ABU DHABI // Thousands of public school teachers returned to the classroom this week as pupils to develop their professional skills.
About 11,000 teachers from 256 government schools across the capital, the Western Region and Al Ain are taking part in a week-long training programme called Tanmia, launched by Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec).
“This first event of its kind offers a structured learning environment and in-depth exploration on a single topic of interest to teachers,” said Mohamed Al Dhaheri, executive director of Adec’s school operations.
“To help expose our students to 21st century learning skills, ongoing professional development is vital, since it helps keep a teacher up to date on new research on Adec’s strategy.
“This training not only provides teachers with top-notch professional development training in an area they are most comfortable pursuing, but also offers an opportunity for people to share best teaching practices,” said Mr Al Dhaheri.
Each academic year, teachers are required to fulfil at least 30 hours of professional development training. These workshops are usually held after school or between classes for 90 minutes twice a week. Teachers who attend the training sessions present a project showing proof they have applied their new skills in their classrooms. Once they pass an assessment they receive a completion certificate, which can improve their promotion prospects.
With the Tanmia programme, which started yesterday and will continue until Thursday at 48 training centres, teachers from all grade levels are given the chance to complete 20 hours toward their 30-hour requirement.
They could choose from one of seven areas to develop, including support for high achievement for all pupils, planning for high-quality instruction and literacy strategies, and strategies for English language learners. These issues were identified by teachers in a survey last year as areas they would like to improve.
Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Adec’s director general, said she was very pleased that the teachers had chosen these subjects.
During a tour of workshops at a training centre at Al Mawaheb School, she said the subjects were “exactly what we wanted them to learn, so you see there is a full alignment in this”.
As Dr Al Qubaisi was accompanied by a delegation of Adec officials and advisers, she visited the class workshops and watched teachers work in groups using construction paper to build small houses.
rpennington@thenational.ae
