Want to Teach?

Robert Redpath teaching people about beekeeping Laneway Learning is not-for-profit, community-based organisation. We believe that anyone can share knowledge, peer-to-peer, face-to-face, whether they are an expert or a passionate amateur.

Our teachers come from all walks of life; from university professors and small business owners, to people who have a particular hobby or niche that they want to share. From teachers with a thousand classes under their belt, to experts who have never taught but know their field inside and out. Florists teach about flowers, scientists about science, hairdressers about hair…

We are always hunting for teachers to run classes at Laneway Learning and you could be one of them!

If you’re keen, check out the information below and then get in touch with us.

The Laneway Learning vibe
At Laneway Learning we offer cheap, fun classes in a wide range of diverse topics. There are three things that define what we try to do:
- Laneway Learning is accessible
  We offer one-off introductions or tasters to topics, no prior knowledge needed! Our classes are also very affordable, within the means of most people.
- Laneway Learning is about community
  Our teachers all come from the local community, often local small-business owners or amateur enthusiasts. We also love collaborating with local businesses and organisations for running our classes, putting on special events and participating in festivals.
- Laneway Learning is surprising
  We want our classes to surprise and engage people; the more unusual, fun and interactive the better.
Class format
Our classes typically take place on weekday evenings in unused spaces (like cafes and book stores) around town.

The classes are (almost always) one-offs, last for an hour and fifteen minutes and we work to keep costs low. If you decide to teach, we’ll need a breakdown of how much the ingredients/equipment for your class will cost and we’ll factor that into the price.

On the night you can expect up to 25 eager learners. We have a nice mix of first-timers and regular friendly faces, and everyone is always keen to get involved.

If you like, why don’t you sign up for an upcoming class and see what they’re all about for yourself?!
Class topics
We aim to cover a huge variety of topics and love having a bit of anything and everything, but there are a few things that aren't suitable for a class at Laneway Learning.

Our classes as purely for fun and the joy of learning something new, so with this in mind we don't organise classes related to:

Business
We already spend enough of our time working so we stay away from topics that are too much like work or that are designed for ‘skilling-up’. Let's relax and have fun!

Health and self-help
Health and self-help are really important issues. But they also come with a lot of responsibility and so we prefer to be cautious.

Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience covers beliefs or practices that are presented as scientific, but which are not researched or which are shown to be contradictory or exaggerated. Although Laneway Learning classes are for fun, we still want to make sure we're accurate.

Preaching
Different religions and belief systems are really interesting and it's great to know more about our neighbours. However, we want to teach people the facts and let them make up their own minds, rather than preaching about our personal beliefs.
Who can teach?
Anyone can teach!

You don't need teaching experience or a relevant degree, just a whole lot of love and knowledge for your topic. If you haven’t taught much before, tell us and we’ll give you all the support you need.
What’s in it for me?
Running a Laneway Learning class is a lot of fun! Whether your main drive is to meet new people, offer a ‘taster’ to your own classes or services, or push your experience and knowledge.

We'll work with you to create your class and will do all of the behind the scenes admin. All costs for the class are covered and we pay $50 per class. Plus, all our teachers are invited to come to another class for free, anytime they like.

What do I need to do?

Step one: Idea
Think about your class idea. Does it fit within the Laneway Learning vibe, format and topics? (Read more information about these things on this page.)

Step two: Plan
Put together a bit of a plan for your class as a starting point. Have a think about:

What specific things you want people to learn.
How you might break the class into chunks to keep people interested.
What activities you could include to make it really memorable and engaging.

Step three: Materials
Will your class require materials? Make a rough list of what you think you would need for a class of 24 people and the associated cost. This can be refined later.

Step four: Contact
Contact us using the form below to let us know all about it!

We talk to a lot of new people every week and we're a very small team. Unfortunately this means that although we read every class idea that comes in, we’re not always able to respond if it’s not a fit for Laneway Learning.

If you haven’t heard back in about a week and you think your class is a great match for us, please drop us another line with some more information.

View the information for teachers as a PDF.

The next step

The next step is to chat with us. This will give you a chance to ask any questions not covered above, and for us to find out a bit more about your idea.

After we meet, we’ll need a short description of your class (a ‘blurb’) in our standard format:

Title – A short, catchy name for your class that will get people’s attention and give a rough idea of what the class is about.
What’s it all about? – The quick sell. Why should people be interested?
What will we cover? – A more detailed run-down of what the class will involve.
Who will be teaching? – A short bio (in the third person) and a photo.

When you have written a blurb we will be able to lock in a date and post your class on the site. Easy as that!

Want to Teach?

The Laneway Learning vibe

Class format

Class topics

Who can teach?

What’s in it for me?

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