UWI Open Campus St Lucia hosts sixth Annual Ismond Literary Workshop

As per the reports, the Workshop is dedicated to literary icon and long-serving UWI Lecturer Dr Patricia Ismond, in whose name a scholarship for St Lucian students studying BEd Literacy Studies at The UWI Open Campus St Lucia Site has been established. 

UWI Open Campus St Lucia hosts sixth Annual Ismond Literary Workshop
UWI Open Campus St Lucia hosts sixth Annual Ismond Literary Workshop

St Lucia: The UWI Open Campus St Lucia hosted the sixth Annual Patricia Ismond Literary Workshop on Friday, March 4th, 2022, under the theme, “Appreciating and Assessing the Power of Poetic and Dramatic Texts”. The UWI Open Campus has also contributed to the Nobel Laureate Festival celebrations for 2022. 

As per the reports, the Workshop is dedicated to literary icon and long-serving UWI Lecturer Dr Patricia Ismond, in whose name a scholarship for St Lucian students studying BEd Literacy Studies at The UWI Open Campus St Lucia Site has been established. 

UWI Open Campus St Lucia hosts sixth Annual Ismond Literary Workshop
UWI Open Campus St Lucia hosts sixth Annual Ismond Literary Workshop

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Workshop was hosted online for the first time in 2021; however, the face-to-face modality was re-introduced this year to a limited number of participants.

Tailored to CSEC English B teachers, The 6th Annual Patricia Ismond Literary Workshop welcomed a total of 13 participants from various secondary schools throughout the island. 

The facilitator of the Workshop and Professor of English at St George’s University, Dr Antonia MacDonald, posited, “The focus of the workshop is not only on the teaching of the subject but also how to measure and evaluate student performance.” 

Dr MacDonald believes that by training teachers at the CSEC level, the knowledge and skills will be transferred to students in the classroom and increase the chances of them selecting English B at CAPE Literatures in English level. 

In attendance also was Mr Kendel Hippolyte, who addressed the understanding and appreciation of the writer’s craft and skills.

UWI Open Campus St Lucia hosts sixth Annual Ismond Literary Workshop
UWI Open Campus St Lucia hosts sixth Annual Ismond Literary Workshop

Participants expressed positive feedback after attending the one-day Workshop; one participant stated, “I realized that it is more meaningful for students when they actually act out the scene… I benefited from Dr MacDonald’s marrying the thematic, character and technique concerns in the play/poem to the requirements of the exam question… it allowed me to better appreciate the demands placed on my students in the exam environment.”

The 6th Annual Patricia Ismond Workshop took place on Friday, March 4th, 2022, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at The UWI Open Campus Saint Lucia Site located at Morne Fortun​é, Castries.