Teaching and Learning as Improvisational Performance in the Creative Writing Classroom

Authors

Shady E. Cosgrove, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

12044

Publication Details

Shady Cosgrove, Teaching and Learning as Improvisational Performance in the Creative Writing Classroom, Pedagogy, 5(3), Fall 2005, 471-479. Published by Duke University Press.

Abstract

In this essay I will argue that the teacher-as-performer metaphor is too simplistic. Instead, I will make a case for R. Keith Sawyer’s notion of the classroom as a site of improvisational performance, especially in regards to creative writing. Then I will discuss three aspects critical to the improvisational performance within this context, drawing on my own experiences in the classroom: establishing workshop structures, ascertaining shared language skills, and encouraging student participation.