Connecting Youth Interests to Success: Strategies for Informal Educators

Connecting Youth Interests to Success: Frameworks and Strategies for Informal Educators

9:30 – 12:30 | University of California, Irvine. Emerald Bay B | Wednesday, October 4, 2017
3 hours | 40 Participant Maximum
Cost: $75

*Space is limited, passes remain available until the workshop is full.

In this session we consider how informal educators, like those working in libraries, can help youth make connections between youth interests, academics, and future opportunities. We will look at the features informal educators can build into activities to help young people recognize how those interests can lead to academic success, employment, and engagement in civic life.

Informal learning environments offer youth the opportunity to explore and learn. But, for many youth, informal learning can be an isolated experience because academics and informal learning rarely intersect. This means opportunities to make connections between interest-based learning, potential college/career options, and academics is uncommon. As a result, countless youth do not have the chance to see how their passions and interests can lead to what they choose to do in their adult lives.

To dig into these topics, participants will work together to design learning components they can add to their activities to help youth make the connection between informal learning, academics and future opportunities. The participants will look at the needs of youth and families they serve related to connecting interests, academics, and career pathways and will build a framework for creating interest-based college career learning for youth. And, they will develop action plans for building community relationships so to build a continuum between formal and informal learning in support of youth interests and success in adulthood.

In this workshop, we will tackle the challenges informal learning educators face when supporting connections between youth interests, college career pathways, and school-based learning. We will build on the experience of the participants and work on a framework for informal educators to implement. Participants should bring ideas for designing facilitated learning experiences with youth that support college career readiness. They will work in groups to collectively determine how to advance their ideas as a way to facilitate connecting learning across a community while at the same time connecting youth to their personal interests.

Download workshop flyer here.