Group Project - Design for Community Development or Youth Development Intervention RTM 300 Recreation and Community Development

If you have any questions please check the assignment information below first, then ask me in class because someone else probably has the same question, and then drop me an email if your question still remains.  (alan.wright@csun.edu)

New Note: About the presentations -

1) The project teams will be responsible to submit their project proposal slides electronically (one submission per group please) to the professor on the due date.

2) Groups will be prepared to answer questions on their project from class members on either April 24, April 29, or May 1 - you can see which team is on which date by visiting the Breaking News link.

3) Face to face class will have the group begin with a 2-3 minute summary of the key things they learned from their project? That might include key facts discovered in research, a key best practice uncovered, or whatever answers that question for the team. This summary will be followed by the team taking 10-12 minutes of questions from classmates.

4) All class members will have read the powerpoint slides on the web (WebCT access) prior to the class and will come with at least one question per each team project reviewed. We should have no shortage of questions.

5) The April 29 class will be done on-line via chat rooms. Follow the directions on the WebCT page as to what room you will attend for the session. The on-line session will follow a similar format with team members posting a intro statement of a paragraph about key learnings (have it pre-typed to paste into the chat) and that will be followed by questions for the next 15 minutes.

Group Community Development Project:   Points 25

A project for developing community assets or a project related to a program for youth development will be completed by a learning team .  You will be assigned a learning team based on some similarity in professional career focus.  So in general most folks will be in a team of 3-5 others who hope to work in 'outdoor rec' or in 'international tourism' or 'therapeutic rec' or 'youth serving agencies' or something that provides a common ground.  Consult the class schedule to see when topics are due and when the final project is due.

The project will include the following components.

a) A clear statement of the issue and why it is related to building strong youth and/or strong communities.  The topic you select will be your own but should be run by the professor for approval - see due date on class schedule.  The team may choose to work from the perspective of an 'issue' or 'asset' perspective.  A topic like this might focus on how to 'create a caring neighborhood' or any other of the 40 assets or a group of related assets. One might also select a issue like 'gangs' or 'shelter' or 'outdoor play spaces for children'.  The point:  find a tie between the community, its quality of life issue (positive strength or negative attribute), and your career focus.  The community could be international or local.

b) Research this topic so you become the experts.  Your report will include a three page summary of statements of fact based on research you have discovered and citations of that research.  The brain power of this project is defining your general approach to address this community need/issue.  The what you are going to do about it - a programmatic solution and/or an 'unprogrammatic' solution. 

c) Direct data collection of opinions of the ‘end user’ or ‘end benefactor’ through either personal interview or focus group session.  What do they want?  Minimum sample size is 10. 

d) Demonstrate the clear tie in your plan as to how community opinion is integrated into your response/program and how your initial opinions gathered from constituency influenced your program delivery.

e) Clear statement of outcomes and description of program (methods) that will achieve those outcomes.  This can be done in bullet format.

f) Clear statement of community partners – who else from the multiple sectors will do what.

g) Research on 'best practices'.  Who (if anyone) has already created a program that represents best practices in the RTM field (or related fields).

h) How would the response be financed at the start-up level – grants/ fees/ donations etc. - that demonstrate a financial viability - this should be realistic one page budget.

There will be a significant amount of class time given to the project team so utilize that time to lessen the amount of out of class time required. 

The written report can be done in one of two formats.  Format one is a more traditional narrative paper with an estimated length of 1850-2500 words plus bibliography and an appendix with your community research questionnaire.  Format two is to submit a 'presentation' software (e.g power point) that you would be using at a board meeting or community organization meeting which is making the case for why your plan is needed and the why and how it will work.  The second format would still attach a bibliography and questionnaire as attachments in addition to the approximately 25 slides of introduction and persuasion.  

Check the course schedule for when your final project is due and when you will provide a summary presentation to the class. 

Key Links

RTM Course page

    Lectures and Resources