Ready to flip the script? This edition of SkillBuild 3-2-1 is all about putting students in the driver’s seat. The strongest programs are shaped with youth—not just for them. When students feel heard and empowered, engagement and impact skyrocket.
Discover simple strategies to embed student voice into your routines, structures to gather meaningful input, and ways to close the feedback loop so youth know their ideas matter.
Let’s build the skill together!
Build the Skill:
Active Listening to Youth Input
- Youth leadership time: Schedule 10-15 minutes at the start of each weekly meeting for “Youth Spotlight” – have students sign up to lead an icebreaker or team builder of their choice and provide them a simple planning template 48 hoursin advance.
- Guided suggestion system: Create a physical or digital suggestion box with weekly “How might we…” prompts (e.g., “How might we make STEM activities more exciting?”). Review suggestions every week and post responses on a dedicated bulletin board regularly.
- Rotating advisory board: Form a 6-person youth advisory board that meets for 30-minutes once a month, with new members rotating in every 2 months. Give them a real budget (e.g., $100/month) to allocate for program supplies or activities.
- Unstructured feedback: Running student feedback sessions without structure-instead, use techniques like “Start, Stop, Continue” or “Two Stars and a Wish” to gather specific, actionable feedback.
- Incomplete Loops: Collecting youth input but not closing the feedback loop – create a “You Said, We Did” board to show how youth suggestions led to program changes.
Creative Ways to Solicit Youth Input Manual:
A manual to go beyond traditional surveys and observations to gather actionable, feedback from youth.
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