About Curriculum Jams

A Curriculum Jam is a five-step process where youth, community members, and educators bring their perspectives and lived experiences together to identify, review, and recommend educational resources that are high quality and culturally relevant.

The Five Steps of Curriculum Jams

STEP 1- Select and connect around a topic - We choose a topic that matters to youth, community, and Extension. Then, we connect with others who care about that topic. We talk about how to find resources that support learning about it.

Watch this video to learn more about each step of our process.

Core Principles

While individual Curriculum Jams vary based on the needs of the group, all Curriculum Jams share the following core principles:

Prioritized Curriculum Jam topics respond to an active, expressed asset or need with social, cultural, and/or political relevance in people’s lives.
Curriculum Jams intentionally and inclusively involve diverse, often marginalized voices in the process. These perspectives are essential in identifying criteria by which to review resources and in applying those criteria to the resources themselves.
The process involves clear, consistent, and timely communication with all involved. Effective communication helps participants:
- decide where and how to get involved
- stay informed about and understand their role within the broader project and process
- share feedback about the process.
Curriculum Jams result in the dissemination of resource recommendations to relevant audiences as a means of honoring participants’ time, energy, and perspectives informed by lived experience.

Jam Topics in Progress

Youth Mental Health

This Curriculum Jam helps identify and recommend social-emotional learning and youth mental health curriculum that can be used within and beyond Extension’s positive youth development programming. The learning resources we are looking for support social-emotional learning for elementary-aged youth, body-based approaches to mental health, healthy relationships (both platonic and romantic), and emotional resiliency for teens, and equipping adults with the necessary skills to support youth mental health across programs and the age span.

Who’s involved?

Extension’s Positive Youth Development and Health & Well-Being Institutes
Positive youth development educators and partners from around the county

Timeline

May-September 2025 – Search and Filter process to identify potential resources
October-December 2025 – Curriculum Jam meetings to review selected resources
By January 2025 – Sharing resource recommendations