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Register Now for Community of Practice Workshops!
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Upcoming CoP Workshops: "The Friday Series"
Reframing Conflict
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What is Reframing Conflict?
Reframing Conflict focuses on minimizing unproductive conflicts within your program through creating a positive environment that emphasizes highly engaging content and provides a youth-centered approach to handling conflict situations when they inevitably arise.
Why is Reframing Conflict important?
Conflict is an inescapable part of any youth program. Youth come with different goals, expectations, interests, and needs. Poorly managed conflict can become dangerous, threatening both program goals as well as the safety of the participants. Reframing Conflict is a set of proven strategies that can operationalize conflict experiences and help create a safe program environment that respects individuals, encourages different perspectives, and builds communication skills.
Participants Will:
- Have the opportunity to explore the roles they play in conflict situations in their programs.
- Have the opportunity to gain experience in Reframing Conflict using the HighScope step-by-step model and the general principles for conflict resolution.
- Understand how reframing conflict can turn conflict situations into opportunities for growth.
Intended Audience:
All Youth Development Practitioners
Date: Friday August 4, 2017
Time: 10:00AM-1:00PM (3 hours)
Location: Kensington Park Library 4201 Knowles Avenue Kensington, MD 20895
Facilitator: Jana Sharp, Sharp Insight LLC
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Structure and Clear Limits
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What are Structure and Clear Limits?
Structure and Clear Limits in a youth program lay the foundation for a safe environment that supports young people. Structure is the framework for a program and the offerings within it. It’s what sets the stage for activities and youth engagement and includes schedules, staffing, routines, and program space. Clear Limits are the established boundaries set and reinforced by an adult, youth, or a partnership between the two. They should be established and clearly explained early on so that youth can assume responsibility over them.
Why are Structure and Clear Limits important?
This method seeks a balance between being warm and caring (responsive) but also setting high expectations (demanding), and whenever appropriate and possible, involves input from youth (see figure below). This healthy balance is optimum for positive youth development. It is neither too permissive
nor too authoritarian, establishing a structure that encourages growth and creativity while setting clear, high expectations, which in turn builds a strong foundation of emotional and physical safety.By implementing Structure and Clear Limits in a program, Youth Practitioners can begin to establish strong interpersonal relationships with youth and create spaces where young people can feel safe and flourish.
Participants will:
- Understand how Structure and Clear Limits meet the developmental needs of youth.
- Have the opportunity to explore ways to improve their programs’ structure.
- Have the opportunity to establish limits for their programs.
Intended Audience:
All Youth Development Practitioners
Date(s): Friday August 4, 2017 & Friday August 18, 2017
Time: 2:00PM-4:00PM (2 hours)
Location: Kensington Park Library 4201 Knowles Avenue Kensington, MD 20895
Facilitator: Jana Sharp, Sharp Insight LLC
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Active Learning:
Do you know the difference between active learning and “hands-on” learning? Giving youth materials is just the beginning. This interactive workshop introduces the “ingredients” of active learning, explains the role that active learning plays in the experiential learning cycle, and helps participants create more powerful learning opportunities for youth.
What is Active Learning?
Active Learning occurs when young people process, rather than passively receive information. Adults can promote Active Learning by providing content that is challenging, meaningful, and focused on skill-building, and by providing strong support for youth as they learn.
Why is Active Learning important?
It’s common sense that Active Learning works but research supports this as well. Studies on how the brain works have demonstrated that when all five senses are engaged, people are better able to learn. Learning comes with engagement and engagement comes when youth can conduct, participate, and create.
Participants Will:
- Have opportunities to experience active learning first hand.
- Gain experience building the six principles of active learning into their programs.
Intended Audience:
All Youth Development Practitioners
Workshop Title: Active Learning
Date: Friday August 11, 2017
Time: 10:00AM-1:00PM (3 hrs)
Location: 1801 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD, 20852
Facilitator: Jana Sharp, Sharp Insight LLC
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Ask–Listen–Encourage:
Do you communicate with youth in a way that makes them feel supported and heard? This interactive workshop introduces various communication techniques that help you build more supportive, youth-centered relationships. Participants will learn how to ask more effective questions, to listen actively to youth, and offer youth encouragement rather than praise.
What’s the A-L-E Method?
Ask-Listen-Encourage (A-L-E) is a method for carrying out positive, purposeful interactions with young people. The method includes practices that can both foster positive relationships with youth and support young people in learning new skills. Three guiding principles underlie the strategies: be purposeful, empower youth, and show you care.
Participants will:
a. Understand the concept of positive, purposeful interaction with youth.
b. Learn the characteristics of effective questions.
c. Understand the concept of active listening.
d. Learn the characteristics of effective positive responses to youth and their work.
Intended Audience:
All Youth Development Practitioners
Workshop Title: Ask–Listen–Encourage
Date: Friday August 18, 2017
Time: 10:00-1:00PM (3 hrs)
Location: Conference Center 1801 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD, 20852
Facilitator: Jana Sharp, Sharp Insight LLC
Click here to register: Register here
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Building Community:
Do you know what it takes to build an emotionally and physically safe space for youth? Building an emotionally safe community of peers and adults is essential for youth to learn and develop as individuals. This interactive workshop will introduce participants to a variety of activities designed to support the community building process.
Why Build Community?
Building Community in a youth program is important for many reasons. A strong, welcome community can help young people feel safe, feel a sense of belonging, and build their sense of selves within the group. Even beyond these personal growth areas, a strong program community can create an environment in which learning can better occur.
A strong community can…
- Help young people feel that they belong.
- Help groups get along and be productive
- Increase participation and attendance
- Increase student learning
Participants Will:
- Explore the ways in which they can build community with youth
- Explore ways to provide youth with opportunities to develop a sense of belonging
- Understand the difference between icebreakers, energizers, name games and bonding games
- Understand the stages of group development
Intended Audience:
All Youth Development Practitioners
Workshop Title: Building Community
Date: Friday August 25, 2017
Time: 10:00AM-1:00PM (3 hrs)
Location: Conference Center 1801 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD, 20850
Facilitator: Jana Sharp, Sharp Insight LLC
Click here to register: Register here
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Cooperative Learning:
Do the youth in your program have opportunities to work together in groups, teaching and learning from each other? Cooperative learning is an excellent way to nurture youth leadership, build community, and keep things fun. This interactive workshop will equip participants with grouping strategies and ways to think about building cooperative learning into any program offering.
What is Cooperative Learning?
Cooperative Learning is a purposeful learning structure coordinated and facilitated by the adult where youth work interdependently with one or more peers. Groups can range from pairs to small teams and be formed based on certain criteria, planned by the adult, self-selected by the youth participants, or formed randomly to promote interaction.
Why is Cooperative Learning important?
Research demonstrates that young people can benefit in many ways from Cooperative Learning Structures when they are implemented well. Specifically, benefits have been found for motivation, retention of facts, intergroup relations, a sense of individual control, and even for those youth who are generally high-achieving or extroverted as well as those who are more introverted.
Participants Will:
a. Be able to define Cooperative Learning.
b. Gain experience using a variety of group forming strategies (Group Formers) and group work structures (Group Structures).
c. Understand how Cooperative Learning helps to meet the social and intellectual needs of youth.
d. Learn how to apply four complementary strategies to engineer successful Cooperative Learning structures.
Intended Audience:
All Youth Development Practitioners
Workshop Title: Cooperative Learning
Date: Friday August 25, 2017
Time: 2:00-4:00PM (2hrs)
Location: Conference Center, 1801 Research Boulevard, Rockville, Maryland, 20850
Facilitator: Jana Sharp, Sharp Insight LLC
Click here to register: Register here
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MCCC | 1801 Research Blvd., Suite 103, Rockville, MD 20850
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