Reflection Introduction: As a student in the Recreation program at Pacific Lutheran University, I am challenged to learn and improve my professional skills, in the area of Recreation. I understand that programming and planning for recreation is not an easy task, as each community is made up of different races, age, personalities, etc... Programming is so much more than just forming an activity for fun. It's about bringing a community together, of all different types of people, in order to form a bond between each participant and their community. Not only is it to bring communities together, but also for the individuals benefit. Everyone has a need or two, and in order for that individual to fill that need, they must find a solution to their situation. So, as a Recreation Programmer, programs are used to fulfill the need of each individual, by offering them programs that are beneficial for what they need.
Reflection: During my Programming and Leadership in Sport and Recreation
class, I was challenged to utilize each step in comprehensive and
specific program planning. Through discussion, issues, lectures,
etc..., I was able to understand each of these specific steps. Please
view my Program Assignments
to see my work. Throughout the semester, we were each assigned to
complete a program design by following assignments that went along with
the text book. The first project was the Organizational Profile. This
provided information, such as the name of the Organization, where its
located, facilities, non-profit, for-profit, etc.... Next, was the
approach to programming, which included service and quality within the
organization, such as what strategy is going to be used or how can we
serve our community? After I completed the approach to programming, I
had to decide what theories to base my organization on. I had a hard
time at first, because there are two models to choose from and six
theories. After a time of critical thinking I was able to capture the
concepts and decided on the theories that would fit my program the
best. This led me into the fourth project, Values, Vision, and Mission.
First, I had to come up with a philosophy. The philosophy is a framework that reflects the values and beliefs of an individual or organization (Jordan, D. DeGraaf, K. DeGraaf, 2005, p. 62). Next, I came up with my vision and mission, which were both based on the values that I chose for my program. As I focused on these critical elements of programming, I began to feel as if I was designing an actual program. Once my organizations values, vision, and mission were completed, I geared towards needs assessments. This was step five in the program planning process. This step was a lot of work, but I learned the most during this step. I researched my organization's area online and received a large amount of useful information, such as the percentages of races, genders, ages, etc..., in the area. Through much critical thinking, I was able to continue to develop my organization, but in more detail. The needs assessments are very important, because they allow the organization to receive feedback from the community, in order to gain a clear understanding of the needs in the area. Needs assessments also help lead organizations to their target audience. It isn't easy to come up with a program just by looking at some assessments. The assessments must be analyzed over and over, until an accurate conclusion can be made, in which a program will be designed to match the results. Once the target market was decided on, I began to conduct my program audit, which is to confirm that the organization has the finances to provide the program. Once I got passed the program audit, I was able to state developing my program. I began to research the area to find what resources are in the area and available to use, things such as parks, recreational facilities, lakes, schools, etc.... Program promotion comes next. What type of promotional tools and techniques will be used to make this program a success and not a waste. Once promotion is in place, a price is set and the program is ready for its target market. One last final touch to the programming process is facilitating the experience, which means to use customer friendly registration procedures, use a checklist for risk management, preparation, etc.... The final step in programming is the post evaluations. These evaluations are used for improvement and change. They basically asked for feedback about what the participants liked or didn't like. Changes can then be made to improve the program.
So, that was just a quick summary of how I used each step to develop my recreation program. I learned all the critical elements that are involved in programming and I know they will be very useful in my future career. This class was very helpful and I feel I have improved my planning and programming skills greatly. I will use these techniques and skills frequently in the future as I seek a career in recreation and programming. Overall, I think I performed well in this class. I enjoyed all the work and was motivated to do well. I think I would give myself a "B" because I worked as hard as I could, throughout the whole semester.