International 'Teacher Effectiveness' expert visits GCC
Dr Kathy McKnight provides guidance to local math and science teachers.
Dr Kathy McKnight, Head of the Center for Educator Learning and Effectiveness at the Pearson Research and Innovation Network in Washington has visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Dr McKnight has used her visit to the region to demonstrate the important role teachersâ play when it comes to improving learner outcomes, especially in the math and science fields. Dr McKnight led educator focused events in Riyadh and Dubai, where she spoke of how math and science teachers can drive student engagement and results.
The visit by Dr McKnight is timely, as both the Saudi and UAE Governments place renewed focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education as a way of improving national productivity. Officials in both countries recognise that generating expertise in the STEM disciplines is a key way to diversify Gulf economies away from oil and propagate more sustainable, knowledge based industries.
In March of this year, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) made changes to the curriculum that will see STEM subjects make up half of the unified state school curriculum for years 10 to 12. In Saudi Arabia, the Government has undertaken several initiatives to boost math and science education, which include the Math and Science Teacher Development Programme, being run by the Tatweer Company for Educational Services (T4Edu) in conjunction with Pearson.
Dr McKnight says it is teachers – at both a primary and tertiary level – that will be the most important players in seeing improvement in educational indicators for these subjects.
“When it comes to improving students outcomes, teacher effectiveness is the most important school related factor. Teachers have the power to motivate, inspire and guide their learners in a way that no one else can. This is especially important for our math and science educators as new information and technologies are constantly being made available in the market. We need to ensure our math and science teachers have up-to-date knowledge and access to ongoing professional development training so they have the tools and resources necessary to drive learner results. The success of recent regional policies to promote math and science learning will depend largely on how we support the educators responsible for implementing these curriculum changes”.
Dr Khalaf Al Mufleh, Curriculum and Assessment Director of Riyadh Schools who attended the Saudi Arabia event says having experts of Dr McKnight’s stature is a great way to inspire local teachers to help their math and science learners achieve. He says:
“Dr McKnight is known globally for her research into what makes a teacher effective, so we are absolutely delighted to have her here in the Middle East working with local leaders and teachers to impart her knowledge. She has offered real insight into what we can do in a professional sense to raise the standard of math and science instruction in our schools, and I believe the lessons we have learnt here today will have a real and lasting impact on our students”.