Experts from around the world came together and shared their knowledge and expertise in education and language learning for school students at Cambridge University Press & Assessment’s online global teacher event.

The free Global Schools Festival, which took place online on 22-25 November 2021, saw industry professionals, teacher trainers and authors delivered 30 talks on a range of topical issues including addressing climate change in the classroom, learner engagement, strategies for sparking creativity and teacher wellbeing.

Charlotte Pritchard, Head of Product Marketing at Cambridge University Press & Assessment said: “We were delighted to host this celebration of the international schools community. We believe that well-trained and well-supported teachers are central to high quality pedagogy, high attainment, and the well-being of learners. This event gave attendees the opportunity to interact with other teachers, enrich their professional development and implement practical teaching tips in their classroom.”

The diverse line up of specialist speakers tackled big ideas such as oracy, assessment and bridging the learning gap. Sessions were live streamed from around the world on three virtual stages. Across the ‘Big Ideas’ stage, headliners addressed global issues affecting students and teachers today, that impact tomorrow. The ‘Teacher Takeaways’ stage offered practical sessions to equip teachers with activities and ideas that can be implemented instantly in their teaching. And the ‘Schools Community’ stage offered delegates the chance to discover and share stories to inspire and inform best practice. In each session, there was an opportunity to ask questions that were important to those attending.
 

Event highlights include:

• Matt Larsen-Daw – Education Manager at WWF-UK – ran a session entitled ‘Our climate, our future: schools and the legacy of COP26’ describing how schools were part of the story at COP26, and exploring how they can step up and play a key role in its legacy of change to address the climate crisis.
• Renowned Primary coursebook author Anne Robinson answered the five most common questions from teachers about how to engage young learners with grammar.
• Cultivating creativity is an important aspect of teaching young students, so multiple talks covered this area from different angles. Experts from Cambridge University Press & Assessment discussed how to spark creativity at any age; the use of puppets in the classroom, and using film and theatre to support digital teaching.
• Clinical psychologist Kate Brierton and Associate Professor of TESOL Christina Gkonou gave an interactive talk on how to maintain your wellbeing as a teacher, including meditation techniques and an explanation of how stress works in the body and mind.

All of the talks were free to attend and will be available on the Cambridge English Language Teaching YouTube channel after the festival.

ENDS

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