The Importance of Starting an Afterschool Program that Prepares the Youth for Their Future

Ever since I was in high school and heard the rumor that they were going to remove the creative and vocational programs from public schools, I knew that it would be important to have a hub for the children and youth to attend. This was at the age of 16. Now as a public high school teach, at age 34, I can see that it is true now more than ever. Starting an afterschool program, however, is not as simple as just showing up with an idea and receiving funding. There is meticulous planning that is involved and given today’s technological climate, there is much need to revolutionize the overall idea of afterschool programming and how students are able to gain access to it. In this case study, we will discuss the rise of creative youth development programs, how to start, operate, and sustain an afterschool program, and three instructional design models that can be useful in helping to begin the program of your dreams.

The rise of creative youth development

Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology says that there are three major categories of influence on performance: capability, opportunity, and motivation (2016). Of the three, in my opinion, the strongest in opportunity. Public education is free and therefore accessible to all. When there are programs that are provided in the classroom, it gives children the access to opportunities that their parents may not be able to provide outside of school (2016). Reiser and Dempsey say, “Opportunity refers to resources and information that are necessary for a person to perform a task; including clear statements of goals, instructional content and tests that are matched to the goals, instructional content and tests that are matched to the goals, availability of tools and equipment, sufficient time to perform the task, and guidelines for performing the job (2018). In my own experience, the elective courses that were provided while I was in school all aligned with my high school year old self’s goals: Creative writing, video production, web-page design, computer science, and Spanish; all electives I took so that I could be a creative writer and gain experience in what we now call STEAM education If we are to give children access to creative and vocational education, the program needs to design effective learning environments and they must understand and integrate all three major categories of influence on performance (2018).

Creative youth development (CYD) is a dynamic area of community arts education that successfully bridges youth development and arts education (2016). CYD is an intentional, holistic practice that combines that hands-on artmaking and skill building in the arts with development of life skills to support young people in successfully participating in adolescence and navigating into adulthood (2016). Young people in CYD programs exhibit high levels of artistic skill and accomplishment along with increased self-esteem and sense of belonging CYD participants are immersed in a broad array of rigorous artistic endeavors, including creating documentary films, researching and reporting on community issues through radio broadcasts, writing and staging new theatrical works, and engaging in thoughtful critique of one another’s visual artwork (2016).

Core characteristics of effective creative youth development programs include that they are assets-based, viewing youth as resources in the community and partners in learning rather than vessels to be filled or problems to be solved; are youth driven; set high expectations for growth and learning in the arts, humanities and sciences; provide physically and emotionally safe spaces for youth; foster the development of positive relationships with peers and adults; and address the broader community and unique social contexts in which Commonwealth Universtiy stated, “At the heart of this work is grassroots non-profit development throught the country, where highly original CYD organizations develop to serve local needs or work with the local talent” (2016). The impact for youth of program participation extends beyond pride in artistic accomplishment Throughout the United States, teen participants in CYD programs assert that the programs saved their lives, putting them on positive trajectories and away from gangs, drug use, crime, and ennui (2016).

The Real Value of Creativity in Education TEDTALK

The Real Value of Creativity in Education | Ella Bruno | TEDxYouth@CECFC. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 12, 2022.

In the video, Ella Bruno discusses her lifelong connection to creativity and why it needs to be a priority in the education system today. She digs into the science of it all, mentioning people’s perceptions of the left and right brains, and how logic and creativity and meant to coexist not be opposites of one another. Creativity improves your mental growth, dedication, mindset and mood; allows for new and spontaneous ideas; real world thinkers attacking real world subjects; Ms. Bruno calls these abilities superpowers. I believe that it is vital to give young children and teens the access to these opportunities so that they may unlock their super powers.

Starting, Operating, and Sustaining an Afterschool Program

There are seven steps to starting, operating and sustaining an afterschool program. They are Research and Planning, Funding and Budgeting, State Regulations, Partnerships, Vision and Mission, Organizational Structure- Policies and Protocols, and High-Quality Programming and Continuous Quality Improvement Systems. The requirement of youth programs to have evidence-based programs is growing more each year. According to www.youth.gov, “The Federal government is placing a strong emphasis on evidence and the need to build the evidence base to support its policies and programs. There are six major evidence-based policy initiatives across the Federal government: Investing in innovation fund, Teen pregnancy Prevention Initiative, Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV), Social innovation fund, Trade adjustment assistance community college and career training (TAACCCT), Workplace innovative fund, and Permanency innovations initiative (PII).

1. Research and Planning

· Initiate task force to represent stakeholder groups and individuals committed to the cause of afterschool program

· The initial research and planning process includes conducting a needs assessment through surveys, interviews, and focus groups to determine types of afterschool programs needed in the community, leveraging existing resources, and identifying systems and supports that need to be established.

2. Funding and Budgeting

· Most programs need start up funding to get off the ground

· Communities need to learn about federal, state, or local funds as well as private and in-kind donations to support afterschool programs

· Programs need to budget for both start-up and daily operating costs keeping in mind the ability to pay for these programs

3. State Regulations

· States have minimum licensing requirements that apply to programs serving children, including afterschool programs. These requirements vary for types of providers and include separate requirements for school-age care settings.

· Programs should contact their state’s licensing agency to find out about the requirements

· Private and public funding may have separate requirements

4. Partnerships

· Developing a collaborative cross-sector partnership that includes schools, juvenile systems, social service and other such allied youth fields is important to leverage the multiple settings where learning happens.

· School-OST partnership is even more essential to recruit students, improve staff engagement, enable alignment of a shared vision of learning, and maximize resource usage like facilities, staff, data, curriculum, etc.

5. Vision and Mission

· Programs need to develop a collaborative vision and mission that is inclusive of families, youth, schools, and community partners, etc. for what success feels like for young people

· It is also essential to consider that the learning setting is developmentally appropriate, safe and supportive, built on positive relationships, and meets the needs and interests of young people.

6. Organizational Structures, Policies and Protocols

· Programs should consider if they want to organize as a government, non-profit, for profit, school-based organization, or partner with existing national or local organizations.

· It is essential to develop policies and protocols for enrollment, staffing, transportation, family engagement, behavior management, food, health and safety, and reporting of child abuse.

7. High-Quality Programming and Continuous Quality Improvement Systems

· There is a growing body of information on curricula and activities for afterschool programs and providers.

· It is important that programs implement evidence-based practices, or core components in order to evaluate whether they have low-stakes accountability approach that provides support to staff to build their capacity

· Some researchers also reason that development relationships between young people and adults may be more important than any particular curriculum or program element in successful afterschool programs (2022).

The ultimate purpose of volition is to help people stay on task and overcome difficulties (2018). Based on empirical data, the exercise of volitional control is like exercising a muscle; it can be exerted with great energy for a limited period of time but then becomes fatigued and requires rest in order to regain strength (2018). In a well-structured afterschool program that considers volition, as the designer of instruction, it is imperative to design learning materials and environments that do not create space for distractions. There are three Models of Instructional Design that are spelled out in Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology: Addie, SAM, and Pebble (2018).

Model Comparison

ADDIE is a logical and well though-out process It is a process model developed for and adopted by the military to hasten and standardize production of training materials, often by persons having less than a thorough background instructional design (2018). The model was a sequential model, showing how each phase was a prerequisite to the next. ADDIE was adopted by the military and grouped into five ordered project phases: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (2018). Dependency on prior steps required thorough completion of each step before moving on. Those new to the design and production of instructional products can appreciate and find comfort in the structure, although the model doesn’t explain how to perform tasks-just which tasks need to be performed and when. It is an easily defended process that covers all the bases (2018). Although ADDIE is a tool for instructional design, it has several weaknesses. ADDIE works through documentation, ranges from linear to amorphous, loses sight of the learner experience, a meticulously slow process, fails to involve stakeholders, and a simpler model is needed (2018). Insert SAM & Pebble.

SAM & Pebble share viewpoints on the drawbacks of ADDIE as well as on nearly all critical aspects of a better process for the design of learning experiences (2018). Pebble is a design model focused on methods of instructional product design; based on a breakdown of effective learning products. The process of design and the components essential for teaching specific types of skills are charted. SAM is a design and development process, covering tasks from stakeholder identification to release of the final instructional product (2018). It speaks to such issues as verifying that initially identified goals, learners, and content are, in fact, the best goals, people to be trained, and content to be learned (2018). Both models are most effective for construction of the learning experiences the authors agree we should be building.

In sequence, Pebble asks designers to begin with an identified problem the learner needs to learn to solve or a task the learner needs to learn to perform (2018). The process assumes that some analysis of the need has been accomplished in order to identify the problem or task to be learned. It is important to begin with problems or tasks that are to be encountered in the world- not just components of those tasks (2018).

By then identifying essential attributes in the problems, a class of problems can be defined that, when learned, learners will have reached the instructional goal with transferability to useful application (2018). Design work then proceeds in a prescribed order through “ripples” of components that emanate from the problem set and will compose instruction on solving the problems or performing the tasks (2018). The components to be designed are: problem or task progression, component skills with demonstrations and application strategies, instructional strategy enhancements, final design (including navigation, user interface, and supplemental materials), and assessment and evaluation (2018).

SAM similarly assumes some background analysis has been done- enough to propose who may need to learn what; the process looks first at the final skills learners need to demonstrate as evidence they have reached acceptable mastery (2018). SAM prescribes that a team of stakeholders, led by an instructional designer, should initiate product design in a work session called the Savvy Start (2018). The team typically includes the project founder/owner, project manager, instructional designer, a manager of the people to be trained, a typical learner, a subject-matter expert, and a prototype (2018). The team works backward, addressing the final learning and performance activities first, then moving through prerequisites until learning events are designed for entry-level skills (2018). The team begins by quickly proposing a design for the last learning events for the project, based on whatever thoughts they may have, then asks the questions, “Why shouldn’t we do this?”(2018).

Both models minimize documentation. Design specification documents are not only time consuming to prepare, but also easily misinterpreted. Both models prescribe that the final demonstration should be as authentic as possible, meaning that this context is as similar as possible to the situation in which the performance will occur, the challenge or problem is typical or challenges or problems to be encountered, and the activity or learning activities, such as the range of choices, level of prompting, performance aids, and the manner in which the learner meets the challenge or solves the problem, are all similar to how the learner will perform.

Conclusion

In order to compete with today’s career and job force, access to creative and vocational programs in schools is necessary. When children are given access to opportunities that can change their lives, they are likely to lead more successful lives. Creativity in education and the engagement of curiosities are essential to maintaining the motivation to succeed in your field.

Resources

Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2018). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. pp 31-41. Pearson Education.

Starting, Operating, and Sustaining an Afterschool Program | Youth.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2022, from Youth.gov. https://youth.gov/youth-topics/afterschool-programs/starting-and-operating-afterschool-program

Key Federal Initiatives | Youth.gov. (n.d.). Youth.gov. Retrieved November 12, 2022, from https://youth.gov/evidence-innovation/investing-evidence

Montgomery, D. (2016). The rise of creative youth development. Arts Education Policy Review, 118(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2015.1064051

The Real Value of Creativity in Education | Ella Bruno | TEDxYouth@CECFC. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huuFtP1VFCE

‌