Discover a practical, classroom-ready approach to engaging students with reading through Unseen Reflection exercises.
Do you teach English literature in a diverse secondary school or college? Are you looking for ways to encourage thoughtful, inclusive responses to unfamiliar texts and support students from a range of cultural and religious backgrounds?
In this FREE CPD session, led by the Empathy, Narrative and Cultural Values (ENCV) research team, teachers will explore the Unseen Reflection method -- a reflective reading exercise developed through research with inner-city Birmingham students, including Muslim learners. The approach helps students respond to unseen texts through emotion, memory, and thought, building confidence and fostering deeper engagement.
The session will be led by Professor Peter Morey, Professor Amina Yaqin, Dr Eva Momtaz and Dr Farah Nazir, with support from English Teacher Vanessa Havill (Joseph Chamberlain Sixth-Form College).
Participants will:
• Discover the research and theory behind the approach
• Take part in a guided unseen reflection exercise
• Consider adaptations for different classroom contexts
• Contribute to a shared bank of text extracts for future use
This CPD forms part of the ENCV team’s wider toolkit for reflective, inclusive literacy practice and is designed to be immediately applicable in the classroom.
When: Tuesday 24 March 2026 (1:30-3pm)
Where: University of Birmingham (Room TBC)