'Vive la France' say Emirati students

Joint initiative between French Ministry of Education and Abu Dhabi authorities boosts science, mathematics and language skills.

Kholoud al Jabri secures a weight on a spring. By measuring the distance travelled by the weight along with its velocity and time, she and her lab partner, Asma al Hosani, were able to prove Newton's 21st law of physics. Lee Hoagland /The NationalShow less

ABU DHABI // For high school students at the Al Mawaheb Model School, a French initiative has taught them that algebra and geometry are not just mundane formulas but verses in a poem.
The programme, which piloted at the school three years ago to advance science, mathematics and English skills, has been teaching advanced concepts through song and theatre sessions and prepares students for further education.
The scheme came about through a 2008 agreement between the French Ministry of Education and the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) at two public high schools. Teachers from the Lycee Louis Le Grand (LLG) secondary school in Paris took over Grades 10, 11 and 12 to teach its curriculum. The aim was to equip students for university without taking remedial courses for two additional years.
"Before this programme we were only memorising and writing it in an examination," said Shamma al Hameeri, a Grade 12 student at Al Mawaheb during a demonstration for Adec and French Embassy officials yesterday. "The teachers would do an experiment and we would just sit and watch.
"It was hard because we began learning in English and we were doing our own experiments. But I think we won't find it hard at college." Now 18, Ms al Hameeri has decided to take up an engineering course after high school.
The first batch of 38 students from the Al Mawaheb and Al Ittihad Model School for Boys in the capital will graduate this year. Pupils will receive a French diploma from the school in Paris as well as a UAE diploma.
Dr Mugheer al Khaili, the Adec director general, said the project had shifted students from rote to active learning.
"The girls are now hands-on and have displayed critical thinking skills, which proves the success of the project," he said. "We want the international educators to transfer their teaching methods to our national educators."
That would seem a good idea given the results so far. There has been a boost in students' confidence as they have become bilingual, said Fatima Hassan al Hosani, the vice principal of the Al Mawaheb school.
"Their English skills have improved tremendously and I see more ambition in them now," she said. "Their thinking has improved. There is more co-operation between the students. They work as a team."
That was confirmed by the Grade 10 student Amna al Neaimi, who was performing an extraction of menthol for the delegation. She was recently taught the experiment that she presented to assembled dignitaries, which included the French ambassador Alain Azouaou.
"Who needs foundation programmes?" she asked. "We are ready for university."
[e-mail]