TDD 2025

Limerick, villanelle, pantoum, sestina. Some forms of poetry come with rules about the subject or theme (odes, elegy) and some come with strict rules about the number of lines, stanzas, rhyme, refrain etc. Choosing a poetic form to explore can be a ‘way in’ for students to begin to understand how important it is to choose words with care. This workshop will look at certain forms in order to ‘have a go’ at producing original poetry that follows well established rules. The aim is for students to develop a more disciplined approach to writing through imitation or pastiche before branching out and developing their own style of writing.

It is perhaps apposite to remember that authors do not usually write in order for students and teachers to unpack their words. The wonderful writer Claire Keegan articulated this in a recent interview: “I can’t explain my work. I just write stories. I’ve never thought about a theme. I never once have. I just think about the text.” As all English teachers are asked time and time again “but how do we know that’s what the author meant? How do we know that word was chosen on purpose?” Of course these questions are valid but nevertheless our job remains: to deliver lessons that help students to “think about the text” in a clear and focused manner through engaging active reading strategies. We need to take time to encourage the skills needed across the curriculum and for future assessments. This workshop will concentrate on how to enable students to understand explicit and implicit meaning and attitudes, select and evaluate what is relevant to specific purposes and how effects are created through authorial choice (whether intentional or not!).  

Target audience: Secondary English

Until being faced with writing challenges during a recent MA in Creative Writing, I had forgotten just how terrifying writing for someone else to evaluate can be. This workshop will hopefully make the process a little less daunting for students through useful and enjoyable strategies designed to prompt thoughtful written responses. The strategies will remain simple with the aim of reducing the pressure students may feel to produce obscure or totally original content. The purpose is to think about how best to use language to convey what is thought, felt and imagined in clearly expressed and carefully structured compositions.

Allowing students to achieve success through accessible activities can help to build confidence in Math class. Presenting a range of difficulty within the same task allows students to have agency over what level they wish to attempt and can inspire them to further challenge themselves.  In this session we will look at some examples of how Visual Patterns can act as an avenue to introduce low floor / high ceiling activities in your classroom.


Target audience: Middle or Upper school teachers--not only math. 

Experience has shown that while many students and staff welcome a focus on wellbeing, others remain unconvinced of its necessity or relevance. This session will explore research demonstrating how enhanced wellbeing not only boosts exam performance but also improves students' short and long-term quality of life. I will present a range of practical, evidence-based strategies for integrating wellbeing into your teaching and learning practice, rooted in the evidence-based PERMAH model from Positive Psychology. The session will also include opportunities for discussion and questions, offering a collaborative space to explore these ideas further.