I was delighted to present at the Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color (AIELOC) Conference 2026, facilitating an interactive workshop titled “Voices That Matter: Humanising Pedagogy Through Spoken Word, Storytelling and Student Activism.”
Drawing on activities from my published resource Inspired English: Creative Writing & Critical Thinking Through Art (Macmillan Education) and my forthcoming poetry resource, the workshop explored how visual art, spoken word and inquiry-based learning can foster student voice, empathy and critical thinking across the curriculum.
Humanising Learning Through Creativity
Using Picasso’s Weeping Woman and Guernica as stimuli, participants explored storytelling and activist poetry through the perspectives of figures within the paintings. Together, we examined practical classroom strategies for:
- Using visual art as a catalyst for student voice and global issues.
- Developing confidence, presence and persuasive communication through spoken word.
- Applying inquiry-based learning that centres emotion, interpretation and lived experience.
- Transforming creative ideas into meaningful action across disciplines.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the workshop was hearing how these approaches could be adapted beyond English into Humanities, EAL, Wellbeing, Social Sciences and Universal Design for Learning across both Primary and Secondary education.
Learning Alongside Colleagues
Presenting was only one part of the conference experience. I also had the opportunity to learn from inspiring educators whose work challenged and affirmed many of my own beliefs about teaching and learning.
Tammy Baart’s keynote on Indigenous ways of knowing highlighted the importance of relationships, belonging and community, while Kamaya Thompson’s workshop on leadership and learning reinforced that education is fundamentally relational and grounded in understanding how others experience the world.
The Importance of Humanising Pedagogy
AIELOC reinforced an idea that continues to underpin my work as an educator, researcher and creative practitioner: humanising pedagogy is not an optional addition to learning – it is essential. When students are given opportunities to express themselves creatively, engage with diverse perspectives and connect learning to lived experience, they develop the confidence, empathy and agency to use their voices with purpose.
