Academic Youth Development
Reshaping Students’ Academic Iden44es Enhancing Classroom Engagement Transforming Achievement 0
"Many students have difficulty in school not because they
are incapable of performing successfully, but because they
are incapable of believing that they can perform
successfully." — Pajares and Schunk, 2002
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In a survey by the National Mathematics Advisory Panel in
2008, 62% of teachers cited, "Working with unmotivated
students" as their single greatest challenge to teaching
Algebra I successfully.
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"Social systems that cultivate competencies, provide aidful
resources, and allow ample room for self-directedness
increase the chances that people will realize what they
wish to become." — Albert Bandura
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"In the growth mindset, people believe that their talents
and abilities can be developed through passion,
education, and persistence." — Carol Dweck
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The Academic Youth Development (AYD) programs
expose educators and students to powerful research, both
established and emerging, about the shaping influence that
students’ attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors can have on their
success.
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Academic identities and academic skills
Many students have difficulty in school not because they are
incapable of performing successfully, but because they are
incapable of believing that they can perform successfully.
- Pajares and Schunk, 2002
BUT, efforts to enhance students academic
identities in the absence of efforts to increase
content knowledge are doomed to failure.
- Uri Treisman
Academic Youth Development addresses student
motivations to pursue academic goals in tandem with the
development of important academic skills.
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Inspirations from research and practice
AYD is based on the ground-breaking work of leading
theorists, researchers, and practitioners:
•  Attitudes and beliefs (Dweck, Bandura, Eccles)
•  Malleability of intelligence
•  Self-efficacy
•  Motivation
•  Processes and practices (Zimmerman, Bandura)
•  Self-regulation
•  Productive persistence
•  Problem-solving
•  Culture of learning (Balfanz, Treisman)
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The AYD Family of Programs
Summer-Start AYD
• Shapes attitudes, beliefs, and motivation toward learning
• Strengthens important algeba-readiness concepts and problem-solving skills
• For students at or near grade level entering Algebra I
• Summer immersion experience and Algebra I AYD Toolkit
School-Year AYD
• Designed for students in grades 8, 9, or 10
• Youth development and problem-solving curricula are
embedded in brief instructional experiences throughout the year
• Students apply their new knowledge and skills to learning in all
of their courses, and to mathematics in particular
Intensified Algebra I
• Comprehensive course with
additional supports for struggling learners
• For students entering Algebra 1-2 grade
levels behind
• Full-year intervention
• 70-90 minutes per day
An Educator’s Course in AYD
• Professional development course for educators interested in key influences on
student learning and achievement
• Blended PD experience that includes an in-person seminar and self-study and
collaboration through an online learning community
• Explores educator practices for enhancing student engagement and achievement
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The AYD Family of Programs
Common foundations
Youth development knowledge and skills
Problem-solving strategies and skills
Teaching strategies to engage learners
Summer-Start AYD
(SS-AYD)
School-Year AYD
(SY-AYD)
An Educator’s Course in
AYD (E-AYD)
Student Audience
Educator Audience
Common outcomes
Increased engagement and achievement
Reshaped academic identities
College and career readiness
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AYD outcomes: Students and teachers know…
•  Intelligence is malleable, or changeable
•  People become smarter with time, effective
effort, and persistence on challenging tasks
•  Our mindset and the reasons we give about
successes and challenges influence academic
choices
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AYD outcomes: Students…
•  Persist when they work with novel or challenging
tasks
•  Reflect on academic setbacks and learn from them
•  Utilize personal strategies for success when they
face challenging tasks
•  Maintain a productive mindset by focusing on
controllable academic behaviors
•  Examine, and when necessary modify, their reasons
for successes and challenges to take control of their
own learning
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AYD outcomes: Teachers…
•  Share and reinforce, with all students, the understanding
that intelligence is malleable
•  Praise students’ productive effort rather than
“smartness” or intelligence
•  Provide students with challenging academic tasks and
effectively facilitate student persistence through struggle
•  Redirect students’ negative statements about
themselves and refocus them on controllable academic
behaviors
•  Encourage students to take academic risks and model
behaviors that show mistakes as part of learning
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AYD outcomes: Changes in classroom culture
Students experience a transformed classroom:
•  Engagement, participation, positive motivation, and
risk-taking are developed and embraced
•  They do not have to choose between being smart
and being cool
•  Effort and persistence are recognized and valued
•  Mutual accountability is fostered and expected
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Do you face these challenges?
•  Students are not making a successful transition to
Algebra I and to high school
•  Your Algebra I teachers report their students are not
motivated or engaged
The consequence: Many students fail Algebra I the first
time they take it, and they may be failing other courses
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Summer-Start AYD
Full-Year Integration
with Algebra I
Intensive Summer
Experience
Intensive Summer Experience
3 weeks, 4.5 hours/day
Students and teachers form a learning
community, working together, well supported
by research-based curriculum
Students learn and apply emerging
psychological knowledge and strategies to
mathematical problem solving
Full-Year Integration with Algebra I
Teachers and students use the AYD schoolyear toolkit to model, apply, and integrate AYD
ideas and strategies that transform
engagement and achievement
With professional development and tools,
teachers effectively integrate the content in a
high-stakes course environment
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Do you face these challenges?
•  Students have inadequate problem-solving skills or
struggle to persist in the face of academic challenges
•  Students do not know how to take responsibility for
their own learning
•  Students do not believe they can be successful in
school
The consequence: Students are not graduating
college and career ready
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School-Year AYD
Practice, reflection, and
application in all classes
Youth development
and problem-solving
curricula
•  Designed for students in grades 8, 9, or 10
•  Youth development and problem-solving curricula are embedded in
brief instructional experiences during homeroom, advisory, or afterschool sessions throughout the year
•  Students apply their new knowledge and skills to learning in all of their
courses, and to mathematics in particular
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An Educator’s Course in AYD
One-day professional
development seminar about
key influences on student
learning and achievement
Self-study of research findings
and facilitated engagement in an
online learning community
•  Designed for groups of at least 25 educators who are interested in
learning about research and strategies that can transform student
learning and achievement
•  Facilitated online learning community work changes teacher practice
•  Participants earn 15 hours of CPE credit through the Charles A. Dana
Center at The University of Texas at Austin
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The AYD Family of Programs
Common foundations
Youth development knowledge and skills
Problem-solving strategies and skills
Teaching strategies to engage learners
SS-AYD
SY-AYD
•
Targets students entering
Algebra I
•
Intensive summer
experience, integration
into Algebra I
•
•
Targets students in
grades 8, 9, or 10
Flexible curriculum,
practice, and learning
strategies delivered in
school-year structures
E-AYD
•
•
One-day PD seminar about key
influences on student learning and
achievement
Self-study and participation in an
online learning community
Student Audience
Educator Audience
Common outcomes
Increased engagement and achievement
Reshaped academic identities
College and career readiness
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What teachers say about AYD
“Where were you 20 years
ago?!”
“This program reminds me why I
became a teacher in the first
place.”
“AYD has had a major impact in my teaching practice
because I focus and look at curriculum in a different way.
I look for ways to help more people learn the same
thing.”
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What parents say about AYD
Austin, Texas
“This year James has blossomed in his math
skills, working hard for much better grades
than he ever received in the past. He passed
the Math TAKS test, and was very proud of
that achievement.”
Fall River, Massachusetts
“I can't express enough what the
program did for my daughter.”
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What students say about AYD
“It’s not all about math—it helps me
understand how to learn in new ways.”
“It’s a good way to meet new friends and get
to know my teachers.”
“It’s fun because it has numerous hands-on
activities.”
“Now, I don't give up when I can't find out the
answers...I try another way to do it.”
“This would be good for all students.”
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What AYD students do
Students feel better supported by their peers
and teachers
Students are more persistent in completing
their work, even if the homework is boring or the
math is frustrating
When the math is difficult, students are more
likely to study everything, not just the easy
parts
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What AYD students do
Students have a greater
understanding that with hard
work, they can increase their
ability to achieve
Students are more purposeful
in their problem solving
strategies
Students experience more
success in Algebra the first
time
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Resources
Each participating student and teacher receives:
–  Online curriculum, tools, and services
Additionally, each teacher receives:
–  Online and face-to-face
professional development and
support
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Professional and Partner Services
Included in the Summer-Start and School-Year AYD program:
•  A 2.5 day regional professional development institute to introduce
the powerful new ideas and to prepare teachers and
administrators for successful enactment of the program
•  Periodic virtual and in-person support throughout the year
•  Ongoing email and toll-free phone support for technical and
logistical questions
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Professional and Partner Services
Included in An Educator’s Course in AYD:
•  A one-day in-person seminar on the key ideas and strategies that
influence student learning and achievement
•  Participation in ongoing self study and collaboration with
colleagues in an online community
•  Periodic virtual and in-person support throughout the year
•  Ongoing email and toll-free phone support for technical and
logistical questions
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Steps to participate
•  For Summer-Start AYD, do you currently have a
summer school session that can support a 3week summer immersion experience?
•  For School-Year AYD, do you have an in-school
or after-school structure of at least 30 minutes,
twice per week?
•  For An Educator’s Course in AYD, is there a time
when you can schedule a day of professional
development for at least 25 educators?
•  Are you committed to continuing professional
development?
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Contact information
To explore how to bring Academic Youth Development
to your school or district:
Call toll free: (866) 284-4655 select “2”
Email us at info@agilemind.com
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