All articles on this site
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The British Library, research and creative writing
This blog post explores how creative writing can be used to help people engage with the British Library and its collection. It shows how students on the MA Creative Writing and Education led members of the general public through the British Library, inviting them to respond creatively to key elements of its archive and exhibitions.
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Four reasons there is a Connected Curriculum at Goldsmiths
Why bring all the students at a university together to learn critical thinking and research skills?
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Why are three in ten teachers bringing in food for hungry pupils?
58% of households in the bottom fifth of incomes have cut down on or skipped meals, or gone hungry because there was not enough money for food. That is 3.4 million households. Poverty-stricken households would form one of the biggest cities in the UK.
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Inspiring Creative Writing and Learning: Multidisciplinary Approaches
How and why creative writing can be improved by a multidisciplinary approach including freewriting, drawing and art, writing letters to different audiences (even imaginary ones)
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Parklife Project: Students’ Creative Advocacy for Local Parks
This article explores the research primary school pupils carried out in order to improve their local park in east London. It shows how they produced creative outputs such as pictures, models and poems which enabled them to both research their local park and advocate for change.
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Four reasons we should all learn about Green Careers (+ some top job hunting tips!)
A recount of the Green Careers event that I co-ran (with Widening Participation, the Horniman Museum, and Lewisham’s Young People’s Climate Network) in May 2024 at Goldsmiths University.
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Of Note- Four Ways Taking Notes have Enriched My Life
Notes have helped me remember; they’re my safe space; they’re therapeutic; and they’ve liberated my imagination
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Freeing Creative Voice
An anthology investigating how educators, creatives, and learners can liberate and uplift their voices through writing, teaching, investigating, and intentional everyday living.
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Creative Power: Investigating Creative Writing & Its Value
An instructive and inspiring collection written by Masters’ students at Goldsmiths’ university, and pupils from South London schools. Essential reading for anyone interested in finding ways of thriving in a fractured world.
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Diversity and Inspiration: a fantastic anthology for creative writers & teachers
This book contains many tips for helping teachers of creative writing, written by my students on the MA Creative Writing and Education at Goldsmiths.
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A Century of Teaching Creative Writing in Schools: the Newbolt Report and teaching creative writing
Newbolt strongly advocates imaginative ways of teaching writing, championing self-expression above rote-learning.
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Becoming the falconer: productive feedback for the redrafting of creative writing
Aspects of the neoliberal education system can preclude the development of young writers. Feedback can be unempathetic, but it can also be productive, creating an internal dialogue that develops the writer over time.
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‘I need you to jump out of your seat and go plant more flowers!’
What do primary school children in Lambeth want for their local parks? February 2024. It’s a cold, rainy morning outside Hillmead Primary School, but inside their assembly hall, the Year 3/4 (8-9 year olds) pupils are happy and engaged. Some of their classmates are delivering speeches about what they want from their local parks to…
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Teaching Mindfulness in an Unmindful System
A case study of a mindfulness teacher, Beth, and her experiences of teaching mindfulness to 11- to 16-year-olds in several English schools
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Why do children misbehave in school? Here are 5 reasons.
I appeared on Vanessa Feltz’s Talk TV show discussing the misbehaviour of children in school. I enumerated these reasons: To learn more about this topic, it’s worth reading this BERA blog.
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Four reasons why children are being excluded from school
I appeared on Vanessa Feltz’s Talk TV on 15th April 2024 talking about this issue, because a recent report shows that children who are excluded at primary school are more likely to achieve badly in their GCSEs than their peers. To sum up what I said, I believe there are four main reasons why children…
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Review of Creativity in the English Curriculum: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions by Lorna Smith
A review of Lorna Smith’s ‘Creativity in the English Curriculum: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions’.
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