Components
The Getting Beyond the System® Self-Advocacy
model integrates subject content, learning methods and facilitator
creativitiy.
Socratic Method
The Socratic Method calls upon students to be active learners and
use their critical analytical skills. The facilitator uses the Socratic
Method of posing questions and refuting answers rather than provide
“knowledge chunks” for her to memorize. The facilitator
helps students develop understanding and skills that relate directly
to the students’ individual needs and goals. The GBS approach,
of using the Socratic Method, rather than lecturing and holding
to “the right answers,” is a model that can be employed
in other organizational programming.
Case Method
The Facilitator and students read and discuss stories (cases) to
develop analysis and self-advocacy skills. The cases in the curriculum,
which have been tested for effectiveness, are designed to relate
to the student’s experiences and future interests and help
a student understand the self-advocacy process. Questions and explanatory
material accompany each case.
Informational Interviews
As a final project, each student conducts an informational interview
with an accomplished expert in a field in which the student is interested.
For most teens, informational interviews are the first tangible
link with their futures. The teens travel independently to the professional’s
workplace, where they learn more about the field, gain experience
presenting themselves and their goals to a professional in the business
community and begin the process of building contacts outside of
the system.
Evaluation
Youth Advocacy Center monitors the effectiveness of the Seminar
through:
- Pre-Seminar and Post-Seminar Exams, which measure mastery of content
and analytical skills.
- Specificity of long-term goals
- Attendance and promptness (only one absence allowed)
- Homework (required for each class)
- Preparation for informational interviews
- Information gathered from the interview
- Feedback from Facilitators, Students and Informational Interviewers