Educational Neuroscience Hub

I am honoured to be delivering a plenary session at the 𝐕 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 with the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD), 𝐁𝐨𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐚', 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚. 🎤

This year's theme, "𝑁𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜-𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑑𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐴𝐼 𝑖𝑛 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠," provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the role of emotions, learning, and emerging technologies in education. ❤️

In this keynote, I will explore emotion regulation through the lens of the Science of Learning and Instruction🧠 We will examine its impact on language learning, engagement, motivation, and academic success. 📚

Looking forward to sharing evidence-based, practical strategies and connecting with educators and researchers from around the world. 🌍

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Moments like these are what make this work so rewarding. ☺️
Connecting with educators across different schools.

𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 🍎
𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬. 🧠
𝐓𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞.
𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. 🎓

This is how education continues to grow. 🌱

Thank you to Ms. Ferrante Antonella, 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐀 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥, for hosting me.
Thank you to Mr. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐀𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐚, 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐧 𝐆̇𝐨𝐫𝐠̇ 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥.
Thank you to Ms. Miriam Farrugia Grech, 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐒𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥.
Thank you to Ms. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐚, 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐦𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥.
Thank you to Ms. Marlene Spiteri, 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐧 𝐆̇𝐨𝐫𝐠̇ 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥.
Thank you to Ms. Alexandra Vella, 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐧 𝐆̇𝐨𝐫𝐠̇ 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥.

Over the past three weeks, 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬. The discussions we shared were insightful, inspiring, and a reminder of the commitment that exists across our schools to continually improve teaching and learning.



📷 Courtesy of the schools mentioned above.

Having had the opportunity to visit the 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 ALP Paola, all I can say is how much dedication, patience, and commitment I witnessed from the Senior Leadership Team and educators. 👏

It was a truly engaging session filled with thoughtful and interesting questions, which always enrich the discussion itself. 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢!

A heartfelt thank you to 𝐌𝐬. 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢, 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐫. 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨, 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝, for their warm welcome and hospitality.

A special thank you as well to Josette for gifting me her authored book, “𝐺ħ𝑎𝑥 𝐽𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑖 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑘… 𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑗𝑗𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙-𝑞𝑎𝑙𝑏 𝑡𝑎’ 𝐸𝑑𝑢𝑘𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟”. Truly appreciated - what a lovely gift! 📚

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬. 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭. 🤝🏽🏫

At 𝐒𝐭. 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 (𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐚), we discussed the importance of educators being self-regulated themselves to be able to regulate their students in class.
We cannot pour from an empty cup. ☕
Educator wellbeing matters. 🌱

Thank you, 𝐌𝐬. 𝐑𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐣𝐚, 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥, for the invitation and for highlighting this crucial topic. 🙏🏼

I was also pleased to visit the 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩’𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 (𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐚).
Discussing how the brain processes information is essential for effective pedagogy. 🧠
Brain-friendly strategies help us reach every student. 💡
Because our students are the reason we are in the classroom. ❤️

Thank you, 𝐌𝐫. 𝐆𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨, 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐫. 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐮 for organising everything so smoothly. 🙏🏼

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝. 🧠

To understand how their brain learns.
To believe growth is possible.
To develop motivation, perseverance, and willpower. 🍀
To know they can influence their own learning and future through neuroplasticity and a growth mindset.

The students at 𝐒𝐭. 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐪 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 (𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐚) were incredibly engaged, curious, and eager to learn more. So many thoughtful questions and such excellent behaviour throughout the session. 🎓

Well done to all the staff at Handaq Middle School, and thank you to 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐬. Mary Mercieca for ensuring everything ran smoothly. ❤️

🎓 𝐏𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞. 🌍

Today’s learners process information differently.
They are connected, collaborative, fast-paced, and visually driven. ✨

This challenges us to adapt our teaching while still valuing the strategies that continue to work. 📚🧠

I was pleased to have been invited by The Mediterranean College of Sport - a private school where student-athletes develop both their athletic abilities and educational journey - to deliver this PD session. 😊

The engagement from the educators was incredible.
Thoughtful questions.
Insightful conversations.
Genuine reflection on pedagogy. 👏

Thank you to Ms. Mariuccia Fenech (Head of School - so lovely meeting you ☺️) and Mr. Joseph Balzan (Curriculum Manager) for the invitation and warm welcome. 🫶

It was lovely connecting with the staff. 🌱

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧. 🧠❤️
Before a child learns in a classroom, they learn through relationships, emotions, environment, and connection at home.

Schools cannot do this alone. Real impact happens when families and schools work together. 🤝

Thank you to the 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐧 𝐆̇𝐨𝐫𝐠̇ 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 (𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐚), 𝐌𝐬. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢, for once again entrusting me with training within her community. 🌱

And thank you to Ms. 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐢, 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 (𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐚), for believing in the importance of this work. ✨



📷 San Gorg Preca Marsa Primary School & San Andrea School (Malta)

🧠 Children do not learn emotional regulation by being told.
They learn it through us. 💛

Through our tone.
Our calm.
Our presence.
Our responses. ✨

Socio-emotional learning in early childhood is not an “extra”.
It is the crux of it all. 🌱

This is why educators matter so much.
When educators learn to regulate their own emotions, they become powerful role models for young learners. 🫶📚

It was such a privilege delivering this session at Sagħtrija Childcare Centre hosted by Mark and Svetlana Amato. Thank you both for your warmth and hospitality, and thank you to the dedicated educators who made the session so meaningful. 😊

It was lovely connecting with you all.
It truly felt like home. 🏡