Only Connect: Belonging, Community and Inclusion
Abstract
Only Connect: Belonging, Community and Inclusion explores the narratives of adult literacy learners who experienced transformative learning within an atypical pedagogical framework. This paper explores the importance of encouraging bicultural literacy through providing access to Indigenous ways of knowing and learning, creativity, and embodied learning. It also highlights the importance of allowing trauma and shame into the classroom to imagine literacy spaces as places where care work and transformative learning can occur. Holistic approaches to literacy that incorporate embodied, self-directed learning, valuing a limited suspension of rigid outcome requirements and culminating task completion, often provide entranceways that allow for connection, dialogue, deep learning transfer and learner growth. This paper links a personal and professional narrative to explore how hegemony in learner/instructor relationships, shame, creativity, meditation, presence, and place are all components that impact or support learners as they attempt literacy development. This paper asserts a valuable means we can understand and rebuild ourselves is through embodied and holistic learning. A less logic-determined curriculum, combined with creative methodologies, opportunities to connect with nature, and meditation, allow for learner voices to become audible and included within society. Learner narratives describe experiences of learners who participated in post-secondary after incarceration in addition to ESL and diaspora student challenges in virtual learning environments.
Presentation Description
Unavailable
Location
Stream B
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Catherine, Lorie, "Only Connect: Belonging, Community and Inclusion" (2021). Curriculum Studies Summer Collaborative. 24.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cssc/2021/2021/24
Only Connect: Belonging, Community and Inclusion
Stream B
Only Connect: Belonging, Community and Inclusion explores the narratives of adult literacy learners who experienced transformative learning within an atypical pedagogical framework. This paper explores the importance of encouraging bicultural literacy through providing access to Indigenous ways of knowing and learning, creativity, and embodied learning. It also highlights the importance of allowing trauma and shame into the classroom to imagine literacy spaces as places where care work and transformative learning can occur. Holistic approaches to literacy that incorporate embodied, self-directed learning, valuing a limited suspension of rigid outcome requirements and culminating task completion, often provide entranceways that allow for connection, dialogue, deep learning transfer and learner growth. This paper links a personal and professional narrative to explore how hegemony in learner/instructor relationships, shame, creativity, meditation, presence, and place are all components that impact or support learners as they attempt literacy development. This paper asserts a valuable means we can understand and rebuild ourselves is through embodied and holistic learning. A less logic-determined curriculum, combined with creative methodologies, opportunities to connect with nature, and meditation, allow for learner voices to become audible and included within society. Learner narratives describe experiences of learners who participated in post-secondary after incarceration in addition to ESL and diaspora student challenges in virtual learning environments.
