During the VALTA course, I marinated in information. I began to form a new framework for my ideas surrounding violence—not only about how violence affects learning, but about what constitutes violence. I began to define violence as simply an action (or inaction) that causes someone to feel violated. With a mind full of new information and beliefs I prepared to step out on my own with a Changing Practices project.

My Changing Practices Project

Knowing my fear of uncomfortable and emotional situations, I surrounded myself with the familiar as my project took shape in my mind. I chose to frame my project through a writing group, a process I am comfortable with and passionate about. I also chose to work with a co-facilitator, fellow researcher Janet Bauer,¹⁵ whom I trusted very much. Janet and I led two-hour writing classes for ten weeks with four eager participants. Each class followed the format that Deborah Morgan designed and described in Writing Out Loud (2001). We began with freewriting and then moved into directedwriting prompts. With these anchors, I was ready to choose a focus for my research.

Choosing a research focus was difficult for me. I thought about what I had learned in the VALTA Project. The more I thought about the Project, the more I realized how it had affected me. I had become more aware of the way my actions affected the people around me, and how I reacted to other people's actions. I began to appreciate thoughtful leadership. Simple things like activities that got us moving, scheduled time to get to know the other group members and being able to participate as I felt comfortable made learning and participating easier. It seemed natural that my research focus should be on this change. So stepping out of my comfort zone (and using Janet to steady myself), I began to take a look at how my new knowledge and values affected my performance as a writing facilitator. Given my growing understanding about violence and learning, what skills and techniques could I employ to build a productive and successful writing group?