California University of Pennsylvania

Guidelines for New Course Proposals

University Course Syllabus

Approved: 2/4/13

Department of Earth Sciences

A.Protocol

Course Name: Recreation and Youth Development

Course Number: REC225

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: REC 165 or Permission of Instructor

Maximum Class Size (face-to-face): 30

Maximum Class Size (online): N/A

  1. Objectives of the Course: The course will familiarize students with the interrelationship between recreation and youth development. Students will specifically be introduced to the many potential effects that recreation has on physical, emotional, and social growth of adolescents.Students will be able to:

1)Outline the changing view of adolescence in the United States over the last century.

2)Describe and understand youth culture.

3)Define the concepts of risk and assets and understand principles of youth development.

4)Learn the basics of leadership and related principles as they apply to youth serving agencies.

5)Identify the characteristics, program emphases, administrative methods, and membership of the major youth serving agencies in the United States.

  1. Catalog Description: This course provides a historical and contemporary analysis of youth culture in the United States. The role of recreation in shaping youth culture is examined. Through the investigation of various youth serving organizations, this course provides an understanding of free-time settings can offer youth with the supports, opportunities, programs, and settings needed to successfully transition into adulthood.
  1. Outline of the Course:

1)Introduction

  1. Issues Youth Face on the Pathway to Growing up
  2. What is Youth Development?
  3. Processes of Positive Youth Development
  4. Changing Views of Adolescence
  5. The Consumer Society and Youth
  6. Assets Model/Protective Factors/Resiliency

2)Recreation and Youth Development

  1. The Power of Adults
  2. The importance of Youth Voice
  3. Culture in Recreation Programming
  4. Deliberate Programming

3)Recreation Settings for Youth Development

  1. Park and Recreation Departments
  2. Boys and Girls Clubs
  3. After-school Programs
  4. Teen Centers
  5. Youth Sports
  6. Camps

4)Special Groups

  1. Youth with Disabilities
  2. Gender Issues
  3. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth
  1. Teaching Methodology:

1)Traditional Classroom Methodology: In class lectures and practical exercises based upon course material, including group activities and readings.

2)Online Methodology: N/A

  1. Text

1)Witt, P. A. & Caldwell, L. L. (2005). Recreation and Youth Development. State College, PA: Venture.

  1. Assessment Activities:

1)Traditional Classroom Assessment: tests, final paper, oral presentations, group project

  1. Students will be read chapters in the course text as well as additional readings provided by the instructor to assist in reaching course objectives.
  2. Evaluation Procedures:
  3. Students will take multiple quizzes and exams to assess their comprehension of the course material.
  4. Students will prepare a final paper and oral presentation to display their practical understanding and application of the course material.

2)Online Assessment: N/A

  1. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:

OSD

Revised April 2014

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Students with disabilities:

  • Reserve the right to decide when to self-identify and when to request accommodations.
  • Will register with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) each semester to receive accommodations.
  • Might be required to communicate with faculty for accommodations which specifically involve the faculty.
  • Will present the OSD Accommodation Approval Notice to faculty when requesting accommodations that involve the faculty.

Office for Students with Disabilities

Requests for approval for reasonable accommodations should be directed to the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD). Approved accommodations will be recorded on the OSD Accommodation Approval notice and provided to the student. Students are expected to adhere to OSD procedures for self-identifying, providing documentation and requesting accommodations in a timely manner.

Contact Information:

  • Location:Azorsky Building – Room 105
  • Phone:(724) 938-5781
  • Fax:(724) 938-4599
  • Email:
  • Web Site:
  1. Supportive Instructional Materials, e.g. library materials, web sites, etc.

1)Benson, P. L. (1997). All kids are our kids: What communities must do to raise caring and responsible children and adolescents. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Press.

2)Caldwell, L.L., Darling, N., Payne, L., & Dowdy, B. (1999). "Why are you bored?": An examination of psychological and social control causes of boredom among adolescents. Journal of Leisure Research, 31, 103-121.

3)Caldwell, L.L., & Darling, N. (1999). Leisure context, parental control, and resistance to peer pressure as predictors of adolescent partying and substance use: An ecological perspective. Journal of Leisure Research, 31, 57-77.

4)Eccles, J. & Gootman (Eds.) (2003). Community programs to promote youth development. Committee on Community-Level Programs for Youth. Board on Children,

5)Forum for Youth Investment (concepts and directions in after-school time programs

6)Hanson, D. M., Larson, R. W., Dworkin, J. B. (2003). What adolescents learn in organized youth activities: A survey of self-reported developmental experiences. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13(1), 25-55.

7)Kleiber, D., Larson, R., & Csikszentmihayli, M. (1986). The experience of leisure in adolescence. Journal of Leisure Research, 18, 169-176.

8)Larson, R. (1994). Youth organizations, hobbies and sports as developmental contexts. In R.K. Silberreisen & E. Todt, (Eds.), Adolescence in context: The interplay of family, school, peers, and work in adjustment (pp.46-65). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Larson, R. & Verma, S. (1999). How children and adolescents spend time across the world: Work, play, and developmental opportunities. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 701-736.

9)Mahoney, J. L., Larson, R., W., & Eccles, J., S. (Eds.) (2005). Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after-school and community programs. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

10)Mahoney, J.L., & Stattin, H. (2000). Leisure activities and adolescent antisocial behavior: The role of structure and social context. Journal of Adolescence, 23, 113-127.

11)The Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP). Out-of-school time program evaluation bibliography and out-of-school time program evaluation database.

12)Villarruel, F. A., Perkinds, D. F., Borden, L. M., & Keith, J. G. (Eds.) (2003). Community youth development: Programs, policies, and practices. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

13)Wilson-Ahlstrom, A., & Yohalem, N., with Pittman, K. (2007, March). Building Quality Improvement Systems: Lessons from Three Emerging Efforts in the Youth-Serving Sector. Washington, D.C.: The Forum for Youth Investment, Impact Strategies, Inc.

Additional Information for Course Proposals

  1. Proposed Instructors: Park and Recreation Management faculty
  1. Rationale for the Course: Youth has constantly served as one of the primary target groups of recreation providers since the late 1800s. Today, this group is still the focus of most services provided by both public recreation agencies as well as nonprofit agencies. It has been supported on numerous occasions that properly designed and implemented recreation programs assist adolescents during their transition into adulthood. While this focus has remained the same for the last 150 years, our understanding of how to effectively offer services to youth as grown. In order to best prepare our students for future careers in recreation and leisure, it is important that they gain an understanding of key principles of the connection between recreation and positive youth development.
  1. Specialized Equipment or Supplies Needed: None
  1. Answer the following questions using complete sentences:

1)Does the course require additional human resources? This course will not require any additional resources.

2)Does the course require additional physical resources? This course does not require any additional physical resources.

3)Does the course change the requirements in any particular major? The proposed course does not change the requirements in any major.

4)Does the course replace an existing course in your program? No, this proposed course does not replace any existing course.

5)How often will the course be taught? The course will be taught on a three-semester rotation.

6)Does the course duplicate an existing course in another Department or College? The course does not duplicate any existing course at the university.

N.If the proposed course includes substantial material that is traditionally taught in another discipline, you must request a statement of support from the department chair that houses that discipline.

O.Please identify if you are proposing to have this course considered as a menu course for General Education. If yes, justify and demonstrate the reasons based on the categories for General Education. The General Education Committee must consider and approve the course proposal before consideration by the UCC.

  1. Provide Approval Form (electronically).

Additional Guidelines

The following are additional guidelines that you must follow which will expedite your course proposal. Failure to follow these guidelines will result in the return of the proposal to the department.

1)Be sure that your proposal is in the correct format (Guidelines for New Course Proposals) and that all questions have been completely answered.

2)Be sure that your proposal is in the correct format (Guidelines for New Course Proposals) and that all questions have been completely answered.

3)Be sure that you have completed and attached the Application to Establish a New Course form and/or the Advisement Sheet Revision form and that the appropriate signatures have been affixed. Please send through the process electronically (the preferred method) or by paper. No items will be placed on the agenda until the Chair of the UCC is in possession of these forms.

4)Be sure that you include an updated advisement sheet for any course that is being required by the department or is classified as a restricted elective. In addition, you must include an electronic copy (MS Word or PDF) of the current advisement sheet(s) with your proposal. Be certain that all advisement sheets affected by the proposed course change be included with your proposal.

5)When submitting materials for consideration by the Curriculum Committee, you must provide an electronic copy of each item to be reviewed to the Chairperson.

6)All completed items must be in the hands of the Chairperson of the Curriculum Committee a minimum of one week prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting.

7)Any department requesting a course name change, number change, prefix changes, credit changes, etc. must submit this request on the Application to Establish a New Course Form and submit electronically.

8)New advisement sheets, major proposals, minors, LOCs, Certificates, or changes to advisement sheets will become effective the fall semester following committee approval. The advisement sheets must also include the committee approval date and the effective date on the advisement page. Submit this request on the Advisement and /or Program Changes form.

9)New courses will become effective the semester following committee approval.

10)Any references listed must be in the appropriate bibliographic format for the discipline.

11)Online courses should follow the Quality Matters rubric and is posted on the UCC website. Be sure that you include the online teaching methodology statement (refer E.2 above) that refers to the Quality Matters rubric.

12)All course objectives must follow Bloom’s Taxonomy learning domains located on the UCC website.