SESSION 4C

Sarah Chamberlain, CQU English
The Pencil Case Challenge

Abstract
The Pencil Case Challenge invites teachers to answer the question: ‘You have 30 minutes only to prepare for an English language class, what is on your desk or in your bag or pencil case that you can grab to start or shape your lesson?' This interactive presentation showcases teachers from the local Melbourne ELT community, interviewed for a blog series entitled ‘What’s in Your Pencil Case?’ in which they reveal their go-to minimal resources. In groups, participants discuss their teaching methodologies and thoughts on teaching with minimal resources, as well as their approaches to preparation and planning. The Pencil Case Challenge encourages teachers to reduce their paper consumption and consider a more-is-less approach to teaching. Finally, teachers are invited to contribute to the research by being interviewed at later date. This session was presented at MeetELT Melbourne in 2018.

Bio
Sarah Chamberlain is an ELICOS teacher from CQU English, Melbourne. She holds a Master of Applied Linguistics (UoM). Sarah taught English in Europe and the UK, completing her Cambridge CELTA in Barcelona as recipient of the Suzanne Furstner study scholarship from Cactus Language UK. Her current research involves interviewing experienced teachers to investigate the possibility of creating quality classes with both limited resources and lesson preparation time. Sarah is the founder of ReadyTeacher, a platform redesigning relief teacher management and making teaching gigs more accessible to teachers across a largely casualised industry. She is passionate about teaching listening, speaking and pronunciation.