Field Trips Are Good for Adults Too and Great for Professional Development

Source: www.thinktogether.org

By Guest Blogger Rebecca Fabiano, Founder and ED of Fab Youth Philly

I recently wrote a blog about why field trips are a good idea for adults and a great tool for professional development. Read more of our blogs here. 

Some of my most memorable experiences of school and my time afterschool are of the field trips I took! Tons of research reports that field trips can make learning more engaging, they can deepen social skills, expose young people to things they may not have known about or thought they had access to, and also provide the opportunity for young people to make real-life connections to what they are learning.

Why limit all of these great things to young people? As adults, our learning can also deepen when have the opportunity to make real-life connections, when we can apply what we are learning in meaningful ways and when we can strengthen and expand our networks or access to information and opportunity. These are a few reasons why we include field trips in the professional development strategies we facilitate. Whether it's hosting the monthly Sandbox in a local coffee shop, or visiting various youth programs through one of professional learning communities we facilitate or with our own staff to expand our networks or resources. 

Before heading out on your field trip, provide some context. For example, before I took a group up to visit the Wooden Boat Factory, I had them watch a brief video about their work and peruse their website. This allows staff to ask informed questions. Maybe you have them do a 'scavenger hunt' while they are at the location, where they have to meet certain people, or gather certain information about the program. Just the same way you would if you were taking a group of youth. Being intentional about the experience you want your staff to have is 50% of what makes it meaningful.  

There are SO many places to go on a field trip, and quite a number of them don't have to cost very much, if anything at all! 

Below are some examples of potential field trips for your staff that would also make for great professional development opportunities. 

• Go visit another OST program! There are scores of youth programs in your city. Go for a walk with your staff in the neighborhood where your program takes place, and map or count how many other youth programs there are within .25 miles. You might be surprised. 
• Visit your local library. Many are FILLED with all kinds of resources; computers, maker spaces; some even have a café. They are not the old, dark places where the librarian used to come around and ‘shush’ you if you were too loud. Many have recently undergone serious make overs!
• Visit a Board Member’s office. Some of us have board members that work in fancy or interesting places; take your staff to visit a board member at his or her office. It’s a great way for staff to learn more about the board (at least that particular board member) and, depending on where the office is may expose staff to a new business or organization or a new part of the city.

If you're still not sure where to go, ask your staff. Then, get out there! 

MORE ABOUT…

For nearly 25 years, Rebecca Fabiano (She/Her/Hers) has worked in various capacities across nonprofit and youth-serving organizations, served on boards and helped to build solid youth programs that engage, encourage, and create spaces for positive development. As a program leader, she has successfully raised funds and managed program budgets; hired and supervised staff; developed and sustained strong community partnerships and designed award-winning programming.

Fab Youth Philly (FYP) is a Philadelphia-based youth development organization that provides innovative, award-winning programming for youth, with a programmatic focus on workforce development opportunities for teens ages 15-19. 

In Case You Missed It

By Sam Piha

 

We’ve been very busy during the first half of 2023 addressing many of the cutting edge issues faced by the afterschool field. We have written many LIAS blogs (23), published several briefing papers (3), and sponsored several training webinars (7). Below we share several of our most popular resources and some of our favorites from 2023. 

 

BLOGS

• A Youth Leader Speaks Out on Kindness and the Youth Mental Health Crisis
• A Case for Involving Youth to Address the Youth Mental Health Crisis (Part 1)
• How Many More?
• Moving From Grief to Wellness in Our Schools
• Employing Youth and Workforce Development in Afterschool
• The Radical Power of Kindness and Joy in Afterschool Programs

BRIEFING PAPERS

• Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth in Afterschool Programs and Opposing Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks
• The COVID Pandemic and Youth Mental Health
• Youth-Led Efforts to Address the Youth Mental Health Crisis

RECORDED WEBINAR TRAININGS

• Managing Challenging Behavior in Afterschool
• How Afterschool Programs Can Respond to the Youth Mental Health Crisis
• Youth-Led Efforts to Improve Mental Health

 

For a comprehensive catalogue of our afterschool resources, click here. 

 

MORE ABOUT...

Temescal Associates and the How Kids Learn Foundation (a 501(c)3) are dedicated to building the capacity of leaders and organizations in education and youth development who are serious about improving the lives of young people. Our clients include leaders of youth serving institutions and organizations, school and youth program practitioners, public and private funders, intermediary organizations, and policy makers. Our work ranges from building large scale youth and community initiatives to providing services to young people on a day-to-day basis.

A "Hybrid" Model for Professional Development

By Sam Piha

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic afterschool programs were hit hard. Many had to close their youth programs and transition to serving their communities during the COVID shutdown. Many programs lost staff, and later suffered from a staffing shortage. They saw their budgets and attendance shrink and professional development efforts disrupted. 

The silver lining in all of this was the abundance of new distance/online professional development resources. According to many program leaders they are now seeking to hire many new staff that will need training on “youth work basics” - trainings that are foundational to youth work.

Program leaders are now thinking about using a “hybrid” model for professional development - a mixture of recorded/online training offerings and written briefing papers that can be shared with local staff. This is followed by on-site discussions facilitated by in-person leaders. This hybrid model can be tailored to the needs of the local program, be more relevant, intimate, inexpensive and COVID safe. 

Source: Spotlight: Girls

To support a hybrid approach we are developing a guide which identifies “youth work basics” training and other resources (recorded webinars, video presentations, briefing papers, blogs, etc.) with links for easy access. Topics include history of afterschool in America, youth development guide 2.0, learning in afterschool & summer learning principles, youth work fundamentals & literature reviews, social emotional learning and others. These were developed by Temescal Associates and The How Kids Learn Foundation. Also to be included are worksheets, discussion guides and other resources to support programs in leading their own professional development and reflection activities. We will release this new guide shortly.

SURVEY OF THE FIELD: The Future of Professional Development in Afterschool Programs

By Sam Piha

Afterschool programs were greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This included program closures, a youth worker shortage and a drop in attendance. We wanted to learn more about the impacts on professional development and future needs looking forward. To this end, we conducted a survey of 43 afterschool program leaders inquiring about the future of professional development. Below we offer a report on what we learned. (This report is also available as a PDF here).

ROLES OF RESPONDENTS: 

• Afterschool Program Director (Single Site): 31%
• Multiple Afterschool Sites Coordinator (This could be a school district or a regional coordinator): 29%
• Afterschool Consultant (This could be a school district or private consultant focused on program quality, student support, coach and staff development, etc): 19%
• Afterschool Program Staff:  10%
• Non-profit Program Provider Executive Director: 7%
• Other: 5%

WHAT STATES DO RESPONDENTS WORK IN: 

• California: 72%
• Florida: 12%
• Ohio: 7%
• Texas: 3%
• Missouri: 3%
• Washington: 3%
• New York: 3%



DO PROGRAM LEADERS PREFER FACE-TO-FACE, VIRTUAL OR A HYBRID MODEL FOR TRAININGS? 

DUE TO THE MANY POSITIONS THAT NEED TO BE FILLED BY THE FALL, IS THERE A STRONG NEED FOR AFTERSCHOOL "BASICS" TRAINING (INTRO TO YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH, PROGRAM QUALITY, ETC.), AS THEY ONBOARD A NUMBER OF NEW STAFF? 

• Yes: 100%

IS YOUR BUDGET FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LARGER OR SMALLER THIS YEAR THAN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC? 

ARE YOU ABLE TO PAY YOUR STAFF FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TIME? 

HOW MANY NEW HIRES WILL YOU TRY TO RECRUIT FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR? 

ARE THERE FUTURE TRAINING TOPICS THAT PROGRAMS ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN?

• Managing Behavior: (9)
• SEL: (9)
• Trauma Informed Practices: (7)
• Student Mental Health: (5)
• How To Re-Engage Students: (5)
• Classroom Management: (4)
• Engaging Activity Planning: (3)
• Child/Youth Development: (2)
• De-Escalation: (2)
• The Pandemic Shutdown and Effects on Mental Health
• Self-Care
• Mental Health for Staff
• Youth Engagement in The Post Pandemic Era
• Children Growing Up Without a Parent

For a complete list of training topics cited by respondents, click here.

We know that when asked, older youth say they are most interested in acquiring the skills needed to get a job. Also, we know that as youth program leaders, it is our job to help prepare young people for success in adulthood, which includes creating opportunities to explore careers and gather work-based skills. Afterschool, sometimes referred to as Expanded Learning (ExL), is well positioned to help older youth to acquire these skills.

In this Speaker’s Forum webinar, Bill Fennessy (CAN) and panelists will provide information on and examples of a series of workshops on employment skills for youth. They will also discuss how high school expanded learning programs can employ their older youth in elementary expanded learning programs, thereby creating a pipeline for program staff to address the worker shortage.

To learn more and register, click here.