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Explain the key components necessary for quality after school and youth programs.
Assessment Strategies
Write reading reflection
Write quality after school program paper
Write philosophy statement
Criteria
Read articles discussing key components of a quality afterschool program
Describe key components of a quality afterschool program and reflect on the readings
Identify at least five elements or components of a quality after school program and why these are essential, citing supportive evidence from the readings
Articulate a philosophy statement of what you value about after school
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Develop techniques, activities, and transitions for a selected group of children and youth with diverse and individual developmental needs.
Assessment Strategies
Write reading reflection
Write ideas for activity, technique, and transition
Write a developmental profile of a school age child using multiple observations over a minimum of a week
Criteria
Read articles discussing growth and development
Describe growth and development of the afterschool child and reflect on the readings
Construct developmentally appropriate ideas for an activity, guidance technique, and transition for a selected age group
Prepare a developmental profile after observing a school age child of a selected age in a school age program
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Outline developmentally appropriate behavior guidance techniques for after school and youth programs.
Assessment Strategies
Prepare notes for a discussion of a behavior guidance experience
Write reflective piece your role and responsibilities in guiding behavior including how your attitude and responses affect outcomes
Write a comparison of different types of consequences
Prepare notes for a guided discussion of adapting punitive punishments
Criteria
Discuss a behavior guidance experience and process the results for a situation you were involved in
Describe your role and responsibilities in guiding behavior
Compare of types of consequences
Discuss how punitive punishments can be adapted
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Determine the role of the caregiver in creating a safe environment for school age children.
Assessment Strategies
Write reading reflection
Write an accessibility checklist
Write a paragraph about improved accessibility
Write a list of resources
Criteria
Read articles discussing safe environments in afterschool
Describe a safe environment in afterschool programs and reflect on the readings
Develop an accessibility checklist for your program
Discuss what suggestions you have regarding improved accessibility
Develop a list of resources to support children with special needs
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Apply Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) to activity planning for after school and youth programs.
Assessment Strategies
Write a list of learning domains
Review an activity template and concept web
Write a concept web based on a new topic
Write a developmentally appropriate activity plan
Write a reflection piece on the implementation of the activity plan and include your efficacy assessment
Develop a list of all the learning domains using the assigned readings
Criteria
Examine learning domains in after school settings
Review a sample activity template and concept web
Develop a new concept web based on the topic
Plan a developmentally appropriate activity
Implement a developmentally appropriate activity
Assess the efficacy of a developmentally appropriate activity
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Design a schedule for an after school and youth program.
Assessment Strategies
Write a summary of your completed time study
Write an assessment of your program’s transition times
Present to the class your ideal schedule for an after school program
Criteria
Construct a time study of a typical after school program day
Identify transition times in your program’s current daily schedule
Examine transition times in your program’s current daily schedule
Create your ideal after school program schedule
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Design the physical environment to create an effective program for school age children.
Assessment Strategies
Write a list of the interest areas currently set up at your site
Prepare notes for discussion of inventory of materials for your program site
Write a summary of how many materials you already have in use and any additional materials/equipment you provide
Present to the class your ideal after school program physical environment /space
Criteria
Develop a list of the interest areas currently set up at your site i
Inventory materials for your program site using the checklist provided
Identify how many of the materials on a given checklist you already have in use
Identify additional materials/equipment you provide that are not on the checklist
Design your ideal after school program physical environment /space
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Apply regulations including precautions and actions for health and safety in after school and youth programs.
Assessment Strategies
Write a reflective piece on the role an afterschool program has in assuring the over-all health and well-being of school age children
Write a sample snack menu using the USDA guidelines and licensing requirements, including one that children can prepare
Criteria
Explain the role afterschool plays in the over-all health and well-being of school age children
Prepare a sample menu for one week of snacks
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Evaluate strategies for involvement of families from diverse backgrounds in after school and youth programs.
Assessment Strategies
Present your family gathering plan to the class including how your plan meets the needs of diverse families
Write pre-training and post-training assessments of your communication with families
Write a reflection of the success of your communication with families
Criteria
Plan a family gathering that meets the needs of diverse families
Illustrate your communication with families
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Outline regulations and standards that impact the quality, effectiveness, and evaluation of after school and youth programs.
Assessment Strategies
Complete the Licensing Scavenger Hunt
Write summary of DCF school building exceptions
Write a summary of the NAA areas of excellence and NAA areas for improvement in your program
Complete Half a Childhood program checklist
Criteria
Describe key components of the Department of Children and families (DCF) Licensing manual relating to afterschool programs
Summarize the DCF exceptions for programs in school buildings
Review the National Afterschool Association (NAA) Standards at a Glance
Identify 3 areas of the NAA standards where your program excels and 3 areas you would like to improve and explain why
Review program checklist in Half a Childhood
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Create an After School and Youth Program Credential Portfolio.
Assessment Strategies
Create a web-based electronic portfolio
Update portfolio regularly for submission to the Credential Commission
Criteria
Set up a web-based electronic portfolio account using a program recommended by your instructor
Add required portfolio entries for Section 1 of the portfolio guide