Leaders in teaching and learning: Creating a lasting impact

Maintaining student engagement and continuity of learning has been our top priority. We’ve diversified our e-learning platforms, conducted frequent curriculum reviews, well-being checks, and significantly invested in technology and teachers, providing resources and training, and enhancing overall collaboration and critical thinking during this pandemic.

What is that one thing your school has done differently in the past one year that you are truly proud of?

We are proud of taking a very supportive, resilience-based approach with our school community, helping teachers adapt to new requirements, which include simultaneously engaging students physically and those joining online, as well as incorporating personal development and well-being lessons for students to cope in this new normal.

“We focus on individualised personal development”

How would you define inclusive learning and what initiatives have you taken to promote inclusive learning in your school?

Inclusive learning is about providing equitable opportunities to all learners, maximising their potential. At ISCS, we focus on individualised personal development, identifying and removing all barriers to successful social, emotional, and educational development of students, while providing high quality teaching and differentiated learning opportunities, matching their interests and abilities.

What is that one thing your school has done differently in the past one year that you are truly proud of?

We have provisioned for the latest digital necessity to benefit the ISCS community, adding flexibility into teaching and learning, and enabling working parents to better support their children, and our digital tools have helped students re-access and refresh topics, including science experiments, art and physical education.

“The school has the flexibility to accommodate and adapt to all situations”

For leaders, establishing a clear vision should be the starting point for any school. How do you envision your school’s future?

We will be a true reflection of the Royal Grammar School in the UK with some adaptations for life in the UAE. The Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai (RGSGD) will be rich with genuine relationships and the RGSGD Learning Habits will be interwoven throughout each pupil’s curricular and co-curricular experiences. Pupils will develop and share a common love of learning. The school’s values will be evident in all that we do for all members of our community and we will have safe and happy pupils who are challenged and supported to reach their full potential.

What will be different about RGSGD compared to other schools when it opens in September?

We are in a unique position as when we open our doors in September, we will have built and launched the school during the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning that the school has the flexibility to accommodate and adapt to all situations. In a building that has been made for 2,000 pupils, we’ll have about 200 in our first year which gives us an advantage when it comes to social distancing and enhanced safety measures. Coupled with the 500-year heritage that the school has been built on, RGSGD will be the best new home of learning.

How do you read the future of the education system for UAE schools?

The UAE is an amazing education landscape, with a rich tapestry of schools across different curricula that continues to grow from strength to strength. The RGSGD will add further value to the educational system, by providing the community with a school focused on the individual child in all areas including academic, co-curricular and character development, through genuine interests and amazing relationships.

“Parent–teacher collaboration has witnessed an evolving paradigm shift in 2021”

Why parent-teacher collaboration is important and what does that look like at your school?

Parent–teacher collaboration has witnessed an evolving paradigm shift in 2021, adapting to the hybrid learning challenges arising out of circumstances where parents have started assuming a vital role as virtual guardians of children’s education at home. This collaboration fosters elements like the digital safety and well-being of students during the most intriguing time of their learning journey.

What is that one thing your school has done differently in the past one year that you are truly proud of?

Khalifah Al Hamzah school has expanded the professional growth opportunities of teachers, raised the profile of the school in the UAE community and instilled a value-skill based learning atmosphere.

“We make sure that our students develop valuable 21st century skills”

Students will enter a new era of working in terms of changed working environments, careers and required skill sets. How do you prepare students for real-life scenarios?

At SABIS, we prepare our students for success in university and beyond. We do so by offering them a strong foundation of knowledge and a lifelong love of learning that will allow them to always re-engineer themselves in a constantly changing and fast-paced world. In parallel, we also make sure that our students develop valuable 21st century skills that they will need in the workplace.

What is that one thing your school has done differently in the past one year that you are truly proud of?

Student learning has continued seamlessly during the pandemic with the implementation of our edtech.

Our digital classroom provides the opportunity for students to interact with one another as if they are physically present at school. Our assessment tools provide real time feedback to students, their parents, their teachers and school administrators, enabling close monitoring of student learning and the ability to take quick action if gaps in knowledge appear.

We have always been dedicated to ensuring that our students develop as independent learners and that no student is left behind. We are proud that we have been able to adapt to this new world without compromising this objective. In addition, with the SABIS Network’s diverse talent pool from around the globe, we are particularly proud of our collaborative effort that has ensued as a result of the educational crisis. This ultimately resulted in the successful deployment and smooth transition to a fully-fledged online learning environment. Having said that, we believe strongly in the importance of the traditional “brick-and-mortar” school, and we are looking forward to welcoming our students back on campus in the not-too-distant future.

“Educators should focus on providing authentic, unique, and innovative learning experiences”

How is your institution preparing its students for jobs of the future?

Nobody can accurately predict future jobs; hence, educators should focus on providing authentic, unique, and innovative learning experiences, fostering development of 21st century skills. ASCS nurtures students to persist beyond content recall and engage in productive struggle, developing real-world awareness, critical thinking and flexibility, enabling smooth adoption of constantly transitioning systems.

What is that one thing your school has done differently in the past year you are truly proud of?

We acted swiftly and progressed as required, to maintain student engagement and the desired depth of thinking. We provided more innovative learning opportunities, dedicated time for creative projects, rewarded divergent ideas, and allowed failure to measure what mattered most, leading to better content retention.

“Students can choose instructional delivery models that meet their needs”

As the principal of one of the premier education institutions in the UAE, how do you plan to boost student motivation and achievement through effective blended education model?

We provide daily lessons through distance and face-to-face learning and as a result, we are able to provide a wide variety of programmes and enrichment activities through our blended model. The student council has organised extracurricular activities, and recently we had a virtual Donuts with Dad event, which was highly successful. Each class also has a homeroom period where both face-to-face and distance learning students interact through a wellness programme. These interactions create strong bonds with students and staff, especially when some students have remained at home for the entire time. This special time has helped with student motivation and enabled solid relationships to be built virtually.

What is that one thing you want to do differently in the next 12 months that will set your school apart from others?

We want to continue to expand our very successful intervention programmes, where we support different groups of students either in a small group or one-to-one with trained staff, who provide various support in reading, phonics, math, and Arabic. We know student motivation and achievement are effectively boosted by providing student choice, and we are continually looking for opportunities to provide this. In a blended education model, students can choose instructional delivery models that meet their needs. By providing a choice and that independence in selecting your learning path, it motivates and increases student ownership in how they learn and how they showcase their knowledge.

“Ensuring a unified approach for all students in accessing and utilising technology is paramount”

What are the latest innovations in teaching and learning, especially with the impact of Covid and remote learning?

Ensuring a unified approach for all students in accessing and utilising technology and innovation is paramount. We’ve incorporated Apple iPads to guarantee consistent availability of apps, security, and pedagogical expectations, keeping it simple and effective, while limiting the uses of native apps and increasing the familiarity for students.

What is that one thing your school has done differently in the past one year that you are truly proud of?

We’ve implemented the use of Showbie, an interactive learning platform for children, which parents can also access, enabling students to acquire learning material conveniently from their locations and receive digital feedback, while providing parents with total transparency into their child’s learning journey.