COMMUNITY & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

COMMUNITY & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Instructor Guidance
Week 1
Welcome to week 1 of EDU 635. In this week we begin our learning about communities and the youth that live and play in those communities. We will be looking at the communities and the culture of those communities, and looking at data about our communities to try to build a synopsis of what’s going on there. With all that, we are hoping to identify what role youth programs play in our community, and the roles that adults play in providing those programs.

american communities program – being in common
In your introductions for the week, you will of course be telling us a little bit about yourself. I encourage you to use one of the digital tools listed as options. Later this week and in the future, you will be required to use certain digital tools to help present your messages. So, take the time now to experiment with the tools if you have not used them before. Be sure that you respond to at least three of your classmates’ introductions

The first discussion for this week is labeled “strength oriented action.” When we think about strengths, of course there is physical strength. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. In this discussion, you will be exploring the concept of a “strength message.” In particular, you will want to identify the strengths you see in your own community and in the adults that are providing programs of some sort to the youth of your community. You will also explore the concept of your community’s culture. There is a handy tip sheet listed in the required reading for the week. That will be really helpful for you.

In the second discussion for this week, we’re talking about assets or building blocks for the healthy development of young people in your community. It is really important that you read the required resources for this week to identify those 40 developmental assets. There are also some other resources listed to find information about your particular community, if you don’t already have that. In the discussion posts you should create a table that identifies those eight categories of human development and summarize their importance to the development of youth. This is an important discussion for you because we come back and use this information in a later week.

The written assignment for this week asks you to use the information from the two discussion forums. Please be sure you review what you wrote in the discussions, what your classmates wrote, and comments from your instructor. For this paper you are creating an infographic and summarizing issues in your community that are related to the development of youth. You will also include a table that identifies resources for the young people in your community. At the end of the assignment you will see where you are asked to brainstorm ideas about how you could participate in one or more of the existing programs. For some ideas about how you can get involved, check out this video (approximately 2 minutes): Military Community Getting Kids More Involved (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..