A guide without directing (what they decide or how it is organised) Prompt without persuading (suggest, and then give them the space to decide) Praise without bribing (encourage, persuade, but do not buy their commitment by pushing personal loyalty to you or imposed rewards) Respond with instigating (show respect and support by responding to their requirements without initiating courses of action) Advise without controlling (lots of opinions and alternatives from which they can choose/decide) Build team power without losing individualism (encourage teamwork yet look out for the feelings of individuals – especially the more vulnerable) Review without imposing (use natural opportunities to enable the team to review progress and learning, without stopping the natural flow of the project). Key Responsibilities of the Facilitator of Young Person-Led Community Projects: Be a believer in young people and be enthusiastic about their project ideas and aspirations Explain the vision and concept of young person led projects (limits and opportunities) Assist young people to explore the meaning and relevance of community Help young people to generate project ideas and form their teams Create pathways for teams to access contacts, information and resources Care about the individuals Support them to prepare and present their project proposals Facilitate regular review sessions so they can review progress, capture the learning and see the relevance of that learning Run exercises and use natural intervention points to teach generic skills (’teaching’ follows the action) Raise relevant ethical issues Help students to celebrate their learning and achievements Always be ready to promote the “fun factor” and enjoy working with young people as a co-learner. Facilitation - Participant Worksheet The Young Barometer Introducing the Barometer This barometer offers a tool and training resource for Advance and other youth participation practitioners to reflect upon their practice and determine to what extent their program is both shaped by a young person-led culture and empowering young people to take the lead. This barometer is based upon 14 criteria of young person-led voluntary activity, which were identified by British Millennium Volunteers personnel who were involved in the consultations that informed the Changemakers report Seven Ingredients for Success1 Advance coordinators could use this tool and score sheet for analysing its overall provision, for examining a particular component of a program that is currently defined as being young person led, and/or for monitoring the
progression of particular cohort of young people over time. Once you have filled in the score sheet, you could: Decide whether you are contented with the overall picture that you have painted for your scheme or particular component of your scheme Determine to set about making certain changes or refinements to increase your score and further intensify efforts to provide young person led volunteering Review the progression of a particular cohort (and facilitator) from adult led to young person-led. Instructions Please take the time to look at the barometer before you use the score sheet. Once you have done this, please tick the appropriate box for each of the 14 criteria. It is important to note that the entire continuum represents a range of appropriate interventions that are centred on meeting the needs of young people. We realise that young people are at various stages of maturity and have a wide range of support needs; ranging from adult to young person-led intervention and support. We do not assume that young person-led is always the most appropriate approach to supporting young people. Once you have ticked the 14 most relevant boxes, total the score by: Allocating a plus/positive to all ticks to the right of zero, that is. the right hand half of the score sheet Allocating a minus/negative to ticks to the left of the zero, that is. the left hand side of score sheet Aggregating your positive and minus scores to determine an overall score out of 60. The Final Result As a general rule, a score of greater than -30 indicates a culture of young person-led activity, whilst a score of less than -30 indicates a culture of adult led activity. A score of between -30 to +30 represents middle ground (degrees of shared leadership between young people and adults). Progression - if this score sheet was used on the same target group, a particular cohort of young people but over time; at one month and then three months later, would the scores indicate progression towards young person-led. You may decide that this is a useful means to monitor your working style, and developing pedagogy with young people. 1Seven ingredients for Success: A working paper by Changemakers, for the Millennium Volunteers Program Facilitation – Teacher Resource The Young Person-Led Barometer Continuum of Young Person Centred Activity Adult-Led 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 Young Person-Led 1 An adult agenda establishing and directing the overall program A youth agenda establishes and directs the program
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Decision Making - Participant Worksheet Flexible Decision- Making Matrix Use for comparing and deciding between two or more options, plans or ideas. Draw up a simple matrix and list the options down the left side. Decide on what is important in the situation. Use these as criteria to evaluate your options. Think of as many as you can. Some criteria might be: How much will it cost? Will everybody be able to be involved? How safe is it? Decide the relative importance of each criterion. Important criteria may be worth 10; others may be only half as important; worth 5. Fill in the grid with observations about how each option meets each criterion. Total the values for each option. Which has the highest value? Work through each column in turn and give each observation a value. Option (Criterion 1): out of (10) (Criterion 2): out of (10) (Criterion 3): out of (5) (Criterion 4): out of (7) Totals (Option 1)
Young People Involved in Volunteering Young people (aged 16 to 24 years old) are a growing volunteer base. According to the ABS statistics (2000) the biggest growth area in volunteering was youth. There was an increase in participating 18-24 year olds from 16.6% to 26.8% between 1995 and 2001 www.govolunteer.com.au, Australia’s first national not-for-profit volunteer-matching website, attracts approximately 14,000 young people (under the age of 24) every month. What Young People Can Gain from Volunteering: Skill acquisition - job skills, communication skills, etc Personal and professional development and training Confidence Experience - especially to be able to add to your CV A written/verbal reference Having fun and meeting new people Experiencing new challenges Satisfaction from doing something to make a difference The ability to explore different sorts of career or job opportunities in a voluntary capacity. What Young People Can Offer: Energy and enthusiasm A fresh perspective and new ideas as to how organisations do things Skills and abilities, in particular ‘new’ skills, especially in IT A ‘youth’ point of view. Examples of Youth-Friendly Projects The following examples are case studies provided by schools delivering Advance: Planting trees - they can see instant results Painting fish on drains to remind people what we put down the drain goes into our rivers Computer tutors teaching older people about computers and the internet Volunteering at a local ‘op shop’ and then opening a second-hand uniform shop at school Lifesaving on the beaches through local Surf Clubs - doing real patrols Sailing and ten-pin bowling with people who have a disability Assessing applications for grants for youth programs through the Grant Makers program Running a music program for the kindergarten kids Recording community announcements that were played on air by the local radio station. An Outline of What to do to find a Volunteer Position: Have a look at www.govolunteer.com.au and apply online for any position that you are interested in If you are not keen on volunteering on your own then perhaps look for a group activity and take along a friend! This information has been taken from the Volunteering Australia website. Community - Volunteering - Participant Worksheet Why Do I Want to Volunteer?
LEARNING MODULE 1: COMMUNITY FOCUS: Developing young people’s self knowledge and understanding of their community and volunteering ADVANCE VICTORIAN ESSENTIAL LEARNING STANDARDS Curriculum content Learning outcome Strand / Domain /Dimension Level 5 Element of standard Level 6 Element of standard 1. SELF Knowledge of own strengths and weaknesses Identify their passions and interests Physical, Personal and Social Learning Personal Learning ○ The individual learner At Level 5, students: Monitor and describe their progress as learners, identifying their strengths and weaknesses and taking action to address their weakness. At Level 6, students: Identify their interests, strengths and weaknesses and use these to determine future learning needs, especially in relation to the pathways. Establish goals Physical, Personal and Social Learning Personal Learning ○ The individual learner At Level 5, students: Set realistic short-term and long-term learning goals within a variety of tasks and describe their progress towards achieving these. At Level 6, students: Determine, monitor and modify learning improvement goals, taking into account current and future learning needs. 2. COMMUNITY An understanding of what is community Identify people and places (including natural resources) in their community Identify current and potential connections between young people and the community An awareness of the community agencies that service the local community An understanding of how young people can access these services Physical, Personal and Social Learning Civics and Citizenship ○Community engagement At Level 5, students: Use democratic processes when working in groups on class and community projects. Participate in school and community events and participate in activities to contribute to environmental sustainability or action on other community issues. At Level 6, students: Develop an action plan which demonstrates their knowledge of a social or environmental issue and suggest strategies to raise community awareness of it. They participate in a range of citizenship activities including those with a national or global perspective, at school and in the local community.
3. VOLUNTEERING An understanding of what is volunteering Knowledge of what volunteers do An understanding of the rights and responsibilities of volunteers Identify what activities they already do as volunteers Identify volunteer activities within the school and the local communities Physical, Personal and Social Learning Civics and Citizenship ○Community engagement At Level 5, students: Participate in school and community events and participate in activities to contribute to environmental sustainability or action on other community issues. At Level 6, students: Develop an action plan which demonstrates their knowledge of a social or environmental issue and suggest strategies to raise community awareness of it. They participate in a range of citizenship activities including those with a national or global perspective, at school and in the local community.
LEARNING MODULE 2: COMMUNICATION FOCUS: Strengthening young people’s communication skills and teamwork ADVANCE VICTORIAN ESSENTIAL LEARNING STANDARDS Curriculum content Learning outcome Strand / Domain /Dimension Level 5 Element of standard Level 6 Element of standard 4. Teamwork Recognise the important aspects of good teamwork Physical, Personal and Social Learning Interpersonal Development Working in teams At Level 5, students: Accept responsibility as a team member and support other members to share information, explore the ideas of others, and work cooperatively to achieve a shared purpose within a realistic timeframe. At Level 6, working with the strengths of a team students: Achieve agreed goals within set timeframes. An awareness of individual contribution and roles of others in a team An understanding of the benefits of teamwork compared to working alone Physical, Personal and Social Learning Interpersonal Development Working in teams At Level 5, students: Reflect on individual and team outcomes and act to improve their own and the team’s performance. At Level 6, students: Describe how they respect and build on the ideas and opinions of team members. Clearly articulate or record their reflections on the effectiveness of learning in a team. Develop and implement strategies for improving their contribution to achieving the team goals. An understanding of the types of feedback Physical, Personal and Social Learning Personal Learning The individual learner At Level 5, students: Seek and respond to feedback from peers, teachers and other adults and explain how their ideas have changed to develop and refine their content knowledge and understanding. At Level 6, students: Seek and respond to feedback from peers, teachers and other adults to develop and refine their content knowledge and understanding, identifying areas for further investigation. Ability to give and receive feedback Interdisciplinary Learning Communication Presenting At Level 5, students: Provide and use constructive feedback and reflection to develop effective communication skills. At Level 6, students: Provide constructive feedback to others and use feedback and
reflection in order to inform their future presentations. 5. Negotiating Identify the desired outcome they want and the means to achieve it Physical, Personal and Social Learning Interpersonal Development Working in teams At Level 5, students: Work cooperatively to achieve a shared purpose. At Level 6, students: Working with the strengths of a team they achieve agreed goals within set timeframes. Identify areas of agreement Physical, Personal and Social Learning Interpersonal Development Working in teams At Level 5, students: Accept responsibility as a team member and support other members to share information and explore the ideas of others. At Level 6, students: Work collaboratively, negotiate roles and delegate tasks to complete complex tasks in teams. An understanding of the negotiation process Physical, Personal and Social Learning Interpersonal Development Building social relationships At Level 5, students: Select and use appropriate strategies to effectively manage individual conflict and assist others in resolution process. At Level 6, students: Identify potential conflict and employ strategies to avoid and/or resolve it. 6. Problem solving Define the problem Interdisciplinary Learning Thinking Processes Reasoning, processing and inquiry At Level 5, students: Use a range of question types, and locate and select information from varied sources when undertaking investigations. At Level 6, students: Discriminate in the way they use a variety of sources. They generate questions that explore perspectives. They process complex information. Brainstorm solutions Interdisciplinary Learning Thinking Processes Reasoning, processing and inquiry At Level 5, students: Complete activities focusing on problem solving and decision making which involve an increasing number of variables and solutions. At Level 6, students: Focus on problem solving and decision making which involves a wide range and complexity of variables and solutions. Trial the Solutions Interdisciplinary Learning Thinking Processes Creativity At Level 5, students: Students apply creative thinking strategies to explore possibilities and At Level 6, students: Experiment with innovative possibilities within the parameters of a task. They take calculated risks
ADVANCE VICTORIAN ESSENTIAL LEARNING STANDARDS Curriculum content Learning outcome Strand / Domain /Dimension Level 5 Element of standard Level 6 Element of standard 8. Research Research possible community project(s) or volunteering activities Identify resources available to possible community project(s) or a series of volunteering activities Physical, Personal and Social Learning Civics and Citizenship Community engagement Learning focus At Level 5, students: Interact with a variety of groups and organization in civic and community events. With assistance, they seek opportunities to actively engage in school, local and community events. At Level 6, students: Develop an action plan which demonstrates their knowledge of a social or environmental issue and suggest strategies to raise community awareness of it. Select community project(s) or volunteering activities (and project teams if appropriate) Physical, Personal and Social Learning Civics and Citizenship Community engagement At Level 5, students: Participate in school and community events and participate in activities to contribute to environmental sustainability or action on other community issues. At Level 6, students:: Participate in a range of citizenship activities including those with a national or global perspective, at school and in the local community Decide on the intended outcome and evaluation criteria Physical, Personal and Social Learning Personal Learning Managing personal learning At Level 5, students: Develop and use criteria to evaluate their work and use these criteria to make appropriate refinements At Level 6, students: Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their task and resource management skills, reflecting on their progress and suggesting and implementing appropriate management strategies for improvement. 9. Planning Develop a project plan including; Tasks that need to be completed Who will complete each task Physical, Personal and Social Learning Personal Learning Managing personal learning At Level 5, students: Set realistic short-term and long-term learning goals within a variety of tasks and describe their progress towards achieving these At Level 6, students: Allocate appropriate time and identify and utilise appropriate resources to manage competing priorities and complete tasks, including projects, within set timeframes.
- When will the task begin and end 10. Doing Implement the project plan Physical, Personal and Social Learning Personal Learning Managing personal learning At Level 5, students: Initiate and undertake some tasks independently, within negotiated timeframes. At Level 6, students: Initiate and negotiate a range of independent activities with their teachers, providing progress and summative reports for teachers and stakeholders. Monitor the project plan Physical, Personal and Social Learning Personal Learning Managing personal learning At Level 5, students: Review the effectiveness of the management of tasks, identifying successes and suggesting strategies that would improve outcomes. At Level 6, students: Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their task and resource management skills, reflecting on their progress and suggesting and implementing appropriate management strategies for improvement. 11. Evaluating Conduct the evaluation of your community project(s) or volunteering activities Physical, Personal and Social Learning Personal Learning Managing personal learning At Level 5, students: Develop and use criteria to evaluate their work, and use these criteria to make appropriate refinements. At Level 6, students: Review and modify the criteria they use to check that their work is relevant, accurate and meets task objectives and make appropriate changes to completed tasks using these criteria. Reflect on learning gained from the community project(s) or volunteering activities Physical, Personal and Social Learning Personal Learning The individual learner At Level 5, students: Identify a variety of learning habits and adopt those which assist their learning. They identify, select and use an expanded repertoire of learning strategies appropriate to particular tasks. At Level 6, students: Monitor and reflect on and discuss their progress as autonomous learners, identifying areas for improvement in their learning and implementing actions to address them. 12. Reporting and celebrating Report to organisations and present a report Interdisciplinary Learning Communication Presenting At Level 5, students: Use the communication conventions, forms and language appropriate to the At Level 6, students: Use subject-specific language and conventions in accordance with the
VCAL Learning Outcomes VCAL Assessment criteria Advance Learning Outcomes Suitability/Alignment 3. Communicate Information about health issues and/or community services. 3.1 Collect and interpret information about a health or community service. 3.2 Examine social or cultural issues connected to provision of health and community services. 3.3 Identify sources of information regarding health and community services. 3.4 Communicate information and/or findings to others. Community (Sequence 2): Identify people, places and organisations in their community Describe their connections with These people, places or organisations Identify services for young people in their community Describe how to access services for young people in their community. VCAL 3.1 is aligned with ‘Community’. VCAL 3.2 could be met if ‘Community’ was extended to include consideration of impact/benefit of community services. VCAL 3.3 is met through ‘Community (Identify organisations and Identify services). VCAL 3.4 could be met if ‘Community’ was extended to include presentation of findings. 4. Work effectively as a group member. 4.1 Use knowledge of barriers to effective communication in an interpersonal transaction. 4.2 Apply knowledge of cultural or individual values when communicating with others. 4.3 Respond to and provide feedback in order to facilitate understanding in a communication exchange. 4.4 Identify the best mode of communication for achieving a positive outcome to a situation or task. 4.5 Apply effective listening skills. Reporting (Sequence 4): Identify appropriate information to include in a report Identify the audience for a report Identify the appropriate style of report Plan a report Present a report. Feedback (Sequence 5): Identify when there is a need for Feedback Plan feedback using template Give feedback Receive feedback Plan to cope with negative information. Negotiating (Sequence 6): Identify the outcome they want and means to achieve it Identify your offer Identify external standards that can be used Identify negotiable areas. Problem Solving (Sequence 7): Identify early warning signals that there could be a problem Recognise the difference between ongoing and solvable problems Define the problem Brainstorm solutions Choose two possible solutions Plan to trial the solutions. VCAL 4.1 is aligned with ‘Negotiating’. ‘Reporting’ and ‘Negotiating’ may meet the requirements of VCAL 4.2. VCAL 4.3 is aligned with ‘Feedback’. VCAL 4.4 is aligned with ‘Problem solving’. ‘Feedback’, ‘Negotiating’ and ‘Problem solving’ could all meet the requirements of VCAL 4.5.
4.3 Analyse a range of differing perspectives to establish accuracy and identify bias. 4.4 Identify and apply a variety of techniques for presenting information. 4.5 Respond to audience needs and presentation purpose in developing communication strategies. Identify services for young people in their community Describe how to access services for young people in their community. Defining (Sequence 8): Identify possible projects Identify resources that are available to do their project Use decision making tools to choose a project and decide on the intended outcome. Project Planning (Sequence 9): Identify stakeholders Develop a project plan Project Doing (Sequence 10): Implement their project Monitor their project. Project Evaluating (Sequence 11): Report to appropriate organisations and people Celebrate completion of the project. Project Reporting and celebrating (Sequence 12): Report to appropriate organisations and people Celebrate completion of the project. made use of technology (e.g. PowerPoint/video). VCAL 4.3 may be covered by expanded versions of ‘Project Evaluating’ and ‘Project Reporting and celebrating’. VCAL 4.4 requirements may be met by ‘Project Evaluating’ and ‘Project Reporting’. VCAL 4.5 requirements may be met by ‘Project Reporting and celebrating’. 5. Use spoken English and active listening skills to communicate complex ideas and information. 5.1 Plan and deliver a sustained presentation in a group setting. 5.2 Give complex instructions, including difficulties to be avoided, when explaining procedures. 5.3 Respond to a complex inquiry or complaint related to a project or activity. 5.4 Explore and clarify ideas in an extended discussion. 5.5 Use spoken language to work in collaboration with others to meet an agreed objective. Reporting (Sequence 4): Identify appropriate information to include in a report Identify the audience for a report Identify the appropriate style of report Plan a report Present a report. Project Doing (Sequence 10): Implement their project Monitor their project. Project Reporting and celebrating (Sequence 12): Report to appropriate organisations and people Celebrate completion of the project. VCAL 5.1 requirements are met by ‘Reporting’ and ‘Project Reporting’. VCAL 5.2 requirements are met by ‘Reporting’ and ‘Project Reporting’. VCAL 5.3 requirements may be met by an extended version of ‘Project Doing’. VCAL 5.4 requirements may be met by an extension activities in ‘Project Reporting and celebrating’. VCAL 5.5 requirements are met under ‘Project Doing’.
Bibliography Empowering Process Underpinning Youth Development Chart based on the chart in the “Towards Interdependence, Employability and Citizenship: the Working Community Program” by Dave Turner and Dave Tout, published by the Department of Education & Training, Victoria with funding from the Department of Education, Science and Training. Commonwealth of Australia 2004. Changemakers Report: “Seven Ingredients for Success: A working paper by Changemakers” for the Millennium Volunteers Program, 2004. London, United Kingdom. De Bono, E. “Six Thinking Hats”. 1990. Ringwood. Penguin. Community Resource Grid is based on The Volunteering Australia Grid from the Volunteering Australia website at: . Volunteer Facts & Figures from the Volunteering Australia website at: .