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Lunch and Learn: A Living Lab in Toronto
March 12, 2018 @ 12:15 pm - 1:20 pm
A Living Lab in Downtown Toronto: Using lessons from Positive Youth Development and Sport for Development
Monday, March 12, 2018
12:15-1:20pm
Room 348
FIFSW, 246 Bloor St. West
Please bring your own lunch. Registration is not necessary.
MLSE LaunchPad is an example of a Sport For Development initiative in downtown Toronto that helps youth facing barriers see and reach their potential through sport. Sport For Development and Positive Youth Development philosophies that inform the model of programming as well as considerations for implementing programming in a community setting will be discussed. This talk will include an overview of the MLSE LaunchPad philosophy and operating model for context but will focus on practical elements of programming for change as well as successes and challenges experienced when providing programming for youth facing barriers in the Toronto Area.
Gillian White, Director of Research and Evaluation at MLSE LaunchPad, acts as the bridge between research and practice to ensure all programs are evidence-based and best-practices from Positive Youth Development and Sport For Development research are met. As MLSE LaunchPad is a new facility, Gillian is responsible for the develop and delivery of proprietary coaching curricula to train staff to deliver programming that emphasizes physical literacy, life-skills development, and life-skill transference to help youth facing barriers see and reach their potential through sport. As a knowledge-generating facility, MLSE LaunchPad employs mixed-methods measurement of impact across programs and is partnered with several researchers at academic institutions to conduct peer-reviewed research studies examining application of theoretical contexts in an urban setting.
Gillian is also Doctoral Candidate in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education studying the effects of cancer treatment during childhood on stress reactivity. Her previous research and work spans various fields from high performance sport science and coaching to pediatric exercise medicine.