Teaching in Groups

There's no such thing as a beginner writer. Right from infancy, we've creating and absorbing stories and helping my students access this basic but hidden understanding forms the basis of my teaching.

In my lessons, I create a context for students to examine their own experience and opinions and then apply what they find. I use a blend of basic instruction, task-based debate and creative activities which are either written individually or orally as a group. Most adult groups also analyse short extracts of text.

I like to keep things fun and spontaneous as students always learn best when they're at ease. I might get my students to examine each others' shoes, describe an eccentric relative or build a story out of the characters from Cluedo. I also welcome being challenged on my own beliefs – my philosophy of good writing is a work in progress and students regularly bring up important points for me to consider.

I've been teaching prose writing and narrative since 2003. I've taught the dynamics of tension to a group of seventy at a business writing seminar and to a seminar group of 2nd year undergraduates. I've taught a group of mental health service users how to use character, the use of place to several groups of secondary school teachers from across the EU and worked with three Year 1 children to create a narrative to accompany a film of two millipedes in a plastic bowl. I've structured forty minute lessons, day-long workshops and a year-long program of evening classes. Whatever the group, I always adapt my teaching to accommodate the context and the needs and abilities of the students.

And I always make room for the unplanned and unexpected. That's where the real fun always comes in.

andy.j.thatcher@googlemail.com