ymis unit 3 portfolio

Scripture Union Queensland: CHC50502

Youth Ministry Internship Scheme

Diploma of Youth Work (CHC50502)

UNIT THREELearning & Assessment Portfolio

This portfolio belongs to: Bradley Clarke

Due Date: Friday, 25th July, 2008

Work with Other Services (CHCNET4A)

& Support Young People to Address

Their Circumstances (CHCYTH3C)


Student Details

Student Name: Bradley Clarke

Home Phone: 07 3714 9852Work Phone: 07 32802 476

Mobile Phone: 0431 774 287Email Address: [email protected]

Postal Address: 22 Anakie Street Durack Qld 4077

Workplace Details

Name of Organisation: Woodcrest State College

Your Role Description: School Chaplain

Phone: 07 3280 2476Mob: 0431 774 287

Fax:Email Address: [email protected]

Postal Address: 38 Nev Smith Dve Springfield Qld 4300


CONTENTS

What is a Learning and Assessment Portfolio? 4

CHCNET4A Unit Descriptor 6

CHCYTH3C Unit Descriptor 7

UNIT THREE Suggested Unit Study Guide 9

Student Checklist 10

Assessment Tasks

AT1 Online Tasks 11

AT2 Networking Mind Map & Social Networking Mind Map 12

AT3 Information on Other Services 19

AT4 Engaging Children or Young People in Collective Action 23

Assessor’s Marking Sheet 29


What is a Learning and Assessment Portfolio?

The Learning and Assessment Portfolio is a central recording tool for you as a student to collate and record components of this course, which will serve as evidence in a judgment of your competence in the various aspects of this course.

The material recorded and compiled in this document will be drawn from your experiences across all aspects of this course, from your workplace through to in-class activities and homework tasks. It also serves as a structured and reflective journal for your various experiences throughout your youth work training. Each Unit within the course has a related Portfolio to serve as a record; therefore, by the end of your training you will have completed all the required portfolios.

This is an important document that should be kept safe and you as the trainee are responsible for the care of this document and all material that is recorded in it.

In short the answer to this question is ‘a collection of an extensive range of tasks’. Each Portfolio is quite different and will contain activities that are relevant to the various knowledge and skills focused on in each Unit. Some of the components of the portfolios include:

Personal diary like entries about your place of work and other training experiences Planning or Report forms for you to complete in relation to specified tasks Self-assessment or Peer assessment recordings Case-studies Homework tasks Examples of work or materials collected Third Party Reports for your work peers or senior staff to complete

It will be very clear for each page of the portfolio what is required of you so there should be little confusion as to what you are required to complete and when.


How do I use this Portfolio?

At times you may be directed to your portfolio by a specific lecture requiring you to complete a task or a homework exercise that is contained within the portfolio. At other times you will be completing personal entries in reflection on experiences from everyday aspects of your training. Though there will be some clearly dictated activities at prescribed times throughout the term of your training, you are alone responsible for directing the completion of each component of the portfolio and its safe handling.

It is highly recommended that you read through this portfolio in detail when you receive it and plan how it will be completed, especially when there are specified activities that require organisation within the period of your training for the given Unit. Beyond that, the best way to ensure its completion is to weekly peruse the portfolio, reflect and write about your experiences, and of course complete relevant reports and tasks. Additionally, you should plan a regular time to reflect with your peers, senior staff and trainers and give them opportunity to also write in the sections that are relevant to them.

Important Note – Completion of all activities, questions, reports and reflections in this portfolio is mandatory. You may not select to complete some pages and not others. If you do not submit a completed portfolio you cannot be deemed Competent for this unit.


CHCNET4B Unit Descriptor

This unit describes the ability to liaise and facilitate linkages between all community services including specialist and generalist services in the community to ensure support of people in need.

ELEMENTS PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Identify and maintain links with relevant services

1.1 Information on relevant services is gathered and stored as appropriate

1.2 Active participation in relevant networks is maintained

1.3 Information on the organisation's range of services is maintained

2. Provide relevant information to services

2.1 Respond to information requests from other organisations as appropriate

2.2 Information and resources are provided to support community groups as appropriate

2.3 Materials and resources provided are relevant and current

2.4 Feedback on the materials and resources is sought and used to develop future materials and resources

3. Work with and support community services organisations to deliver appropriate services to people in need.

3.1 Type and level of support to be provided are defined and negotiated with the organisation

3.2 Support and contact with people referred is maintained as appropriate

3.3 Information is provided to services in line with organisational confidentiality, consent and privacy policies and procedures

3.4 Longer term plans to assist services to operate self-sufficiently are developed and negotiated


CHCYTH3C Unit Descriptor

This unit is concerned with the competencies required to provide guidance to young people to maintain positive and supportive relationships and resources while dealing with complex personal issues.

ELEMENT PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Support young people to develop and use personal resources

1.1 Encourage and assist young people to maintain contact with family, friends and support according to the safety and benefits of relationships

1.2 Assist contacts between young people and networks in the community according to the young persons needs and interests

1.3 Make contact with young people's family and friends/supporters in accordance with the interests of the young person and organisational practice

1.4 Refer family problems to relevant support and specialist staff and agencies

1.5 Refer young people and their families to suitable specialists according to the nature and urgency of the needs

1.6 Assist young people to develop and maintain appropriate relationships with family, services agencies and with personal support

1.7 Encourage young people to manage themselves and their relationships confidently and productively Provide support to young people in a manner which maintains the integrity of individual rights, self-determination and personal dignity.

2. Support young people to develop and use networks

2.1 Support, encouragement and opportunities are provided to young people to enable them to:

o Meet and work together in common interest groups

o Identify commonality of issues and needs

o Formulate effective means for taking collective action

o Explore options for addressing issues and needs collectively within existing structures and in revised structures

2.2 All communication with young people will be in appropriate language


2.3 Assistance and support is provided to enable young people to develop and implement strategies and action plans which address their needs and interests

2.4 Activities are developed and undertaken to ensure young people have relevant skills and knowledge to operate in a collective way including auditing skills and knowledge, and providing opportunities for meeting skills/knowledge shortfalls

2.5 Support is provided to enable young people to effectively create and utilise alliances with key stakeholders and to access available resources

2.6 Relevant information is provided as required to young people to facilitate better operation of collective networks

3. Assist young people to monitor and evaluate strategies

3.1 Assess with young people their options for outcomes and strategies and negotiate agreements based on realistic goals and purpose

3.2 Check and confirm the information and resources required by young people to take action and provide suitable and available resources and support

3.3 Encourage young people to identify and prioritise long and short term goals based on individual responsibility and personal choice

3.4 Encourage young people to identify and analyse the factors which have contributed to past experiences and the obstacles to achieving personal goals

3.5 help young people develop the skills to identify unrealistic expectations, challenge negative attitudes and unacceptable objectives and re-negotiate objectives

3.6 Information provided by and about young people and their families will be respected as confidential and treated with discretion according to organisational and statutory requirements and duty of care


UNIT THREE Suggested Unit Study Guide

Week One

Online Task One. Consider a local organisation to visit for Assignment Task Three, Part Two and organise this

visit as well Consider who and how you will approach those for your small group of children and young

people to interview for Assignment Task Four Work on and complete Assignment Task Two, Part One

Week Two

Online Task Two. Work on and complete Assignment Task Two, Part Two Go on organisation visit for Assignment Task Three, Part Two

Week Three

Online Task Three. Work on and complete Assignment Task Three, Part One and Three

Week Four

Online Task Four. Work on Assignment Task Four and run discussion with small group of children or young

people

Week Five

Online Task Five. Work on and complete Assignment Task Four Submit Unit Portfolio for assessment


Student Checklist

Assessment Planned date to complete & details of any activities

Complete

AT1 - Online Tasks Yes

AT2 – Networking Mind Map & Social Network Mind Map

Yes

AT3 – Information on Other Services

Yes

AT4 – Engaging Children or Young

People in Collective Action

Yes

This page has been provided for student use only as desired. It provides you with a guide to help you manage the completion of the portfolio. As you plan and complete each assessment task in the portfolio you can use this document to track your progress; it should provide a useful organizational tool for you.


Task One Online Tasks

OLT1 – Social Network Mapping (The “Person in Society” Model)

Performance Criteria Covered CHCNET4A – None CHCYTH3C – 1.1; 3.3; 3.4; 3.5

OLT2 – Promoting Positive Relationships

Performance Criteria Covered CHCNET4A – None CHCYTH3C – 1.1; 1.7; 3.3; 3.4

OLT3 – Networking with Other Organisations

Performance Criteria Covered CHCNET4A – 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 2.1; 2.2; 2.3; 3.2 CHCYTH3C – None

OLT4 – Making Referrals to Other Organisations

Performance Criteria Covered CHCNET4A – 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 3.1; 3.2; 3.3; 3.4 CHCYTH3C – 1.3; 1.5; 3.6

OLT5 – Promoting Your Organisation

Performance Criteria Covered CHCNET4A – 1.3; 2.1; 2.2; 2.3; 2.4 CHCYTH3C – None

Task Two Networking Mind Map & Social Network Mind Map


Introduction to the Task

This task has two parts. The first part is a reflection on the WHY, HOW and WHO of networking as a Youth Worker or SU Qld Chaplain. The second part is an exploration of the social networks of a child or young person. Both parts of this task involve using a Mind Mapping process.

Mind Mapping is a creative, organic and sometimes messy process of brainstorming ideas and mapping issues. It is an evolving diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other things that are linked around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualise, structure and classify ideas and is used as an aid for study, organisation, problem solving and decision making. It encourages a non-linear approach to thinking through problems, challenges, questions and issues and the “rules” of Mind Mapping can be adapted to suit the particular purpose or situation.

It is a great way of gathering information from a group or to work through a process as an individual. It can also be used as a problem solving tool for children, young people, adults and families in a counselling context. We will be using them in slightly different ways in this task – to achieve two different outcomes in two different contexts.

If you would like more information on Mind Maps, go to: Wikipedia – Mind Maps (a Wiki summary on Mind Maps with examples and links) JCU Study Skills - http://www.jcu.edu.au/studying/services/studyskills/mindmap (this site

has a short video by Tony Buzan, the inventor and world’s leading Mind Map expert, plus other “how to” Mind Map resources)

Mappio - http://mappio.com (Numerous visual examples of Mind Maps) Steve has also included an edited version of a Mind Map that he and his wife did when they

were considering Steve’s move to full-time work with SU Qld. They took a day out to explore where this sat within the broader goals and obligations in their lives. It is called “Steve and Megan’s Mind Map” and can be found on Moodle, under “UNIT THREE Resources”.

Mind Maps work best when they are allowed to flow and get a bit messy. While there is software that allows people to work with Mind Maps on their computers, we recommend that you at least do up the first draft of your Mind Maps “freehand” (Yes, the old fashioned way, with paper and a pen. Maybe even coloured pens!), but you don’t have to…

To the left here, is an example of a Mind Map that has been done on Mind Mapping software, on the topic of “Edward De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats.”

For this task, once you have done your freehand Mind Maps, you can then either:

http://mappio.com/

http://www.jcu.edu.au/studying/services/studyskills/mindmap

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map


Low-Tech: Send your freehand version to your trainer via the SU Qld office or an alternative address

that you have arranged with them

OR

Medium-Tech: Convert your first draft to a Word, Publisher or Powerpoint document and either email it as

an attachment or paste it into your portfolio OR Digitally photograph it and then either email it as an attachment or paste it into your portfolio

OR Scan it and then either email it as an attachment or paste it into your portfolio

OR

High-Tech: Download FreeMind, which is free Mind Mapping software, and use the program to create

the Mind Maps. Once you have completed your Mind Map, you could then either email it as an attachment or paste it into your portfolio. There are other free Mind Mapping software programs available as well like Mindomo (web based) if you want to look into them as well, or more sophisticated ones you can pay for like SmartDraw and iMindMapfrom Tony Buzon (these are available for free 8 day trials).

We would be encouraging everyone to attempt to submit a Mind Map at the Medium-Tech to High-Tech level, rather than the Low-Tech level. Whatever format you decide upon, it is important that the trainer can read and understand the submitted Mind Map.

The Task

2.1 Networking Mind Map

This part of the task is about reflecting on the why, how and who of networking for the Youth Worker or SU Qld Chaplain, to help you develop your understanding of the value of networking to your particular context. To complete this task, you are required to complete a Networking Mind Map.

The basic format of the mind map is outlined below and a visual example is also provided. If you require more information than this, Steve has done up a short instructional video on Moodle that can be found under “UNIT THREE – Resources”:

The Process

1. Start in the Middle. Start by writing the word “networking” in a word bubble in the middle of a page.

2. Then ask – “Why network with other workers and services ?” There are a number of reasons why a Youth Worker might want or need to network with other workers and services. You should be able to come up with at least 6 of them – if not more. Start listing all the reasons why, using word bubbles that flow out of the central word bubble you have written.

http://www.imindmap.com/download/

http://www.smartdraw.com/downloads/index.htm?WT.svl=link01

http://www.mindomo.com/

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Coffee with Social

Worker


3. Then ask – “Who should I network with for this reason ?” Now you know why you network, tell us who are the people and services you should network with for each of your reasons given? As with the previous level, list all the who people using word bubbles that flow out each of the reasons given. For example, If a why was “to gain some professional support for myself” then the question would be “who would provide the best professional support for me?”

4. Then ask – “How am I going to network with them ?” Now you know why you network and subsequently who can meet those networking needs, how are you going to go about networking with them? What approach should you take for each service in the who section? Are you going to meet with them formally or informally; one on one or with a group; in person or via email or phone? As with the previous two levels, list all the ways you could network with the person or service using word bubbles that flow out of the person or service word bubble.

EG - Networking Mind Map Example on Referral (the process here goes from right to left)

Organise agency visit

Invite to my open day

Attend inter agency meeting

HOW?

WHO?

WHY?

NetworkingReferral

Centrelink

Mental Health


Unit 3 Task 2.1 Bradley Clarke Chaplain Woodcrest State College

Networking Mind Map

1. Networking

2. Why network with other workers and services?

3. Who should I network with for this reason?

4. How am I to network with them?

Please find Mind Map here.

http://www.mindomo.com/edit.htm?m=7c17019f02e0409aa5997e96acf4de96

http://www.mindomo.com/edit.htm?m=7c17019f02e0409aa5997e96acf4de96


2.2 Social Networking Mind Map

This part of the task is about exploring the social networks of a child or young person. As we read earlier in the Unit Introduction, it is widely believed that positive, strong and nurturing social networks are a key protective factor for the health and wellbeing of all people. In this task, we will be using the Mind Mapping process to explore the social networks of a child or young person that you are familiar with to determine whether you would assess this child or young person as being at a low, mid or high level of “risk” or not “at risk” at all of harm.

There is an actual process called Social Network Mapping that is more involved than the process we are engaging with in this task, but has the same goals as the simpler process we are engaging in. There are two visual examples of Social Networking tools in the Unit Introduction for this unit.

The two examples of a simple Social Network Mapping tools in the Unit Introduction give us an indication of the flexibility in approach there can be to this kind of social mapping.. Tools can be more complex and clinically accurate than these – including more lines, layers and symbols for deeper relational assessment. In the tool on the left, the key social systems for the life of a child or young person have been identified as Household, Other Family, Work, School, Clubs, Church, Friends, Neighbours and Formal Services. In the tool on the right, the key social systems has been identified in terms of the natrure of the relationships – that is, how the person relates or perceives the relationship.

A counsellor could work well with both tools to identify the key relationships for others and the nature of those relationships. This would then provide a map of the significant social relationships that could be used to assess “risk” and “resilience”, and develop a plan of intervention if required.

The Process

1. Start in the Middle. Start by writing the name of the child or young person in a word bubble in the middle of a page.

2. Then ask – “What are the various broad groups of people and organisations the child or young person has a relationship with ?” Some examples of these broader groups might be their immediate family, their extended family or the church (but you should be able to come up with at least 6 – if not more). Start listing all the groups and organisations, using word bubbles that flow out of the central word bubble you have written.

3. Then ask – “Who in these groups and organisations does the child or young person have relationships with ?” As with the previous level, list all the people using word bubbles that flow out each of the groups and organisation’s word bubbles. For example, with their immediate family, they might have a relationship with their mother, father and sister. With their church they might have a relationship with 10 friends from youth group, a youth leader, the old lady who plays the organ and the minister’s wife.

4. Then ask – “How would I describe the child or young person’s relationship with each of these people ?” Use the same process of extending out the thoughts using lines and word bubbles to write in your thoughts on this for each person. The beauty of Mind Mapping processes is that you can be a bit creative with them. You might like to colour code your lines to highlight what kind of relationship exists – (EG red for positive; blue for negative, green for not sure etc).

Positive – listens, cares


EG – Social Network Mind Map Example for Child or Young Person, looking at Immediate

Family arm (the process here goes from right to left)

Performance Criteria Covered CHCNET4A – 2.2; 3.1; 3.2; 3.4 CHCYTH3C – 1.1; 1.4; 1.6; 3.1; 3.2; 3.3; 3.4; 3.5

Negative – busy, yells when stresed

Positive – good friends

Negative – none to speak of…

RELAT I ON

WHO?

GROUPS

SamanthaFamily

Mother

Sister - Jodie


Unit 3 Task 2.2 Social Networking Mind Map Bradley Clarke Chaplain Woodcrest State College

The Mind Map moves from the centre out.

1. The first subject is the person Zac, a student from Grade 10.

2. What are the various broad groups of people and organisations Zac has a relationship with?

3. Who in these groups and organisations does Zac have relationships with?

5. How would I describe Zac's relationship with each of these people?

Please find the link here.http://www.mindomo.com/edit.htm?m=681b076640a34adf9fc520de94d2a47a

http://www.mindomo.com/edit.htm?m=681b076640a34adf9fc520de94d2a47a


Task Three Information on Other Services


Being a point of referral is a very useful role for a Youth Worker and SU Qld Chaplain to take on. This means that the Youth Worker or SU Qld Chaplain needs to be well networked and have up-to-date, relevant and accessible information on services and resources that children, young people, families and adults might need for good mental health and wellbeing.

In this task, we will be looking at three ways in which Youth Workers and SU Qld Chaplains can be a good referral point for the children and young people they seek to serve. We will be covering: Putting together a Local Referral Directory Networking with other organisations through an agency visit Enabling children and young people to access other information on services

The Task

3.1 Local Referral Directory

Referral is the process by which people in a helping profession can pass on clients and work to other workers and services who can more appropriately deal with the client’s issues and needs. Referral is an extremely important process for a Youth Worker to engage in. SU Qld Chaplains are limited in their role in the amount of actual counselling, assessment and intervention they can do. So it is vitally important that they are well networked and in a good place to refer to other services in an effective way.

A Local Referral Directory is a list of potential services and people that a Youth Worker or SU Qld Chaplain can refer to giving them the benefit of time, efficiency and knowing ahead of time the best referral options for a given situation. Providing a good referral for clients is a way helping professionals can provide a good service to their clients.

For this part of the task you need to gather information of a range of different services in your area that have a relationship to Youth Service or SU Qld Chaplaincy Service. You will represent the relevant information on what the services provide and the relevant contact details in a table format for at least 10 of the services you have identified as being important as referral organisations.

There is an example of a Referral Directory table below and a link to the way another service has formatted their Referral Directory.

Table Example

Service Description Contact Best Contact Hours of Op Other Notes


To see some examples of how a service has formatted their referral directory, go to: Queensland Aids Council - http://www.quac.org.au/referral Community Services Directory (Australian Govt) - http://www.csa.gov.au/CSD/Default.aspx . GM Resources and Referral Directory (NZ) - http://www.gmd.net.nz/index.lasso?page=2,2,0 An example Template can also be downloaded from Moodle. It can be found under UNIT

THREE - Resources

Don’t get too caught up on the content of each site, remember to take notice of how the Referral Directories are formatted…

Refer Directory 2008

Service Description Contact Details Contact Person Refer for?

Ipswich Community Youth Services Inc.

Acommodation Support and referral Alternative Education

0438 024 752 Larry McCulloch Counseling / Family

Goodna Youth Outreach Program

Drug and Alcohol Services 3818 1050 DannyCounseling / Drug & Alch

Goodna Youth Services Counseling/Accommodation 0418 187 309 Vince Tawora Acommodation

Youth Advocacy CentreLegal Services / Sexual Abuse Counseling

3857 1155Bronwyn Larson / Leanne Hora

Legal Advise

Child and Youth Mental Health Services

Counseling / Health issues 3817 2555 Meloney Counseling / M Health

Springfield / Camira Community Centre

Fitness centre / Indoor Sports / Clubs

3818 0921 Chris Grainger Social Support

Westlife Youth Group Youth Activities 0421 347 552 Andrew Midson Social Support

Springfield Christian Family Knect Youth Group

Weekly Youth Activities

0432 649 503 Amy Social Support

Open Doors GLBT & Families Counselling

Pregnancy and Family Counseling Services Drop In from Noon Wed

3257 7660 Lisa Thorpy Counseling / Sexuality

Centrelink Employment Services 13 28 50 Employment

Drug ArmOutreach Ipswich Public Intoxication Program

3282 9966Danny

Counseling / Drug & Alch

AcommodationEmploymentCounseling / Career Counseling / Family Counseling / Sexuality Counseling / M Health Counseling / Drug & Alch

http://www.gmd.net.nz/index.lasso?page=2,2,0

http://www.csa.gov.au/CSD/Default.aspx

http://www.quac.org.au/referral


Counseling / Pregnancy Counseling / Pregnancy Legal AdviseSocial Support

3.2 Networking through an Agency Visit

Visit one of the services listed in your directory and discuss how the referral relationship will work between your service and theirs? This might involve discussing some or all of the following issues or exchanging some or all of the following information. Check the boxes of the issues that you discussed on your visit and get the person you met with to fill in the Third Party Report below:

Explain what you and your service do with young people Explain how young people come to talk with you about their issues Explain any boundaries or limitations around your role in terms of referral (eg

tasks undertaken and not undertaken in your role, information sharing with other services etc)

Ask about the services that this service provides to young people Ask about how to refer a young person to this service and what is the best way to

get a referral accepted by this service Ask for any hard copy or online information about this service that can be given

directly to young people for their use Ask about how your service and this service could best work together with the

young people that are referred Ask about how your service and this service could work together in other areas or

on other projects

Third Party Report

Name of Service:__ ____________________

Address:__ _______________________________

Phone:_ _Email:_ _Website:______________

Contact Person in Service:___ _________________________________

Position:_____ __________________________________________________

Confirmation of Contact Person:


I hereby confirm that ___Brad Clarke________________________(student name) visited the aforementioned organisation.

____________________________________________ _____/_____/_____Signature: Date:

Signed Third Party Report on Next Page.


3.3 Access to Other Information on Services

As a Youth Worker or SU Qld Chaplain, you will have other information from other services that will not be a part of your Referral Directory, but will need to be stored in some way for further access by yourself, other staff or by the children and young people you work with. Such information might include brochures on services, websites, information brochures and business cards for example.

a. How might you store or display that information for appropriate access by the appropriate people? List five ways you might do this:

1. Notice Board Specific information may be placed on office and student notice boards. This may be in the form of an attractive student made poster or art. Information may include the services available in the student’s school community, including the Guidance Officer, English as a second language teacher, youth workers, the chaplain, and health nurse. The name and contact details may be given on individual posters or together on one sheet depending how much room there is on the notice boards.

2. Entrance DisplayLocate the display in a temporary kiosk-style trade show format with information available in racks or plastic sleeves to hold handouts and pamphlets. This could be used particularly for special events such as Chaplaincy Week or Youth Week with a manned display perhaps in the library. These are particularly useful when addressing emotional or traumatic matters.

3. Business Cards or Pamphlets Have available individual details of youth and family directory of local services. (Business card size preferred). These can then be handed out as required to students seeking help but also to staff and other co-workers as a resource or referral.

4. Posters in Chaplain’s LoungeI have given the opportunity to boys who regularly visit the Chaplain’s lounge during breaks to cut out their own choice of pictures from motor cross and skate magazines and have them add some information into the picture before laminating the poster and getting the boys to hang them on the wall. I am now getting boys bringing their own pictures of them skating and scootering or riding motor cross bikes and laminating them with messages on them.

5. Special EventsUsing special school events to promote local agencies has worked well at our school. I have had various representatives from local Youth Services, Drug and Alcohol services and chaplains from other school sharing stories of how students and make use of the many agencies that can help in providing counseling and care. The school encourages the use of these groups including church groups to come and to speak on relevant topics. I have been asked to arranged these speakers and have them on campus even during lunch breaks to build relationships.

a. Identify one these things that you will do before the end of this unit, to improve your information on other organisations and services for the children, young people, families and adults who access your service.


I will improve the accessibility of the information I have at hand including the Refer Directory. While seeking information from my local councilor’s office, I came upon a Ipswich City Council Info Card that has many local agency’s contact details in an attractive fold out business card.

I would like to intentionally build relationships over time with these agencies. I attended a Ipswich region Youth Services Networking Meeting between non-government and government services in May this year with members from our student services staff. This enabled me to network with people from government and non government services and was very worthwhile.

One of the things I have achieved during this unit was to meet with representatives from the School P & C Association and advocate local youth groups and specialist counseling services in our region. It was well received.

Performance Criteria Covered CHCNET4A – 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 2.2; 2.3; 2.4; 3.1; 3.2; 3.4 CHCYTH3C – 1.2; 1.4; 1.5

Task Four Engaging Children or Young People in Collective Action


Youth Participation is an area of Youth Work that we touch on from time to time in this Diploma. The term is reasonably self-explanatory, and involves the various ways that children and young people can participate in the decisions that affect them and can shape the ways the groups and organisations that they are a part of operate. In this task, you are required to read an article on Youth Participation and engage in a process of helping a small group of children or young people identify an issue that they would like to explore and possibly address in the future (Although this task does not require you to take any action beyond exploring the issue with the children or young people).

The Task

4.1 Read Article on Youth Participation

A model for Youth Participation is outlined in the article below with explanations on each stage of the continuum. Read this article if you haven’t done so already: The Foundation for Young Australians – Youth Participation (8 pages in total)

4.2 Collective Action with Children and Young People

In Part Two of this task, you are required to get a group of children or young people together and take them through a process of identifying an issue in the school or community that they would like to discuss and a possible course of action they could take in the future to address that issue. The process you will use is that of Appreciative Inquiry, which follows 5 stages, with the group

http://www.youngaustralians.org/library/items/2008/05/207939-upload-00001.pdf


being lead through the discussion based on questions attached to each of those stages. The 5 stages are

The process for organising the discussion will look something like this: Definition – What is it that the group is going to discuss or learn more about? (this does not

mean coming up with a definition of a problem or an issue)… Discovery – Appreciating the best of what already is / What are some good examples of this

going well / This could involve a process of discussion or research if you had the time Dream – Envisioning the best of what could be / How could this look for us? Design – Developing individual and collective options for action and what could be to

achieve the best outcomes Delivery or Destiny – Experiment with options that might deliver some successful outcomes

For more information on Appreciate Inquiry, go to: Appreciative Inquiry Commons David L Cooperrider & Diana Whitney - A Positive Revolution in Change: Appreciative

Inquiry The Alban Institute - Ten Assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry Dave Andrews – Compassionate Community Work – Chapter 22 (Moodle – under UNIT

THREE Resources)

For the purposes of this task, you are not required to take any action with them to address the issue, but this is something you can consider doing at another time in the future if you would like to. So, in terms of stage 5 – Destiny or Delivery – a plan of action needs to be actioned only, rather than undertaking the action. The expectation that the discussion will not necessarily lead to an action or project lead by you needs to be made clear up-front to the children or young people who you have invited to participate in the discussion.

1. Organise the Meeting Decide who you would like involved in the discussion Approach the group members to be involved in the discussion, describing clearly the

purpose and process of the discussion, and their role in it Seek appropriate permissions from parents and / or school for their involvement (if required) Organise the meeting details (EG time, date, venue, bookings, catering, resources,

permission from parents if required, time tabling organisation with school if required etc)

2. Facilitate the Discussion Plan the meeting process using the Appreciative Inquiry method (Look at the support

material on Appreciative Inquiry methods in the Unit Introduction) Facilitate the meeting and record the outcomes

3. Follow-up the Discussion Communicate the outcomes of the discussion to any relevant parties and take any actions

the group agreed upon

4.2.1 Organise the Meeting

a. Describe how you organised the meeting, referring to the bullet points outlined above under heading 1.

http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=3674

http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/uploads/whatisai.pdf


http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/intro/whatisai.cfm


Decide who you would like involved in the discussion.I have decided to personally ask a group of seven regular lunch time attendees to the Chaplain’s lounge to participate in the Appreciative Inquiry discussion and to share their positive stories of school. The process will be to encourage a new way of looking at positive language to assist in improving the direction and career options for the future. The group invited was made up of one Grade 8, three Grade 9 and three Grade 10 students.

Approach the group members to be involved in the discussion, describing clearly the purpose and process of the discussion, and their role in it

Having thought about how to interest students in discussing AI and involving them in the process of the 5 stages I let them know there would be lots of free food. Always gets the guys interested at least I thought.I plan to feed them with plenty of party finger food and drinks while showing the video and then following through with each of the five stages using their decisions of course selection they were committing to.

Seek appropriate permissions from parents and / or school for their involvement (if required)Organise the meeting details (EG time, date, venue, bookings, catering, resources, permission from parents if required, time tabling organisation with school if required etc)The group agreed to meet at lunch break between 10.20 and 11.00am on Thursday 17 July 2008.These students regularly meet with me in the Chaplain’s Lounge at lunch times so I did not request parental or school permission for them to meet.

4.2.2 Facilitate the Discussion

b. What preparation did you do to understand the Appreciative Inquiry process?

I was really able to see the benefit right away. I know well the problem solving paradigm with its associated negativity and deficit based analysis which caused separation, defensiveness and deference to hierarchies. My preparation before having the meeting proved very inadequate. I did not prepare my questions well enough to lead the discussion. Since the meeting I have read and learned so much more. I have since researched Appreciative Inquiry Questions on the web and discovered helpful material. Man, What a revelation! However, I felt that I may not have enough time to allow the students a chance to grasp a good understanding of the principles behind AI knowing how many of them reflect a very ingrained deficit -based problem solving method in the every day. The main papers that helped me were:Appreciative Inquiry: Change Management from a positive perspectiveWhat is AI? http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/uploads/whatisai.pdfA video example of AI. http://www.iisd.org/ai/myradavideo.htmHow to: Appreciative Inquiry Questions. http://www.imaginechicago.org/aiquestions.htm

c. Write a brief definition of your understanding of the Appreciate Inquiry process and the potential benefits of it has over other “deficit model” Inquiry processes?

For me Appreciative Inquiry AI is a real paradigm shift in how to go about organisational or personal change. It is a way of looking at what is already working rather than focused on fixing problems. The main aim is to bring about change by focusing on the core strengths of an organisation or person, then using those strengths to shape the future. The two main points that are fundamental to understanding the wisdom in Appreciative Inquiry as change practice are 1. Ask positive questions and 2. The dynamics activated by deficit language. 1. Ask positive questions. AI makes one think about what questions you ask and what knowledge and

energy will be activated by the questions. Positive questions can surface life giving forces by using the stories told in response as seed thoughts for how to move forward to success. People love to tell their stories, so let’s work on that in a positive way.

2. The dynamics activated by deficit language. Deficit language is everywhere and the world created by it produces mistrust, resistance, stress and focuses on weaknesses not strengths.

I can see how appreciative, valuing language can be much more effective in generating learning and solutions for the future. I like it. A lot. It is a good but a tough paradigm shift for me.

http://www.imaginechicago.org/aiquestions.htm

http://www.iisd.org/ai/myradavideo.htm



d. How did you set up your group process for a successful and engaging discussion?

Firstly, I expect that if I had to think deeply about this approach before I could grasp it, then these students would suffer my explanation of Appreciative Inquiry while harping on me to let the starving devour the food before planning a lightning exit. So I searched for a medium to help explain it.

I discovered a video and plan to show it to them with a handout. The video is called Appreciative Inquiry – A Beginning. (IISD/MYRADA, 1999) http://www.iisd.org/ai/myradavideo.htm The video outlines the process of the 5 stages: Definition – (Why use Appreciative Inquiry) Discovery, Dream, Design, Delivery. Their role would be to discuss in a positive way the video in relation to the selection of what they hope to do as a job or career and how they can plan to achieve it.

I want to facilitate students to share their positive stories about thoughts or experiences they have on their type of job or career choices and to help in getting them to think on their choice of school subjects for the next semester and for next year. (Students are in the process of choosing subjects now.)

e. Under the 5 headings of Definition, Discovery, Dream, Design and Destiny / Delivery – outline 3 questions you would ask / did ask to facilitate the discussion at each stage

Definition – What is it that the group is going to discuss or learn more about? What best course of subjects ought I choose to make me employable and kickstart my career? Discovery – Appreciating the best of what already is / What are some examples of this going well. 1. What is something you enjoy doing?2. What is a high point story in your life when you worked together with others to make a difference?3. What has inspired you to get involved in doing things that give you satisfaction?Dream – Envisioning the best of what could be / How could this look for us?1. What energizes you about your choice of employment or career? What can you see yourself doing?2. Tell a story of something you learned that transformed what you now see as possible for your future.3. What would you most like to create? With whom can you work to do so?Design – Developing individual and collective options for action and what could be to achieve the best outcomes1. What question, if answered, could make the most difference to your future earnings?2. What’s your intention in life? What is the deeper purpose that is really worthy of our best effort?3. What do you still need to learn about to get to the next step to where you want to go?Delivery or Destiny – Experiment with options that might deliver some successful outcomes1. How can I make use of my learning opportunities to put me in the right position to be successful? 2. What is possible here for you and who cares?3. How can we support each other in taking the next steps?4. What seed thought might we plant together today that could make the most difference to your future?

http://www.iisd.org/ai/myradavideo.htm


f. What were the responses of the children or young people to the discussion questions at each of these stages?

We did not get very far with our discussions on any stage except the first, Discovery phase. What is working well? Well, not much it seems. The concept of negative and low expectations filled most the stories shared heightening a sense of hopelessness. As with most young high school students (and I hasten to add, adults too) it can be very confusing and overwhelming to think of the opportunities that abound today in types of work and career choices. Therefore the process of selecting the ‘right’ course of study can be quite stressful. Some find surviving the present hard enough. Some have high expectations to meet. Most of the AI group who participated had very little expectation of ever working at anything seen as worthwhile due to poor literacy skills or attitudes. It showed me the very strong deficit and negative paradigm of these students and general society and the resulting disconnect from the appreciative positive inquiry paradigm.

I am not surprised because I have experiences myself of working in such environments in my working life particularly as a public servant. I was diagnosed two years ago with major depression as a result of working in such environment and from having such a confused and limited view of my future. Unfortunately, such experiences have also extended into my church experiences as well. Even to the point of my family recently separating from our church because of the sense of bondage and discouragement that the deficit negative paradigm ferments.

One of the things I learned from the discussion is the importance of asking positive questions to help lead the discussion into the appreciative inquiry paradigm. I know now that my very limited understanding and determination to gain answers to positive questions resulted in a less than effective dialogue happening. Perhaps having less people participating may have helped to keep focus and to follow through from the discovery phase to the other stages.

I felt my attempt to facilitate the process of Appreciative Inquiry in the first presentation was less than adequate as the questions were not answered by the group.

4.2.3 Follow-up the Discussion

g. Record any outcomes or actions from the discussion

Not all is lost. I subsequently spoke to a person who was in the group and struggling to decide on course selection for senior school next year and on his choice of electives for semester two this year. The person is in Grade 9, is a well mannered young man eager to do his best but has difficulty reading. He angers easily and is often the one left out or teased.

At the time I asked some of the questions above relating to the stages of understanding what already is, imagining what could be, and create what will be.

He has not said but I hope our conversation may of helped to set his sails. He has requested and gained a place in a school based traineeship with a local prestige golf club as a chef. He did work experience with them for two weeks last term and found he really enjoyed the work and the people. By all reports they like him too. He has discovered something he enjoys and is good at. He is earning money and working one school day a week and on the weekends while regaining a renewed purpose for doing his best in his chosen subjects.

Our simple conversation will hopefully benefit his learning and application of work ready skills to kick start his working life yes, but more than that, give him a greater positive opinion of his usefulness, ability to dream and purpose in life as he approaches challenges not with a negative deficit based problem solving mindset but one of a developing Appreciation Inquiry.


h. How did you follow up the discussion? Who, if anyone, did you share your outcomes with?

I will follow up the discussion and outcomes with co-workers through the Student Support Services meeting. I want to incorporate the Appreciative Inquiry paradigm into the way we approach the issues young people face. I am sure that such influence has to be modeled. The breaking down of the negative and deficit-based problem solving methodology modeled by educators and administrators as much as anyone, including me, needs to change.

Once I have experienced this more personally and seen it effected in others perhaps I will consider asking to share Appreciative Inquiry in a staff meeting as a tool for change in our school.

i. OPTIONAL: Attach any other evidence of the discussion and its outcomes (EG – photos, butcher’s paper, minutes, permission forms etc)

Performance Criteria Covered CHCNET4A – None CHCYTH3C – 1.2; 1.3; 1.7; 1.8; 2.1; 2.2; 2.3; 2.4; 2.5; 2.6


UNIT THREE Assessor’s Marking Sheet

Assessor Name: Date:

Signature:

Comments:

Results Unit of Competency OutcomeCHCNET4ACHCYTH3C

Feedback

Feedback given: yes no

Feedback mechanism:

verbal written

Notes:

ymis unit 3 portfolio

Spiritual

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