Civic Spirit is an interfaith organization that collaborates with high schools to develop programming to foster civic engagement, belonging, and community.
I participated in this organization as a Student Program Manager, facilitating three projects. It required several different perspectives on instructional design, as the participants on each project had different needs and goals.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience that I wish I had experienced as a teen growing up in NYC!
Overview
In February of 2022, I joined the team at Civic Spirit, a small non-profit organization focused on bringing together students of different faiths together under a common goal of civic engagement. I was brought on to lead three different projects – The Evergreen Alliance, a group of Muslim and Jewish high-schoolers working to make a positive environmental impact on their city, The Civic Spirit Action Committee, made up of high-school students learning to make issue briefs for their community stakeholders, and the Civic Spirit Staff, brought together every month for team-building and professional development workshops.
While I developed and facilitated learning experiences for each of these three projects, the one I will be focusing on is the Civic Spirit All-Staff Meetings, as they best demonstrate adult learning techiques.
Situation: How can I support the work of the Civic Spirit Staff in their various roles, encourage them learn more about each other, and bring insights from my own work?
Duration of project: 5 months
Audience: Civic Spirit staff members, all educational enthusiasts, with a variety of roles in the organization
Format: Zoom workshops, In-person events, Online learning materials
My Role: While I created the materials each month independently, I had lots of help from Lindsay Bressman, the executive director, in understanding the needs of team members and the parameters of each meeting.
Skills Demonstrated: Program/Project Manager, Instructional Design
Technologies Used: Google Slides, Microsoft Powerpoint, Canva, YouTube