Volunteer programs, especially those for docents, may often be overlooked as learning opportunities rather than as a strategy for program delivery. Thinking about docents first as learners themselves, and then as partners in creating learning experiences for visitors, can create a meaningful shift in the relationship. By integrating concepts from…

As part of a broader evolution of our K-12 programming, the Art Institute of Chicago transitioned our docent program into a newly designed Volunteer Program, a process that was informed by rigorous research, reflection, and evaluation of our engagements with students and teachers. This case study offers a perspective on designing a new structure…

In recent years, the role of the professionally trained volunteer docent has taken many twists and turns. Guided by institutional strategies and missions, docent programs have flexed, shifted, and altered to meet institutional needs. This article provides an overview of recent trends and practices presented at the National Docent Symposium…

Over the past 10-15 years, the Volunteer Program at the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County has undergone an immense transition. This program overhaul tackled historical methodology that had been creating barriers to participation, addressed the changing needs of modern volunteer audiences, and worked to highlight access and inclusion in…

Extension personnel are tasked with ensuring that 4-H volunteers have competencies identified in the Volunteer Research and Knowledge Competency (VRKC) Taxonomy, 4-H youth development's foundational volunteer skills framework. The VRKC Codebook is a qualitative analysis tool for accurately identifying VRKC-aligned needs expressed in volunteer…

Textbooks and lectures can convey the science of volunteer management; however, the art of volunteer management is developed through experience and reflection. This teaching activity gives students practice in developing a volunteer program and in identifying mission and position-specific nuances to volunteer management. Over the course of three…

The Georgia Master Composter Program is both an adult environmental education course and an Extension volunteer program addressing the growing demand for composting education across the state of Georgia. The 9-week program includes lectures by experts, hands-on learning, and field trips and differs from traditional master Extension programs…

State volunteer forums can be an invaluable resource for providing opportunities for volunteer training on positive youth development. Some western states have experienced decreasing attendance and have questioned the practicality of hosting such forums. In this article, we showcase successes that one western state has experienced as a result of…

Stakeholders in Mississippi perceived that Extension could lead volunteer management and donations management after a natural disaster. In response, Mississippi State University Extension professionals developed a training on volunteer management and donations management to supplement the existing Incident Management System/Incident Command System…

This article identifies key strategies for selecting and training chaperones for youth programs. Although substantial research on volunteer core competencies and training exists, very little has been written to specifically address volunteers who serve in a chaperone capacity. We surveyed chaperones who had participated in an international youth…

This program description explores the purpose, structure, activities, and outcomes of the volunteer intern program at the Wright State University Women's Center. Designed to create meaningful, hands-on learning experiences for students and to advance the center's mission, the volunteer intern program builds community while advancing social and…

Diversity in learning options can increase efficacy of volunteer development systems. The University of Florida Critical Thinking Inventory (UFCTI) is designed to explicate an individual's critical thinking style based upon a continuum from Seeking Information to Engagement. Static and interpretive materials are best used with individuals of a…

This chapter considers how the assumptions, principles, and overall mind-set of coaching may be useful as organizations seek to foster lifelong relationships with their volunteer constituents.

This article provides teachers in rural settings with suggestions on how to engage classroom resource personnel (i.e., volunteers, instructional assistants) in monitoring students' achievement. The target, act, and graph (TAG) strategy offers rural special educators ways to empower classroom resource persons through training and use of the TAG…

A number of structural and contextual changes underway suggests that now that the Peace Corps has begun its second half-century, it may be the opportune time for a broader and deeper strategic partnership with higher education along the lines that the Peace Corps founders' envisioned. That partnership would involve higher education playing an…