New Opportunities for Innovative Student Engagement (NOISE) Talisha Ramsaroop Youth Research Assistant - ACT
So what does NOISE stand for and where is it based? NOISE stands for New Opportunities for Innovative Student Engagement In essence, NOISE takes the research done by ACT and puts it into action. Both programs are based at York U’s School of Social Work.
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What is NOISE? NOISE for Social Change is a researchinformed project designed to enhance the civic engagement and psychosocial wellbeing through engaged learning opportunities. Our aim is to “enhance academic success of Jane & Finch youth, BSW & MSW students at York University”. 3
What is NOISE? NOISE for Social Change brings together: 20 Grade 9 students 20 Grade 12 students 20 BSW students 20 MSW students 20 Social Work alumni. They will learn together and work on a 4 community action project together
Why NOISE? Census data says Jane & Finch youth have a lower post secondary attainment rate NOISE wants to change this. In fact NOISE wants to turn Jane and Finch into a “community of learning” 5
Why NOISE?  In other words we want more students from the Jane and Finch community going to and finishing some form of post-secondary education  NOISE strives to inspire confidence in academic abilities and promote the possibility of post secondary education. 6
So What are the Aims and Principles of NOSIE? Education is an intervention that allows youth to resist unjust and oppressive conditions by imagining new possibilities Youth have the capacity and the right to fully participate in community transformation. Creating opportunities and environments for engaged learning will foster stronger community connections and life-long success. The School of Social Work at York University is committed to working with the Jane-Finch community 7
So How Will We Do This? We have a lot of plans for NOISE and how we are going to put our plan to action. The most important idea however is The Summer Learning Retreat, which was previously known as the CBR (Community Based Research) Institute. We’ve made some changes to make the new version of CBR more interactive and educational 8
What does the Summer Learning Retreat look like now?  First, its no longer just a summer program but rather a summer retreat, which consist of 4 sessions each 8 hours long.  Once completed, participants will take part in the full program which starts in September. 9
The summer retreat will offer students an opportunity to give back after acquiring valuable skills. It will involve 20 grade 11 students and 20 Grade 8 students, taking part in a 4 day long retreat SLR well focus on issues like; history of the Jane and Finch community and the greater Toronto area, issues with identity and community action 10
The point of the SLR it to prepare the students to be able to work with university students on community action projects. The SLR will briefly prepare the Youth yellows for the pods which take place from Fall to Winter. We want to build relationships with these youth, and provide them the opportunity to give back to their community 11
What kind of relationships? Youth Fellows are in Pods with : Other youth BSW MSW students Graduate Assistants Faculty members 12
What do the Youth Fellows get out of it?  It teaches them how to conduct research which allows them to give back to the community  It also gives them a opportunity to build relationships with others and prepares them for post secondary school so that they have a smooth transition when they return. 13
What does this mean for Jane & Finch?  Over time, NOISE will benefit the Jane and Finch community as a whole. With more people graduating with post secondary degrees, it means the over all well-being of the community will increase.
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The end Questions?
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