[ Home ] [ Up ]

Return to Table of Contents for More Strategies

After attending the On Course I Workshop, I designed and presented four mini-workshops over four weeks for the students I work with as a counselor for our TRIO Student Support Services Program. The workshops were:

1. "Paint Your Future" - This included reading aloud from pp. 40-42 of the student On Course book, then doing the "I want..." exercise with a partner as a warm up. Then the students wrote down 3 or 4 Roles they have now and a dream for each one, written in present tense. Then they got up and did the "Walk Around" activity, also in Skip's book, and shared with one person at a time one of their Roles and Dreams, again saying it in the present tense. Then they'd move on to another person and tell another dream. This is the part that they absolutely loved the most. Even the reluctant ones came around and were smiling and I was thrilled to see them so excited. I realized then the tremendous impact that writing one’s dreams, and then saying them in present tense, can have on a person. Some of them exclaimed that they felt they were actually experiencing their dream while they said it.

2. Second workshop - "Captain Your Own Ship" This was all about self-responsibility. I used the "Late Paper" exercise about Kim (On Course). We read it together and then everyone said who they thought was most responsible. All agreed it was Kim. (Half or more of my 14 student were older adults). I broke them into groups of 3, and they discussed their reasons for choosing Kim and who they thought was least responsible. They varied a lot here. I also asked them how Kim could have responded differently to the situations and the people who became challenges for her. The students were very eager to talk about all this and seemed energized by it. We ended by talking about our own lives and how we've done things like Kim.

3. This workshop was about the Inner Critic, Inner Defender and Inner Guide. After a short discussion about what these things are, I had them write down two special goals they have. Then I asked them to write, as we did at the On Course workshop, three things their Inner Critic is saying about one of these goals. Then with a partner, I asked them to dispute what their inner critic is saying. I went over with them briefly the list of 5 ways to do this (which we also got from Skip at the On Course Workshop). They spent a while at this, 15-20 minutes and many of them got quite involved in the discussion with their partner. This workshop overall was quieter and more contemplative than the others and some students were more willing than others to get into it. I made a point to invite them to talk with me individually if they wanted to.

4. Last workshop - "Making Wise Choices" - based on the Wise Choice process we all learned about at the workshop. The students wrote down a current problem or situation in their life, paired up with a partner, and went through the wise choice process. I introduced the idea in the beginning with some discussion and followed up with some discussion. For some of the students, this seemed to be a new concept while for others they had already learned through personal experience how to choose differently.

For all four workshops, I asked the students to write a reaction paragraph on what they got from the workshop and also what was now on their mind about the topic. This was extremely helpful. It told me what I succeeded in getting across and what I didn't, what they found most helpful and also how it changed them or their thinking. One thing I noticed in many of the comments was an emphasis on how meaningful they found the speaking part - saying to another their dreams, their struggles, etc. and having the chance to hear and offer encouragement, and in a few cases feel transformed by this.

--Susan Jefts, TRIO Counselor, Schenectady County Community College (NY) jeftssa@gw.sunysccc.edu

* * * * *