About My Teaching Practice:
I enjoy creating my own lectures and in-class exercises, come laden with relevant handouts and multimedia examples, and am generally nauseatingly well-prepared. My classes have been about writing as well as other ways that creativity manifests in the world.
I’ve taught online and in-person, on the phone and via email, on college campuses, in bookstores, community centers and other places where fine learning is purveyed. I’ve taught classes that range from a full academic semester to a one-hour workshop.
What My Students Say:
“Not only am I inspired to delve deeper into my writing, I feel like I have a really clear direction to get started. Thank you for all of the helpful information. I got a lot out of today. ”
“Alison, honestly, you have been the best! You have a great sense of humor, and through it all you kept the tone light and fun. Your feedback to me was especially insightful — it was instrumental to getting [my memoir essay] done, and finding an editor who loved it. It will be published this Fall! You have a well-honed BS monitor that kept me writing honestly. I am feeling much more confident about my ability to write, my voice, and my choice of pursuing this writing career. ”
“This class was just amazing! I cannot think of something that didn’t satisfy me, all the ideas were authentic, the workshop’s duration and the amount of info was perfect, the teacher was inspiring and offered real value! I would definitely watch another course of hers. Thank you!”
“Alison Stein was a bubble filled with joy and promise. Her infectious laugh made it almost impossible not to like her. She made learning a joy. I have always been one who struggles with procrastination and writer’s block, but her on-the-fly method of teaching helped me cast that aside, by not letting me stay in my head and just let the words land where they may.”
“Thanks for a fantastic class yesterday. I knew that tips from someone who has slogged away in many trenches would be well worth the trip up to NYC from DC. And it was. I came home inspired anew to sharpen my ideas and pitch away. I wish I could bottle your energy and spray some when I need a boost…and did I mention that your class sparked a lot of new ideas? ”
Selected Teaching Venues:
Skillshare: On this online learning community, I teach 5 Techniques to Generate Creative Writing Ideas, — about generating prompts for your own creative endeavors. As well as writers, artists, actors and entrepreneurs have taken and loved this class.. (Plus, in the intro video, you get to see my dog! And my studio!) Click here for two months of free access to my class and all the classes on the site.
The Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences: I am an adjunct professor. (Fancy!) It’s my honor to help tomorrow’s medical professionals learn how to write clearly, which I believe helps them to think more clearly too.
The Well: A really cool women’s learning center in the heart of Brooklyn, where I taught an in-person creative writing and blogging courses.
Gotham Writers’ Workshop: I’ve been on the faculty here since 2010. I’ve taught Creative Writing, Food Writing, Travel Writing, and How to Blog.
The Arts Center of the Capital Region: In Troy, New York, I taught The Business of Freelance Writing, and Devour the World: Food and Travel Writing.
Private workshops: I take on a very limited number of students for individual coaching and private instruction. Email me at alisonstein at gmail.com if you’re interested.