Welcome to

ImproCOG

Comedy-powered cognition

ImproCOG

Content

ImproCOG
Services

Workshops

ImproCOG

Story

ImproCOG Content

ImproCOG workshops utilise improvised performance games (comedy, drama, music, storytelling) to teach about cognition, divergent thinking and the cognitive verbs embedded in primary-secondary school curriculums.

ImproCOG also focusses on Applied Improvisation techniques which can be utilised in other contexts such as role play simulation in Health Science and other undergrduate degrees.

ImproCOG content supports graduate capabilities such as collaboration, innovation, communication, empathy and creativity.

ImproCOG Services

ImproCOG offers bespoke and tailored educational services including:

Workshops for university academics and students
Workshops for primary/secondary students
Professional development workshops for primary/secondary teachers
Workshops with Arts/Drama focus for performing arts students
Communication/empathy/collaboration training for corporate groups

Workshop prices are available on request.

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Why ImproCOG?

ImproCOG training is needed in today's educational and corporate landscape for a number of reasons incuding:

To address the decline of soft skills (communication, collaboration, creativity etc) amongst younger generations
To build personal relationship networks and social capital which were diminshed during Covid distancing and remote learning/working
To stop the disconnect from person-to-person narrative storytelling by building empathy, personal agency and collaborative understanding
To provide an environment for authentic human creativity during the rise of AI
To show the positive benefits of humour in a climate of anxiety and stress

There are a number of potentially negative mega-trends in post-Covid working & learning environments. ImproCOG seeks to provide outcomes which push back towards the positive.

Previous
Workshops

ImproCOG content has been presented in workshops to students and educators in Australia and internationally since 2012. Workshops include UNSW gifted and talented program, Drama Australia and Drama Queensland conferences, Qld Gifted & Talented Association conferences, Lutheran Education teacher PD, and ACU Allied Health Care Simulation conferences.

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All done at UNSW

What a wonderful week in Sydney teaching imrpo & cognition at the UNSW GERRIC program. The reactions and feedback from students (and...

ImproCOG Story

ImproCOG is the passion project and brainchild of Alastair Tomkins, a performing artist and Arts educator based in Brisbane, Australia.

Alastair has been an improvising performer in Australia and overseas since the early 1990's, and has been involved in Arts Education focussing on improvising/Theatresports since the early 2000's.

Alastair holds a number of degrees including a Masters of Education; he is also a member of the Applied Improvisation Network.

Alastair Tomkins

B.Comm(UNSW) M.Ed(UTS) ATCL Cert.TESOL(Cambridge) FHEA