| Tools used included a mind mapping activity,
creating a pro and con list
to provide focus and visual impact, and an activity using postcards
to visually and orally illustrate a current situation. Aware of Barb’s
limitations
when working with text and mindful of the desire to capitalize on the
process itself for a range of learning opportunities, as possible I
integrated the teaching of reading, writing and numeracy into the
explorations. On other occasions, when there was no immediate need to
address, no specific topic to guide the conversation, we would take
another route, often turning to an activity more dependent on the intellect
such as using a dictionary. Again, recognizing the value of a personal
connection, I would encourage Barb to suggest words that she would like
to learn more about. This approach would sometimes lead us back to a
more emotional level; words selected for exploration sometimes caused
an issue to surface.
Forsaking the planned route—the guided tour approach—and
trusting the process made it possible to provide the emotional connection
that was lacking in the first method. I moved into making room for and
supporting these links easily. Thus my belief in the value of reflection
and selfexamination as vehicles for personal growth played a strong
role in the research process. With these biases acknowledged and accepted,
I fell easily and naturally into introducing activities
that would support reflection and self-examination, and ultimately,
change.
Highlights of the Journey: New Perspectives
Rationalizing the route
My intention in introducing the tools was to help Barb with her decision
making processes—to encourage her to imagine new possibilities
and offer her ways to explore possible outcomes by applying concrete
methods of analysis to the difficult circumstances she found herself
in. In this context, I did not use the tools to establish goals for
“school” learning nor as a means of connecting reading,
writing, and numeracy to other goals. The intended use was to equip
Barb with tools that she could use again and again to move towards and
obtain her objectives. They provided a means of weighing pros and cons,
of examining repercussions of various actions, of exploring new possibilities
in a non-threatening manner, of coping with the difficult realities
in her life. The tools were introduced in response to personal needs
that had elicited emotional responses, not as intellectual exercises
aimed at creating connections between reading, writing, numeracy and
the achievement of personal or imposed goals.
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