TESTIMONIALS
Teacher Reviews
"Jodi’s workshops were so engaging and valuable. Every single thing she did was intentional, from the warm-ups, to the effortless modelling, her worked examples, on the spot feedback to students as they worked with her support to practise ‘show don’t tell’, and learning as assessment in the fun game show at the end. The students were so engaged, so captivated and having so much fun, they didn’t even notice they were actually being put through their paces in high-level writing tasks.
What they produced and took away on the day was incredible.
Jodi’s workshops left me questioning the way I teach writing. As an experienced teacher, I learnt so much myself, and can’t wait to put these strategies and approaches into my own lessons."
"My kids loved it! Their takeaways were knowing more about how to show and not tell by using their senses. They said they know more about how to connect and engage with their audience. They said they thought it was fun to play the quiz and have turns being contestants. We now say ‘close your eyes and visualise’ as one of our call and responses! Kids said they learned how to visualise, how to experiment with vocabulary, how to use their senses to show, how to think about emotions and make the reader feel, and how to choose words carefully to paint the perfect picture.
Personally, I loved how quickly the students gained confidence to express their ideas and how happy they were to share. They felt relaxed and intrigued which kept them engaged. I appreciated Jodi's expertise not only as an author but as a teacher, and could see how she'd tailored the workshop to our recent learning focus and the general abilities of Year 3 students.
It was a tremendous workshop which helped my kids delve into the craft of a writer - practical, fun and engaging. Everyone got something from it."
Mathew – McKinnon Primary School
“Our Year Five students thoroughly enjoyed Jodi’s interactive presentation. This was very engaging, relevant, and meaningful experience for our students. Never passive in their learning, our writers were soon actively implementing modelled writing strategies and exploring their effective language strategies, inspired by their mentor text. The students had agency to express themselves creatively, and immediately connected with Jodi, who’s teaching experience made her a uniquely fantastic combination of effective facilitator and legitimate author. Through praise, encouragement, and wonderful class management, she led our students through a wonderful session. We are already implementing many elements of our visit in our classrooms!"
Natalie – McKinnon Primary School
"Wangaratta West Primary School was privileged to welcome Jodi Toering to our school to work with 50 of our highest achieving writers this term! I had the opportunity to observe her working with these students and she had them captivated by the way she described literary choices made by authors and how language can be used deliberately to engage and delight readers. She quickly built connections with the kids who then re-entered their classrooms beaming, excitedly telling their teachers all about what they had learned. The personalised feedback given to each and every student between sessions was the icing on the cake, helping them to take their writing to the next level with a specific goal whist simultaneously praising the strong elements of their pieces.
The teachers who watched the sessions also each told me how impressive Jodi was and how much they learned as professionals from their time with her. From early career to the most experienced, they each took a great deal away.
As a leader, the experience was everything I was hoping for. She was flexible, highly professional in her organisation, and planned the experience to align specifically with our AIP goals, building on our prior learning throughout the year to date.
We can’t wait to welcome Jodi back to our school next term and I highly recommend others reach out to her for professional learning experiences for staff and/or sessions with students. She is brilliant!"
Kristy Mullins,
Principal
"Jodi's visit to the Wangaratta West Primary School was an absolute delight, leaving a lasting impression on our students. Through her skilful implementation of literacy techniques, such as "show, don't tell," personification, metaphors, and engaging the 5 senses, Jodi truly brought students’ writing to life. Jodi’s small interactive activities throughout the visit not only engaged the students but also led to lively game shows that effectively demonstrated their grasp of the employed techniques. It was amazing to observe how Jodi artfully crafted passages utilising "show, don't tell," generating diverse atmospheres within the same locations, captivating the imagination of our students. Jodi made it a point to get acquainted with each student and even collected writing samples from each student, offering written feedback with next steps for their writing journey. We are grateful for the enriching experience Jodi provided for our students.”
Jeremy – Early career teacher
“I attended the last hour of Jodi’s workshops for Grade 3 and 4 and I was blown away by her enthusiasm and love for her craft. The kids were all so engaged!
This session was a culmination of all she covered with the kids. She showed and modelled pieces so kids could see how the “senses” make a piece come alive using specific language, using two pieces describing a hospital. Each piece was so different. One was a dim feeling place, the other an uplifting setting just through word choice. She also revised Show Don’t Tell in writing where she used describing words but didn’t actually tell us what the “thing” was. The kids really got this concept.
Jodi also spoke with each child individually (and wrote) and gave them individualised feedback (constructive and positive) on their piece of writing from the previous day, suggesting how to take it to the next level.
Loved it!"
Nina – experienced teacher