ADVANCE+Implementation+Options+and+Tips

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= Advance - Program Planning Matrix = To assist schools in the planning phase of the Advance program, the Department of Health & Human Services has developed the following program planning matrix.

The matrix identifies the key components of the Advance program and provides with the opportunity to identify actions; the role played by teachers, partners and students; as well as resources required.

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= Advance Module Implementation Options & Tips (for maximising outcomes for students) =
 * * Advance's flexible framework has been developed to allow for maximum local decision-making by the people who are delivering the program. || * A school may also choose to work in partnership with multiple community organisations to best meet the needs of the students involved in Advance. The partnerships can take a variety of forms and run for a range of time spans. || * School campuses may choose to work together to deliver and/or share resources. ||
 * * The most common model is of a partnership formed between a school and community organisation to deliver a single community project or volunteer activities for the entire class. || * Some schools already have an established relationship with a community organisation and a program that can easily be adapted to Advance. || * Some schools may choose to work in a cluster model and participate in shared activities, work closely or even deliver Advance in different ways, but still share resources. ||

The flexibility offered by the Advance program means it is run very differently in each school. Some schools, for example, choose to run Advance over a term, rather than a semester or year. It can be challenging to complete all the components in such a short time. The document below includes some suggestions and ideas from coordinators to make it easier.
 * Running Advance Over a Term**

Note: See ADVANCE Learning Modules and ADVANCE Project Profiles pages listed on the menu for MORE hints and tips through stories of different ways in which projects are being delivered.

= Hints and Tips for making the most of the Advance Program in your school =

Advance one module at a time over 2 years to enable student ownership
John Clyne, East Loddon P-12 College, has been coordinator for Advance and its predecessor program for over ten years! John has got it down pat with his participatory program that addresses all the modules in his unique way. John believes in students taking ownership of the program and is a fan of striving for the top rung on the //Model of Participation Ladder (see below).//

John explains: //"He encourages progression up the ladder in order to achieve real youth development and not just tokenism etc. Politicians are master operators at using young people as decoration, as Hart puts it. We aim to shift the ownership and therefore the satisfaction, to the students."//

John is also one of our mentors for new coordinators - see menu option titled 'Other support, resources and Links' - and along with other experienced Advance coordinators listed there, is available to answer your questions and help solve any problems you may encounter or assist when you require support.

//**John and his team's adaptation of Advance at East Loddon P-12 College**//

John and his team work together to ensure an energetic and synergistic flow of energy back and forth through the students, coordinators and the program. Their satisfaction comes from empowering the student's to take ownership over the Advance Program. In fact, John says, //"The pressure is taken off coordinators delivering Advance when they allow students to take ownership, and the learning for students through participation at the highest rungs of the participation ladder is greater".//

Students complete the program over 2 years - year 9 to 10 - in this time addressing the learning components of all 3 learning modules from Advance framework. They address one module at a time over the two years, with students having complete autonomy on how these are addressed. Sometimes years 9 (first year Advance) and 10 students (in their second year of Advance) will work, or attend excursions together.

In 2010, students in year 10 have completed recognised training in UHF radio operators licences and Primary Industry safe@work. Projects undertaken include; 1. Gardening Gurus Community Service 2. Parkour Awareness & Safety 3. Primary School Fire Safety Presentations. Recognised training was designated by staff as Radio communications licenses - as they utilised this technology in their Teamwork, Leadership and CFA minimum skills training modules. Students determined their own need for completion of the Safe@work Primary Industry certificate and sourced this themselves.

Students had complete autonomy in their selection of project ideas and partners. They had to create and operate their own enterprise.Part of the requirements were the need for promotion and celebration of their achievements.

Recognition came through student planned trips to a variety of community houses for volunteer gardening work. BBQ's were held with affiliated community members and media releases were created & published. Community groups affected have nominated students for Australia Day Awards. Public performances were given to promote and celebrate Parkour awareness programs. In class, parties were held after great efforts. A final end of year 4 day surf camp was also held to culminate the years activities.

Running Advance through established programs
Out of the 428 schools that participated in Advance in 2010, 82 elected to deliver Advance through established programs. Attached is a list of organisations compatible with several of the learning outcomes and other elements of the Advance framework.


 * A sample of community organisation programs**

||< YMCA Victoria Youth Parliament is a program designed to give young Victorians between the ages of 16 - 25 a chance to be heard at the highest levels of State Government, on a wide range of issues relevant to young people's lives.
 * < **Awards Victoria - Bridge Awards** ||< **YMCA Youth Parliament** || **Australian Red Cross Young Humanitarians** ||
 * < [[file:Bridge brochure 101104 for info pack.pdf]]

Annually, young people aged 16 to 25 participate in the YMCA Youth Parliament program. Twenty teams of six participants receive training in public speaking and leadership at residential camps, as they research issues that they’re passionate about. From this research they develop a Bill, which they debate in Victorian Parliament over three days each July.

The program provides a great personal and professional development opportunity, and the Bills, which are handed to the relevant Ministers, provide the government with insight from a younger demographic.

The Youth Parliament program is run by YMCA Victoria in conjunction with the State Government's Office for Youth and is led by a volunteer Taskforce of 16 past participants.

For further information visit the [|Youth Parliament website.] || Red Cross is the largest humanitarian organisation in the world and works to help improve the lives of vulnerable people in Australia and around the world.

Today over half of the world's population is under the age of 25, which means we have the largest ever generation of young people in human history.

Become a Young Humanitarian and contribute to our organisation's dedication to tackling disadvantage and nurturing a more humanitarian society.

There is a range of different ways that young people can make their move as a Red Cross Young Humanitarian.

For further information visit the [|Australian Red Cross website.] || **Mapping Advance Learning Modules to Nationally Accredited Certificates** Advance has identified an opportunity to provide additional pathways for young people by mapping the Advance Learning Modules of Community, Communication and Project Management to vocational qualifications. Many schools already offer Vocational Education Training (VET) subjects at years 10, 11 and 12 as either an additional or alternative pathway to the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) qualification.

By mapping the competencies demonstrated in the Advance program into various training packages, participants will be able to achieve both the recognition the Advance program provides as well as achieve between one to four Statements of Attainment to a specific Certificate I. On average there are seven units for a full Certificate I qualification.

By gaining recognized qualifications that can be added to the Victorian Assessment Software System (VASS), young people will have additional qualifications for obtaining part time work and identifying possible career pathways. || ||  || ||  ||  ||
 * [[file:Advance_-_Mapping_-_Background_2010.doc]]
 * [[file:Advance_-_Mapping_Advance_Learning_Modules_to_Nationally_Accredited_Certificates_2010.doc]]

Doing justice to Advance by delivering it as a holistic program
Advance is a holistic program, designed to provide students with genuine involvement in their communities and participation with others to achieve goals. It is designed to provide strong guidelines without being constrictive to innovation.

These guidelines are in the form of learning outcomes within three learning modules, which together holistically aim to nurture student’s ability to participate in their communities, work in teams, communicate with various audiences and achieve goals through participation and cooperation with others – all identified as important life and work skills.

However, some schools need some assistance in completing all the learning outcomes of the three module components in the framework. So, here are some tips and guidelines. //All learning outcomes of each module do not necessarily need to be linked to one large project.//

//One of the challenges that should be set for students is that each group should aim to meet the learning outcomes in the three Modules.// This is where the innovation and creativity can flow. This is also where the teacher must take the post of facilitator - difficult indeed, but a great experiential learning activity for all involved.

//Fulfilling all the learning modules may be achieved through one project or through a string of smaller projects.// Additional gaps in knowledge could be addressed with teacher learning or guest speakers. Link gaps back to the key words ‘participation’ and ‘community’. Below we have listed just two ways that a school can aim to meet all learning outcomes in the modules, however there are several more creative ways this can be done.
 * = Idea! = || = Idea! = || = Oops! = ||
 * A school may wish to divide the community and project management modules so that the community module is taught in a classroom setting and the project management module addresses a need of the school.

I n order to really grasp what volunteering is about however, students should also participate in a volunteering activity in the outside community.

Throughout this process, students work in teams and engage in self reflection and feedback activities to benefit from the learning outcomes of module 2 – communication. || // Remember, a project is inspired or meets a need - it has a goal which means it has a beginning, a middle and an end. // Module 1, which aims to increase understanding of volunteering and community, is the driver for inspiring project options. Try to make this module participatory and passionate.

For example, an inquiry into community and volunteerism by the students could take a creative form such as a researched debate on a topic such as “Volunteers are not a necessary part of the community”. Or a guest speaker could be invited to speak to the class, and could be asked to address some learning outcomes in module 1.

Once the lessons of module 1 have been grasped, students will be ready to brainstorm, negotiate and select project options. If students are made to self reflect and discuss the process throughout working towards their project goals, then this project process should be sufficient to address the learning outcomes of module 2 – communication, which is largely about interpersonal skills and teamwork.

Once students are made aware of process then they can organise themselves to ensure they meet all of module 2 (communication) learning outcomes through their activities. || Please note the following to ensure your Advance program is an enriched program:
 * Advance. Module 3 – Project Management is more than simply 'ticking off' participation because students participated in the celebration of completing the program or had tokenistic input in decision making on topics and activities.
 * Self development activities to build the basic skills of Advance learning modules is fine, but a project where these skills are applied provides young people with the ability to address the more specific learning outcomes in the modules.
 * Module 2 – Communication is more than just young people having one-off voting or discussion of activities. Participation is about young people taking ownership of the project by having control over decisions and resources as much as possible, to practice negotiation, problem solving, giving and receiving feedback.
 * The majority of Advance financial resources should be spent on implementing the program, not on the celebration activities. ||

= Top 10 Tips for a successful Advance program (Peter Ridgway, Assistant Principal - Scoresby SC) =
 * 1) Have human contact in your partner organisation. Take the time to develop a relationship - it may turn out that they will ring you with ideas as often as you ring them.
 * 2) Get the principal involved. This increases your support and raises awareness of the good things the program is doing.
 * 3) Promote. Promote. Promote! Use newsletters, word of mouth or plaques within the school. Tell people what you're doing and the positive outcomes.
 * 4) Some activities are project based (short time frame), for example, a project with Conversation Volunteers Australia (2 days of planting) versus ongoing projects where you can have stronger links.
 * 5) Look for opportunities which add value, for example, the Conservation Volunteers brought along volunteers from around the world (ie Brazil) to help which was a fantastic learning experience for students.
 * 6) Build community with the school. You can change the culture of your school through example and positive role modelling. Our school gardens project has been a huge success, with the gardens well cared for by students. Students no longer have yard duty as such, instead two students per day are allocated the responsibility for maintaining the garden plots - weeding, etc (and picking up any rubbish if there is any).
 * 7) Working with primary schools can be a bit hit-and-miss. Primary schools like really structured activities - if your group can be highly structured, the experience is likely to be positive. If they aren't very structured, potentially look for another project or provide additional support.
 * 8) Working on community murals and beautifying the neighbourhood has influenced the culture of the wider community in a positive way. The murals went untouched for three years before they were graffitied, and there was community concern and disappointment when it occurred and requests for it to be repaired.
 * 9) Invite your community partners to all school functions. The residence at Nadrasca (a home service for intellectually disabled people who have been partners with Scoresby SC for several years) are invited to the school for school productions and love it!
 * 10) Use celebration as education. Scoresby SC students do a swimming with dolphins activity which links with marine care. Students from the school leadership team are also involved and young people develop links across student groups.

= **Your Local Delivery Resources** = This space is provided for you to share resources associated with Local Delivery options for Advance. Note that you do need to be a registered user of wikispaces and this space to make comments and add files. Email advance@dhs.vic.gov.au to activate your membership to this group.

(Add your file here - followed by the name of your school)*
 * Please add your files below, placing your school's name in the filename for identification:**