This 1-day workshop is designed specifically for teachers looking to expand their knowledge, understanding, skills, and confidence when it comes to teaching creative writing. The session is full of practical tips, useful classroom strategies, and assessment suggestions for creative writing tasks (and their rubrics).

Suitable for: Teachers of Stage 2 – 6

Completing the Creating Fearless Writers course will contribute 6 hours of PD addressing Standards 2.1.2, 2.5.2, 3.1.2, 3.3.2, 5.2.2 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

This course is designed to:

• inform teachers about best practice research regarding student writing
• show teachers how to inspire students to write, extending both student confidence and mastery
• help teachers organise and sequence lessons into effective teaching programs
• show teachers a range of strategies they can employ immediately to get students writing often and without fear
• build teacher confidence so that they feel inspired and competent in employing these strategies in their own classrooms and schools
• demonstrate the link between explicit, challenging, and achievable learning goals and student engagement, behaviour, and outcomes
• show teachers how to provide timely, effective, and appropriate feedback to students about their writing in ways that enhance student agency

Workshop Details

When: Friday 4 June, 9am – 3pm
Where: Cavanbah Room, Byron Community Centre, 69 Jonson Street, Byron Bay
Cost: FREE, registrations essential

About Siboney Duff:

Siboney has worked as a freelance writer, editor, and manuscript assessor for over fifteen years. She has a deep love of the Extension 2 English course and has taught and mentored Extension 2 English students for several years. A qualified English teacher, Siboney has a Master of Philosophy in Creative Writing (UQ) and is about to embark on her PhD in Creative Writing. Siboney has also been a HSC marker of both Extension 1 and Extension 2 English.

Refining, Reflecting, Submitting:

With five months left before HSC Extension 2 English Major Works are due for submission, now is the perfect time to consolidate your progress to date, refine your ideas and approach, edit for literary excellence, and draft brilliant reflection statements. It’s also a critical time for ensuring your Literature Reviews are brilliant (and useful) and your Critique of the Creative Process not only scores well but sets you up for an exemplary Reflection Statement.

This full-day workshop is designed to provide students with the tools necessary to refine and polish their Ext 2 English Major Works in preparation for final submission in August.

Students will learn how to assess their creative works-in-progress for thematic sophistication, textual integrity, and narrative drive, as well as considering their final Reflection Statement and ensuring it meets – and then exceeds – the marking criteria. They will explore the editorial process and learn how to undertake an editing protocol, with consideration for authorial intent, overall structure (relative to form), and the use of literary devices. They will also assess their Literature Reviews and learn how to use what they’ve discovered (or are discovering) in their Major Works, as well as discuss how their final internal assessment (the Critique of the Creative Process) will inform their Reflection Statement.

This dynamic workshop will involve lots of writing and small group work, and is designed to give students the information, strategies, and motivation to keep working. With five months left before Major Works are due for submission, now is the perfect time to review progress, edit for excellence, and draft reflections.

Workshop Details

When: Thursday 25 March, 9.30am – 2.30pm
Where: Cavanbah Room, Byron Community Centre, 69 Jonson Street, Byron Bay
Cost: FREE, registrations essential

About Siboney Duff:

Siboney has worked as a freelance writer, editor, and manuscript assessor for over fifteen years. She has a deep love of the Extension 2 English course and has taught and mentored Extension 2 English students for several years. A qualified English teacher, Siboney has a Master of Philosophy in Creative Writing (UQ) and is about to embark on her PhD in Creative Writing. Siboney has also been a HSC marker of both Extension 1 and Extension 2 English.