Teacher Professional Development

We believe that the best way to teach creativity in writing is to model creativity. We inspire teachers to find their own creative methods, to work imaginatively with texts and the world and to enliven writing pedagogy in the classroom from Early Stage 1 to Stage 6 (new curriculum). All courses are presented by award-winning writers.

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Bespoke creative writing Teacher PD courses

We would love to design and deliver, tailor and target, invent and implement creative  writing courses to fit in with your school's PD needs. From a quick after-school burst of creative and planning ideas to a full weekend of resource-rich thinking, writing and pedagogy, our courses will refresh, invigorate and replenish teachers' creative (writing) energy.

Lovely, interesting manner. Loved the spontaneous aspects.

Very informative - lots of examples/demonstration of the creative process.

Can’t wait to put this into action.

Teaching Creative Writing Effectively

New and effective ways to engage students, build your own and your students' creativity and writing skills. This hands-on workshop takes teachers through innovative and inspiring ways to create settings, events, characters and writing structures. You will leave with a plan for a term’s creative writing, and new ways of thinking about building writing skills and enjoyment in the classroom.

Teaching Creative Writing Effectively will contribute 5 hours of teacher-identified PD addressing  3.1.2, 3.2.2, 3.3.2 and 3.7.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher accreditation in NSW.

You gave me another approach for how to teach creative writing. I can’t wait to try it out with my class this year. I’m always looking for a fresh approach and to try new things – and you have given me that today.

Dr Bernard was fantastic. Learnt heaps and hopefully we can implement these new strategies in the classroom.

Great workshop, very knowledgeable on writing and the creative process. Thank you!

Teaching Creative Writing Stage 6

Drawing on the extensive experience of its presenters as award-winning writers and educators, Teaching Creative Writing Stage 6 offers innovative strategies to build the skills and approaches demanded in the new NSW HSC curriculum — including the units Reading to Write and The Craft of Writing — and with particular focus on imaginative and discursive texts. The full-day course emphasises the nexus between writing and reading, learning to redraft and develop work, and using teachers’ own creativity in the classroom.

Loved the fun of the day and practical insights in putting together activities — with us participating. Thank you! So valuable.

Bernard and Felicity were brilliant! Well thought out, relevant content that can be used to support students. Thank you for an engaging and informative day.

Teaching Creative Writing Stages 4 and 5

This  high-energy course models our philosophy of adventurous risk-taking, inspiring teachers with new strategies, activities and forms. The course bridges from foundational primary school writing to the new demands of Stage 6. Incorporate innovative and energetic strategies for creative writing into your pedagogy for years 7-10.

Teaching Creative Writing Stages 4 and 5 brings Bernard Cohen’s and Felicity Plunkett’s decades of teaching students from K to 12 to the first years of high school. It is designed to equip and encourage teachers to extend, inspire and enable students.

Activities and resources in this course focus on the reciprocal relationship between reading and writing. This relationship underpins the ‘reading, reflection [and]… imaginative re-creation’ of Reading to Write, and the ‘pre-writing’ exploration and generation of texts described in the rubric for ‘The Craft of Writing’ and the composing, reflecting and independent investigation central to English Extension 2. 

Our approach models an array of textual practices and possibilities, fostering deep imaginative and analytical engagement with texts. We provide specific strategies for mentoring and guiding student writers through the process of drafting and developing work, empowering teachers to assist students in creating sophisticated texts.

Presenters are award-winning writers Dr Bernard Cohen and Dr Felicity Plunkett.

Teacher Professional Development Enquiry Form