Workshops:

Workshops are isolated lessons which target specific skills needed to improve overall literacy abilities. These workshops are great for extending students who would like to challenge themselves and develop an edge in their own writing and thinking. Workshops also provide the opportunity for students to engage in their own interests.

Literacy

Literacy is an important aspect in life as it has a direct correlation with a person’s cognitive processes. Being able to read, write and understand can be refined with being able to recognise cues and structures of the world around us.

This particular workshop teaches techniques and skills to understand both implicit and explicit comprehension of a variety of texts. Students will be taught decoding skills with visual stimuli and written forms. The course will also assist with student understanding of:

  • proper Australian English spelling, grammar and punctuation,
  • how these elements are dependent, not only on a writer’s form, but purpose,
  • nominalisation,
  • how to self-edit.

Academic Writing

Varying situations call upon different styles of writing. It is essential that as students progress through schooling, they are able to formalise their writing.

Students in this course will be taught:

  • ways that syntax, vocabulary choice and lexical density can improve their writing,
  • how to use language in a concise manner to enable them to focus more on analysis and original interpretation, opposed to simple retelling,
  • how to change information into different types of registers.

Critical Thinking

For people to make informed decisions in their life it is important that they are aware of the world around them. It is essential that we are critical and questioning of the people and institutions of society. Developing higher ordered thinking skills means moving from simply ‘remembering’ information to being able to ‘assess’ and ‘evaluate’ meaning.

At Brave New Learning we view critical thinking as necessary for students to achieve their full potential in all aspects of English so they may be able to use these important skills in their life. This workshop teaches:

  • discussion etiquette,
  • higher ordered thinking and questioning,
  • how to develop and refine contentions,
  • how to judge and evaluate meaning from texts.

Film Appreciation

Studying a film as a text occurs at least once every year in high school. Understanding how an author constructs meaning through this medium is an important skills for students to better understand a film’s purpose.

This workshop is about looking at the construction of film. Students will learn:

  • film techniques and how the reinforce meaning,
  • use of camera, audio and mise en scene,
  • film terminology,
  • characterisation,
  • how to embed film analysis in a written response.

Examination Techniques

Examinations are an important summative indication of a student’s learning. There are set skills needed to best approach this form of testing through understanding the best means to work under examination conditions.

At Brave New Learning, this workshop will prepare students for examinations by addressing:

  • how to best approach examinations,
  • revision needed for being prepared and confident,
  • assessing the marking criteria through how examiners allocate marks,
  • how to plan within allocated timing.