Humanising Classrooms: Incl Practices for Teaching, Learning & Leadership

Few things are as important as how we tell the human story — the stories we tell about ourselves, others, and the larger world. In increasingly diverse and international school communities, educators are called to move beyond single narratives toward more expansive, inclusive approaches to teaching and learning. This workshop is designed to provide the support and guidance to facilitate such growth.

This interactive two-day learning experience invites educators and school leaders to expand how the human story is told across classroom practice, curriculum design, and school culture. Grounded in inquiry, identity literacy, storytelling, and strategic design, participants will explore how to cultivate more inclusive approaches that promote belonging and academic success.

Few things are as important as how we tell the human story — the stories we tell about ourselves, others, and the larger world. In increasingly diverse and international school communities, educators are called to move beyond single narratives toward more expansive, inclusive approaches to teaching and learning. This workshop is designed to provide the support and guidance to facilitate such growth.

This interactive two-day learning experience invites educators and school leaders to expand how the human story is told across classroom practice, curriculum design, and school culture.

Grounded in research on belonging, identity development, and learning, this workshop begins with the self: how our own lenses and assumptions shape the environments we create. From there, participants will explore how to design learning experiences that reflect a wider range of perspectives, foster curiosity and inquiry, and support our diverse communities of students in seeing themselves as part of the larger human story. Our goal is to expand our student-centered practices — enhancing inclusion and academic success.

Participants will engage with:

- Storytelling and identity as foundational to teaching and learning

- Expansive narratives across disciplines, including humanities and STEM

- Inclusive classroom practices that foster psychological safety, curiosity, and connection

- Curriculum design that moves beyond the surface toward impactful representation and sound pedagogy

- Leadership approaches that support school-wide alignment and sustainable change

Across the two days, the work will be grounded in three key areas:

- Classroom practice — what educators can do daily to create inclusive, human-centered learning spaces

- Curriculum — how we can design and deliver content that reflects the complexity of the human experience

- School culture and leadership — how leaders can support this work in ways that are coherent, aligned, and embodied across the community

Participants will leave with practical tools, adaptable frameworks, and language they can apply immediately, along with a deeper understanding of how inclusive, humanizing practices support student belonging, well-being, and academic success.

This workshop is designed for:

- Classroom teachers (across subject areas and grade levels)

- Instructional leaders and administrators

- Curriculum designers and coordinators

- Anyone interested in creating more inclusive and human-centered learning environments

Participants are encouraged (but not required) to bring a unit, lesson, advisory and/or curriculum idea they’d like to develop; sample materials will also be provided.

Monique Vogelsang is an education consultant, curriculum designer, and founder of the nonprofit Humanizing History — dedicated to expanding how we tell the human story in education. With over two decades of experience, Monique began her career as a Teach For America classroom teacher and has since collaborated with more than 100 schools worldwide, supporting educators and leaders across subject areas in building more inclusive, culturally responsive, and human-centered learning environments.

Her work spans interdisciplinary curriculum design across the humanities and STEM, with a focus on belonging, inclusion, cultural and racial literacy, and the role of storytelling in shaping how students and educators understand themselves in the larger world. She co-developed the first antiracist social studies standards in the U.S. and created a racial literacy curriculum used by thousands of educators globally.

Monique partners with schools across the world to design inclusive curricula, facilitate professional learning, and support leadership teams in aligning practice with mission and vision. She also writes a weekly newsletter for educators and families exploring how history and storytelling can expand our understanding of the past and its connection to the present.

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Host or Publisher International School of Amsterdam