DOHA: Designed to empower K-12 teachers to unlock the potential of students, the second Annual Teaching and Learning Forum was held yesterday in the presence of H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF).
The event, which brought together 1,000 teachers from across the country, was organised by the Education Development Institute (EDI), part of QF’s Pre-University Education.
The Teaching and Learning Forum falls under QF’s wider, year-round professional development programme to promote continuous life-long learning for teachers in primary and secondary schools. The Forum supports the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV2030) of transforming the country into a knowledge-based economy.
The Forum was also attended by a number of dignitaries and senior officials from Qatar Foundation, including
H E Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice-Chairperson of Qatar Foundation; Engineer Saad Al Muhannadi, President of Qatar Foundation, Dr Siva Kumari, Director General of the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Sir Ken Robinson, internationally recognised leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation.
Sheikha Noof Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, Head of the Teaching and Learning Forum 2015, said, “Since its launch last year, the Education Development Institute has grown significantly.”
“Last year, we had 200 teachers attend and we held 30 workshops; this year, we have brought together 1,000 teachers and have organised 80 workshops. To improve education and develop the skills of teachers, we have also agreed on several partnerships and agreements with the Supreme Education Council, the International Baccalaureate, Georgetown University in Qatar, Qatar University, and Harvard University, and there will be more in the future,” Sheikha Noof said.
Sir Ken Robinson delivered the keynote speech at the opening session. “It is a fantastic honour for me to be here,” he said. “I wanted to come to Qatar for a while. The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) conference is having such an impact internationally on people’s thinking about the direction of education, about the dynamics of education; it has become a place that you need to attend, to participate in, if you are to keep pace with what is happening internationally. This is my first time in Qatar, but I can’t think of a better occasion to be here, for this Education Development Institute session.”
The forum featured 80 workshops divided into three different sessions.
Addressing different topics, the sessions were carefully selected to hone the skills and knowledge of the participating teachers. The workshops focussed on critical issues that will promote innovative instructional practices in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), in early childhood education (children from the ages of 6 months to 5 years), and in Arabic language teaching and other subjects taught in schools.
After the opening ceremony, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Qatar Foundation and the International Baccalaureate (IB) represented respectively by Engineer Saad Al Muhannadi, President of Qatar Foundation, and Dr Siva Kumari, Director General of the International Baccalaureate.
The Peninsula
