A collaborative project around learning and student well-being publié le 20/05/2026
Innovating for success
This approach has several objectives :
* to harmonize practices within the teaching team ;
* to enable students to adopt effective learning methods ;
* to explain these strategies to families in order to strengthen educational continuity.
At the heart of a vocational school, this project allows students to progress and become more involved in their learning through educational practices based on recent research results in cognitive science. The ambition is to make each student able to understand how his/her own memory works ; to learn in a more conscious and autonomous way and to develop strategies to improve one’s attention and concentration.
The first educational exchanges, field observations and diagnoses carried out with the class made it possible to highlight several essential needs to promote learning :
recognize the mindset conducive to learning and take into account the psychoemotional needs of students ;
understand the cognitive and socio-emotional mechanisms involved in learning ;
be aware of the impact of a healthy lifestyle on learning abilities (sleep, diet, physical activity, pace of life) ;
understand the importance of calm and appeasement to promote attention and concentration, notably thanks to calming times at the beginning of the hour.
These findings have gradually led the team to implement more explicit teaching practices, promoting concentration, engagement, and the well-being of students in their learning.
The first year of the project involved four teachers involved in this experimental approach, alongside the library teacher. As early as September 2024, several rounds of discussion allowed for discussions on the educational strategies to be implemented. A diagnosis of the class was carried out through a self-administered questionnaire as well as placement tests, in order to target the real needs of the students.
Between October and December 2024, team meetings made it possible to build and implement various educational activities :
* calming down at the beginning of the hour in English on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ;
* implementation of training courses for teachers ;
* request for external FIL training ;
* internal training sessions conducted with Mrs.Wouters-Ollivier ;
* training students for one hour per week during Sales/Trade classes.
From January 2025, the activities and strategies resulting from the training courses were gradually integrated into classroom practices in order to develop students’ memory, attention, autonomy, and involvement. Quarterly review meetings also made it possible to analyze the effects observed, adjust practices and strengthen collective dynamics.
In view of the involvement of students and the positive effects observed on their academic position, the project was continued and expanded the following school year. A FIL provided by CARDIE was offered to all members of the pedagogical and educational team who joined the initiative, thus strengthening the collaborative and transversal dimension of the project.
The project culminated in an exhibition dedicated to the brain and learning mechanisms, accessible to the entire educational community. The week of the game involved all students in the school and made it possible to offer various workshops adapted according to the levels. (All links available in the attached file)
This project illustrates the importance of collaborative work between the various stakeholders in the institution. By combining pedagogical, educational and medico-social perspectives, this initiative has made it possible to offer students concrete tools for learning better, getting to know each other better, and building self-confidence.
Beyond the activities carried out, this experience reminds us how innovation in education can become a real lever for success and fulfillment for students when it is based on cooperation, experimentation and the meaning given to learning. But not only for students since a colleague told me that this initiative has restored meaning to her practices and allowed her to overcome situations in which she had been involved in recent years.
This project fully illustrates how cognitive science, interdisciplinary work and pedagogical innovation can contribute to building a school climate favorable to the success and development of students.
And this is what the Le Verger vocational high school strives for every year.
