Soaring Beyond Expectations 2017: Workshops
SESSION 1
Title of Presentation: Escape the Workshop
Name of Presenter:Middle Earth
Description of Presentation:
Escape rooms are challenging and mentally stimulating adventure games that encourage resiliency, critical thinking, teamwork and other essential life skills. Students in Middle Earth’s program have worked together to solve problems, uncover clues, and crack codes in order to complete their challenges. This interactive session will show participants how to plan and implement these activities in their work with youth to make learning an adventure.
Title of Presentation:Engagement and Ownership
Name of Presenter:Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Description of Presentation:
Involving youth in the planning and decision-making of initiatives that are designed for them encourages positive feelings towards learning and promotes youth voice. Students in Mount Carmel’s program have long felt a sense of ownership over their learning experiences there. This session will chronicle Mount Carmel’s five-year journey to create, develop, and refine its afterschool program through student voice, share examples of its success, and demonstrate how it can be replicated elsewhere.
Title of Presentation: Measuring Impact
Name of Presenter: Paterson Public Schools
Description of Presentation:
As financial resources are becoming scarce for afterschool programs, it is vital to analyze the impact of a program in order to demonstrate need and identify its positive effect on participating students. This session will outline the aspects of an internal evaluation, how a program’s success can be measured and provide insight designing a model for replication.
Title of Presentation:Project-Based Learning:From Inquiry to Reflection
Name of Presenter:You for Youth (Y4Y)
Description of Presentation:
Project-based learning engages students in a process of inquiry that moves from a driving question to a culminating event to a reflection on what they learned. Y4Y trainers collaborate with educators to customize hands-on, student-centered learning experiences that engage youth every step of the way. This session will explore best practices for designing project-based learning activities and offer strategies on how to document the progress of a project over time.
SESSION 2
Title of Presentation:Recruiting and Retaining Middle School Students
Name of Presenter:Mullica Township School District
Description of Presentation:
Effective and engaging STEM education activities can open the minds of youth to a variety of possibilities. Students in Mullica Township’s program have learned to investigate questions about the world, in much the same way that scientists and mathematicians do, and discover answers with enthusiasm. This session will offer strategies on how to plan project-based STEM activities with real-world applications and recruit middle school students.
Title of Presentation:Attendance through Engagement
Name of Presenter:Plainfield Community Outreach
Description of Presentation:
Getting students to show up and participate in afterschool activities depends on a variety of factors. Students in Plainfield’s program have remained active via learning experiences that are designed, first and foremost, to engage them. This workshop will offer strategies on how to cultivate student engagement and ensure student attendance afterschool.
Title of Presentation:The Powerful Possibilities of Afterschool Programs
Name of Presenter:Team Walker
Description of Presentation:
Youth engagement results when young people are involved in responsible, challenging actions to create positive social change. Students in Team Walker’s program have been introduced to a variety of possibilities that have enhanced their lives and informed their idea of what they can become. This session will demonstrate the practical application of various strategies that lead to increased student engagement and attendance in youth-centered initiatives afterschool.
Title of Presentation:Sliding into Summer
Name of Presenter:USDOE Summer Learning Initiative representatives
Description of Presentation:
In baseball terms, summer would be the “last inning” of the school year, however it really is the warm up to the next school year. Using research-based knowledge to design a professional learning and coaching approach, the U.S. Department of Education and their contractor, Synergy Enterprises, Inc., developed the You for Youth Summer Learning Initiative. New Jersey was fortunate to have been one of six states selected to participate. In this session, participants will discuss various strategies for increasing academic impact for youth during the summer months. Attendees will receive tools and resources necessary to help carry out a game plan and learn how to hit a homerun that strikes out summer learning loss.
SESSION 3
Title of Presentation: Involving Families in a Diverse Community
Name of Presenter:Cliffside Park Public Schools
Description of Presentation:
When families, communities and schools work together, students are more successful and the entire community benefits. Cliffside Park’s program understands that considering the needs of all members within a diverse social group is essential for a community to thrive. This session will share strategies for reaching out to and engaging families of English language learners through parent workshops and other activities designed to establish school to home connections.
Title of Presentation:Everyone Wins with Civic Engagement
Name of Presenter:Rutgers-Camden
Description of Presentation:
Civic engagement encourages individuals tomake a difference in the civic life of their community. Students in Rutgers-Camden’s program have learned the skills and values necessary to do this, while playing an active role in projects that improve the landscape of where they live. This session will explore ways to engage and inspire youth to become civic-minded, increase the number of caring adults accessible to program participants, and provide valuable opportunities to budding professionals.
Title of Presentation:Garden-Farm Fresh, Garden to Table
Name of Presenter:Wildwood Public School
Description of Presentation:
Urban gardens create opportunities to learn through engaging one’s natural curiosity and wonder about how things grow. Students in Wildwood’s program have exploredaspects of garden design, healthy nutrition, and the resources that exist in their community. This session will outline possibilities for creating an urban garden learning experience within limited or constrained outdoor spaces.
Title of Presentation:Soaring with NASA
Name of Presenter:NASA
Description of Presentation:
NASA and the U.S. Department of Education created an initiative to expand STEM opportunities for 21st CCLC programs nationally. New Jersey was fortunate to be one of 20 states selected to participate. Six 21st CCLC sites have tested a series of design challenges with students in grades five through eight. These engaging and interactive projects enabled students to develop solutions for real world science and engineering problems faced by NASA scientists, engineers and astronauts today. This session will explore STEM learning from the perspective of working to build tomorrow’s workforce through youth engagement.
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