Notes have helped me remember; they’re my safe space; they’re therapeutic; and they’ve liberated my imagination

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.

This book contains many tips for helping teachers of creative writing, written by my students on the MA Creative Writing and Education at Goldsmiths.

Newbolt strongly advocates imaginative ways of teaching writing, championing self-expression above rote-learning. The Report illustrates that an effective teacher of creative writing should be well read, sensitive, cultured and open-minded.

Many teachers of creative writing find teaching the 9-13-year-old age group tricky for a few reasons. These children are usually in a time of radical transition: getting ready to move into a new school, or starting in a new one. They are still, in my experience as a teacher and parent, children who want to be grown up but aren’t ready for the fully adult material you can teach 14-16 year olds, and yet don’t want ‘baby’ stuff. This makes teaching them difficult. What exactly should you teach? How should you teach it?
Having had decades at the chalk face and a few years as a teacher-educator, I feel I might have discovered an answer. I’ve found that using the well-worn trope of the haunted house works a treat – it’s never failed me yet. Why is this? Well, the reasons are quite complex, but in brief, I’ve always found that children of this age are not only very familiar with the ghost-story genre but also extremely keen to share their stories with each other.

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, giving them control over the writing process and facilitating redrafting.

Abstract or Description This article explores a case study of a mindfulness teacher, Beth, and her experiences of teaching mindfulness to 11- to 16-year-olds in several English schools. It shows why Beth was drawn to teaching mindfulness, which was both to alleviate the stress amongst her pupils and improve her own mental health. It illustrates […]

Abstract or Description A review of Lorna Smith’s ‘Creativity in the English Curriculum: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions’. Reference: Gilbert, Francis. 2023. Review of Creativity in the English Curriculum: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions by Lorna Smith. Changing English, 30(4), pp. 425-427. ISSN 1358-684X [Article]No full text available TextCreativityinEnglishCurriculumFGilbert.pdf – Accepted VersionPermissions: Administrator Access Only until 24 […]

Abstract or Description A review of ‘Out of Time: Poetry From the Climate Emergency’

This article explores the ways in which writing for pleasure can be nurtured by teachers, with a specific focus upon English teachers. It is a review of Real-World Writers: A Handbook for Teaching Writing with 7-11 Year Olds by Ross Young and Felicity Ferguson which I published in the National Association of English Teachers’ Teaching English Magazine in 2022. For me, it’s more than a review because in my critique of the book, I outline a key element of effective writing pedagogy: namely that teachers themselves should be writers.

Abstract or Description This research illustrates how teacher-writers can improve their craft and pedagogy by writing for a specific audience, namely school children. It also illustrates why they might do so. It interrogates what was learnt from an innovative collaboration between a university teacher-education department, an inner-city secondary school and the United Kingdom’s National Maritime […]

To “diagrart” (my neologism combining the words diagrams, dialogue and art), one must write and draw, and believe you are creating art, no matter how crude you think your work to be.

Abstract or Description In her ethnographic study, Factories for learning: Making race, class and inequality in the neoliberal academy (2017), Christine Kulz depicts an oppressive system in a United Kingdom secondary school, Dreamfields. Kulz illustrates how many children and teachers are stripped of their autonomy, rights and dignity. In this article, Northfields, a school like […]

This teacher-centred article explores specifics therapeutic pedagogies that help people ‘vent’ their traumas and issues. It contains lots of practical suggestions based on research evidence, and offers a rationale for ‘letting it all spill out’ in educational settings.

This academic, peer-reviewed article is a piece of research which shows how freewriting and drawing can have a therapeutic effect when working online. It draws upon the experience of my students and my colleagues, Dr Miranda Matthews. It also suggests a methodology for this approach.

Creative writing can be used to nurture ecoliteracie, helping people developing an organic, ecological view of language.

Abstract or Description This article is a short summary of a conference presentation given online for the NAWE Conference, Spring 2021. It suggests some different ways of teaching creative writing online, using puppets, stories, drawings and metacognition. Gilbert, Francis. 2021. Teaching Creative Writing Online: Research-Informed Strategies. Writing in Education, 83, pp. 89-91. ISSN 1361-8539 [Article] Reference: […]

This academic, peer-reviewed research article explores the different reasons why creative writing is taught. One of the purposes I suggest, based on my research, is ‘to heal’, in other words, creative writing is taught as a form of therapy. I suspect this happens more than is actually openly stated. Many teachers set therapeutic tasks such as freewriting, storytelling about a different psychological issue etc (like bullying, childhood trauma etc), so that the authors can learn and grow from the experience of writing about it.

Abstract or Description An article exploring some of the lessons I learnt during the lockdown crisis, about staying sane, being mindful and engaging with technology. Reference details: Gilbert, Francis. 2020. Lockdown lessons: Teaching and working during the Covid-19 crisis. Writing in Education, 81, pp. 31-40. ISSN 1361-8539 [Article] TextGilbert, F. (2020) Lockdown lessons_AAM.pdf – Accepted VersionAvailable under […]

Abstract or Description An Entry for the British Educational Research Association blog on Covid-19 related research. Reference details: Matthews, Miranda and Gilbert, Francis. 2020. Finding a new path: Building affective online learning spaces for creative writing and arts practice. British Educational Research Association, [Article] TextGilbert and Matthews (2020) Bera_AAM.pdf – Accepted VersionAvailable under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial.Download (84kB) | Preview