What feels hopeful is that practitioners are getting together because of cuts and changes to government funding and exploring a range of approaches to and uses of research in the contexts of both funding parameters and classroom practice.

Suggested resources and links:
Brookfield, Stephen. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995.

McNiff, Jean. Action Research: Principles and Practice. London: Routledge, 1992

Rhode Island State Literacy Resource Centre: www.brown.edu/lrri/inquiry.html 

Violence and Learning: Taking Action (VALTA)
Learnings from the Changing Practices Project
with Fay Begg, Heather Ward, Janet Bauer and Mary Norton

Rapporteur: Joanne Green

The aims of the workshop were to:

• give an overview of the VALTA project
• provide a taste of the approaches to teaching/learning used in VALTA
• share learnings from three Changing Practices Projects
• invite people to relate VALTA learnings with their practices and experiences. 

Participants were invited to settle into the session with a guided stretch and relaxation activity. Then, using materials provided, they drew, wrote or sculpted a response to the question. "What brought you to the session?" Responses were shared in small groups, with key ideas being reported to the whole group. These responses provided a context for sharing information about the VALTA project.

Through the VALTA project, literacy and adult educators in Alberta have been learning about the impacts of violence on learning, and ways to address them. The project is rooted in research and practice about violence and learning (see references), in the experiences of the Alberta RiPAL Network project, and in research and practice about using art, movement and music to invite women into learning.

Following a twelve-week online course and workshops in the fall of 2002, seven VALTA participants initiated "Changing Practices Projects," aimed at introducing and learning about program practices that might enhance learning. Heather, Fay and Janet each provided a brief overview of their projects and research approaches, and shared insights about what they had learned.

Some of the questions they explored were:

• How can literacy workers help learners develop positive selfconcepts? (Heather)
• How will exploring different ways of learning and knowing help me understand other adults' experiences in new learning contexts? (Fay)
• How can I create safe environments for women learners? (Janet)