We have facilitated several workshops with scholars, students, and community members using poetic processes as a tool of inquiry. During a workshop, we might start by reading a poem together and doing some free-association activities, then make time for individual writing (but not too much time, because the point is not a polished product but a draft just complete enough to gesture at something that matters to the writer!). Our favorite part is when people take turns sharing what they've written and receiving others' nonjudgmental observations: what they notice in the poem, what they wonder, what they feel. We aim to use these artistic processes to guide participants in exploring the reciprocal relationship between the emotions, values, desires, and goals that shape their work, and how their work in turn shapes who they are. We encourage participants to engage in reflective dialogue with each other, creating a collective experience for all of us to connect using our thinking-feeling selves.

Past Workshops:

• Fall 2025, Arts-Based Education Research graduate seminar (University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Curriculum & Instruction)

• Spring 2026, Care & Community Series (Morgridge Center for Public Service, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Upcoming Workshops:

• June 2026, International Conference of the Learning Sciences