Professional development for the literature lover ...

Join a fellow high school English teacher and discover ways to make the study of literature fun, relevant, and meaningful for all of your students. Create a modern classroom that meets the needs of today's students. In the time of one work day, you will learn how to make your teaching life easier and get better results.

Read the Teacher's Workshop blog or listen to The Joys of Teaching Literature podcast. Earn two graduate-level semester college credits though the University of the Pacific for an additional $99 per credit.

My courses focus on:

• project- based, real world learning
• working smart, not hard
• simplifying the teaching of writing and literature
• student-centered and small group learning
• whole-novel activities
• stress-free learning
• new technologies
• establishing a positive classroom culture 
•  inspiring creativity and curiosity

At the end of the course, you'll get the time to create a new lesson or activity, and receive a certificate of completion. Ask your district administrator or supervisor to support PD that you will actually enjoy. Email the PO (purchase order) to [email protected].

From feedback survey:

“What Scott's course did for me was it took important, worthwhile texts, and brought them into the current century. I can continue to do what I do as an English teacher, but after taking Scott's course, I have new tools. I have been an English teacher for 23 years, and though I am thoroughly conversant in my subject matter, I am not competent in these new-fangled tools. Scott teaches great literature, and he has new and innovative ways to engage students. He spoke teacher-to-teacher in this course. I would want to be one of his students. His objectives were always clear, and he didn't waste our time. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of resources, and he shared many computer files and directories with us. … It was a wonderful course. Being a teacher yourself, you’re mindful of people’s time and are ruthlessly pragmatic in your approach.” - Sarah H.

“Overall a great course. The topics covered will be used and implemented this year. All of the curriculum was timely. This means that the curriculum can fit with the modern day student. Scott was articulate and showed that he has a passion for teaching and also has fun.” – Christopher L

"Overall, this course was very useful and relevant to the practices that I conduct in my classroom. It was very helpful in solidifying some of the things that I already teach and in providing additional areas where I can add on to or modify my lessons to make them more engaging and meaningful (just as advertised!). My instructor was very friendly and knowledgeable about the topics he discussed! He was very thorough in his explanations of the topics as well." - Candace

“The downloads are helpful. Some of the topics are ones that I struggle to make interesting for my students, and the ideas that Scott presents are great to help me engage my students … You've touched on most things I teach to my students … You're engaging and clearly love what you do. The projects you've created have given me great ideas to use in my own classes for the kids." - Jacqueline S. 

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“There’s a lot I liked about the course … Each presentation was clear, easy to follow, and provided concrete examples. As a teacher, your humanity came through as you spoke to your audience. Your voice was inviting … To sum up, I would say that your message was clear, well packaged and presented … I really enjoyed the course.” – Deborah A.

“I thought this series of lessons was so worthwhile and encouraging… The course was well-developed and included student examples, handouts, and detailed descriptions of strategies. The website was very easy to navigate and Scott offered many avenues through which teachers could respond to his lectures. The instructor provided clear-cut, easy to understand instruction that included a variety of examples to support ideas/strategies. He was positive and clearly knowledgeable about best practices in the secondary education field. The instructor was forthright with his own experiences in the classroom, and he related to teachers well.” - Lorna