 16, 2019

Creativity. Collaboration. Persistence. Questioning. Impulse control. Increased motivation. Improved academic performance. When students engage in project-based learning, these are just some of the outcomes you can expect to see.

Why does it work?

Project-based learning builds on the theory that learning is more likely to “stick” when it’s active rather than passive. Projects help students actively discover, process and apply new information rather than passively get information from textbooks, lectures or worksheets.

How does it work?

For thousands of years, educators from Confucius to Montessori and Piaget have outlined steps to help students define questions that lead to exploration, discovery and a lasting love of learning. The Y4Y Project-Based Learning course is a step-by-step guide to using this hands-on learning approach in your program. Briefly, it goes like this:

• Check student interests to identify a topic to explore. This might be cleaning up the local river or learning how rockets work.
• Guide students as they develop a driving question to organize the learning. Keep in mind the specific skills you want to help students master.
• Help students create a project plan and timeline. They’ll need to decide on a product or outcome that will demonstrate their learning. Creating a product with real-world relevance motivates and rewards student efforts. They might build a model rocket, create a video to encourage community members to act against pollution, develop a how-to guide so others can replicate their work or create multiple products.
• Facilitate the process as students work in groups to conduct research, brainstorm ideas, develop answers to their driving question and complete their projects.
• When the final products are complete, celebrate student learning with an event that helps show off the work.

Ready to start exploring?

The Introduction section of the Y4Y Project-Based Learning course provides an overview. The Y4Y Project-Based Learning Project Planner is a handy checklist and reminder to help you facilitate this kind of learning in your program. For examples of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) projects completed by students in other 21^st CCLC programs, see the Y4Y National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration project overview page.

July 16, 2019

This quote is often attributed to former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. She was known for her commitment to human and civil rights, and she often advocated for the youth of this country. Parents and out-of-school time professionals share the beautiful dream of giving young people a thriving future. Working toward that goal together can improve the chances for success.

Since the 1960s, research has shown that students can reap significant benefits from family involvement in their education. This is especially true for disadvantaged students. Among 21^st CCLC families, only 50 percent of parents have completed high school, and 90 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch programs. What does this mean for your family engagement efforts? First, it means it’s important and worth doing! Second, it means you may need to challenge any assumptions that low levels of family engagement mean disinterest or “lack of commitment” on their part. You’ll need to consider and address such issues as the transportation and scheduling difficulties families at lower socioeconomic levels may face as they work to put food on the table.

Your program staff can build their knowledge with Understanding and Overcoming Challenges to Family Engagement, a tool in the updated Y4Y Family Engagement course. A helpful tool for making a creative plan is Y4Y’s Supporting and Engaging Families. If your family engagement efforts fall short of your expectations, take heart. Emerging wisdom surrounding success cites the importance of learning from failure, whether your own or someone else’s. In fact, “automatic success” doesn’t necessarily give you layers of information you can use to advance your expertise. It sounds like a cliché, but failures truly are learning opportunities. You and your staff can adopt this positive approach by conducting the Family Engagement Training to Go with a critical eye toward learning opportunities.

As Mrs. Roosevelt’s contemporary, Humphrey Bogart, might say, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

For additional information on the benefits of family engagement, and ways you and your staff can forge family partnerships, visit the updated Y4Y course on Family Engagement.

July 16, 2018

It’s hard to believe, but fall is just around the corner. As you plan learning events and opportunities for the next school year, focus on your requirements, needs and goals. Then brainstorm and organize resources to support staff learning.

Requirements

Many states, school districts and child care licensing organizations require annual professional learning hours, and many define topics that must be covered. In addition, state 21^st CCLC program guidance may require grant-supported staff to attend events such as an annual conference. Your approved grant proposal might include a professional learning plan that defines the number of annual hours and specific training topics. Be sure you know all program and staff requirements before beginning to plan your calendar of opportunities.

Needs

Consider overall and individual staff learning needs. Have staff members do a self-assessment to uncover areas where they feel most confident and where they need further development. Now is a great time to discuss how your staff believes they learn best. Do they prefer traditional classes, or would they prefer peer mentoring? Coordinate this self-assessment information with annual staff review data and ongoing observation data to get a well-rounded view of staff needs. You might also create an inventory of strengths so you’ll know which people have skills (classroom management or activity design, for example) that might make them good mentors.

Goals

Examine your continuous improvement goals for the year. Maybe you want to emphasize project-based learning or find ways to provide continuous education through better alignment with student needs. Think about types of training and support that will help staff implement the plan. To be successful with a new initiative, staff may need to observe other practitioners in action, receive regular feedback, and have opportunities to reflect on their own learning and practice.

Resources

Y4Y has a wealth of resources to help you along the way. Staff can use online courses to build knowledge and skills on a range of topics. For quick strategies on academic enrichment activities, inclusion of students with disabilities or new director orientation, see the Y4Y Implementation Guides section. Y4Y Click and Go resources offer mini-lessons, podcasts and downloadable tools that focus on intentional design of activities. See the Y4Y Train Your Staff section for materials that help you assess staff knowledge and implement training using fully scripted PowerPoint presentations, training guides and handouts. Go to Professionalization Resources to access higher education opportunities and your state’s out-of-school time network, where you may find free or low-cost learning opportunities. With this many great learning resources, you’ll be ready to kick off a new year of learning in no time!

April 20, 2018

• Which project to do, either individually or with a group.
• What role to take in a collaborative group.
• How to design a product for a specific purpose.
• How to structure the work in to make sure the project is done on time and within budget.
• How to share the product or results with others.

April 20, 2018