Project: The Role of Emotional/Spiritual Growth
Prepared by Priscilla George

Description
Emotional and spiritual growth are the foundation for life in general and literacy in particular. Women in literacy and education programs are asking for assistance in dealing with issues in their lives that impact on their learning. In the recent past, various researchers and writers have established that, not only do people learn in a variety of ways, but life incidents, especially those related to trauma, create blocks to learning (Howard Gardner, Daniel Goleman, Diane Hill, Doc Childre, Morris Keaton). Anecdotal and empirical data from literacy practitioners have established that, when learners are taught how to recognize their own unique learning style (including a spiritual or an emotional-relational learning style), or how to process their traumatic experiences in a way so as to see the "teaching", they make progress that was heretofore thought improbable.

This project proposes:

1. a literature review, compiling and summarizing pertinent educational and medical research/findings and recommendations, including but not limited to, Multiple Intelligences, Optimal Learning Environments, Heart Math, Emotional Intelligence, Prior Learning Assessment, and Accelerated Learning
2. an audit of workshops/seminars related to the above
3. a holistic vision statement for literacy programs-drafted, shared with practitioners and revised as needed
4. contact with literacy/education/training practitioners already incorporating some of the above into their work with learners
5. development of a list of resources and methodologies found to be effective with women students, backing same with educational and scientific research, adapting the resources and methodologies as appropriate
6. the design, development and piloting of a train-the-trainer model, incorporating the above
7. evaluation of same, and revision as appropriate, then delivery
8. ongoing contact with literacy/education/training practitioners
9. a showcase of learners to become role models for each other

Issues to be Addressed
The quality of our lives is a direct outcome of the quality of our learning and our thinking. We actually have three brains in one, each part with its own function:

1. reptilian (basic functions including breathing, heart rate, and instincts such as the fight-or-flight response);
2. limbic system/mammalian (controls emotions and hormones, maintains homeostasis and is an important part of long-term memory; when you deliberately involve the limbic system in learning and teaching, i.e., deliberately involve the emotions, you harness powerful forces that make learning more effective);
3. neocortex / thinking (handles seeing, hearing, creating, thinking with specialist parts for speech, hearing, vision and touch. If we want to create a strong memory, we should store the information using all of the senses; similarly, working with the memory to reframe experiences uses all of the senses.)

The body remembers. Experiences are stored in our cellular memories and can create an "emotional hijacking". The method of comparison is associative: when a key element of a present situation is similar to the past, we can react in ways imprinted long ago, with thoughts, emotions, reactions learned in response to events that may be only dimly similar. Literacy practitioners have had to recognize and deal with such "triggers," often finding themselves in such situations with no warning or preparation whatsoever.

The brain is in the body; the body is in the brain; there is no split (the basis of psychoneuroimmunology). There are literacy-based and literacy-related means of catharsis: stories, art, dream-sharing and interpretation, reframing the event with a different outcome, etc. Practitioners need support to use these methods, because many are already dealing with the situation anyway, doing the best that they can, but very much wanting and needing the training, resources and methodologies.

Project Components
Research (Action and Literature Review)
Design Training/Develop and/or Adapt Materials
Deliver Training and Provide Hands-on/Telephone/E-mail Support