Page 16 - Storytelling - Storylistening

V. Community Learning Circles Inspire Group Storytelling “Whenever there are more than three or four people present, be sure to sit in a circle.”
– Richard Stone, The Healing Art of Storytelling, A Sacred Journey of Personal Discovery
Action Pact has designed and used Community Learning Circles to involve all stakeholders – including frail residents with severe cognitive deficits – in changing the cultures of long term care organizations.
Learning circles give everyone opportunity and encouragement to speak without interruption or judgment, prompting even the most shy and inarticulate to contribute to decision-making. And as many of the exercises and examples in the following pages demonstrate, various adaptations of the Community Learning Circle encourage reminiscing and storytelling.
The following example incorporates elements of a similar process – the Life Story Circle – used in long term care settings by StoryKeepers, a subsidiary of Life’s End Institute (http://www.lifes-end.org/) in Montana.
Porch Swing SeriesTM Culture Change Workbooks ©Action Pact, Inc.2005-2006 p.12