Last week I attended the 5th edition of Practical Pedagogies, a conference like no other. This year saw it return “home” to The International School of Toulouse in the sunny south of France.

I love this conference and have been privileged to be invited to speak at all 5 conferences in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2024 and now 2026. If you click on the dates, you’ll see what I learned from in previous years and why I agree to attend – and speak – every time i’m asked by Russel Tarr.

This year my session was entitled Take One Book – I’ll share more in another post – and that left me 7 choices of sessions, plus the keynotes and endnote.

My reflections – they have been ongoing all week but the main points that keep coming back.

*Mattering – we need to feel that we matter whether we are a child, a teenager, and adult.

*Belonging – likewise, we need to find our place and feel secure.

*Flourishing – we should all have the opportunity to grow and flourish, not being kept in a pot or jar that’s limiting our growth based on our perceived “potential’ Thank you Dame Alison for the story of Claudia.

*Wonder – we should never lose the ability to be surprised, wowed and moved by our learners – a principle for life too.

Rewrite the unhelpful stories you tell yourself.

HOPE IS EVERYTHING.

As usual I attempted to sketchnote all the sessions I attended; this was made tricky when I left my pencil case on the other side of the school and had to search for an emergency writing implement. prior to Dame Alison Peacock’s keynote. IST is so amazingly organised and tidy that it took me four classrooms to discover anything suitable when I found a pencil, hidden on a book shelf. Below are the outcomes – I’m out of practice but am determined to recover my skills. I think, in an age of AI, it’s good to engage your brain as much as possible!

Hope you find them helpful and that they give you a flavour of the sessions. Feel free to leave comments and ask questions if you want to know more!

On Friday I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Dr Alison Porter from University of Southampton and Professor Suzanne Graham from University of Reading on the subject of challenge and creatiivty in the Primary Languages classroom.

Over the last couple of years I have participated in a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) led by Alison and Suzanne to explore challenge, creativity and empathy and then along with my Y5 Spanish classes, took part in the DELTEA research project using a phonics app and digital storytelling to put the learning into practice and explore the impact on motivation, empathy and language learning. Thsi interview followed up these experiences and will form part of a new MOOC.

During the interview I talked about my learning during the MOOC about Self Determination Theory, the need for intrinsic motivation and an optimal amount of challenge for learners’ self efficacy and the relationship between challenge and creativity. I also shared how a Strengths Based pedagogy and an asset based (what learners CAN do) rather deficit based mindset have become very important in my thinking and consequently planning for QFT. The conversation then moved on to how this was demonstrated during the DELTEA project in my setting, what was learned from the project, and how we have moved forward following the conclusion of that phase in July 2024. It concluded with me sharing a ‘hot off the press’ example that I felt gathered all those threads together and demonstrated the need for and value of challenge for ALL our learners, and the undeniable effect on their self efficacy / vision of themselves as a language learner.

It was lovely to take time to reflect on the process and realise the impact this has all had on my setting. In the business of school, it’s rare that you have time to do that! I’m really looking forward to the MOOC of which my video will form a small part as I always welcome an opportunity to learn, reflect and hone my skills as a language learner and educator.