My Changing Practices Project

From these wonderings came the question that prompted my research project: How can tutors support students who have issues of violence in their lives? The purpose of my project was to develop a half-day in-service workshop for tutors and teaching assistants about the impact of violence on learning. This project interested me because by speaking aloud about violence and how it affects learning, we break the silence about existing problems and find strategies to create better learning environments. As tutors gain skills and helpful insights to deal with issues that may arise in their tutoring, tutoring sessions may be more meaningful and significant for both the tutor and the student.

The Workshop

I wanted to develop a workshop that would accomplish two goals: to open discussion about how violence affects learning and to provide strategies for tutoring. I also wanted to share the idea of holistic learning and of one's complete self being nurtured in order to improve the learning process. To plan the workshop, I drew from what I had learned through VALTA and from some related resources (see references). The VALTA facilitators and participants gave me feedback on my workshop plan, which I then revised. I presented a three-hour workshop in Pincher Creek in March 2003. I also presented a shorter version of the workshop at the Provincial Literacy Conference the following November.