Illinois State University students learn the value of community recreation programs in Dr. Yun Chang’s Evaluating Agency Services course. By surveying participants, they help make the programs better.
Dr. Yun Chang has vivid childhood memories of her father packing up the family van with bicycles, tents, and sports equipment and setting out for unfamiliar locations in the name of adventure.
The family traveled to all corners of Taiwan on weekend excursions. They did so without mobile phones, tablets, electronics of any kind—sometimes even a set travel agenda. They would stop whenever and wherever they wanted. Maybe they’d park at a countryside school where Chang would play basketball on a playground while her mother cooked dinner for the family on a camp stove. They might explore trails. Or pitch a tent and sleep on the beach.
“My parents took me and my brother on all these different trips when I was young,” said Chang, now an assistant professor in Illinois State University’s Department of Kinesiology and Recreation (KNR). “Whether they were in the water or on land, in the forest or in the wilderness, I was never afraid of the outdoors.”
Quite the opposite, in fact. Chang developed passions for outdoor recreation that steered her educational pursuits. She studied first at National Taiwan Sport University, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She arrived in the United States in 2011 and achieved instructor certification from the National Outdoor Leadership School and Colorado Outward Bound School. Chang earned a doctorate in leisure behavior from Indiana University Bloomington in 2017.
Along the way, her passion for recreation was strengthened by formative experiences like coordinating a 100-mile group cycling trek and co-leading a 30-day backpacking trip. She’s developed positive qualities of teamwork, determination, and perseverance through recreation. She knows firsthand the positive impact.
After completing her KNR 376 Evaluating Agency Services course, so too do her students.
Chang has led two sections of Evaluating Agency Services every semester since her arrival at Illinois State five years ago. The course entails hands-on learning wherein groups of students are paired with local entities offering recreational programming. Groups meet with agency directors, learn their objectives, and develop surveys to gauge the success or failure of those objectives.
“All the programs and events the students are evaluating are authentic, and they’re happening right here in this community,” Chang explained. “We’re using authentic experiences to allow students to evaluate and improve or modify a recreational program.”
The first agency to partner with Chang and her students was Illinois State University Campus Recreation. The Town of Normal Parks and Recreation Department was next. The Children’s Discovery Museum, Upper Limits climbing gym, Miller Park Zoo, and the McLean County Museum of History have become partners. Some agencies offer seasonal programming, like youth sports programs; others sponsor annual events like a 5K run/walk.
Within the first few weeks of the semester, students enrolled in Evaluating Agency Services divide into groups and are assigned an agency. Students are allowed to form their own groups, and Chang surveys the class to determine if students’ experiences or interests overlap with agency programming.
“I want to empower the students and give them more autonomy in selecting events that speak to their career paths or aspirations,” she said.
Meeting with agency heads provides groups with direction. For Normal Parks and Recreation Youth Sports and Teen Supervisor Matt Frahm, the feedback he seeks has evolved over time. Coming into his current role in March 2020—the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic—meant the first surveys of youth sports programs he oversees focused heavily on health and safety protocols. As the pandemic has waned, the feedback he wants has shifted toward more traditional measurements of participant satisfaction.
“Having that data is really beneficial, and Yun has been so good to work with,” Frahm said. “She’s really organized, the students know her expectations, and they work together really well.”
Although students aren’t required to make site visits to see the programs or events while they are happening, it is encouraged by some agencies. Frahm is one such partner.
“Having their perspective is super helpful, especially when they come out and see what we are doing,” he said. “Our staff sees these programs every day, so the students are seeing things we might not be seeing. To have those fresh sets of eyes is valuable.”
“I want to empower the students and give them more autonomy in
selecting events that speak to their career paths or aspirations”
After meeting with their agency partner and sometimes observing the programs or events in person—Chang says more and more groups have taken that opportunity as pandemic health restrictions have eased—student groups get to work on developing their surveys.
Chang is there to guide them and facilitate communication with agency partners.
“Dr. Chang made learning about evaluations and surveys interesting by having us apply the skills we learned each week,” said Erin Van Draska ’22, who graduated in December with a bachelor’s degree in therapeutic recreation. “I really enjoyed being able to apply what I was learning into practical use.”
Students work with their agency partners to determine the best way to deploy their surveys. Some prefer physical copies; others have been willing to try digital forms or even QR codes. Once the data is collected, students begin analysis. They use a Qualtrics online survey platform to calculate frequency, mean scores, and standard deviation to interpret the data.
The Evaluating Agency Services course concludes with each group presenting its findings. Many of the agency partners, including Frahm, attend the presentations.
The partnership is mutually beneficial. Agency partners receive valuable, unbiased feedback on their programming, while Illinois State students get hands-on experience in evaluating community programs. The course also provides exposure to potential employers and individuals with careers in the recreation field.
“This was one of the first times that I got to go out into the community and really apply my skills that I learned in the classroom,” said senior recreation management major Maddie McNab. “During COVID it was hard to make connections in the recreation world, so being able to start making those connections in Evaluating Agency Services was a great confidence boost.”
McNab was paired with S.O.A.R. (Special Opportunities Available in Recreation), a joint effort between the Bloomington and Normal parks and recreation departments offering therapeutic recreation for individuals unable to participate in traditional recreation. Working with S.O.A.R. and its annual Fun Run solidified her desire to pursue a career in recreation.
“Building better futures for communities through recreation is something I am so passionate about,” McNab said. “It’s one of the main drivers for why I am pursuing a career in recreation.”
Chang said she’s often quizzed about the types of recreation courses she teaches. There’s a popular misconception, she said, that recreation majors’ influence on the world is limited to the promotion of physical fitness.
“We don’t just take people to the outdoors or design tourism packages,” Chang said. “We are using recreational programming not only to promote health and wellness but also to increase quality of life and bring the community together. We design recreational programs to make the world a better place.”
Chang hopes the importance of the programs and events her students are evaluating is one of the main takeaways from the course—that, and pride in their role in improving that programming.
“The end results show these students are making an impact by helping these agencies improve their programs,” Chang said. “And these programs impact the people who participate in them. “If you want to talk about changing the world, this is how recreation professionals change the world.”
