Volunteer Learning Modules

Local Voices Network offers this free training series for LVN volunteers interested in developing their skills in order to support the LVN mission to foster conversation in communities and in the media that improves our understanding of one another.

Lead with Values: June 5, 2020

Presented by Colleen Butler, Membership & Capacity Building Lead

In this session, we will cover setting the tone as a facilitator, leading with shared values, and developing and creating consensus around conversation guidelines and practices. Participants will also have a chance to connect with other facilitators in their chapter as well as across chapters.

Recommended resources for this topic:

  1. Priya Parkers Ted Talk on the Art of Gathering (10 minutes)
  2. Identifying your Values
  3. Resources for hosting Virtual Circles

Focusing on Personal Experience: June 12, 2020

Presented by Colleen Butler, Membership & Capacity Building Lead

With an emphasis on creating a space for personal stories, this session will focus on facilitation skills generally and how to guide the conversation to personal experience over opinions.

Recommended resources for this topic:

  1. Chimamanda Adichie's Ted Talk, The danger of a single story
  2. Local Voices Network Handbook, Facilitator Guide
  3. Slow down: a reminder for facilitators working online, by Chris Corrigan

Engaging Discomfort: June 19, 2020

Presented by Colleen Butler, Membership & Capacity Building Lead and T. Marie King, LVN Alabama Lead

This session will focus on both engaging your own discomfort as a facilitator (knowing your triggers and how to navigate them while holding space for others) as well as how to navigate conflict in a conversation.

Recommended resources for this topic:

  1. Watch Kathy Obear's "What is a Triggering Event"
  2. Complete Kathy Obear's "Identify Your Common Hot Buttons" Quiz

Connecting Across Community: June 26, 2020

\*Presented by T. Marie King, LVN Alabama Lead\*

We have found that the conversation that occurs between people listening to, highlighting, and making notes on recorded LVN conversations becomes another layer of listening across difference. To that end, this session will provide guidance on curating highlights: how to do it, what to look for, how to be aware of your own biases, as well as what types of notes are useful to others listening to conversations.

Recommended resources for this topic:

  1. Jerry Kang's TedX Talk, Immaculate Perception (10 minutes)
  2. Harvard Implicit Association Test (choose any topic)
  3. How do you Hear the World, T. Marie King blog post

Past Webinar Recordings (2019)

Lead with Values Learning Module

Presented by Colleen Butler, Membership & Capacity Building Lead

Recommended resources for this topic:

  1. Priya Parkers Ted Talk on the Art of Gathering (10 minutes)
  2. Identifying your Values

Focusing on Personal Experience Learning Module

Presented by Colleen Butler, Membership & Capacity Building Lead

Recommended resources for this topic:

  1. Watch Chimamanda Adichie's Ted Talk, The danger of a single story
  2. Review the Local Voices Network Handbook, Part 6

Engaging Discomfort Learning Module

Presented by Colleen Butler, Membership & Capacity Building Lead

Recommended resources for this topic:

  1. Watch Kathy Obear's "What is a Triggering Event"
  2. Complete Kathy Obear's "Identify Your Common Hot Buttons" Quiz

Connecting with Community Learning Module | 12/3/19

Presented by Alex Kelly Berman, NY Chapter Manager and Mathias Lemos Castillo, Community Builder

This session will focus on strategies to build relationships and engage with, and across, communities participating in the Local Voices Network. We will discuss the LVN focus on amplifying underheard voices, and our vision to create a healthier public sphere with an intentional focus on diverse perspectives and authentic voices.

Recommended resources for this topic:

  1. Persona Activity worksheet

  2. Craft your LVN Elevator Pitch

  3. Visit the LVN Holiday Challenge page for more resources and ideas

The Joy of LVN Curation Learning Module

Presented by Kathy Cramer, Senior Advisor and University of Wisconsin Professor of Political Science

We have found that the conversation that occurs between people listening to, highlighting, and making notes on recorded LVN conversations becomes another layer of listening across difference. To that end, this session will provide guidance on curating highlights: how to do it, what to look for, how to be aware of your own biases, as well as what types of notes are useful to others listening to conversations.

Recommended resources for this topic:

  1. Jerry Kang's TedX Talk, Immaculate Perception (10 minutes)

  2. Harvard Implicit Association Test (choose any topic)

Media Production Learning Module | 12/10/19

Presented by Max Resnik, Media Team Lead & LVN Field Producer

This session will include ideas and training about how to amplify the voices that are part of the Local Voices Network, including mobile film making, photography, and podcasting.

Recommended resources for this topic:

A call for Radically Different Campaign Coverage - Jennifer Brandel

Don’t just Engage, Equip - Darryl Holliday

How you can help transform the internet into a place of trust - Claire Wardle

Local Civics & Advocacy Learning Module | 12/17/19

Presented by Kathy Cramer, Senior Advisor and University of Wisconsin Professor of Political Science and Max Resnik, Media Team Lead & Field Producer

This session will be focused on using LVN to elevate the voices and concerns of the underheard to inform local government as well as how LVN volunteers can get more involved in their local communities.

Examples of Civic Engagement and Advocacy resources that chapters might create or share:

LVN-Madison Engagement Guide - UW-Madison Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies

Greater Boston Anti-Displacement Toolkit

The Bucket List for Involved Citizens: 76 things you can do to boost civic engagement