File photo used for representation only.
Effective pedagogies and wellbeing of individuals are vital in improving resilient education systems, said a senior expert at Qatar Foundation (QF), coinciding with the International Literacy Day 2021 which is marked today under the theme ‘Literacy for a human-centred recovery: Narrowing the digital divide.’
International Literacy Day 2021 focuses on teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, with a focus on the role of educators and changing teaching practices.
Director of Research and Content Development at QF’s WISE, Dr. Asmaa Al Fadala, told The Peninsula: “Effective pedagogies are key in improving our education systems. QF schools are constantly evaluating the teaching and learning and are working to improve the quality of education they offer even through remote learning. Schools have adapted to change and were able to address some of the challenges brought about by the pandemic.”
“Schools adapting to the crisis show how important it is for our systems to be resilient. COVID-19 might not be the last crisis we will face; our schools need to be prepared for future challenges at this scale,” she added.
According to Dr. Al Fadala, one very important lesson schools learned from COVID-19 is that we need to have crisis management plans and capabilities within out systems.
She emphasized that, although WISE is not a school and does not provide educational programs to children, it works with some schools within QF and supports some public schools as well.
“One example of our work with public schools is the Empowering Leadership of Learning (ELL) program which provides capacity building opportunities for school leaders on targeted areas for improving teaching and learning in their schools. This program has been running for over five years now and tens of public and private schools have benefited from its sessions,” said Dr. Al Fadala.
WISE has introduced a research track dedicated to wellbeing and learning sciences in which working on a number of research projects.
“One of our main projects is establishing an innovation hub within Qatar Foundation for schools to experiment with new learning approaches, innovative methods, and test new technologies for teaching and learning.
Another effort is a collaborative research project where WISE works with WISH, several other QF entities, Doha International Family Institute and Hamad Bin Khalifa University to understand the impact of the excessive use of digital technologies on adolescents in Qatar,” said Dr. Dr. Al Fadala.
“Another research project focuses on the wellbeing of teachers at schools in Qatar and in two other countries. In this project we are trying to understand what affects teachers’ wellbeing, motivation and morale positively and negatively, and how schools and systems can work to ensure the wellbeing of teachers. If teachers are happy and motivated, the students’ learning and wellbeing will improve,” she said.
Dr. Al Fadala said that schools that cater for children with special needs and learning difficulties were affected the most by COVID-19. At present WISE is conducting a research to understand the magnitude of the issue and help shape policies in collaboration with Cambridge University, will be shared with the outcomes of other research projects in the WISE Summit to be held in Doha in December.
