Our Framework
Beam Center empowers young people to do spectacular things no matter who they are or where they start.
At Beam, we intend for learning to be an active, physical process of “figuring it out” and taking creative risks within a supportive environment that promotes agency and growth. We call this framework Learning Productions.
Learning Productions
Our Learning Productions framework embodies the knowledge-building processes of creative projects as they occur in real artistic and professional settings.
Young people enter Beam Center as novices to creative and technical practices but gain a plethora of tangible professional level skills through our programs. They also learn how to be participatory community members who become their own self advocates and community leaders in their own right. These young people go on to contribute to Beam’s wider ecosystem, bringing all that they’ve learned to the communities in which they live and learn.
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Core Tenets
Embrace learning-by-doing.
In taking on ambitious projects, youth discover and expand their capacity to choose their next steps in life. Youth identify links between tools, materials, knowledge, and skills grounded in real-world processes and community-facing goals.
Include both positive and strengths-based youth development.
At the core is a focus on social/emotional learning, fostering strong relationships, thinking critically about labor and systems of power and control, and cultivating leadership practices as the foundation for student learning and growth.
Champion intergenerational collaboration and exploration.
Youth are connected, engaged, and included based on their individual interests and community goals within a reciprocal learning relationship with adults and their peers. Youth collaborate with adults in practices of making, sharing, and celebrating ambitious projects.
Inspire community-focused environments.
When an individual is part of a supportive community, they experience a profound sense of safety that empowers them to explore and grow for both themselves and the greater good.
Our Learning Productions framework is applied in every program, enterprise, and project across Beam’s ecosystem. Discover more about our school partnerships, Apprenticeship program, youth employment enterprises, and summer camps to see our Learning Productions framework in practice.
Our Framework in the News
Beam Center’s Learning Productions framework, Big Projects, and collaborations with youth have been cited and showcased for their innovation by researchers, media, and government agencies. From The New York Times to New Hampshire National Public Radio to the Weather Channel, our projects and events have been chronicled by local and national media. Our Apprenticeship was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House Astronomy Night and New York State Smart Schools Commission cited our work with Brooklyn International High School in its report on Expanded Learning.
Most recently, Beam Center’s model for school innovation was discussed in The Education We Need for a Future We Can′t Predict (2021), by Dr. Thomas Hatch, professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University and Director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST).
Beam Center has collaborated in papers with researchers from New York University and Stanford University on our Learning Production framework and our approaches to Big Projects and Brokering Youth Pathways.
Explore how Beam Center’s framework makes a difference
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