Date/Time
Date(s) - 05/26/2016
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Location
Holiday Inn Chicago Matteson Conference Center
Categories No Categories
Illinois Mentoring Partnership presents
Research Symposium 2016: Translating Research into Practice
May 26, 2016 9:00am – 3:00pm Holiday Inn Chicago Matteson Conference Center
Go to https://tinyurl.com/research-symposium-2016 for more information and to purchase tickets.
Early bird price of $60 for first 50 tickets sold!
Contact programs@ilmentoring.org for group discount code.
For a chance to win 2 free tickets to the symposium, take the 2016 National Mentoring Program Survey by May 9th!
Overview
This one-day symposium, hosted by the Illinois Mentoring Partnership, connects youth mentoring practitioners, funders, and policy-makers with leading researchers to discuss their work in the fields of mentoring and positive youth development.
Opening Plenary: Closing the Opportunity Gap through Mentoring
Drs. Day and DuBois will set the stage for the symposium by highlighting the critical role that youth mentoring plays in building social capital and closing the opportunity gap.
Two Breakout Sessions (see session descriptions below)
Nationally-recognized researchers will share their current youth-focused research and how it can be applied to day-to-day mentoring practice. All presentations will be offered twice – once in the morning session and once in the afternoon session. Attendees will choose two of the seven presentations during the registration process.
Plenary Panel Discussion: Translating Research to Practice
After lunch, attendees will have an opportunity to address a panel of researchers about their work and its implications for program practices and policies, as well as challenges and opportunities that research presents to practitioners in the youth-serving sector. Candid dialogue between attendees and researchers is intended to advance our collective impact on the youth we serve.
Agenda
9:00 am-10:00 am Registration, Continental Breakfast and Networking
10:00 am-10:45am Welcome and Plenary Session
10:55 am-12:10 pm Session 1**
12:10 pm-12:40pm Lunch
12:40 pm-1:30pm Plenary Panel
1:45 pm-3:00pm Session 2**
**The same breakout sessions that are offered during “Session 1,” will be offered again during “Session 2.” When you register for the Symposium you will have the opportunity to select your two breakout sessions. Please select two different breakout sessions, as the afternoon sessions will repeat the material from the morning sessions.
FYI
- Please read through the session descriptions BEFORE purchasing tickets as you will be asked to select your breakout sessions during payment
- Holiday Inn Chicago Matteson Conference Center is conveniently located off theintersection of I-57 and Rte 30 and provides FREE uncovered parking. It is also 2 miles from the University Park Metra Station. We will provide shuttles to and from the Metra Station to registrants who indicate they need it
- Directly contact Holiday Inn Chicago Matteson Conference Center by May 11 at 708-747-3500 for a discounted room rate of $99/night (plus tax). Let them know you are attending the Illinois Mentoring Partnership Research Symposium
- If you have any questions, feel free to email programs@ilmentoring.org
Plenary Session:
Closing the Opportunity Gap through Youth Mentoring
Joseph Day, Ph.D. and David DuBois, Ph.D.
The opening plenary, presented by Drs. Day and DuBois will discuss the opportunity gap that exists between youth from economically affluent and poor families. In their presentation, Drs. Day and DuBois will share recommendations from a recent report about narrowing the opportunity gap. These recommendations focus on reforms within the following areas: early childhood and K-12 education, post-secondary education, training, families and parenting, and neighborhoods and communities. Though this report limits its discussion on youth mentoring to neighborhoods and communities, Drs. Day and DuBois will highlight emerging research that shows how mentoring can be more broadly applied to help close the opportunity gap. These findings further emphasize the central role that mentoring can play in ensuring that all youth are supported in achieving their full potential and positive futures.
Breakout Sessions:
Advancing Attunement: Results from Attunement Training with Mentoring Staff
Julia Pryce, Ph.D., LCSW
In this session, Dr. Julia Pryce and participants will discuss the importance of mentor attunement—a mentor or staff’s capacity to respond flexibly to both verbal and non-verbal cues. All participants will walk away with a concrete understanding of attunement, what it looks like, implications for mentoring relationships and programs, and ways by which programs might promote attunement among their mentors and staff. Dr. Pryce will also present new research on attunement and preliminary findings from training mentoring program staff about attunement. This session will be an update on and continuation of the discussion of attunement at the first research symposium in 2014.
Essential Group Processes in Forming Close Peer Mentoring Relationships Among Boys of Color
Kevin Pinkston, Ph.D., Bernadette Sánchez, Ph.D., and Shelby Wyatt, Ph.D.
Join Drs. Pinkston, Sánchez, and Wyatt as they present their research findings on the group processes involved in forming close peer mentoring relationships among African-American and Latino boys at a school-based, male mentoring program in Chicago. Their findings are based on a study conducted with peer mentors, peer mentees, and program staff at Kenwood Brotherhood. Drs. Pinkston, Sánchez, and Wyatt will discuss their findings around program processes that lead to close relationships, such as: rapport-building activities, safe space, mutual support, group identity, and trust. Through examples from their research and program practices, Drs. Pinkston, Sánchez, and Wyatt will show that these processes ultimately lead to bonding and friendship amongst program members, confirming their effectiveness.
Incorporating Youth Voice in Positive Youth Development and Mentoring Programs
Jill Bowers, Ph.D., CFSLE
This session, presented by Dr. Jill Bowers, will discuss how to incorporate youth into program design, implementation, and evaluation. Dr. Bowers will share two frameworks on how program staff and mentors can motivate youth to be a part of the program development process and also feel empowered to help lead the process. Through her work on Career Skillet, an online professional development program for opportunity youth, and Binge Thinking, an online health safety program for college students, Dr. Bowers will highlight the benefits, as well as the challenges, of including youth in these processes.
Mentoring When It Matters: Exploring Trauma-Informed and Restorative Mentoring Practices That Develop Youth Empowerment and Leadership
Troy Harden, Ph.D.
Dr. Troy Harden’s session will explore the use of trauma-informed and restorative practices in the design and implementation of youth mentoring programming. Dr. Harden will discuss mentoring that invites a social justice lens of positive youth development, emphasizing the importance of incorporating community engagement with youth on the margins. This session builds on and is an extension of Dr. Harden’s presentation and research from the first research symposium in 2014.
Nurturing Resiliency Among Low-Income Urban Youth Living in Chicago: Results from a Cross-Age Peer Mentoring Program
Maryse Richards, Ph.D. and Katherine Tyson McCrea, Ph.D.
WITH CORDELIA GRIMES, MIRINDA MORENCY, AMZIE MOORE, AND DARRICK SCOTT
This session, presented by Dr. Maryse Richards, Dr. Katherine Tyson McCrea, and their fellow researchers, will share the preliminary findings of a holistic peer mentoring program that incorporates youth conflict resolution, modules on positive problem-solving behaviors and constructive coping strategies, and collaboration with different community organizations for sustainable peace-building efforts. Attendees will acquire a thorough understanding of the mentoring program’s approach to improving youth outcomes in communities on Chicago’s South Side.
Program Evaluation: A Case Study of the Randomized Control Trial Process
Michelle Morrison, LCSW, Wendy Fine, and John Wolf, MAT
Get the inside scoop on conducting a randomized control trial (RCT) from the perspectives of both the researcher and the program being studied. Join Michelle Morrison, CEO, and Wendy Fine, Director of Research, Evaluation & Technology from Youth Guidance, along with John Wolf, Senior Program Manager at the UChicago Crime Lab and Urban Education Lab, as they share their experience from the landmark 2009-2010 study that catapulted Youth Guidance’s violence-reduction program, Becoming A Man (B.A.M.), to prominence and helped secure substantial funding to scale up the program. Benefits, challenges, and lessons-learned will be shared by all 3 presenters.
Top 5 Lessons from School-Based Prevention Literature for Mentoring
Michael Kelly, Ph.D.
Join Dr. Michael Kelly as he shares an evidence-informed framework for school-based and after-school mentoring. With a focus on Positive Youth Development, Dr. Kelly will use case studies from Loyola University’s Family and School Partnerships Program to demonstrate effective practices that nurture youth protective factors. Topics addressed will include strength-based assessment and practice, resilience building, meeting social-emotional learning goals, and collaboration with home, school and community agencies.