Civic Engagement Programs and Youth Development: A Synthesis

Focuses on the role that civic engagement plays in helping young people develop a broad array of strengths and capacities, including educational achievement, health and safety, social and emotional well-being, and self sufficiency

Assessment and Active Learning Strategies for Introductory Geology Courses

Educational research findings suggest that instructors can foster the growth of thinking skills and promote science literacy by incorporating active learning strategies into the classroom. This paper describes a variety of such strategies that may be adopted in introductory geology courses to encourage the development of higher-order thinking skills, and provides directions for implementing these techniques in the classroom. It discusses six hierarchical levels of student learning and links them to examples of appropriate assessment tools that were used successfully in several sections of a general education Earth Science course taught by two instructors at the University of Akron. These teaching strategies have been evaluated qualitatively using peer reviews, student written evaluations and semistructured student interviews; and quantitatively by measuring improvements in student retention, exam scores, and scores on a logical thinking assessment instrument. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Identity and belonging in social learning groups : the importance of distinguishing social, operational and knowledge-related identity congruence

Collaborative learning has much to offer but not all learners participate fully and peer groups can be exclusive. The paper examines how belonging or 'congruence' in learning groups is related to identities of gender, age, ethnicity and socio-economic status. A study of student experiences of collaborative learning on three different blended learning courses illustrated how learners negotiate identity congruence with peer groups to belong and engage. An analytical framework that distinguishes social, operational and knowledge-related identity congruence has emerged. Contrary to received wisdom, the social aspect appears least important for learner engagement while knowledge-related identity congruence is fundamental. Some of the consequences of identity incongruence, particularly concerning gender and maturity, are discussed and the paper points towards the pedagogies which might enable identities of group members to shift so that collaborative learning can flourish

Boosting the Life Chances of Young Men of Color: Evidence From Promising Programs

In light of the momentum building to improve the fortunes of young men of color, this review examines what is known about this population -- particularly related to their struggles in the labor market -- and highlights programs that are shown by randomized controlled trials to be making a difference

Pathways to Grow Impact: Philanthropy's Role in the Journey

Since 2010, through the "Scaling What Works" initiative, GEO has fostered a conversation about scale that considers a variety of ways nonprofits are creating more value for communities and how funders are supporting their work. GEO's newest publication, "Pathways to Grow Impact", shares new learning about the role grantmakers should play. The publication is the result of a collaborative project with Ashoka, Social Impact Exchange, Taproot Foundation and TCC Group that sought to answer the question: How can grantmakers best support high-performing nonprofits in their efforts to grow their impact? "Pathways to Grow Impact" is for any grantmaker who wants his or her grant dollars to have a greater effect. The publication offers a framework for understanding different approaches to scaling impact, stories from nonprofit leaders who have successfully grown their organizations' impact, and practical recommendations for grantmakers seeking more effective ways to achieve better results

Chapter 3: Building an Online Learning Community

The OTiS (Online Teaching in Scotland) programme, run by the now defunct Scotcit programme, ran an International e-Workshop on Developing Online Tutoring Skills which was held between 8–12 May 2000. It was organised by Heriot–Watt University, Edinburgh and The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK. Out of this workshop came the seminal Online Tutoring E-Book, a generic primer on e-learning pedagogy and methodology, full of practical implementation guidelines. Although the Scotcit programme ended some years ago, the E-Book has been copied to the SONET site as a series of PDF files, which are now available via the ALT Open Access Repository. The editor, Carol Higgison, is currently working in e-learning at the University of Bradford (see her staff profile) and is the Chair of the Association for Learning Technology (ALT)

A Midpoint Report on the True North Fund

In July 2010, the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) awarded the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation (EMCF) $10 million (the first of three$10 million awards) to increase the scale and impact of youth development organizations whose programs have been shown to produce positive outcomes in communities of need across the United States. EMCF and its co-investors are tackling the immense problems confronting America's low-income youth -- for example, more than 22 percent of all children in the U.S. live in poverty, and 30 percent of public school students fail to graduate from high school, leading to a lack of educational success and employment among youth and young adults across the country. In 2011, EMCF launched the True North Fund (TNF) to aggregate private growth capital in support of nine initial (and subsequently three additional) SIF grantees. EMCF matched the $10 million in federal funds from the SIF 1:1 with its own funds and then, in collaboration with the TNF co-investors and grantees, helped raise the remaining 2:1 match to meet the SIF's 3:1 match requirement. EMCF also provided the grantees with additional supports, including assistance with business planning from the Bridgespan Group and with evaluation planning and implementation from MDRC, and access to executive and leadership coaching.Through the TNF, EMCF and its co-investors' goals are to: Significantly increase the numbers of youth served by effective programs;Support rigorous independent evaluations that help youth-serving organizations and the field advance evidence of programmatic effectiveness in ways that strengthen and improve programs as they grow; Demonstrate a more efficient and effective method of organizing private and public capital on behalf of low-income youth; and Encourage by example and advocacy fundamental change in how public and private capital is deployed to scale what works.This report reflects the experience of the nine initial TNF grantees. In 2013, EMCF selected three additional TNF grantees: PACE Center for Girls, WINGS for kids, and Youth Guidance.Two years after launching the initiative, EMCF commissioned this midpoint report on the TNF to answer the following questions:What progress did the TNF grantees make during the first two years?What has been the TNF co-investors' experience to date?What insights can the TNF grantees, EMCF and co-investors share with funders and policymakers at midpoint?This report summarizes high-level themes that emerged from a review of the TNF literature and telephone interviews with EMCF senior management, EMCF's strategic collaborators, nine TNF grantees, and 12 of the 15 co-investors. It is not meant to be a formal evaluation or exhaustive review with deep analyses of grantee outcomes and accomplishments. Rather, it takes the temperature of the TNF at midpoint in order to inform EMCF and its co-investors, and share with the public some early lessons learned. EMCF expects to publish more detailed, in-depth findings after the initiative concludes in 2015 -- 16

Trusting in Change

Describes the background to a series of changes that led the foundation, beginning in 2000, to implement a new grantmaking approach

Edna McConnell Clark Foundation - 2003 Annual Report

Contains president's message, fund and program information, grants list, financial statements, grant guidelines, publications list, and lists of board members and staff

Building Capacity in Nonprofit Organizations

Offers a capacity building model that is based on a review of civil society, sustainable development, and organizational management literature. Reviews effective capacity building programs sponsored or operated by foundations. Includes recommendations