Framework for Promoting Learning in Afterschool Programs

Framework for Promoting Learning in Afterschool

ProgramsSRI International

Community Network for Youth Development

Practices to Promote Afterschool Learning

Positive culture of learning

Meaningful learning activities

Effective adult assistance

Support for self-regulation

Positive connections to school

Support for parent engagement in youth’s learning

Organizational practices

Access to high quality resources for organizing curriculum

Staff preparation and ongoing professional development targeted to academic assistance

Policies and strategies that promote consistency and persistence in participation

Afterschool Learning Outcomes

Moving to Mastery

Persistence in intellectual tasks

Ability to Self-Regulate

Skills for Working with Others

Attacbment and Commitment to School

School Practices

Challenging assignments that draw on high-quality curriculum

Instruction from a qualified, caring teacher

Continuous assessment and feedback on learning

Coordination and communication with after-school staff

External Indicators

Grades

Attendance

Test scores

Retention

Framework Overview

External Indicators

Grades

Attendance

Test scores

Retention

External Indicators

Policy makers, district and school administrators, and many members of the community have come to emphasize certain indicators of learning as important to emphasize. Progress on these indicators is linked to rewards and punishments to schools. Afterschool programs are being asked to report data on these indicators; some programs are being evaluated by how well they influence the indicators (see Dynarski et al., 2003).

A framework for afterschool learning must consider how afterschool activities may affect these indicators. The framework must also recognize the critical role schools play in promoting change on these indicators. At best, afterschool programs play a part in—but do not determine—individual students’ grades, attendance, test scores, or rates of retention.

School Practices





School Practices

Students who encounter challenging assignments that require them to interpret and synthesize what they know perform better on standardized tests than do students who are given assignments that require them only to recall facts (Newmann, Bryk, & Nagaoka, 2001).

School Practices





School Practices

Students in schools with certified teachers perform better on measures of achievement than do students in schools with large numbers of teachers with emergency credentials (Oakes, 2004).

Teachers’ subject matter knowledge influences the quality of their instruction, especially their ability to respond to students’ questions (Carlson, 1998).

Students who perceive their teachers care about them are more motivated to learn (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Dickinson & Erb, 1997; Lee, Bryk, & Smith, 1993).

School Practices





School Practices

Teachers who engage in more frequent assessment of student learning and provide feedback to students on how to improve produce significant learning gains on standardized tests (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Crooks, 1988; Fuchs & Fuchs, 1986).

School Practices





School Practices

To ensure students have the opportunity to benefit from after-school programming, school staff need to be involved in two-way communication with after-school staff (National Research Council, 2002).


Mastery motivation


Self-Regulation

Collaborative skills

Bonding and commitment to school


Importance and Links to External Indicators:

Students who adopt mastery goals for learning approach learning tasks as potentially challenging and as requiring effort to complete. Students who are more concerned with performance-avoidance, that is, preventing others from seeing them fail, tend to give up more easily on difficult tasks, especially if they are low-achieving (Ames & Archer, 1988). Students with mastery goals tend to persist more in the face of difficulty on challenging intellectual tasks (Ames & Archer, 1988).

Role of Afterschool Programs

Afterschool programs have been successful in promoting mastery goals and in providing youth with opportunities to persist on authentic, challenging tasks (McLaughlin, Irby, & Langman, 1994).


Mastery motivation


Self-Regulation




Importance and Links to External Indicators

Self-regulation is the process by which students plan for, organize, and monitor their own learning. Higher levels of self-regulation are associated with higher achievement levels in school (Butler & Winne, 1995).


Afterschool programs can improve student self-regulation, particularly students’ skills in planning and organizing activities and in reflecting on significant experiences associated with participation (Nichols & Steffy, 1999; Youniss & Yates, 1997).


Mastery motivation


Self-Regulation





Collaborative skills are increasingly important for both schools and the workplace. Cooperative and collaborative learning experiences are positively associated with student achievement (Slavin, 1990; Johnson, Johnson, & Stanne, 2000).


Afterschool programs can improve students’ social skills and can also reduce anti-social behaviors (Catalano et al., 1999; Mahoney et al., 2003; Weisman et al., in press).


Mastery motivation


Self-Regulation





Bonding to school has been cited as an important protective factor in supporting youth development (Cheney et al., 1997).

Students vary in their level of identification with school and with doing well in school, a factor that has been used to explain the failure of some groups to do well in school (Ogbu, 1987).


Afterschool programs can help students feel more connected to school (Catalano et al., 1999; Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 1999).









• Encouraging inquiry as an attitude and approach to difficult situations

• Providing a program environment where mastery goals are rewarded

• Discouraging comparisons among participants with respect to school performance









• Relying on authentic intellectual activities to engage youth

• Organizing activities that connect to youth’s interests and life experiences

• Opportunities for collaboration in contexts where a diversity of expertise is needed for success









• Attunement to youths’ needs and interests

• Solving problems with youth rather than for them

• Providing feedback focused on how to improve









• Help with planning for studying, organizing for intellectual tasks, and monitoring progress toward goals

• Providing youth with experiences of regulating their own learning process in a safe environment

• Opportunities to reflect on and revise ideas









• Tasks align with and complement schools’ focus on students’ individual academic needs

• Adult staff articulate the importance and value of school learning

• Adult staff help youth build bridges among the cultural worlds of school, home, and community









• Staff communicate regularly with parents about students’ learning progress and needs

• Staff encourage parents to talk to teachers about their child’s learning

• Staff serve as advocates for parents in the school





Organizational Practices

Programs need access to high quality educational materials that are engaging to youth and that youth perceive as authentic, rather than as “school-like.”

Programs can increase this access by actively seeking such curricula through professional networks, the Internet, and by co-creating curricula with youth and staff.






Staff may need special preparation to lead homework assistance centers, tutor youth, or orchestrate enrichment activities. They need to be prepared to answer students’ questions and to help students develop strategies to regulate their own learning.

Organizations can build staff capacity by hiring staff with teaching credentials or experience and by equipping existing staff with knowledge and skills from research about effective instructional practices.






Policies to promote consistency and persistence in youth participation are necessary, because regular attendance is a pre-condition for effectiveness.

Organizations can establish norms for participation among youth, procedures for follow-up when youth are absent, and strive to provide a variety of programming options to youth to motivate attendance.

Rhythm is Essential

CONCENTRATINGEXPLORING CONNECTINGAcademic enrichment activities

Field trips

Service learning

Homework

Tutoring

Group projects

Playing sports

Free choice activities

Talking with friends

Talking with adults

Framework for Promoting Learning in Afterschool Programs

Education

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