Project Summary
The AELTA-Middle East Teacher
Training Pilot Project was a program designed
to promote professional development training of
female Saudi English language teachers in order
to create and sustain a learning environment that
fosters: improvement of the quality of basic education,
access to basic education for all people, promotion
of skills development compatible to work force
needs and leadership skills. At 100% transmission
(supervisor to teacher to student), the pilot
project has the potential of affecting an astounding
153,000 Saudi public school students.
The rigorous program consisted
of four intensive courses, conducted over the
span of 3 months. The courses totaled 80 hours
of in-class instructional time, in addition to
many out-of class assignments and one-on-one help
sessions. The participant pool included 15 teachers
and 15 supervisors from the Riyadh area. Training
materials and course work balanced theory and
practice, fostering opportunities to demonstrate
the connection between what was learned and direct
application to the Saudi English curriculum. An
array of topics were covered from understanding
and implementing educational theories and educational
psychology to training students to solve problems
using conflict resolution strategies – a
much needed real world skill. A sincere emphasis
was placed on cooperative learning strategies
that would help students build leadership skills,
self-esteem, self-reliance, creativity and tolerance
of others. Participants were taught how to transform
the Ministry’s lessons that predominantly
develop only lower order thinking skills, to lessons
that promote critical thinking and higher order
thinking skills. The key was that it was all done
through the experience of teaching English as
a foreign language (EFL) in the Saudi Arabian
public school system.
A tangential project to encourage
long-term communication between Saudi educators
and American educators is being conducted to connect
the educators through the “Gain-A-Friend”
Email Pen Pal Program. Teachers and supervisors
in the Middle East are connected to “American
friends” that are experienced educators
in the continental USA, in order to receive advice
and acquire alternative perspectives on teaching.
A tangential project to encourage
long-term communication between Saudi educators
and American educators is being conducted to connect
the educators through the “Gain-A-Friend”
Email Pen Pal Program. Teachers and supervisors
in the Middle East are connected to “American
friends” that are experienced educators
in the continental USA, in order to receive advice
and acquire alternative perspectives on teaching.
It was quite obvious, through
practicum observations and participant-generated
lessons, that participants grasped deep understanding
of the concepts covered in the program and were
able to effectively apply them directly in the
Saudi classroom. The Director of the English Language
Project and Head supervisors in the Ministry’s
Training Center were pleased to see integration
of theory and practice in these detailed lesson
plans, which comprised of many concepts that were
new to Saudi educators. The program consisted
of over sixty activities, more than half were
participant-generated. Novel research-based teaching
strategies, promoting higher order thinking, meeting
students’ individual needs and safe &
comfortable learning environments were all novel
criteria now being considered by Saudi supervisors
in appraising teacher performance, post-program.
As a reflection of what they learned, a few participants
set up English classrooms in their schools to
create comfortable and motivating learning environments
that applied research-based best practices. The
program also posed direct influence in leadership
opportunities as several teachers assumed supervisor
positions upon completing the program.
Among the major highlights of
the program, was the Ministry of Education’s
overwhelming satisfaction with the program’s
content, execution and outcomes. The Ministry’s
final report gave strong recommendation, which
particularly stressed that the pilot project was
a “user-friendly” program that clearly
guided teachers and supervisors how to feasibly
convert theory to practice. An influencing component
of the program was the ability to take the Saudi
teachers into the American classrooms by viewing
videos of American classrooms in action. Thus,
participants gained first-hand insight into teaching
the “American Way”. The English Language
Project stated that, “the program offers
coursework that is promotive of best instructional
practices, balanced with a comprehensible theoretical
element….it satisfies the training needs
of English teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Strong recommendations for large scale training
sessions have already been forwarded to the Ministry
of Education.
Astonishingly, more than 50%
of the Saudi population is below the age of 13.
This imposes a dire need for teacher training
to satisfy the shortage of teachers of young learners.
This pilot project had direct impact on promoting
the teaching skills required to fill the shortage
of qualified teachers of young learners in the
Saudi public schools. It can be said with confidence
that a large scale study, as a continuation of
this pilot project, will prove to yield greater
impact in skills development compatible with the
workforce needs of Saudi Arabia, while improving
the quality of basic education and promoting leadership
skills.
Potential Impact on Saudi Public SchoolsAELTA
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