how will your extracurricular activites help you …become connected through structured...

HOW WILL YOUR EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITES HELP YOU GET INTO COLLEGE

Revised – June 2014

DESCRIPTION Many students are totally unaware that colleges want to enroll well-rounded students who have experience with many different kinds of extracurricular activities, particularly leadership activities. The workshop encourages students to inventory their present activities and to explore additional activities that will help them stand out to admissions counselors. OUTCOME Students can articulate how being involved in activities will help them develop competitive skills and attributes for college, including leadership activities. LEARNING TARGETS

What activities make an admission counselor look at you twice

Monitoring school involvement and exploring new interests

Prioritizing activities and creating a schedule that can help balance schoolwork, extracurricular activities and social activities

WORKSHOP LENGTH 70 minutes LESSON

The Basic 12 and MORE, Follow Up Workshop – Why Get Involved in Activities, NCAA Information on College Scholarships.

ASSESSMENTS/EVALUATIONS The number of students who have identified their goals, including leadership, extracurricular activities and priorities and have completed a checklist of possible activities MATERIALS OR RESOURCES NEEDED

Extracurricular Inventory Worksheet


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Workshop 8 Agenda Introduction: ..................................................................................................................... 10 minutes Share with students that colleges and universities are looking for well-rounded students. While academics are important, it will be equally important to provide admissions officers with information about their activities, particularly their leadership activities. Whole Group Student Engagement: ............................................................................... 15 minutes Explain to students that this workshop will have the following steps:

Reviewing the Extracurricular Worksheet

Individual time for students to complete the Extracurricular Worksheet

Discussion of students questions and brainstorm next steps for students to get more involved if needed

Individual Student Engagement: ............................................................................. 30 – 40 minutes

This workshop includes an article (attached) Get Them Hooked: The Benefits of Extracurricular Activities in Middle School that is appropriate background reading for high school facilitators.

Give students time to fill out their extracurricular activities.

Be prepared for many of the students in the workshop to struggle with the information. They may not feel they have the time or opportunity to be involved in extracurricular activities. Be prepared with questions about home responsibilities, church activities, jobs, or other additional opportunities that students may not recognize as important. Help them to think about what makes them special and unique. Emphasize the leadership opportunities they can explore.

Closing: .............................................................................................................................. 5 minutes Ask students to share what they learned about extracurricular activities and what next steps they can take to become more competitive.

http://thephoenixfalls.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/get-them-hooked-the-benefits-of-extracurricular-activities-in-middle-school/



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Extracurricular Inventory Worksheet The Extracurricular Inventory Worksheet provides you the space to make this list and set priorities. This is a rough draft. Put any and all activities on this list.

Pri

ori

ty Kind of Activity:

Sports, School, Summer, Job,

Internship

Name of the group

Description of your

involvement

Leadership Responsibilities

Special Projects

Dates

# of Hours

Per Week

What do you believe makes you special? What activities, especially leadership activities do you think you might add? What are your next steps?


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Assessment of Workshop 8: Purpose(s):

To determine if students are participating in extracurricular activities

To determine if students understand the importance of extracurricular activities to college preparation

Format: Student worksheet Facilitator Directions:

Run off copies of the worksheet (assessment) for each student. Another option is to put the questions into a power point or use on a document camera to discuss the questions.

Make sure students know that they are not “graded” on the worksheet nor are there absolute right or wrong answers. The purpose of the worksheet is to help them reflect and to determine what they understand. Share that you will use the information to plan future information and workshops.

Give students time as part of the Individual Student Engagement to complete the worksheet.

Discuss the answers in the Closing.

Have students turn in the worksheet at the end of class. Review student responses and use this information to determine whether the group is on track or whether you need to add more information at this point.

Return the worksheet to students at the beginning of the next class to be kept in their portfolios.


Rev. June 2014

Extracurricular Inventory Worksheet Student Directions: Make a list of your activities, add information about each activity, and put them in an order of priority based on your leadership involvement. The Extracurricular Inventory Worksheet provides you the space to make this list and set priorities. This is a rough draft. Put all activities on this list.

Priority Kind of Activity: Sports, School, Summer, Job, Internship

Name of the group

Description of your

involvement

Leadership Responsibilities

Special Projects Dates # of Hours

Per Week


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What do you believe makes you special? What activities, especially leadership activities do you think you might add? What are your next steps?


Rev. June 2014

Follow-Up Lessons for Workshop 8

Why Get Involved in Activities, NCCA Information on College Scholarships (attached)

The Basic 12 and MORE for High School Follow-Up Workshop

Lesson Goals: o Students will understand where they can find good information about sports

scholarships. o Students will reflect on how few students actually receive a sports scholarship and

whether or not this might apply to them. o Students will reflect on the benefits of leadership and participation from being

involved in a variety of sports or athletic activities.

Lesson Description: This lesson is appropriate for middle school and early high school students. It helps students sort out the reality that not everyone who wants to will become a college athlete.

Resources

College Board Plan for College: High School, Extracurricular Information

Get Them Hooked: The Benefits of Extracurricular Activities in Middle School This article is included as a resource because many people do not have the full picture of how important extracurricular activities are to the college admissions process. It is critically important to help students to consider what makes them special and unique.

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/inside-classroom



Rev. June 2014

Get Them Hooked: The Benefits of Extracurricular Activities in Middle School August 27, 2009

Transitioning to middle school is a difficult task for many young adolescents. The foreign territory of middle school can prove treacherous to unadjusted students. How are middle schools creating supportive and all-inclusive environments for students to thrive, grow and learn? Are middle schools effectively “hooking in” students, giving them reasons to become part of the culture of the school? The time spent in middle school has a huge impact on the future success of students; if students flunk even one class during this time, it projects their chance of dropping out in high school to 50%. Surveys have found that up to 80% of students who drop out do so because of frustration and boredom in school. These statistics are alarming, and serve as a wake-up call to our educational system. Through the implementation of extracurricular activities, students have the chance to connect, find purpose, and become part of the fabric of their school’s culture.

With dropout rates so consistently high in America’s schools, finding ways to engage students is more important now than ever before. Teachers can have a positive influence on levels of engagement by the way they teach their classes. By using methods such as authentic learning, student-designed curriculum, and curriculum integration, teachers can engage their students in the classroom. This, however, may not be enough. Research has found that keeping students engaged outside of the classroom is just as important. Without a focus on engagement, classrooms can become rigid and disjointed, causing students to feel disconnected and lost. If students find themselves in these types of “standard” classrooms, they have the opportunity to become connected through structured extracurricular activities; these activities include clubs, sports, drama, music, and are either academic/non-academic and take place during or after school hours (Akos, 2006). This extracurricular participation can “save” students, as it provides a chance for students to become part of a community. These activities also aid in learning, as students learn in an informal environment how to get along with their peers, and operate in “real-life” activities. Research also shows that the more activities students are a part of, the better their grades are and the less likely they are to drop out of high school (Cairns, R. & Mahoney J, 1997).

The Research

Consensus about the importance of extracurricular activities is found in current research and studies. Although the studies do take different angles, the implications and benefits of student involvement is clear. The best types of extracurricular activities are all-inclusive, and include a wide variety of interests.

Positive Youth Development

In order to combat school dropouts and disengagement, many schools have implemented intervention programs, such as dropout prevention programs and remedial education. These programs are situated in the deficit model, and only perpetuate the problems it attempts to fix. The strength of extracurricular activities is in its inherent positive model, which provides



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community, connections, fulfillment of goals and the fostering or personalized student interests (Cairns, R. & Mahoney, J., 1997).

The Positive Youth Development (PYD) study conducted by the Search Institute focuses on the positive influences, which can contribute to positive youth experience. The participation in extracurricular activities can serve the study’s 2nd hypothesis, which reads: “When youth themselves take action to improve their contexts, their efforts are empowering and also improve the contexts for themselves and their peers” (Benson, Hamilton, Scales, & Sesma, 2006, p. 4). If extracurricular activities are not provided and encouraged, students can become “habitually bored,” instead of “chronically interested,” (Benson, et al., 2006) the latter of which are more optimistic, goal-focused, and have higher levels of self-esteem than the former. When students participate in activities, they become a part of a new network of peers, and find purpose and self-worth in its community.

Through their research, the PYD study has found that the greatest affects of student involvement are autonomy, agency, and the empowerment of students “seeing themselves as producers of their own development” (Benson et al., 2006, p. 4). These experiences can have long-term effects, and follow students into their post-high school lives (Akos, 2006; Benson, et al., 2006). Since middle school students experience these outcomes by involvement in extracurricular activities, it is imperative to allow for the creation and implementation of the activities.

Participatory Belonging

Participatory belonging is another term used to describe the process of extracurricular activity (Finn as cited in San Antonio, 2006). When students engage in activities, they foster friendships, and stay connected to their school—they are experiencing a sense of belonging, the lack of which could be argued as a reason some students drop out of school. This is especially important during the transition to middle school, as students search for new meaning and belonging. In the study, “Extracurricular Participation and the Transition to Middle School,” extracurricular participation is named as a “protective factor.” Many middle schools do not allow 6th graders to participate, but it is argued that they should be allowed to since the activities act as a protective factor and a way to ease into the school culture (2006).

Extracurricular activities benefit all students; however, at-risk youth benefit more from the activities than students who are already succeeding. Research has found a corresponding link between the number of activities a student is involved in and the rate of dropouts. Extracurricular activities enhance status, provide links to peer networks, and foster connection to the school culture. These factors, along with the added correlation of raised academic achievement, keep many at-risk youth from dropping out (Cairns & Mahoney, 1997). Providing extracurricular activities and promoting a culture of school involvement, can contribute to lowering the rate of school dropouts.

All-Inclusive Extracurricular Activities

Since at-risk youth benefit the most from extracurricular activities, involvement must be all-inclusive. Schools must be aware that affluent students have more chances to become involved


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because they are more likely to already be skilled at certain activities due to previous opportunities afforded to them. They are also likely to have parents who are available for transportation and emotional/financial support (San Antonio, 2006). Some schools have included “club time” into their weekly school schedule, to ensure that every student has an opportunity to engage in a small-group activity. By keeping it on campus and during school time, the benefits of extracurricular activities become embedded into the school. The “Connections Through Clubs” program created by a middle school yielded quality results: 86.7% of students said they learned something new, and 90.6% said they enjoyed the time they spent in their club (Logan & Scarborough, 2008). Through this program, students improved academic skills, had a connection with the adult leader of the club, and created new friendships with the other members. The school involved the community and were able to increase their club budget from $200 to $3,000, and by including club activities during parent night, attendance increased substantially (Logan & Scarborough, 2008). Implications Extracurricular activities are best when implemented at the school level. However, that does not mean that that factors which make up the benefits of involvement cannot be used at the classroom level. The Positive Youth Development research suggests that teachers “integrate service, leadership, and engagement into all types of programs and settings” (Benson et al., 2006, p. 4). Teachers can create community in their classroom, just like school clubs and other activities have. Even if a school lacks in extracurricular activities, it is possible to recreate the peer networking and connection inside the classroom, through community building. Also, teachers can model their curriculum off of the best features of extracurricular activities. Projects involving community service creates opportunities where peers work together, apply their learning to real life circumstances, and practice leadership. PYD further suggests that students be offered the opportunity to do all of the planning of the activity, because it provides a more fully engaged experience (Benson et al., 2006).

Teachers have a lot of influence, and can encourage students (especially those at-risk) to sign up for activities. Sometimes students lack the confidence or drive to get involved, and just need to be pointed in the right direction. The role a teacher plays in encouraging a culture of involvement cannot be undermined. If a school is underfunded, this should not prevent the opportunity for connection through involvement. Schools can create involvement opportunities with very little money (San Antonio, 2006). For example, middle school students can mentor younger students, or can have high school “buddies.” The community is rich in these types of service-learning activities, and is always in need of energetic volunteers. Civic groups and local companies can always be asked to sponsor events as well (San Antonio 2006).

Conclusion

Whether a school has an abundance of opportunities for students or none at all, it is necessary to provide these experiences. Luckily, it does not always have to include extensive planning or exuberant amounts of money. By involving the community and allowing the students to voice their wants and needs, effective activities can be created. With the rate of school dropouts, it is clear that schools are not keeping students engaged. This engagement is especially important


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when students transition to middle school, as their experience during that time can have big effects on their high school career. Extracurricular activities are powerful and empowering experiences because they have the “potential to influence student belonging, promote positive academic and psychosocial outcomes” (Akos, 2006, p. 1). This participatory belonging can keep at-risk students in school, and can continue to enrich the atmosphere and culture of school.

References

Akos, P. (2006). Extracurricular participation and the transition to middle school. Research in Middle Level Education Online, 29(9), 1-9.

Benson, P., Scales, P., Hamilton, S., & Sesma Jr., A. (2006). Positive youth development so far: Core hypotheses and their implications for policy and practice. Search Institute Insights & Evidence, 3(1), 1-13.

Logan, W., & Scarborough, J. (2008). Connections through clubs: Collaboration and coordination of a schoolwide program. Professional School Counseling, 12(2), 157-161.

Cairns, R., & Mahoney, J. (1997). Do extracurricular activities protect against early school dropout? American Psychological Association, 33(2), 241-253.

San Antonio, D. (2006). Broadening the world of early adolescents. Educational Leadership, 63(7), 8-13.


Rev. June 2014

Follow-Up Lessons for Workshop 8 Why Get Involved in School Activities

NCAA Information on College Scholarships

Lesson Goals:

Students will understand where they can find good information about sports scholarships.

Students will reflect on how few students actually receive a sports scholarship and whether or not this might apply to them.

Students will reflect on the added benefits of leadership and participation from being involved in a variety of sports or athletic activities.

Materials Needed:

NCAA Website and one page hand-out, Behind the Blue Disk: How do Athletic Scholarships Work?

Classroom Activities:

Ask the students who they know that has a sports or athletic scholarship. Make a list on a chart or the board for future reference. Ask students how many of them think they will get a sports scholarship and in what sport. Again write down the percentage and make a list of the sports. Finally, ask students to estimate how many high school athletes are awarded athletic scholarships? Write this percentage down.

Explain to students that the National College Athletic Association governs college athletics and college athletic scholarships. As you have time, you can share the NCAA website with students or talk more about the NCAA and its regulations.

Number students off 1 – 8 and assign them to read one of the questions on the handout, Behind the Blue Disk: How do Athletic Scholarships Work. Make sure students understand that they are going to report out the information for the group and need to be prepared to share what they learned and why the information is important.

Give students time to read the handout. If there are sufficient numbers of participants, allow the students to work with a partner and prepare their answer to the question, especially the second half of the question (why is the information important?).

Have each group briefly share out: What was their question and what did they learn? Why is that information important?

Conduct a full group discussion about the answers to the questions. Chart students’ additional questions.

Return to the original questions and check with students as to whether or not their perceptions have changed?

Student Products:

Each student will be able to reflect on if athletic scholarships will be in their future.

http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/NCAA%2BAthletics%2BScholarships.pdf


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Behind the Blue Disk

Publish date: Jun 21, 2011

Athletics Scholarships

Does the NCAA award athletics scholarships? Individual schools award athletics scholarships, which are partially supported through NCAA revenue distribution. Divisions I and II schools provide more than $2 billion in athletics scholarships annually to more than 126,000 student-athletes. Division III schools do not offer athletically related financial aid.

Is an athletics scholarship guaranteed for four years? Many athletics scholarships, like most merit-based scholarships, are granted for one academic year. However, schools are allowed to provide multi-year scholarships. Allowing schools to award scholarships for longer than a single year gives student-athletes greater assurance that their education will continue even if they suffer an injury, their athletics performance does not live up to expectations or the coaching staff changes. If a school plans to reduce or not renew a student-athlete’s aid, the school must provide the student-athlete an opportunity to appeal. In most cases, coaches decide who receives a scholarship, what it will cover and whether it will be renewed.

What do athletics scholarships cover? Full scholarships cover tuition and fees, room, board and required course-related books. Many student-athletes receive athletics scholarships covering only a portion of these costs.

What is a full athletics scholarship worth these days? The average value of a full scholarship at an in-state, public school is $15,000 a year. For an out-of-state public school, the average value is $25,000 a year. Full scholarships at private schools average $35,000 a year. The real value of athletics scholarships is intangible. Without them, many student-athletes would be unable to pursue their athletics and academic dreams.

Can student-athletes receive other non-athletics financial aid? Yes. Thousands of student-athletes benefit from academic scholarships, NCAA financial aid programs such as the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund and need-based aid such as Federal Pell Grants. Student-athletes and parents should check with their school’s athletics department or financial aid office regarding permissible sources of financial aid.

Is an athletics scholarship the same thing as a National Letter of Intent (NLI)? The NLI seeks to limit recruiting pressure by providing a prospective student-athlete an opportunity to make a binding commitment to a school. An athletics scholarship sets forth the amount of financial aid the student-athlete will receive during an academic year. The NLI must be accompanied by an athletics scholarship to be valid.


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Do many high school athletes earn athletics scholarships? Very few, in fact. About two percent of high school athletes are awarded athletics scholarships to compete in college.

Do many NCAA student-athletes go on to play professionally? Even fewer! Of the student-athletes participating in sports with professional leagues, very few go on to be professional athletes. In reality, most student-athletes depend on academics to prepare them for life after college.

What percentage of NCAA student-athletes go pro? Education is important. There are more than 400,000 NCAA student-athletes, and most of them go pro in something other than sports. The following are the percentage of NCAA student-athletes who become professional athletes in specific sports:

Baseball – 11.6% Men’s ice hockey – 1.3% Football – 1.7% Men’s soccer – 1.0% Men’s basketball – 1.2% Women’s basketball – 0.9%

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