Teach Middle East Magazine Sep-Dec 2020 Issue 1 Volume 8

Term 1 Sep - Dec 2020. VOL.8 ISSUE 1

M I D D L E

KEY STRATEGIES TO ENSURE EFFECTIVE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

E A S T

WHY CREATE A CULTURALLY DIVERSE CURRICULUM?

GET BACK TO THE BASICS WITH CHILDREN'S PLAY

IS NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION?

WHY SELF CARE IS MORE IMPORTANT NOW THAN EVER BEFORE

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08 STRATEGIES TO ENSURE EFFECTIVE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT 10 WHY CREATE A CULTURALLY DIVERSE CURRICULUM 12 CHILDREN’S PLAY: BACK TO THE BASICS 14 APPROACHING SCHOOL MANAGEMENT THROUGH THE LENS OF THREAT ASSESSMENT 16 HOW TO ENSURE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY WHILE KEEPING THE HIGHEST ACADEMIC AND QUALITY METRICS 18 IS NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION? 20 SUPPORTING OUR MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS AS THEY RETURN TO SCHOOL.

30 RETURNING TO SCHOOL AFTER DISTANCE LEARNING: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUPILS WITH ADDITIONAL LEARNING NEEDS 32 WOMEN IN EDUCATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 34 GETTING BACK TO SCHOOL AT LIWA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS 35 HOW CAN TEACHERS CIRCUMVENT THE COVID-19 REALITY FOR STUDENTS WITH SEN? 36 THE TRUTHS AND MYTHS OF EXAM PRACTICE 38 SAJIDA AL BASHIR: A PASSIONATE EDUCATOR SINCE CHILDHOOD 40 STAY SAFE & BACK TO SCHOOL

21 WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY CHILD HAS FALLEN BEHIND AT SCHOOL?

42 TEACHERS: NOW THAN EVER BEFORE SELF CARE IS MORE IMPORTANT

22 DEIRA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: THE JOYS AND CHALLENGES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING DURING COVID-19

44 NATURAL WAYS TO CONTROL YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE WITHOUT MEDICATION

26 USING ONLINE SIMULATIONS TO FACILITATE ADVANCED STEM EDUCATION DURING HYBRID LEARNING

46 HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR EVERYDAY EXPENSES IN THE UAE 48 TRAVEL TO VIRTUALLY ANYWHERE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME

28 LEARNLIVEUAE

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05

PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future”

M I D D L E

JOHN F. KENNEDY

Teach Middle East Magazine®

The new academic year has begun, and we are excited to welcome you all to it. This is an academic year like no other, and as I type this message, many pupils across the Middle East are still not yet back in school, on a full-time basis.

Since we last published an issue of Teach Middle East Magazine (April 2020), many things have changed.

The world, as we know it, has been altered permanently. After months of distance learning due to closures resulting from COVID-19, schools are now just beginning to get back to some form of normalcy. Several schools which re-opened at the very start of this academic year have had to temporarily close again, because of staff or students testing positive for COVID-19.

Many parents have also opted for their children to enrol under the fulltime distance learning programme, for this term, as a way of shielding them and members of their families from the virus. School leaders and educators have worked tirelessly over the summer holidays. They continue to work to ensure that schools are safe for students, and that teaching and learning can continue as safely and effectively as possible.

It is important at this point to stop and thank all members of the education community including, the regulators, school leaders, teachers, and the administrative staff, who worked all summer long, on planning and preparation for the re-opening of schools. This has been a summer like no other. Many teachers were not able to travel; many have not been able to see family and friends in their home countries for more than a year. With all of this in mind, educators’ wellbeing must take centre stage this year. Take

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time to take care of yourself and your colleagues. Check on your colleagues; make sure they are OK. With many teachers teaching both online and in-person, the workload has doubled. Many are struggling to juggle all their extra responsibilities.

It is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is essential now, more than ever, to plan your downtime. Do not forfeit your relaxation. When it is time to switch off, make sure to do so and take time out for yourself. You will be a better teacher or school leader for it. You may not be able to see your friends and family face to face, but make full use of technology and stay in touch.

In this issue, we focus a lot on wellbeing and providing you with strategies and tips to help you navigate these choppy waters. Dive into this issue and learn about why play is so crucial for children, find out what school inspections and improvement will look like in this new era in education. Meet our featured teachers and discover their views on what it is like being back at school.

Things may be changing around us, and we embrace the change, but one thing remains the same, and that is, our commitment at Teach Middle East Magazine to bring all educators across the region and beyond, great content.

Remember to join us on social media and let’s keep the conversation going.

Wishing you all a safe and wonderful academic year!

Leisa Grace Wilson Editorial Director Teach Middle East Magazine.

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The premier magazine for the education sector in the Middle East and beyond! Published three times per academic year, September, January, and April. www.teachmiddleeastmag.com

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The Middle East Maths Teachers Conference The largest one-day conference for Mathematics practitioners in the Middle East. February 27, 2021.

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Administrator's Corner

STRATEGIES TO ENSURE EFFECTIVE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT BY: JEFF EVANS

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hether a school has effective improvement or development plans in place is a major contributing factor to the judgements made of leadership at all levels, from the director or principal through to subject coordinators and pastoral leaders. Along with accurate and realistic self-evaluation, the impact of school development strategies paints a clear picture of whether a leadership team have the capacity to improve provision.

In a forward-thinking growth orientated school, the board of governors will play a clear and productive role in school development.

One of my partner schools identified the most appropriate aspects of

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provision for each of their seven governors to learn more about, enabling them to contribute relevant skills from their own area of business or expertise. Governors became more knowledgeable in each of the six inspection standards and had a more direct impact in supporting the improvement agenda, for example, a HR executive led a review of staff recruitment and retention policy leading to more streamlined procedures and detailed exit interviews. A common inspection recommendation among KHDA or ADEK regulated private schools relates to the impact which governors have on the strategic development and overall quality of provision in their school; however in the words of a leading Abu Dhabi school principal

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achieving a healthy and delicate balance with governance of “eyes on, hands on� is best. In a minority of private schools at present, governors or investors can be overly involved in daily operations leading to issues with the autonomy and authority of school leaders becoming compromised.

Consistency of expectations among middle leaders is also important, especially in schools with diverse staff teams from a variety of educational systems and backgrounds. With this in mind, at Learning Key we encourage middle leaders to work cross phase and share in quality assurance tasks, such as work scrutiny and focussed learning walks. Discussion, debate and reflection on any relevant external inspection or accreditation frameworks

Administrator's Corner leads to a shared understanding and reduction of variance. Without a clear and consistent approach and agreed standards, quality assurance often has less impact or only raises standards in isolated subjects or school phases.

As an external school improvement consultant, I spend time meeting with senior and middle leaders and visiting lessons to explore each strand of the rubric for highly effective lessons, so we can look with a “whole school” lens at themes including problem solving, critical thinking and innovation.

While these are often mentioned in inspection or accreditation feedback, you may have a wide range of opinion of how this can be seen in classes.

Equally the principal and senior team must ensure that middle leaders of core subjects are effective. In cases where these colleagues perhaps act more as an anchor than an accelerator, clear and sharp target setting is vital to avoid any “black holes” in school improvement. Often a difficult and essential conversation, however if middle leaders are not well motivated and able to lead their teams in terms of improvement, then they are not the best individual for that pivotal role.

High performing or improving schools link quality assurance to their school improvement targets and make best use of regular monitoring via both planned and informal lesson visits (or short drop-ins). Senior leaders are encouraged to adopt a whole school mechanism for this analysis and tracking, so that trends are recorded for individual teachers and departments.

In some cases, this can be a simple spreadsheet based system, whereas other schools use online platforms.

The ability to include photographs of best practice or short video clips for in-school use is helpful.

using examples of best practice.

Inspectors want to see hard evidence, so principals and heads can prepare a table of graph showing improvements in particular areas (for example, effective routines to start lessons and agree learning outcomes or the use of technology as a tool for learning).

One Al Ain school who I worked with made rapid gains and produced clear statistics to show the impact of targeted professional development initiatives. Initially the school staff met in mixed teams, analysed their most recent inspection feedback and agreed upon a calendar of six week topics. Each block of six weeks began with discussions and tools such as SWOT analysis in meetings, followed by differentiated professional development for distinct groups of teachers and leaders. As everything was focussed and channelled onto, say “effective questioning to provide challenge” for a period of six weeks their progress was significant and consistent. After two trimesters the school managed to colour their school development Plan (SDP) goals green in most areas recommended during the previous inspection – their overall ranking improved as a result of better ratings in teaching, learning and leadership performance standards.

Teacher training or professional development can be a tremendous tool for school improvement, however needs driven targeted workshops have largely replaced a “one size fits all” whole school approach. Learning Key also use action research learning hubs to share ideas and best practice among and across phases/key stages in partner schools. Along with teachers conducting their own research, the focus shifts to the observable impact of new strategies and approaches in classrooms. Once school teachers begin to share practice more openly and shift focus onto the learning which takes place in a lesson, and the outputs in terms of student progress (rather than the teacher inputs) we tend to see rapid gains in the overall quality of provision. One challenge to overcome is the obstacle of teachers who are not accustomed to drop-in visits, an open-door policy. Any shared visits must be collegial, constructive and professional to generate and sustain buy-in from the staff team.

So in summary, the keys to effective school improvement include a consistent approach to regular monitoring and feedback, clear and specific targets and the sharing of best practice.

Some of my CBSE and British curriculum partner schools have been able to evidence and discuss rapid improvement in the quality of learning

Jeff Evans has over twenty years of school leadership experience in the international private educational sector across Europe, the Far East and the United Arab Emirates. Five years as program manager for school improvement with ADEK taught me that good practice transcends curriculum or fee level boundaries. As Director of Learning Key Education I have enjoyed involvement with aspects of school licensing, policy and regulations, assessment and evaluation, recruitment and business development. Helping individual schools and groups to successfully navigate the federal UAE school inspection framework and enhance their provision.

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Sharing Good Practice

WHY CREATE A CULTURALLY DIVERSE CURRICULUM BY: KATINA L WALTON

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ulturally responsive educators can recognise that reality might be perceived in many ways and that those perceptions are influenced by social and cultural status. They also have affirming views of diverse students and families and see diversity as a resource for learning rather than a a deficit.

They consider themselves responsible and capable of teaching in ways that respond to their diverse learners' needs.

The goal is to understand how learners construct knowledge, learn about the students' lives, and use that knowledge to design effective instruction. A curriculum that acknowledges and responds to primary cultures offers full, equitable access to education for students from all cultures.

Some of the characteristics of culturally responsive teaching are: 5 Positive perspectives on parents and families

5 Communication expectations

of

high

5 Learning within the context of culture 5 Student-centered instruction 5 Culturally mediated instruction

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5 Reshaping the curriculum 5 Teacher as facilitator

9 Steps to Creating a Culturally Diverse Curriculum 1. The first step to accomplish this goal is for teachers to find useful information on students' and families' cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Teachers can implement activities that they direct or those that allow students and families to take the lead.

2. Keep parents informed of activities offered by the school: 5 Send weekly/monthly newsletters informing parents of upcoming school activities.

5 Conduct quarterly meetings with parents to keep parents up to date on their child's progress.

5 Host family nights at school to introduce parents to concepts and ideas children are learning in their classes and share interactive journals.

3. Gain cross-cultural skills necessary for successful exchange and collaboration:

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5 Research the cultural background of students' families.

5 Participate in local events and tours to discover the students' cultural activities and beliefs.

4. Communicate clear expectations: 5 Be specific in what you expect students to know and be able to do.

5 Encourage students to meet expectations for a particular task.

5 Offer praise when standards are met.

5. Vary teaching strategies: 5 Use cooperative learning, especially for material new to the students.

5 Assign independent work after students are familiar with the concept.

5 Use role-playing strategies.

5 Assign students research projects that compare and contrast their cultural group to other cultural groups.

5 Provide various options completing an assignment.

for

6. Bridge cultural differences through effective communication:

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5 Teach and talk to students about the differences between individuals.

5 Show how differences among the students make for better learning.

7. Devise and implement different ways for students to be successful in achieving developmental milestones: 5 Ensure success by setting realistic yet rigorous goals for individual students.

5 Allow students to set their own goals for a project.

5 Allow the use of the student's first language to enhance learning.

8. Use resources other than textbooks for study: 5 Have students research aspects of a topic within their community.

5 Encourage students to interview members of their community who know about the topic they are studying.

5 Provide information to the students on alternative viewpoints or beliefs of a topic.

9. Learn about students' cultures: 5 Have students share artifacts from home that reflect their culture.

5 Have students write about traditions shared by their families.

5 Have students research different aspects of their culture.

These tips offer educators the opportunity to affirm and validate those approaches and strategies they are already using. These tips create an openness to accept the reality

that today's students need more— embedding culturally responsive instruction in the full curriculum yields positive learning outcomes for many students.

Additional Sources on Culturally Responsive Curriculums Here's a list of sources that are good introductions to culturally responsive and inclusive curriculum and pedagogy. Some have a K-12 focus, but many of the ideas can be adapted for higher education.

Branche, Jerome., Mullennix, John W, and Cohn, Ellen R. Diversity across the Curriculum: A Guide for Faculty in Higher Education. Bolton, Mass.: Anker Pub., 2007 Gay, Geneva. Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice.

2nd ed.

Multicultural Education Series (New York, N.Y.). New York: Teachers College, 2010.

Banks, James A. Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching. Sixth ed. New York, NY; Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2016.

Quaye, Stephen John, and Harper, Shaun R. Student Engagement

in Higher Education: Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations. Second ed.

New York: Routledge, 2015.

Lee, Amy; Poch, Robert; Shaw, Marta; Evans, Rhiannon. Engaging diversity in undergraduate classrooms a pedagogy for developing intercultural competence. Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley Periodicals, Inc.; San Francisco, Calif. : Jossey-Bass, 2012.

Thomas, Cornell. Inclusive Teaching Presence in the Classroom. New Directions for Teaching and Learning; No. 140. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2014. ONLINE Davis, Bonnie M. How to Teach Students Who Don't Look like You: Culturally Relevant Teaching Strategies. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, 2006.

Littleford, L. N. (2005). Understanding and expanding multicultural competence in teaching: A faculty guide. Ball State University.

Brown-Jeffy, S., & Cooper, J. E. (2011).

Toward a Conceptual Framework of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: An Overview of the Conceptual and Theoretical Literature. Teacher Education Quarterly, 38(1), 65-84.

Katina L. Walton Ed. S. Currently holds the position of Academic VP of kindergarten at Kingdom International Schools in Saudi Arabia. With over twenty years of teaching experience in elementary and university tenure, whose motto is “The legacy we leave behind, is based on the quality of education we provide.” http://www.katinawalton.com

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CHILDREN’S PLAY: BACK TO THE BASICS DR DIKSHA LUNGANI

(playing alongside others), Associative (some interaction and sharing but no common play goal) and Cooperative (organised play with set rules and roles for all) play. *Please do not use these as a checklist, but as points of interest during playful observations of a child.

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et’s go on a journey to explore the ‘what, why and how’ of one of the most underrated aspects of child development: play. Not play-based learning or video games, just, play. Call it free, unstructured, child-driven or child-led play, they are all the same - free time centred around the child’s interests. Not led by an adult or goal-directed, which then becomes a chore or a learning opportunity. Our role is simply to provide the space, time and opportunity for play, not to control it.

Here is my take on why we need to preserve or bring back this precious jewel – for them and us.

So why bother with play?

The benefits of play for a child’s socialemotional, physical and cognitive development are immeasurable. Play is a natural antidote to rising concerns about obesity and the lack of physical activities and increasing mental health needs in the younger generations.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child classifies play as a fundamental human right, a position endorsed by the British Psychological Society . The latter cautioned against

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diminishing playtimes at school and also advised against losing playtime as a threat/punishment/consequence or simply instead of completing schoolwork. Playtime at school provides an incredible opportunity for promoting learning readiness through better regulation of attention, memory, emotions and senses, and acts as a transition buffer or refuge for vulnerable pupils.

Social-emotional wellbeing Free play provides a window into a child’s inner world. To an adult, engaging in play with a child is an opportunity to form lasting bonds, at school or home. Processes of conflictresolution, negotiation, sharing and turn-taking while playing with others promote social skill development.

Regarding social play, it is relevant to quickly mention here that children typically undergo stages in their participation during play, from 0-5 years of age. Mildred Parten , an American sociologist and researcher, highlighted the most commonly known stages: Unoccupied (lacking purpose), Solitary (independent), Onlooker (some interest but no participation with others), Parallel

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Coping with the frustrations of losing a game or not being chosen for one, and overcoming obstacles foster emotional regulation. Play also forms the basis for a therapeutic intervention, i.e. play therapy, in which children are provided with a space to work through some difficult life experiences. All these aspects related to attachment, social and emotional health are key to developing resilience in children: the ability to adapt and bounce back from adversities.

Regarding the self-development, play is an outlet for children’s brimming curiosity and creativity; it promotes self-esteem, confidence, independence and identity formation through mechanisms of control, choice-making and having the power to manipulate play. A sense of community and cultural identity can also be fostered through play – of additional importance for expatriate families living away from their countries, a common feature in the Middle East.

Physical & cognitive development Engaging in play releases all four of the happy hormones in the brain: serotonin, dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin - all of which, some adults are struggling to manufacture nowadays!

Play aids in forming neural pathways within the pre-frontal cortex, which is like the brain’s air traffic control centre - performing high-level executive functions such as decision-making, problem-solving and self-regulation.

Early play experiences also provide the foundation for later learning to take place, such as cause & effect, sorting, grouping, etc. Through play’s

Sharing Good Practice concerns about the ‘right’ kind or a certain ‘number’ of toys. There is no magic formula, just to keep away from extremes and provide developmentally appropriate objects.

Some professionals recommend a ‘less is more’ approach to toys, as it promotes minimalism, provides opportunities to maintain sustained attention and facilitates creativity.

sensory and tactile nature, children rapidly develop fine and gross motor skills, for instance, through roughand-tumble, using playdough or other active endeavours.

However, there is often a misconception that children’s brain development maxes out around five years of age, due to which the importance of play supposedly diminishes afterward - this needs to be corrected. The science of neuroplasticity, i.e. ability of the brain to form connections throughout life, especially during adolescence reinforces the importance of having time to indulge in unstructured activities well into school age and beyond. Creativity and innovation were never borne out of a 45-minute set time slot!

The importance of being bored This brings us to another important aspect: boredom! In our quest to be more efficient and successful members of society, we have portrayed our organisational skills onto children’s schedules, action-packing them to the brim with learning opportunities and extra-curricular activities which are designed to provide constant stimulation to the brain. Not doing so,

we feel, is a reflection on our abilities as parents/educators – the reality couldn’t be far from it! Unfortunately, such beliefs have taken away precious time from play and its enormous benefits. They have contributed to a growing culture of digital addiction amongst many teens and adults who cannot stay unoccupied or in solitude for even 10 minutes.

Think of the immense life lessons that children learn by having idle-time or doodling: 5 Processing the day’s events, tuning into themselves, forming new ideas or simply daydreaming; 5 Perseverance, initiative-taking and problem-solving (even if it’s the simple one of how to stop being bored); 5 Being present in the moment; 5 That life is not a circus with different acts scheduled to amuse or entertain them all the time; 5 And finally, for us, letting go of the intense guilt which washes over our beings when we see a child looking bored.

The right formula for play In my experience, there are often

My recommendation would be to provide a range of open-ended materials (which could be used in different ways – this is the key) and to focus on the time available for free play, which should not be any lesser than 60 minutes a day for school-aged children, if not more. Outdoor play in the Middle East is tricky to plan, so make best use of the evenings and weekends.

A very basic play kit could contain materials (if age-appropriate) such as: art, stationery, make-believe toys such as figurines (dolls/puppets), household items, sensory or messy stuff such as slime/clay/sand/water, board games, blocks, a ball, old clothes to play dress up, or about anything else that catches their fancy! You could even include culture-specific materials – for instance, as a child, I enjoyed dressing up with fancy ethnic scarves and playing cricket. Also include both gender-neutral (e.g. toy telephones, ride-on toys, puzzles) and genderspecific (e.g. dolls, action figures) toys, as they aid in developing identities and tolerance.

So, go on, invite the neighbours’, colleagues’, friends’ kids over to play with yours as long as it is safe to do so; join them if you can. When at school, let pupils play how and with whom they want to. Share stories of what you liked to play with when you were a child. Encourage children to enrol in activities based on interests emerging from their play, not the other way around. In other words, go back to the basics!

Dr Diksha Laungani is a UK-qualified and DHCC-licensed Educational Psychologist and Training Specialist. Her doctoral thesis explored the views of young adults with learning difficulties and their families during their transition to supported employment.

Diksha’s professional interests include promoting the independence of people with SEND/determination and facilitating disability awareness in the community. She is also interested in supporting educators’ professional development through training and supervision. As a practitioner, Diksha characterises herself as a person-centred and humanistic psychologist and is a firm proponent of embracing solution-focused approaches in education.

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APPROACHING SCHOOL MANAGEMENT THROUGH THE LENS OF THREAT ASSESSMENT BY: DR. LORI BROWN

cannot afford to exhibit random, illogical, or capricious managerial approaches. Our people – our students – our staff – need us to manage with clarity, logic, compassion, and direction. Anything short of that may put them (or us) at risk, establish unnecessary chaotic confusion, and ultimately complicate the identification of solutions to everyday concerns.

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chool administrators assume two significant callings when they first step into new roles: to lead and manage effectively.

They are repeatedly called to lead and manage their people, processes, protocols, programs, and priorities well. Leadership involves setting the vision for success, while management addresses the daily practices and strategies needed to make the vision a reality.

At risk of stating the obvious, how we manage our schools impacts the academic, social-emotional, and behavioral outcomes we hope to evidence among students, staff, and other stakeholders. Without strong managerial skills, we will never reach our overarching mission to foster engaged, proficient, inquisitive, and well-adjusted learners who are empowered to advocate for their continuous learning needs.

But, what is “good” school management? What does it look and feel like? We might even go one step further and ask whether good school mangers need things like: Advanced degrees? Pretty calendars? LongRange walkie-talkies? Oversized key chains? Large committees? Or School

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newsletters?

The answer to these questions: “yes” and “no.” Management is about more than the merchandize.

What is Management?

Good management mandates we remain abreast of the general happenings inside and outside our building (influences that could disrupt or impact the learning community), while simultaneously communicating effectively with internal and external stakeholders to keep them in the loop of decisions about changing pathways, protocols, practices, and policies.

From buses to varsity basketball schedules, and from grading policies to graduation ceremonies, there is much to manage and communicate to our stakeholders on a daily basis, and we may opt to use many “tools” to complete these tasks (e.g. walkietalkies, newsletters, tablets, calendars, and more).

Because school management involves so many “things” to manage, it can be either messy and mundane or meaningful and memorable. But the one thing it is NOT is easy, largely because it is time-consuming and overwhelming. For this reason, we

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To remove illogical or capricious approaches, I embrace both messy and meaningful managerial tasks through the lens of threat and risk assessment; a field of expertise that thrives on the practice of using explicit and logical analysis and application strategies to prevent the problematic and diffuse the dangerous.

What is Threat Assessment? Threat assessment works well, if done correctly, because of the field’s commitment to synthesized inputs (aka…data) leading to clear outputs and outcomes (decisions and solutions). A good threat assessor can take multiple data points, analyze them well, and rapidly determine whether someone or something may present a threat to self or others. The International handbook of Threat Assessment defines the process as follows: Threat assessment is a method used by mental health and law enforcement professionals to assess the risk of intended violence toward a specific target,….

Note inclusion of the phrase “assess the risk of…”

Isn’t that what we do every day as school leaders? Aren’t we constantly synthesizing diverse inputs from a unique and ever-changing group of stakeholders, structures, and systems to make solid decisions, while scanning the horizon to identify potential threats to our best laid plans?

Sharing Good Practice As school leaders, we really have no choice but to constantly think two steps ahead, making sure we have fully identified barriers to the school’s mission and vision, and that starts by spending time with our people. Threat assessors largely assess people, but they cannot assess them if they do not spend time with them. Similarly, school leaders/managers must remain engaged with people inside and outside of the building, keeping our thumb on the pulse of local sentiment and thought.

I would argue that if we are to manage schools well, we must act, think, move, and operate like a threat assessor, embracing people-centric, crisis-ready principles, protocols, and practices.

Additionally, like a threat assessor, we must allow data to sharpen and expand our thoughts, behaviours, reactions, and decisions. Failure to do so could mean we neglect impactful decisions.

Embracing Threat Assessment Principles: Managing our schools well should lead us to consider and incorporate five core principles or components of threat assessors; markers or beliefs of the trade that lead to positive, desired outcomes.

Consider the five: Question: In your school, are you thinking, applying information, and responding to information and inputs like a threat assessor? If not, what needs to change to sharpen your approach?

Are Schools Really Threatening?

Lest anyone think this approach is recommended because schools are dangerous, allow me to explain that thinking like a threat assessor during your daily managerial tasks may have absolutely nothing to do with dangerous diversions, but everything to do with school climate and curated communities of care. Let us remember that the primary reason threat assessment works to stop potential acts of violence is because good threat assessors acknowledge the diversity of each potential threat and push aside a one size fits all approach for highly nuanced strategies. Our daily processes and procedures must be as unique as the population we

Threat Assessment Principle

Application of Principle to School Management

Every threat is unique and thus Every school concern is unique and requires a unique response. requires a unique response.

Targeted acts of violence are the result of an understandable pathway of thoughts and behaviors. Horrific acts of violence do not just happen.

School crises, including meltdowns and emotional displays, are the result of an understandable pathway of thoughts and behaviors. Meltdown and acts of aggression do not just happen.

Effective threat assessment must be Effective school-based managerial based on solid, confirmable facts processes and protocols that impact stakeholders must be based on solid, confirmable facts instead of assumed facts (to build trust).

Successful threat assessment requires an inquisitive mindset that drives toward a solid application of data (a triangulation of data sources).

Successful decision-making for school managers requires an inquisitive mindset that desires to understand people and processes, with attention to diverse data sources.

Effective threat assessment requires highly skilled threat assessors who understand how to apply the process to each unique potential threat.

Effective school management requires highly skilled, prepared school leaders/ managers who apply solid decisionmaking practices in diverse crises.

service if the people in our buildings are to thrive.

Always Remember: The bus schedule that works for school A will not always work for school B. The course schedule that works for the high school of the year may not meet your local needs, and the disciplinary framework you selected may be as ineffective for you as it has been effective in other locations.

Threat and risk assessment reminds us, among other things, to embrace the highly unique nature of the people, processes, protocols, and practices that we face daily, because how we manage impacts how much we mean to others. And this is the key to becoming effective school managers – invest carefully and critically in others to make a real impact.

Lori D. Brown – Bio -- Dr. Lori Brown is an experienced North Carolina teacher and school administrator who currently works full-time as an educational writer.

In her free time, she serves as President of Dawn Star Consulting LLC, writing frequently about safe and secure school concerns. She enjoys traveling with her twin sister!

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Sharing Good Practice

HOW TO ENSURE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY WHILE KEEPING THE HIGHEST ACADEMIC AND QUALITY METRICS BY: MR. ATAULLAH PARKAR

my mind. I defined the school through projects, including assessment, wellbeing, and health & safety (and many more!). I then listed all of the tasks that I had to complete in relation to these projects, splitting my thought process into one of two strands:

T

he roles of principals and their senior leadership teams continue to evolve, particularly as schools become larger institutions, either running more populated schools or part of a consortium of schools.

Executive leadership in education now calls upon school leaders to have a stronger grasp of business processes, financial strategies, and economies of scale to ensure they are achieving the best outcomes more consistently across the organisations they serve.

The conundrum that many leaders face today, is the pressure to deliver a system of high-quality education, whilst delivering a profitable business.

Balancing these spinning Greek plates, pulls at the moral chords of educators.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted how dependent and vulnerable the continuity of the education sector is on the economy, and the need for principals to act as CEOs, keeping staff and the business afloat whilst waving the flag of outcomes for young people.

This requires a set of competencies not always readily available in the arsenal of education leaders. This challenge isn’t limited to educators operating in the private sector. The increase in multi-academy trusts in public systems of education also operate

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with similar pressures.

Answering questions relating to ‘why’ is critical for individual leaders to flourish. Every leader needs to start (and constantly reflect) with the question ‘Why am I an educator?’ and as their role becomes more executive in nature, the question turns to ‘why am I looking to optimise and refine my school?’ and ‘why am I learning lessons from other businesses to deliver efficiency in my services?’

Reflecting on these questions helps contextualise their intended outcomes as leaders, using operational efficiency as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. The risk of poor reflection, results in misguided educators who get trapped into making the economy that they function in, into the primary source of their motivation.

Being a Meta-Thinker Schools can be extremely exhausting places because individuals are responsible for so many processes and projects at a single moment in time. Leaders must take out the time to be meta-thinkers, that is, to think about all the thinking we do! One of the most useful exercises I’ve done is conduct a brain dump (more on what technology to use later!) separating all the strands of thinking that goes on in

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1. Back-Burner Projects – Projects and tasks that every school does every year.

A road map of repetitive processes that take place with very little change.

This counts for approximately 70% of activity at the school.

2. Live Projects - Projects and tasks that relate to school improvement and are new into the school environment. For example, becoming an Apple school, Health & Safety protocols relating to COVID-19 or implementing a new phonics programme. These typically account for 30% of activity of my leadership team.

Defining live projects is a typical practice for most organisations.

However, though defining backburner projects is atypical, it has major benefits. Firstly, it helps leaders who exhaust their staff with initiative overload appreciate how much effort actually goes into sustaining the quality of provision already embedded in the school. Secondly, it ensures that leaders are never taken off-guard, using project management tools to prompt them with upcoming activities in the school or across schools in the group. If the tasks are fully articulated, the budget and human resource implications will also become far more predictable.

Often, leaders never break out of the firefighting cycle, exhausting themselves before they even get round to implementing their new projects. Ironically, there is nearly always a focus on developing plans for the future, but the relentless efforts required to sustain unscheduled tasks that should have been pre-defined and optimised, stifles innovation.

The standardisation procedures that need to be developed extend to the academic as much as they do to operational. In schools that operate in clusters, traditional centralised

Sharing Good Practice governance/coordination tends to focus on economies of scale, related to procurement and human resources.

Where centralised education expertise exists, it is often limited to outreach and coaching for senior leaders. Whilst this remains important, large all-through schools and leaders who manage multiple sites need to provide more prescriptive and properly articulated expectations for teaching and learning, assessment and curriculum management.

These expectations define clear non-negotiables, success criteria and accompanying processes of monitoring.

Many policies, unfortunately, fall short of this because instead of demonstrating what good practice looks like, they stop at the point of vague and ambiguous first principles.

This is even more important in international settings, where, typically, teacher turnover can average 25%. In such environments, especially where there is regular inspection of schools, clearly published expectations can help to ensure that there are minimum standards of operation in place, to secure consistency in outcomes and equip new teachers to hit the ground running.

Most importantly, taking a meta approach forces us to use our brain for thinking and not for the storage of information. For all layers of personnel in the school, this provides more time to personalise actions, such as nurturing of people. For leaders, it provides the mental space desperately needed to have strategic capacity to constantly innovate the services they are delivering for the particular cohort they have at that point in time.

Using Technology Effectively

to

particular, suits the flow of information that we all tend to experience: random thoughts in the most unassuming places (like the shower) which need to be quickly captured, followed by a separate process to clarify and action.

Most importantly, there is an emphasis on reviewing projects constantly, ensuring nothing falls off the radar.

Implementing such a methodology effectively would do away with the age-old problem of writing copious school improvement plans only to collect dust on the school’s shared drive.

Whilst David Allen does not promote the use of technology necessarily, the agility needed by school leaders would be aided by some of the great apps that are available. Microsoft ToDo is a great place to capture and prioritise actions on a daily basis and syncs well with Outlook. Microsoft Planner goes a step further and acts as a more strategic tool to grant a bird's eye view of the organisation.

I’ve recently adopted the ever-popular app Notion, and have not looked back. Notion acts as a multi-layered database, and as a second mind where I can capture all of my projects, notes, agendas, reading lists and write-ups. I have personalised my own dashboard which keeps me on track with backburner and upcoming tasks, as well as

asks me to review their status without me having to remember.

Importantly, I continue to refine my lists every day as it would be short sighted to assume, I know my job in its entirety. The first principle of selfreflection ensures an improvement cycle. The whole approach described above means that I have a more decluttered mind to focus on the expansion of knowledge, reading books, best practices and the great online edu-forums that can be benefited from. Creating a culture of knowledge acquisition in leadership teams, in conjunction with effective implementation, is the perfect storm to be able to deliver a constantly improving school with an unshakable foundation.

This returns us to the primordial question asked earlier: ‘Why’? The most operationally efficient schools enable leaders and teachers to free themselves of the brain drain that repetitive tasks burden us with. Instead, a free mind keeps us passionate, frees us up to learn new skills and promotes a knowledgebased culture rather than a task-based one. It also promotes a sustainable school that offers consistent quality in every classroom and is resilient to staff turnover and leadership changes.

Manage

As explained earlier, it is imperative for leaders to free their minds from endless to-do lists for the projects that they manage.

Instead, they should adopt a system of task management to ‘dump’ their actions and use their mental space to reflect on refinement and improvement.

Methodologies such as David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD), are effective tools to developing cycles of review for major projects and tasks at the school. GTD, in

Ataullah is the Principal at ISCS Nad AI Sheba. He has been a Senior Leader in schools for 7 years, including being a Head Teacher in the UK. He has worked for a number of government agencies in the strategic education departments including Ofqual as a policy advisor to the UK Government. He is currently completing his Doctorate in Education focusing on values based education inspired through faith. Ataullah completed his National Professional Qualification for Head Teachers in 2017.

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Sharing Good Practice

IS NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION? BY: TIM LOGAN

We have heard for decades now that the VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) poses profound questions for the future of work and the future of learning. The need to prepare our children and young adults to thrive in the face of challenge is also a compelling reason to reflect deeply on the way that we operate and structure our schools.

“If necessity is the mother of invention, it’s the father of cooperation. And we’re cooperating like never before.”

John Ashcroft, Former US Attorney General

F

acing a massive shortage of ventilators to save precious Italian lives, Dr. Franceso Minardi at the Maggiore Hospital in Parma saw an opportunity to adapt a snorkelling mask using an innovative 3D printing hack. So, in cooperation with engineers at ISINNOVA and the sporting goods retailer, Decathlon, they went into production to create the makeshift ventilators, so saving hundreds of lives. And in the spirit of cooperative invention, they made the 3D printable design, as well as the product itself, available free of charge on their website.

While we have all felt many difficulties and challenges of this year’s COVID-19 crisis, there have been many stories such as this one, in which necessity has created the conditions for amazing innovations. Whether it is school graduation ceremonies held on ski lifts or within Minecraft, sociallydistanced music concerts, PPE vending machines or the ‘Goodnight

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Zoom’ project, creating opportunities for isolated senior citizens to connect with young children for remote story time, inspiration and community innovations have arisen out of extreme challenge.

Doing more with less As we have reopened schools for an academic year like no other, we know that we face very real challenges as educators and school leaders. We have critical budgetary challenges, prompting many very tough decisions about staffing and support for families in difficult economic circumstances.

Our agility is being tested to the limit, as we plan for the unknown, respond and adapt to perpetual change, and communicate clearly in the midst of great uncertainty and anxiety. And our duty to continuously improve the standards of support and teaching and learning that we offer to our students is still being closely monitored and scrutinized through on-going inspection and accreditation processes. Just surviving is not an option!

The good news is, there is a silver lining to these challenges too! Like so many other COVID innovations, out of necessity will spring educational invention too.

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Since we went ‘remote’ and started Distance Learning in March, we have learned a lot of useful lessons about the way that we work. As many organizations and companies are reflecting, there have been some unexpected benefits to this shift in working practices. For some, productivity has increased as time has been more intentionally allocated to ‘getting on with the job’, rather than wasting time in endless meetings! The work has also become more visible and transparent, for those using great tools like Slack channels, Glass Frog, or Trello to track workflow and facilitate team collaboration.

For others, innovation has increased as faceto-face brainstorming or planning meetings, often dominated by the HiPPOs (the highest paid person’s opinion) or the extroverts, are replaced by online forums where everyone can contribute equally, in their own way, and after careful reflection. What if we could keep and purposefully develop these advantages as a permanent change rather than just a temporary response to crisis?

As Jeff Sutherland, the founder of Scrum, describes in his book ‘Scrum: The art of doing twice the work in half the time’, making simple but significant shifts in the way that we work can have massive impacts on our productivity as well as our ability to adapt, respond and improve our outcomes. But schools are already among the busiest workplaces anywhere, and teachers are among the hardest working and most committed professionals! So clearly, this is not about working harder, but smarter.

Sharing Good Practice Think about your normal school improvement, or strategic planning process. Too often, we front-load all of the ‘thinking’ before we get to doing the ‘doing’. Of course, we want to make sure that we’re putting our efforts in the right places. But when things are changing so rapidly, lengthy and detached Self Evaluation Form (SEF) and School Improvement Planning (SIP) processes mean that often plans are out-dated before they even get started, and within a few weeks new information and new priorities have emerged! Here are three fantastic benefits that using a more agile way of working can bring.

Firstly, a great way to keep ourselves focused on continuous improvement in the right places is to work in short cycles of planning, doing and reflecting known as ‘sprints’. This means that teams from across the school are empowered by a clear structure to get going on the real work of improvement. By formalising reflection in the sprint process, we also make sure that we get the regular feedback from students, parents, and colleagues when we need it. This makes sure that everybody remains focused on the right things at the right time; the 20% of things that have 80% of the impact.

Secondly, by making things transparent, Scrum and agile ways of working hold teams accountable for their outcomes. Work in process is made visible as it is displayed on online platforms (like Trello) or on wall displays (e.g. Scrum boards) and team members and managers find it hugely beneficial to see their progress and remaining priorities clearly.

Rather than being hidden away on a document that was carefully produced but rarely if ever read again, key performance targets are out in the open for all to see and be held accountable to. We all see intentional change and adaptation happen.

Thirdly, as we know, teachers and school leaders are a phenomenally hardworking bunch! But sometimes the structures and systems in schools don’t enable this energy to flow effectively and be translated into great outcomes.

We sometimes lose productivity in long and time-consuming decision-

making processes, or by inefficient organizational structures and unclear expectations. One of the biggest and most immediate advantages of using a more agile way of working is that it quickly highlights where the blocks and inefficiencies are in your systems.

Are all of your workflows designed to have positive impacts on learning, as quickly as possible? How do teams know when things are ‘done’ and they can move on? Are managers spending too long in individual meetings detailing work assignments and following up to check on progress – pulling staff away from the real work of improving? Are colleagues spending more time writing about the work they are doing (in reports to line managers) than doing the work itself?

Studies have shown us frequently that time is our most precious commodity, so let’s create systems that prioritise and maximise it.

The other resource that we often waste are the human capacities and abilities in our teams. By creating very rigid systems of job description and responsibility allocation, we

sometimes miss opportunities to benefit from the diverse skills and insights of staff members who may see a problem from a different perspective.

Agile ways of working also support this by focusing on the effectiveness and outcomes of the team, so multi-talented team members are empowered to collaborate and use their various combined skills to achieve their goals as effectively and efficiently as possible, adapting quickly whenever needed.

As Graham-Brown Martin told me in a recent interview about reimagining products and service for the new economy, we need to make the most of this ‘global pause’ to reflect. Will we see a ‘great transformation’ or a ‘great depression’ as we come out of this current crisis? The answer may, in fact, be both. It may be the schools willing to be inventive that thrive in the face of our current challenging economic necessities.

If you would like to talk more about how to make the most of these positive innovations in your school, please do get in touch.

Tim Logan is a consultant and principal supporting schools in the Middle East to drive improvement and evidence-based innovation through advisory, management and training services.

Website: www.futurelearningdesign.com Email: tim@timloganconsultant.com

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Sharing Good Practice

SUPPORTING OUR MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS AS THEY RETURN TO SCHOOL.

BY CATHERINE O’FARRELL

How can we ensure that students with sensory needs are protected if they can’t wear a mask, is there an alternative available like the face shield? What about students with communication challenges who rely on lip reading or facial expression to understand the world around them.

Can their teachers wear a clear mask or face shield, instead of a cloth mask, so that students can see their faces?

By engaging parents and students in these discussions continuously, multiple plans can be in place to avoid distress for vulnerable students.

“Plan your work and work your plan” – Napolean Hill

As educators across the region have recently returned to school, it is expected that a lot of planning and contingency went into their return.

Continuous planning is key for high needs students of determination and indeed all students and teachers alike.

The student should be at the centre of everything we do.

Promote wellbeing

Because of the isolated existence we have all been getting accustomed to over the past few months, students and teachers may be feeling a sense of loss. Many families have been impacted by illness, migration and even death during the past months.

Ensure that the school’s designated safeguarding lead is both prepared and available to help support the communities returning to campus.

Share contact details and access to related support groups, webinars and upcoming events.

Open Dialogue

Continue the dialogue around Health and Safety and the impact of masks, hand sanitizing and social distancing for our students of determination.

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Review your Inclusion register to ensure all students are catered for. Update your Inclusion and Safeguarding policies to account for any changes in procedure or practice and share it with the school community. Survey your staff and appraise, where they most need support and revisit safeguarding training. Review third party agreements in line with new practices. Be mindful to account for the protection and support of individual learning support assistants.

Ensure that there are clear guidelines for those who work in close physical proximity with their students of determination or those who handle their students regularly.

Get Active

Many of us have been sedentary for many months and returning to school could pose a physical challenge. Encourage your students of determination to get active in the weeks before they return to school to prepare their bodies for the busy school days that lay ahead.

Look to the regulators

ADEK have collaborated with parents, teachers and relevant authorities to issue comprehensive guidelines to support schools as they return. KHDA update their sites regularly, keeping track of current events and responding and preparing accordingly. Always look to trusted sources of information for guidelines on procedures and avoid fake news. If in doubt – find out!

Keep an eye on the media

Be mindful of the messages that students and families are being exposed to. All too often, there are explosive and terrifying headlines like “Middle East faces scary rise in COVID” The National “Coronavirus is a human crisis beyond most of our scariest dreams” – The Guardian UK. These could have an extremely negative effect of students, families and teachers’ perceptions around their return to school.

And finally Reach Out!

The inclusion community in the UAE is hugely supportive. Reach out to your community schools and centres. Make connections and share good practice.

Ask questions and offer support where possible.

We are all in this together and together we can make it happen References: h t t p s : //e d u c a t i o n b l o g . o u p . c o m / secondary/mfl/rebecca-nobes-returnto-school

Catherine O’Farrell (PGCBA, BSc-Psych, B-Ed) is an experienced psychologist & consultant. She has worked in educational and medical institutions across Ireland, the UK, Australia and the UAE for over 15 years. She is Director of Phase 2 for the Dubai Inclusion Network.

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Sharing Good Practice

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY CHILD HAS FALLEN BEHIND AT SCHOOL? BY: SUZANNE DOYLE FOWLES

Make little conversations and encourage your child to talk about returning to school. Discuss their thoughts about returning to school, understand their concerns, worries, or fears.

It is essential to recognise these, acknowledge them, and keep a sense of calm while offering reassurance.

lockdown, and even more so during summer holidays, we have all, to a certain extent, let bedtimes slip a little, got out of bed a little later during the weekends, and changed our eating habits and patterns. Now is the time to readjust and get back into pre-holiday and pre-lockdown routines.

Always be there to listen and ensure that your child is confident talking about any issues they may have.

Developing this routine as well as encouraging reading at home and preparing for school each day with uniform, books, or school bag from the night before, can help keep your child organised, please remember to involve your child no matter their age.

Expect change

W

ith the school academic y e a r un der w ay, students are returning to the classroom in phases, for the first time since the COVID-19 global pandemic took a grip of society, more than five months ago.

Many youngsters are both happy and excited by this prospect. Not only will they all be back in an environment specifically designed for learning, they will also be interacting with friends they have potentially not seen for months. In essence, students are returning to a degree of normality, which has been sadly lacking this year.

However, after such a long time out of school, there are those who are feeling anxious and nervous about the start of the school year.

We want to reassure both students and parents, this is entirely normal. To alleviate these concerns, we have developed a range of suggestions to help make the transition back to school as seamless as possible.

Plan ahead It is essential to plan and reinforce precautions that your child will be practicing back in the classroom. As a nation, there are still a range of measures in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The importance of social distancing should be discussed, as should the importance of regular and thorough handwashing.

Rather than this being a chore, make it part of your child's daily routine.

Explain why things look different and give a sense of what to expect as the term continues. There are new procedures, practices, routines, and rules – provide examples of these changes as much as possible – but there is no need to worry.

The school and all teachers have been working tirelessly to ensure your child feels as safe and secure as possible.

One of the best ways to do this is to share pictures of what their school and other schools, look like in the 'new normal.' This will help put their minds at ease and ensure there are no surprises and help them to know that they are not alone.

Back-to-school routine It is now more important than ever to get back into a routine. During the

We are here to help Just as children may have pangs of anxiety, we are fully aware parents will be in a similar boat. We are here to help! We understand parents may have some concerns about their child’s academic progress as a result of distance learning.

Rest assured that teachers will be conducting baseline assessments and will be able to focus their teaching to close any learning gaps that children may have.

If you have any concerns or issues, call your child’s school. They can provide that much needed extra help in making the transition from home learning back to school fulltime.

Suzanne Doyle Fowles is an Assistant Head Teacher at Dubai Heights Academy.

Good to talk

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Featured School

DEIRA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: THE JOYS AND CHALLENGES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING DURING COVID-19

Educators from their Deira International School Dubai, share the joys and challenges they are experiencing teaching during COVID-19. acting out stories together, to name but a few. It served as a timely reminder, that yes, academics are important, but relationships and the well-being of students hold equal, if not higher weight, for them to succeed.

Claire Heylin – Primary English Lead/ Year 2 Teacher Distance learning connected me to my class in ways that wouldn't have been possible in a classroom.

In the absence of physical space, my students allowed me into their homes. I received SeeSaw videos of pets, family workouts and siblings

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As Primary English Lead, the main challenges online were in replicating school experiences for students via a screen. This was done through sourcing an online reading programme to ensure that all students were accessing high-quality literature through Active Learn website. The creation of a Virtual Reading Buddies system enabled students to still feel connected to each other whilst confined to their homes.

It has warmed my heart to welcome students back to school after 180

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days. The settling in period has been an adjustment for us all. I teach Year 2 – the youngest cohort required to wear masks all day and practise social distancing. This has been a challenge for me as I strive to learn new ways of ensuring collaboration and active learning while still adhering to health and safety guidelines.

The upskilling of students and staff has been an enormous benefit of our online experience. I can no longer imagine a classroom without SeeSaw or Microsoft Teams – two apps I had never previously used before March.

Live streaming of our lessons has ensured that our distance learners can still feel part of our community as they choose to learn from the comfort of their homes.

My students have shone upon their return to school, and I am in awe

Featured School of their resilience and adaptability to change at a mere six years old.

There are muffled laughs and smiling eyes visible in my room, no matter how many metres apart we sit. Yes, we are well equipped to go online should the need ever arise again.

But, for now, I am grateful to watch young minds blossom face to face and the opportunity to develop as an educator with new skills learned from this pandemic.

Linda Parsons – Digital Learning Lead of Secondary There is nothing more rewarding than the "buzz" of learning in a classroom, and a school that is alive with creativity. 2020 has been the most significant school project I have been a part of. Teachers, students and parents have pulled together to elevate the school's heart and soul beyond the physical realms of the school. Our goal has never changed: To support and bring out the best in the people around us.

As Digital Learning Lead of Secondary, this has not come without challenges.

Guiding teachers towards creating their active learning environments and away from burning out, was a major priority. Using Teams as a hub of communication for all teachers and students, contributed hugely towards achieving this goal. Teams was flexible enough to be moulded into what each teacher needed, yet consistent enough for students to develop the digital fluency needed to access every lesson. We also found that email traffic decreased hugely as everyone became used to the instant message and group chat features of Teams. Our online school blossomed with Extra-Curricular

Activities such as the weekly 'Virtual Concert', Year Group Challenges, PE activities and STEAM projects, all designed to bring the teachers and students together in a holistic and 'human' way.

A change in our teaching practice would be a wasted opportunity if we only changed because of the circumstance. Our teachers worked hard to use 2020 as an opportunity to redefine the way they teach permanently.

Welcoming our students back into our classrooms has been made all the happier because we can now use our extensive Office 365 and OneNote skills to create better lessons for them that indeed promote anytime, anywhere learning. One of the most obvious and immediate changes to the day, for us, is a lack of queues around the photocopier and "dead time" in lessons, waiting for students to glue their worksheets in. Our digital environment has supported a fundamental improvement in how everyone focuses their time in school, freeing up more time for what we do best: Teach.

Dapinder Kaur – Early Years Foundation Stage Teacher I had never imagined that there would be a day in my teaching career where I would have to teach young children sitting behind an electronic device. It was quite a challenging experience, to begin with, nevertheless, the children and I, adapted very quickly to our new routine and the exciting learning journey continued.

Transferring teaching and learning from a buzzing classroom to an online platform has its ups and

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downs. We forget that children are resilient, curious, determined, flexible and high-spirited little people, which when tied in with their desire to learn and explore, great things can be achieved. Trying to figure out a system which was manageable for both ourselves and parents took some time, however, once this was in place, things began to run a lot more smoothly.

One of the main advantages of this experience was being able to 'pop in' to colleagues' 'digital classrooms' and share outstanding practice, which isn't something that can be done so easily when teaching at school, due to our very busy schedules. I loved watching the online lessons of other teachers in my team and share all their wonderful and creative ideas.

I always remembered watching children's TV presenters as a young child, they were lively and charismatic; teaching online very much related to this, as I had to ensure my lessons were engaging, enriching and most importantly, fun through my videos and live sessions. I took on a new role as an online teacher, where I had to think about how I could creatively use my skills and ensure it was easy for the children and parents to follow at home. We could not have done it without the parents' support.

Returning to school has been an overwhelming experience and continues to be a learning curve.

Having to adapt our classrooms to the new health and safety guidelines, there have been certain aspects that we have had to sacrifice and prioritise, however with the support of the team around me, I always remind myself that we're in this together and we cannot be so hard on ourselves.

Overall, it has been wonderful welcoming the children back into the classroom. There is nothing like being in a room with lots of delightful little people ready to develop their knowledge, creativity and imagination. I am looking forward to learning new skills and strategies this term to support the children's' learning within my classroom and those who are continuing with distance learning at home.

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Featured School

Mark West – Head of PE and Sport Teaching Physical Education (PE) through Distance Learning was most certainly something different. At first, there was a level of apprehension about how a practical subject could be taught successfully online. But it wasn't long before we started to rethink the way PE could be delivered and the positive outcomes we could achieve. Through a combination

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of synchronous and asynchronous lessons, we aimed to instil a love of the physical aspect and an increased focus on the 'education' aspect; developing students more holistically, with less of a focus on the skill base development. We designed a Primary and Secondary PE website, allowing students to independently work through tasks during one lesson per week, before uploading videos of themselves participating in the physical tasks. Our students completed this upload using 'FlipGrid'; an educational website that allows teachers to create "grids" to facilitate video discussions. During their second PE lesson of the week, our staff delivered a live lesson through 'TEAMS', where students performed different types of fitness sessions. These sessions were led by, either the teacher or the students themselves.

Alongside these sessions, our students also developed their knowledge in many areas of health and fitness by completing

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assignments and presentations.

Throughout Distance Learning it became apparent that the main challenges we would face would be around engagement and motivation.

Many students had limited space and equipment whilst at home, which made it difficult to vary activities. This resulted in some students requiring more encouragement and support than they would have required, if they were having their lessons on-site.

Although there were challenges the whole experience presented many high points and successes for both the students and the teachers.

Many students, who in normal circumstances may not have had the confidence to show their full potential, excelled in certain physical and knowledge-based activities.

For staff it was an opportunity to upskill on using technology as part of their teaching practice; 'TEAMS' and 'ONENOTE' have been fantastic

Featured School

platforms to develop theory lessons.

Now back in school we continue to develop and learn from each other to ensure that our students are receiving the very best education; whether that's face-to-face or distance learning. We are very much looking forward to continuing to educate our students holistically, through our practical lessons and implementing the technological skills we have developed, to ensure students are making the very best progress within their theory lessons.

Kieran Birrell – Head of Primary Computing / Primary Digital Strategy and Educational Technology Lead

Distance learning was new to us all.

We have become the pioneers of a way of teaching that has revolutionised the way our students learn.

Providing top quality synchronous and asynchronous content has ensured that the students at Deira International School have continued to flourish.

We encountered different challenges

along the way. None more than most, was the additional training needs for staff, students and parents. To counteract this, we provided weekly digital clinics, in-house CPD sessions and offered excellent communication channels on our chosen platforms.

The high points of distant learning were the engagement of our students, the collective team spirit of our staff and the sense of community we managed to maintain whilst online.

Our parents were very appreciative of all the content provided and the personalised learning experiences we afforded their children.

Since returning to school, we have been greeted with different challenges, or perhaps, we should call them different opportunities.

We have begun teaching lessons simultaneously, to students in school and at home. Streaming live sessions and allowing students to upload content digitally using their own devices. So far, it has been a great success, and we are safe in the knowledge that all our students at Deira International School are being provided with the same standard of exceptional education.

Ultimately, as educators, we must be flexible and willing to adapt to different situations. This pandemic has brought about the biggest test we have faced in many years. It fills me with a sense of great satisfaction to know that we can continue to develop young minds, whether that be in person or over the internet.

The necessary upskilling of staff and the continued advancements in technology will ensure that school will always remain open.

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Thomas Jacob – Head of Secondary Mathematics My time during distance learning was a mixture of highs and lows, but ultimately one of opportunity.

I consider myself lucky to work in such a forward-thinking country and school, where we were able to continue offering high-quality teaching and learning to our pupils throughout term 3. The challenges were without a doubt the lack of face to face interaction with the pupils. I however made a conscious effort not only to show my face to our pupils during live lessons, but also to give our interactions a personal touch. I also ensured that I maintained a health contact network with my colleagues. Since distance learning I have adopted the use of online assessments, Microsoft Team channels and recorded tutorials into my regular practice..., these have all proved to be a massive success, with both students and my team of wonderful Maths teachers. It is a joy to be back in school with colleagues and students. Although there are many challenges ahea, I know that we will come out of this stronger together!

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Advertorial

USING ONLINE SIMULATIONS TO FACILITATE ADVANCED STEM EDUCATION DURING HYBRID LEARNING Why do simulations like Gizmos work?

Meta-analysis of educational research (Marzano, 1998) identifies several instructional techniques that have a strong positive impact on student achievement.

Simulations like ExploreLearning math and science Gizmos bring these powerful and effective instructional techniques to the classroom.

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s the coronavirus changed the educational landscape earlier this year with little to no notice, schools all over the world were left scrambling to find and implement ways to continue to reach and teach their students. And while there is nothing that can replace the full experience of students working with teachers in the classroom, remote teaching and learning—now, and in some cases the foreseeable future—is currently the go-to standard.

But how do you teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) subjects, many of which benefit from hands-on, in-class learning, in such an environment?

One answer is through interactive simulations.

Online interactive simulations such as ExploreLearning Gizmos bring research-proven instructional strategies to life. With Gizmos, teachers supplement and enhance their instruction with powerful interactive visualizations of STEM concepts.

These math and science simulations give students the chance to think and act like scientists, engineers, and mathematicians.

Whether used in class, or remotely,

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Gizmos support the development of critical STEM competencies, including the ability to: 5 Ask questions and define problems 5 Develop and use models 5 Construct explanations and design solutions 5 Analyze and interpret data 5 Engage in discussion

collaboration

and

5 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information 5 Use mathematics computational thinking

and

Gizmos uses interactive controls, like sliders and movable objects, which allow teachers to set up and run simulations, however many times they want. There is no dangerous or expensive lab equipment to worry about, no paper worksheets to clutter classrooms.

Visualizations, screenshots, and graphing tools on these Gizmos help students easily capture and compare results from experiments, while assessment questions and inquirybased lesson plans help teachers provide students with the all tools and feedback they need to explore, discover, and apply new concepts.

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In findings from over 100 research studies involving 4,000+ experimental/ control group comparisons, the following were all shown to have an average effect size greater than 1 (i.e., a percentile gain of more than 34% in students’ achievement):

1. Representing new knowledge in graphic/nonlinguistic formats Research in cognitive psychology indicates that our brains store knowledge using both words and images; and instruction that targets and engages both has been shown to significantly increase students’ comprehension and retention.

The Gizmos in the ExploreLearning library cover hundreds of topics in math and science with interactive visual models. For example, Gizmos help students visualize the flow of current in an electrical circuit they have designed themselves, study the process of triangulation in determining an earthquake’s epicenter, and identify the role of the Sun and Moon in the fluctuation of ocean tides.

Advertorial In the Phases of the Moon Gizmo, students can see the position of the moon relative to Earth and the sun on one side, and the moon phase on the other. An additional graphic shows exactly which part of the moon is visible from Earth. As the moon goes around, the cause of phases quickly becomes apparent. Throughout the Gizmo library you will find a multitude of unique interactive simulations and animations that help students understand concepts that are difficult to describe or visualize.

2. Using manipulatives to explore new knowledge and practice applying it Manipulatives are concrete or symbolic artifacts that students interact with while learning new topics. They enable active, hands-on exploration of abstract concepts.

Research has shown that computer-based manipulatives are even more effective than ones involving physical objects, in part because they can dynamically link multiple representations together.

For example, students learning about systems of linear equations can use Gizmos to manipulate lines and instantly see the results of their actions as each of the multiple representations (algebraic, tabular, graphical) updates in real-time.

The Slope-Intercept Form of a Line Gizmo gives students a dynamic graph of a line, along with its equation, y = mx + b. Students can use sliders to change the values of m and b, and watch how these changes affect the line. Or, they can manipulate the line itself and see the values of m and b change. By seeing the connections between equation and graph, in real time, students can figure out what each value in the slope-intercept form of a linear equation, y = mx + b, means. A table of (x, y) values provides a third representation. When students understand how these three things – equation, graph, and table – are connected, they really understand the concept.

3. Generating and testing hypotheses about new knowledge Research has shown that students

derive the greatest value from manipulatives when they are guided in their use. The full pedagogical power of the manipulative is only achieved when students mindfully reflect on the actions they perform and how the manipulative responds to them.

on their own. Ideally, educational software should support teachers in presenting new knowledge to students, and then should support students in applying and extending what they have learned on a more individual basis.

The guides that accompany every Gizmo are designed to support and stimulate this type of mindful interaction. A typical guide starts with students engaging in a set of exercises where they perform specific actions and record the results. Then, they are prompted to make predictions about new situations, after which they verify their answers using the Gizmo.

Graphing is an essential skill for all students, and understanding how to create and interpret graphs is helpful in many professions. The Graphing Skills Gizmo allows students to create graphs based on data tables (and vice versa) and then check that accuracy of their work. Graphs range from very simple line and bar graphs to more complex scatter plots and pie charts. The user-friendly format and feedback allow students to quickly master the essentials of graphing.

The Digestive System Gizmo allows students to test hypotheses in a unique way. Students can arrange the organs of the human digestive system in any configuration, then measure how well different nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) are digested and absorbed. By carefully comparing similar systems, students can test hypotheses about the function of each organ and optimize its placement in the system. At the end of the lesson, students can compare their systems to the actual human digestive system.

This opportunity to experiment and test hypotheses in an open-ended environment is unique to Gizmos.

4. Direct presentation of new knowledge The Marzano meta-analysis notes that students learn effectively and efficiently when new concepts are first taught directly to them, after which they practice applying the concepts

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Simulations work both inclassroom and virtually While nothing really compares to inclass learning, current events have taught us that that is not always possible. And the better prepared schools are to address unexpected disruptions, the easier it is for teachers and students to continue their educational journey.

Online simulations like Gizmos are effective in both best-case and worstcase scenarios. Our programs provide full access from school, home, or any place with an Internet connection. In addition, ExploreLearning continually provides professional development webinars and resources designed to support teachers in the shift to virtual instruction.

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LEARNLIVEUAE BY: MARK ANDERSON AND OLLY LEWIS

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he last five years have seen an explosion of educators in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) region taking control of their own Continuing Professional Development (CPD). From Twitter chats to educator-led events such as the ResearchEd Dubai event, organised by Dubai College, teachers have been doing it for themselves, and it has promoted a massive shift in the way that schools interact, engage and support each other.

There’s no getting away from the fierce competition between schools to attract students to the many amazing halls of learning in the UAE. The shift we have seen however towards more grass-roots CPD, led by teachers, for teachers, has brought schools that previously wouldn’t work together, together, for the betterment of all students in the region, regardless of the school they attend. This has been a fantastic thing to behold and something which the education sector should be rightly proud to have achieved, and it has been brought about by passionate educators of which the region has in aplomb.

In that vein, LearnLiveUAE, was started by a leading influencer in the region, Assistant Headteacher

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and GESS award-winning Olly Lewis, of The British School Abu Dhabi (BISAD), and one of the most influential educators on social media, Mark Anderson to provide a weekly live show, offering superb, free, professional learning opportunities in a wide variety of guises.

Recognised by many now as one of the essential weekly live education focussed shows in the Middle East, LearnLiveUAE features educators and school leaders in each of its shows, from schools and educational establishments from across the MENA region and beyond.

Since its inception in early 2020, Olly and Mark have welcomed more than twenty different guests to the show, with the eleven episodes in Season One, being viewed by thousands of educators from around the world.

The aim of the show has always been to provide professional learning and sharing opportunities for educators in the region, in a way that is accessible, relevant, timely and responsive to the needs of people working in the education space. Therefore, episodes can be viewed back via specific playlists

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Mark Anderson

on our YouTube channel (bit.ly/ learnliveuae) and starting from Season 2 we will be simulcasting (broadcasting at the same time) to both YouTube and Twitter. To view episodes on Twitter, please tune into Mark’s Twitter account which can be found at https://twitter.com/ ICTEvangelist.

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To date, LearnLiveUAE has had a wealth of superb guests from schools and school groups across the region such as Taaleem, BSAK, British School in Muscat, Victory Heights, British International School of Abu Dhabi, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, Star Mirdif, GEMS First Point School, Manor Hall International School, Dubai College and more. We have also had representatives from companies who work closely with schools in the region too, in areas such as Safeguarding, Virtual Reality, Online Safety, Innovation and more.

From the outset, Mark and Olly aimed to create a live show which represented and served the needs of educators and leaders across the region with a laser focus onsharing: 5 Discussions that enable multidimensional approaches in classrooms, teams and schools; 5 The voices of a diverse range of educators and those working within education from across the region and beyond, sharing their experiences, successes and lessons learned; 5 From a wide variety of contexts and areas of education; 5 Professional development opportunities at your fingertips which are open, friendly, collegiate, engaging and ask questions to help drive your own learning.

An example of where LearnLiveUAE has shone as an initiative was following the announcement of the Distance Learning Evaluations.

Straight away, Olly and Mark were able to use their networks to

coordinate a few episodes with a specific focus on these issues to help everyone in the region facing similar challenges. From an episode exploring leading learning with Dee Saran, Deputy Head at Dubai College, to episodes exploring approaches to embedding cognitive science principles into teaching and learning with Deputy Head, Nigel Davis at BSAK and Head of Science from British School of Muscat, Matthew Clarke; our principles have guided each episode.

We are hugely buoyed by the fantastic feedback we have received across the whole of Season One. As we move into Season Two, you can expect to see more of the same in terms of authentic teacher voices, best practice and ideas that work.

To shift things up a gear or two, we have planned even more for the new academic year, with; book reviews from teachers and the impacts the books have had in their classrooms, deeper-dive interviews with authors and educational researchers, competitions with prizes for educators. We will also be attending and broadcasting LIVE from a variety of educational events across the region in 2020/21.

We are also very excited to be planning a significant, whole day, FREE online Teaching, Learning and Leadership event with some fantastic guests already confirmed.

We will announce more details across Season Two, where we will reveal a speaker each week.

Olly Lewis

As with the live show, this event will be streamed live to YouTube and Periscope/Twitter with no need to sign up or pay. In keeping with the vision and values of LearnLiveUAE, access to our shows will always be free for educators. After all, that’s why we do what we do, to help others, to bring like-minded educators together, for the betterment of all students in every school.

LearnLiveUAE returned to the airwaves on 24th August, subscribe to bit. ly/learnliveuae and follow Mark @ ICTEvangelist and Olly @OLewis_ coaching, join in and take part in each episode.

Mark is a former school leader with more than twenty years of experience in the classroom, leading successful faculty departments, being a local authority lead teacher for his subject. He is responsible for some of the world’s most innovative 1:1 programmes. Mark’s mission has always been to impact positively the futures of children, which has led to him leaving the classroom to pursue that aim on a larger scale. His blog ICT Evangelist won the Education Blog of the Year award in 2015.

Connect with him on Twitter @ICTEvangelist.

Olly is an educator with over ten years’ experience. In 2020 he won a GESS Award for best use of digital learning in the classroom for school wide strategy and implementation of CENTURY, he also hold a Masters in Educational Leadership along with various other post nominals such as QTS, PGCE, BSc, FCCT, #MIEExpert, #GoogleCE and #AppleTeacher. Olly is also the co-founder and co-host of #LearnLiveUAE, a weekly show dedicated to sharing best practices in education, the show can be found on YouTube here.

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RETURNING TO SCHOOL AFTER DISTANCE LEARNING: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUPILS WITH ADDITIONAL LEARNING NEEDS BY: GINETTE MOORE

a long time at home. After spending a lot of additional time with their parents and caregivers, pupils of all ages may experience separation anxiety.

Access to therapists and other professionals

During the distance learning period, pupils who usually accessed ABA, psychotherapy, physiotherapy, occupational and speech and language therapies, may have had these provisions severely reduced, stopped altogether or only available online. Pupils who had been identified as needing an assessment to establish whether there are any additional learning needs may not have had that assessment.

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020 brought unexpected challenges for families across the world as they suddenly found themselves effectively home-schooling their children for many months due to school closures.

Some families relished the extra time together that working from home and home-schooling provided; however, for those with children who have additional learning needs, there were further difficulties. What do school leaders and teachers need to consider as they prepare for the return to school in the new academic year?

Each child and family are unique.

Their experiences over recent months vary according to many factors, including their domestic and financial situation, quality of distance learning provision and their child’s ability to access the specialist teaching and therapies that enable them to reach their potential. For many, it has been a period of extensive isolation, curtailed freedom and cancelled travel plans.

While at first, a brief period of distance learning was envisaged, for schools in many areas, this quickly became the remainder of the academic year.

This has brought both benefits and disadvantages, which differ for each family and student. Some families

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found that the situation gave them an insight into their child’s difficulties in learning that they wouldn’t otherwise have had.

As we have recently returned to school, there are many points to consider, as school leaders, teachers, parents and pupils.

Transition

Pupils have missed out on the inschool transition process, which could lead to worries about their new teacher, class, classmates or school. Even schools that tried to negate this may have found that the goalposts have since been moved as local regulations changed, leading to revised allocations of staff and rooms and fewer pupils per class.

Anxiety and school refusal

There are many reasons for pupils to be anxious. They may have lost loved ones to COVID-19, as well as being fearful of catching it themselves.

Couple this with impending transition, unfamiliarity with new processes and staff and the possibility of a second wave and/or a return to distance learning. Pupils who already found it difficult to attend school may struggle with the return to campus after such

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Sensory needs

Pupils with autism, sensory processing disorder or other sensory needs will be exempt from wearing face coverings, but may still wish to do so, or it may be parental preference. They may dislike using hand sanitising gel. For those who experience sensory overload in a school setting, distance learning may have provided welcome relief and leading to dread at returning to the classroom.

Medical needs

Pupils with medical needs may require continuation of distance learning rather than returning to school. If they also have additional learning needs, it is imperative that their needs are fully met despite them not attending school.

Has the gap narrowed or widened?

Some pupils with additional learning needs have flourished during distance learning due to the individual attention from parents/caregivers and specialised, differentiated teaching from their class teacher and inclusion department. Some will have learned new IT skills, improved their ability to manage their workload, organise tasks and gather resources. This is not the case for all, and others may have had

Sharing Good Practice movement breaks or attendance as needed.

part-time

5 Provide safe alternatives to hand gel, such as antibacterial wipes or handwashing facilities.

5 Ensure all staff are aware of pupils from Year 2/Grade 1 onwards who are exempt from wearing a mask, so that they are not challenged or criticised.

5 Local guidelines and regulations may vary, so ensure any resources shared by other schools are customised for your own setting and students.

5 Consider putting on a whole school virtual event to develop school connectedness, such as a display in a communal area to which all pupils contribute.

5 Follow up outstanding learning assessments and support parents in accessing centres which can provide a suitable assessment. a daily struggle in accessing online lessons and resources, organising their work, maintaining their focus on screen and when completing tasks. Pupils who experience difficulty in forming and maintaining social relationships with peers may have had little recent contact with other children and young people outside their immediate family.

Devising an action plan

In order to meet the varying needs of all children and young people, but especially those with additional learning needs, school leaders and teachers may wish to draw up an action plan to address the points listed above. Possible solutions include: 5 Provide training for continuing staff and new joiners, not just about implementing the new guidelines at school, but also about the social, emotional and educational impact of distance learning and the pandemic on pupils, particularly those with additional learning needs.

5 Carry out risk assessments for pupils with complex and significant educational and health needs, working with their parents and medical staff to ensure this is comprehensive.

5 Work with parents and pupils to find out what their experience has been and how they feel about coming

back - don’t assume that the distance learning period has been traumatic.

5 Provide access to the school counsellor for at risk pupils and on request.

5 Use circle time in class to give children structured and supportive opportunities to share their experiences and views of the summer break and distance learning.

5 Use social stories and videos to prepare children for the return, explaining and showing what the school exterior and interior now look like, the processes they must follow and key personnel such as their class or form teacher. Ideally, these should have been be shared at least a week before term started.

5 Find out whether children have missed out on therapies and whether these have now resumed.

Work with affected families to find out how the school can compensate for the absence of provision.

5 Consider using nurture principles or the SWAN approach to promote a safe and welcoming return to school (see resources below).

As we prepare to return to school, which will be a mixture of the familiar and the unfamiliar, it is important to consider the needs of everyone in our school family, to recognise that these needs vary and may change over time, and to ensure a safe and welcoming return for all.

Sources of support/resources

5 Be consistent in messages for staff, families and children in rules, words and images so that children feel safe, familiar and comfortable with new routines and are not wrongfooted by unfamiliar terminology or procedures.

The SWAN framework:

5 Be flexible as students return to campus, providing; time out of class,

https://tinyurl.com/y5r9lqk4

https://tinyurl.com/y7zswkl2 Using nurture principles to support the return to school:

Ginette Moore is the Head of Inclusion at The Aquila School, Dubai. She has a Masters in Special and Inclusive Education, holds the NASENCo award and tutors the Real Training international SENCo award. She has led inclusion in Dubai and the UK for over ten years. She can be contacted on g.moore@ theaquilaschool.com.

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WOMEN IN EDUCATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA not just for women. Men are invited and encouraged to share their voices, experiences and questions too! Many men have attended our sessions and have also been a voice for championing and celebrating equality for women #heforshe being the hashtag for the movement where men can support women.

WomenEdMENA aims to establish networks in each country, in both Arabic and English, to share ideas and introduce female educators in the MENA region. In addition, it seeks to provide solutions for the challenges that face women in these countries and beyond, particularly but not exclusive to leadership. Essentially, it provides a platform where we can share thoughts, issues and support each other.

W

omen Ed is a global grassroots movement that connects aspiring and existing women leaders in education and gives women leaders a voice. It initially began in 2015 with the aim to connect women leaders on Twitter. Over the five successful years that it has been operational, Women Ed has been able to; connect, support and empower women leaders in education; give women a voice in education policies and practices, and to work to improve the gender balance between women and men at senior level.

Our values known as the 8 Cs: WomenEd MENA is based in the Middle East and North Africa. At the moment we have four Network Leads and are in the process of expanding further. Our aim is to embody the values of WomenEd through championing, encouraging and creating opportunities for networking, growing and developing others.

The overall mission is for more women in education to have the choice to

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What we have achieved so far: progress their leadership journey and support them where possible.

10% braver is at the heart of our blueprint. Using each other’s stories and experiences to demonstrate successes and support followers with practical advice and examples through empowering and supporting their journey.

Despite COVID-19 pausing some of our developments and plans of face to face conferences, we have still managed to connect with women across our area to share their stories and learn about different examples of success through webinars and Twitter chats. Some of these have included women struggling to find the position that fits them, having issues with imposter syndrome, needing practical advice with CVs/interviews and overcoming barriers such as childcare and marriage. We present profiles for each of our guest speakers which are shared on social media, creating excellent opportunities for connecting with other like-minded people across the globe - not just the immediate region. WomenEd is

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We have started to build a network with women in our region and have started hosting informal conversations with women to share their journeys.

This has been hugely successful with alternate sessions in Arabic and English which cater to all.

Participants have shared how they were motivated by hearing 10% braver chats which encourage them to lean in. These conversations helped to reflect on their practices and redefine leadership in their different contexts.

“We don’t need to change the world in everything we do but these steps will change the world one day.”

Some examples of our conversations:

In our first live conversation Maha AlRemahi and Zainab Osama shared examples of how they further expanded their educational leadership practice by being 10% braver to achieve success.

The second chat was with Reem Abu Harb and Natasha Hilton, they shared examples of how they utilised resources and networks in every country they worked in. They talked

Sharing Good Practice about some of the challenges they faced and provided practical advice for those in similar situations.

Our current Network Leads:

Rima Muhsin and Amna AlBalushi, shared how they influenced others through various platforms and how they focused on a work life balance.

Our most recent conversation was with Dr. Mayamin and Eman Saaldadin who both shared their experiences in challenging political climates and how they were 10% braver. All recordings are available on our Twitter thread @ WomenEdMENA We have also held Twitter live chats.

Our first included one of our Network Leads; Rania Sawalhi which discussed her awarded study Altharwa AlNaema to empower young females and develop their leadership skills. The program is based on a study and implemented in 3 cities in KSA https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing. com/topics/education-and-learning/ highlight s/al-thar wa-al-naematowards-womens-leadershipdevelopment Our upcoming events include a book club and face to face sessions that will all be announced through our Twitter page.

Future aims and ideas:

WomenEd MENA will continue to build networks in each country in the Middle East and North Africa, in both Arabic and English, to share ideas and support other colleagues in education.

We aim to hold opportunities for networking and support with practical solutions for individuals, on their various journeys in the near future watch this space!

How can you get involved and what can MENA do?

We would love to hear from you if you are in the MIddle East or North Africa.

Once COVID-19 has passed, we will host conferences in various countries - perhaps you could support or get involved in your specific area.

For further information and up and coming dates, join us on Twitter @ womenedmena or email us directly at; womenedmena@gmail.com

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GETTING BACK TO SCHOOL AT LIWA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS BY: SHAKILA MOHAMMED

We are a digital school, and even before the pandemic, most of our students’ work was completed through E- Learning platforms. This year was not different. The only glitch we faced were parents not able to connect to our most used platform Class Dojo. Usually we would send out parent and class code as a hard copy for our Arabic speaking parents.

Due to the number of parents choosing a full Distance Learning model, we could not send home hard copies of Class Dojo codes. We attempted to notify parents through their emails and this decision caused a little delay in setting the accounts up. Once Class Dojo setup was completed, we had our multiple learning platforms ready for student use, with work digitally going home for the students who chose distance learning.

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t Liwa International School for Girls, we brainstormed, created plans, adapted our curriculum, studied the framework, but most of all made a foolproof plan to ensure the safety of our girls. With all the uncertainties and questions in mind, we went ahead and started our reopening journey. The first thing we made sure was that the safety measures and protocols were in place for a safe return of students.

Policies were created to safeguard students and teachers. Apart from this, the model of reopening was finalized between our Education Group. Parents completed a survey to identify the models they preferred for their children: full distance learning or a hybrid model, with two groups coming on alternating days. Academic curriculum was made to match the new models. Due to the COVID-19 scenario our priority was to make sure that the students are well supported in

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other areas, than just academics, like social protection, nutrition, health and emotional support, hence we added PSHE into our subjects and made sure this would be integrated in almost every lesson.

We had a very smooth start to our first week. The reopening of grade K-5 was staggered for the first week back, Grade 1 and 2 started school on Sunday, whereas Grades KG1, KG2, 3,4,5 started on Tuesday. This way, we had all hands on deck to make sure that, the reopening was smooth. We brought the KG1 newcomers to visit the school with their parents. We further created an effective dismissal system for families who had several girls studying in our school. Although the dismissal procedures required training for teachers, students and parents, entry and dismissal were smooth processes by the end of week 1.

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The face to face learners had fun coming to school and getting that 1:1 support from their teachers. Creating the two groups enabled us to have 6-8 students attending the face to face lessons each day. Face to face has been effective with small groups.

The government’s decision to have only the K-5 come to school was wise.

We had a very good start to the year and feel our program will continue to show success. As we move forward, we want to make sure we maintain the rigor of teaching and learning, without losing focus on the social and emotional factor for the wellbeing of our girls and our staff. LISG has a strong parent community who are ever so supportive and cooperative, which helps us to make a strong team for our girls.

Shakila Mohammed Assistant Principal- K5 Liwa International School for Girls

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HOW CAN TEACHERS CIRCUMVENT THE COVID-19 REALITY FOR STUDENTS WITH SEN? BY: DEBBIE HAMILTON BOGUES

T

he last six months have caught us flat-footed. No one was prepared for what was about to happen.

It felt like an unannounced hurricane with steady gale winds, an avalanche to an avid skier or like a sand storm to the lonely desert traveller.

Where ever you were then, as a teacher, you are no longer there today.

Imagine our students with Special Educational Needs( SEN)! It must be a roller coaster for many!

As we have embarked on this new school year; we are doing so, with many uncertainties and unresolved thoughts and questions. One question I wish to answer is, what can we do for our students with SEN? Many of our schools have adopted a hybrid system for education delivery. The Hybrid system will vary depending on many factors, including; the age of the students, the level and type of disabilities, the number of

children in a family and a host of other considerations.

The basic hybrid model may entail a split of the weekdays into in-school and at home/distance learning.

What can teachers do to support our students with SEN?

1. Talk with the parent/s and the student.

Ask him/her to share with you how they felt last year when they had to be at home because of COVID-19. Was that a good or bad experience and why so.

Find out whether, in your position as a teacher, they have any questions they would like to ask you or whether they have anything they would like to share with you and what are they looking forward to in the coming year.

2. I would also suggest creating a visual timetable for the student, showing days at school and days at home. A visual schedule will give the student an overview of his/her week and can help him or her to be mentally prepared for it.

3. Encourage parents to allow the students at home; distance learning days to wear their uniforms during school hours. Try to and maintain the times of the school timetable routine, including times for break and lunch while at home, doing distance learning. The method will place them in a school and learning mindset. They will be able to distinguish between school days and non-school days.

4. Depending on your school, you can also lead small group reading or Math interventions online with your students. Dress for school and lead your sessions. For many students, they will be delighted to see their teacher.

Besides, you can ask them questions and receive immediate feedback. You can give instant praise and rewards, and the students will love it!

5. Some parents are not very computer literate and struggle with English.

There is a way around that too.

WhatsApp!! You can send the work via WhatsApp, ask the students to complete the activity, take a picture and then return it to you via Whatsapp.

Use every means at your disposal, in accordance with your school’s online and safeguarding protocols.

6. In-school days can be very challenging.

What do the SEN students understand about physical/ social distancing?

Your school may have a new code of greeting. If possible, share the new code with the parents, before the students arrive at school, so that they can begin to practice at home, if not, you will have to teach them on arrival.

The future is unknown but it can also be a bright one for our students with SEN!

Debbie is an experienced international educator, who has spent almost 30 years in education in the Caribbean, USA, UK and the Middle East. She has a passion for students with special education needs.

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THE TRUTHS AND MYTHS OF EXAM PRACTICE BY: JAMIE KIRKALDY

part of a formative, developmental exercise that does more than simply replicate previous outcomes?

A phased approach to exam technique

One of the many mantras I used with my students was, ‘exams are not a test of what you know, they are a test of what you can prove that you know’.

It’s a crucial difference. The examiner doesn’t know you or what knowledge you possess. They only see what the you put down on paper.

Viewed in this way, exam technique is worth easily as much as subject knowledge and must be approached as a skill in its own right – one that needs to be built up slowly, to pave the way for future success.

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h, nostalgia…it isn’t what it used to be.

It’s an old joke – one of my dad’s favourites, and I now use it on my own kids – but it lays bare an educational truism: when in doubt, we look back to what we know best; back to the certainty of times gone past.

In teaching, this generally means past papers – especially amidst the stress and challenge of a global pandemic, when we are looking for ways to engage students remotely.

For what better way to hone a student’s exam technique, or prepare them for the rigours of exam assessment, than to give them a practice run, using a genuine paper? All the certainties are there: the content will reflect the course, there will be a variety of question types, the layout of the paper will be identical to the one they will ultimately sit. You even get a mark

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scheme.

Perfect preparation, right?

Well, yes and no.

While past papers and mock exams are an integral part of exam preparation, they are just that: a part of your approach, not the be-all and end-all.

Making students endlessly sit past papers and expecting them to get better is like sitting a teenager in a car and making them repeat the driving test until they pass: without specific, targeted teaching and effective feedback, students won’t gain the skills they need to improve. Indeed, the process of repeatedly sitting past papers could actually engrain bad habits, impeding their development and destroying their confidence.

So how can you use past papers effectively? How can you make them

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Consider the two factors that make exams difficult in the first place: time and access to information. As a teacher, you can control these variables to build your students’ skills and confidence. To begin with, students should be given practice questions (rather than entire papers), and asked to complete them without time restriction, and with full access to their notes. This gives them the opportunity to practise implementing the skills required without the pressure of time or having to remember the subject matter.

As their skills and confidence grow, you can – one at a time – remove their notes and introduce time restraints.

Once they have mastered what they need to do, you can move to assessing them in true exam conditions, and then build up towards setting full exam papers.

The key is setting up students to be successful rather than asking too much too soon.

Data analysis: what are the results telling you?

When students sit a practice paper, you need to make sure that you extract from their performance all the

Sharing Good Practice information you need to help them improve. Data analysis is key here. This doesn’t just mean looking at the total scores achieved by all students in your class or year group and rank ordering them to find the high flyers and the underperformers (though this can be a useful exercise in its own right); it’s about interrogating students’ marks to highlight areas of strength and weakness – both at an individual and cohort level.

What elements of the course are proving difficult? What topics have they not understood? Do they struggle with particular question types or Assessment Objectives? A simple spreadsheet should be enough to break down student results into quantifiable data that gives you a priceless insight into student performance.

What this means is that the work done between practice papers becomes crucial. Some say honing exam technique is an art; I disagree, I think it’s a science. You work out what needs improving and focus your efforts (and those of your students) on the areas where the largest gains can be made.

on inside the head of a candidate who is constructing a top-mark response, so they can transpose this approach to questions that test the same skill in a different context. ‘Out loud’ modelling is vital to improving exam technique because it shows not just how to answer that specific question but how to answer all questions like that.

Make them the examiner

Exam questions are often quite generic, with a format that is replicated year on year. This is known as ‘good predictability’. It means students aren’t surprised by how the exam paper is presented or how individual questions are constructed. Only the precise subject matter or context will be new.

As students get more and more exposure to exam questions, they begin to recognise these consistencies and can tailor their responses accordingly to the needs of various question types. As a teacher, you can reinforce this process by getting students to write their own questions.

Exactly how you do this will vary

between subjects, but the general principle is to ask students to create an exam question that tests a particular topic or skill. You can set parameters if you like (how many marks, question format, etc). You could even set it as a class activity: ask pairs of students to come up with a question relating to a different part of the curriculum.

Put them all together and you have a self-created class mock exam ready to go. Each pair can then be responsible for providing the feedback for their individual question.

And the best part is, you can keep that mock paper to use with future classes!

Practice makes perfect – if it’s done right

As I said earlier, I’m not for a second saying that you shouldn’t use past papers in your classroom or conduct mock exams. But students need to go into those mock exams confident that they know both what to do, and how to do it. A more structured, skillsbased approach to exam technique not only means they will get more out of a mock exam, but that they are more likely to be successful in the real exam.

One way to do this is to look at the questions where students underperformed in their most recent attempt. What mistakes did they make? Can they identify these mistakes? What would a better answer look like?

Which brings me neatly to my next suggestion…

Modelling

As teachers, we often talk the talk when it comes to exam questions, how often do we walk the walk?

One highly effective approach to teaching exam technique is to answer the question yourself, ‘live’ in the classroom. Display the question for the class to see, explain how much time they should allocate to it in an exam, get out your board pen, start the clock and demonstrate how it should be done.

Crucially, don’t just ‘do’ the question.

Talk them through your thinking in real time. Let them know what’s going

Jamie Kirkaldy is Head of Teaching and Learning Support for Oxford International AQA Examinations. Before joining OxfordAQA, Jamie was Head of English at one of the largest secondary schools in Oxford, UK, and a member of the school’s Senior Leadership Team.

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Featured Teacher

SAJIDA AL BASHIR: A PASSIONATE EDUCATOR SINCE CHILDHOOD

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ajida AL Bashir is originally from Palestine; she was born in Amman Jordan. She is a mother of four amazing children; Rahaf who graduated from Sharjah University last December, Ahmad who is studying in Canada doing his third year in New Brunswick, studying International Business, Amjad who has just started studying at Thomson Rivers University in Canada and Waleed who recently entered year two at Repton school Dubai.

Sajida has been teaching for the last 24 years- one year in Jordan and 23 years in Dubai. Ten of these years have been at Repton Dubai School.

Her passion for teaching was evident since her childhood. Her parents used

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to observe her teaching her toys.

Sajida now sees the same passion in her own daughter. She has been teaching Islamic Education, Arabic and Social Studies for many years. Sajida considers herself a life-long learner who never stops learning and who is always looking to grow professionally and emotionally. This passion led her to achieve a Master’s degree in education in 2019, graduating from the American University in Dubai.

virtual conference on August 25-27, 2020, just before the start of the new academic year. Through her hard work, hundreds of teachers of Arabic, Islamic Studies and Social Studies were able to connect, network and learn virtually, from sessions which were delivered in Arabic by fellow educators from across the region.

Sajida has been instrumental in the promotion of cutting edge teaching methodologies in Arabic medium subjects across the United Arab Emirates and even further afield. She recently worked alongside the Teach Middle East team in putting on the largest regional teaching and learning

What do you enjoy most about being an educator?

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Continue reading to learn what fuels Sajida’s passion for education.

I genuinely enjoy every day at school.

Seeing my students in class is a blessing. I enjoy teaching them Islamic principles, etiquettes, and Islamic History. I value the different discussions

Featured Teacher that occur in class, especially if the topic is a controversial topic that instigates some interesting responses from the students. The quality of my students’ questions, the need to know and learn is a bonus to any teacher.

The most enjoyable moment is when I see that I have influenced or changed my students’ lives.

What are some challenges you face in your role as an educator, and how do you overcome them?

Changing the assumptions and stereotypes of students about Islamic education takes a lot of work. The weakness in reciting the holy Quran and understanding of the subject has always been a challenge. Students need to know why Islamic Education is a core subject, not only in schools, but also in their lives. Many students come from different backgrounds, and some families do not practice Islam at home. This is a huge responsibility placed upon our shoulders as educators and Islamic teachers. To overcome these challenges, I work a lot on building a strong relationship with students and parents. Planning my lessons and linking them to reallife situations is always very effective, making sure that lessons are well planned, and opportunities are being created for students to progress during the academic year.

What are your two favourite EdTech tools, and why?

The digital world has opened new doors in all fields – how can education stay away from this advancement?

With the help of technological innovation and advancement, education is not just limited to the traditional chalk and blackboard style of teaching anymore. Teachers have the freedom to introduce interesting mediums of teaching to make learning, engaging and valuable for their students. My all-time favourite EdTech tools are Nearpod, Seppo, Socrative and Classroom screen.

How do you help fellow educators to share good practice with each other?

As an educator, I always believe in sharing good practice. I am working

with Heads of Departments from top schools across Dubai, collaborating as a committee to improve Islamic teaching and learning. We design unified schemes of work and assessments; this gives our students and school managers a chance to explore and standardise the Islamic teaching and learning across the country. I also give workshops on different methods related to the education sector. I have been a speaker in many international and national conferences and panels such as Qudwa Forum, the Finnish Education Expo and many other conferences. I have had the pleasure of travelling to different countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Russia to work closely with educators on raising the profile of teaching core subjects such as; Islamic Studies, Social Studies and Arabic.

What do you do for fun or to unwind after a long day at school?

I love going to the cinema, however with COVID-19, it has become a challenge to go out, but luckily, I still

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have Netflix. My favourite movies are those based on true stories and historical movies. Reading before going to bed is a great way to finish a busy day.

What is the one thing about you that would surprise your colleagues?

I have two Twitter accounts, one with my real name and the other one as a blogger with 13,000 followers.

What is the best professional advice that you have received, and how has this helped you?

Relationships Matter was the best professional advice I received. It was so impactful that I chose to research the topic further as a part of my master’s degree programme. Another piece of advice I received was to start my lessons from outside the classroom by greeting my students at the door, checking on them, asking them about their day. This creates an opportunity for students to see that you really care.

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Sharing Good Practice

STAY SAFE & BACK TO SCHOOL Ajman Academy’s Secondary Principal, Mr Colin Bibby, reflects on the challenges brought about by COVID-19, online learning and the return to school in such difficult circumstances

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s a new decade dawned at the start of this year, nobody could have foreseen that “unprecedented” would emerge as the word of 2020. However, as COVID-19 has wreaked havoc across the globe, the challenges have been huge, the decisions taken by international leaders inconsistent, and pandemic progress variable.

Against such a background, yes, schools have suffered. Let’s be open and honest about this, it’s been beyond the experience of us all. And yet in times of strife, new energies often come to the fore, innovation and flexibility become commonplace and human resilience overrides. Such has been the case at Ajman Academy where impressive positivity has shone through from within.

Our move to distance learning was the same “very short notice” shock to us as it was to everyone else. However, blessed with a sophisticated and

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Sharing Good Practice robust infrastructure, technologysavvy students, dedicated teachers and understanding parents, Ajman Academy made an impressive success of it all. What we thought might be two or three weeks eased into six or seven and relentlessly on to the whole of term 3. Concurrently, our teachers learned new skills, Microsoft Teams became mainstream lingo, our students missed their peers more than they’d ever appreciated but committed to logging on every morning, and our school leaders did all in their power to run their schools from home laptops.

Challenging?

Immensely. Impossible? Well, our UAE leaders do not recognise “impossible” and neither did we.

Successful?

Beyond all reasonable expectations.

“I feel that returning to school is like a small miracle after months of distance learning last year” Layal, Grade 7, Ajman Academy Fast-forward to the end of August and to the parental option of students continuing with online learning or to returning to school. Amidst rising numbers of cases globally from the treacherous COVID-19, all were faced with such a difficult choice and school leaders had to consider and plan for all eventualities. Here at Ajman Academy, we committed to endless hours of consultation, reorganisation and sanitisation. From a cleanliness viewpoint our campus simply has to be one of the safest bubbles out there.

With no little trepidation - at teacher and student level alike - reopening date arrived. Exactly 26 weeks = 6 months = half a calendar year had elapsed since we last had students onsite. It felt almost like opening up from new all over again. And yes, in came AJAC students in such pleasing numbers. Relieved and reassured that all is safe and well onsite; that friends and peers have also chosen to return; that teachers were so very pleased to welcome them back. It’s been a joy to behold as the empty campus has been transformed by those who matter most to us all: our young people.

Layal, Grade 7, Ajman Academy

“From the first day I have felt safe in school. I understand the need to be back and it’s been so much fun meeting up with my friends again.”

Adam, Grade 9, Ajman Academy Of course it’s different: masks and social distancing are needed, desks are set apart and repeated hand washing indispensable. Yet, underneath it all, it’s reassuringly the same: bells, teachers, lessons, classmates, homework. The

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same - but in a much more reflective way as we all had come to learn and value a new lesson: that school life brings so much to us all and, boy, how we have missed it.

If you don’t know what I mean, then come on in to Ajman Academy to see for yourself how we are enjoying making all of this work and benefitting so much from being back together.

Oh, but let’s also not forget that COVID-19 is still very much with us. #StaySafe&Back2School “Unprecedented” times, indeed…

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Personal Development

TEACHERS: NOW THAN EVER BEFORE SELF CARE IS MORE IMPORTANT BY: CAS GERMAIN

5 Prepare your meals the night before or bulk cook at the weekend so you can grab and go in the mornings.

5 Prepare your clothes for the day or week. This way you save time in the morning and can change and head out of the door straight away.

5 Focus on the tasks that you can achieve. It’s important not to pressure yourself to try and achieve everything all at once.

5 Move your body and exercise.

Walking releases endorphins which are the ‘feel good’ factors in our bodies.

5 Acknowledge your feelings and act accordingly. If you feel stressed, stop for a second.

“Self care is giving the world the best of yourself, not what’s left of yourself.”

Katie Reed.

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ow are you? A simple three word question, which shows kindness, care and consideration. Plus a proven and essential way to bond with colleagues and release the happiness and wellbeing chemical called serotonin. Having the start of the academic year with some students in class and others distance learning, can allow us to feel uneasy, anxious or uncertain. All of which are perfectly valid emotions and natural responses, considering what’s going on in the world.

Your self care is so important right now, as schools and particularly class teachers have faced a summer alone or were managing their own families and are now back in class, juggling split classrooms, distance learning, student wellbeing and parent queries all before 8am!

Self care is something many of us

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teachers, put last as we often focus on the children’s needs before our own.

However, in times of difficulty, you owe it to yourself to take care of you as if you were a pupil in your class.

Looking after your own wellbeing is as simple as making sure you’re drinking water throughout the day. Why? Because dehydration is a contributing factor to anxiety, we must ensure that we are looking after our bodies in order to function at our best during the school day.

Here are some tips to support your wellbeing during the school day: 5 Breathe- You are doing the best you can with the resources you have.

5 Sleep- ensuring you are getting quality sleep so you are focused and energised for the day.

5 Positive self-talk in the form of affirmations: I am________ E.g: I am trying my best.

5 Set a morning routine-making sure you have your bag packed the night before so you can get up and go.

5 Listen to music or a podcast that makes you smile before school.

5 Plan your meals so you know you’re nourishing yourself correctly, which will support your energy levels.

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5 Laugh, laugh, and laugh some more! Allow yourself to laugh through the day with the children or during meetings. This will release positive feel good factors and will build stronger connections with colleagues and pupils alike.

5 Try meditation or yoga to enable your mind to remain calm and focused for the day.

5 Setting healthy boundaries- not going out after a certain time so you are mentally prepared for the next day.

5 Calling a person you care about, this can be a friend or a loved one.

Hearing a loved one’s voice releases oxytocin, the love chemical which makes us feel good.

5 Treat yourself- even if it’s a coffee, a bath or a bunch of flowers. It’s good to acknowledge your feelings and do small acts of kindness towards yourself to boost your mood.

5 Weekly reflection: This can be done within your team, amongst friends or with your pupils. Ask one another how your week has been? What do you wish for next week? By acknowledging ourselves, we become more aware of our thoughts and feelings which we are in a position to act upon. Also acknowledging others releases the hormone serotonin, which is the happy chemical associated with wellbeing.

Personal Development Did you know?

Our body and brain react the same way to anxiety as they do to excitement!

Therefore, you have the ability to change your mind set by managing the way you speak to yourself.

Here’s how to reframe your self talk in order to support your mindset or those around you.

INSTEAD OF SAYING

TRY

I don’t want to teach today.

I’m excited to make an impact with the class.

The masks are so uncomfortable

The masks allow me to do my job safely.

There’s so much change.

The guidelines are there to ensure we are all safe.

Recognising the impact of these uncertain times will enable us to empathise and act accordingly, in order to serve ourselves and the wellbeing of others in the process.

It’s important to be mindful of the impact on the body and brain when a person faces trauma. According to a study on Traumatic Stress on the Brain, people including children release more cortisol; the stress hormone as a consequence of trauma. In turn, people can become more emotional, make mistakes and act in ways that are typically uncharacteristic to their usual selves. An outcome of trauma will mean people may make mistakes, become forgetful or over think things.

These are types of coping mechanisms people use.

Leaders, teachers and members of the school community can be part of self care by making meaningful and positive connections (at a distance) to those around us. That’s why colleagues must look out for one another and ‘check in’, if you notice someone is not themselves. Also, allow the children to take breaks when needed, even though it’s difficult with the demands of the school day. Building a strong rapport with your team, class and community is more important now due to the uncertainty of our climate.

As humans we crave meaningful

connections and particularly, in uncertain times, we require it even more. If you are a leader, you are encouraged to set a healthy boundary within your team. An example of this could be, not to message on

WhatsApp after the school day? The reason for this is so teachers can rest and ‘switch off’, in order to be in a better physical, emotional and mental space when they show up to work and face the new challenges, at this delicate time.

A friendly reminder, is for you to look at the things you can control and to remind yourself that you, too, are human, you deserve to show yourself the love and kindness, in order to do what you do best, and that is to teach and inspire children every day. We as teachers are strong, resilient and show up daily for our pupils and community members, but we owe it to ourselves to take care of ourselves.

I hope you have found this article useful and I urge you to continuously ask yourself and members of your school community: How are you today? Your connections will be stronger as you allow people the space and time to feel heard and valued, even as you release the wellbeing and happiness hormone, serotonin.

So, I’ll start: How are you today?

Cas Germain is a Primary Teacher and certified Life Coach. She is passionate about promoting wellbeing to her pupils and peers through positive education.

Her Masters in Social Sciences and PGCE in Special Educational Needs, enables her to support all members of her community in a caring and inclusive manner. Follow Cas on Instagram @themindfulteacher_uae

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Health

NATURAL WAYS TO CONTROL YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE WITHOUT MEDICATION

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ecently a very close relative of mine was diagnosed with having high blood pressure.

He was not even aware that he was developing this condition and that is why it is referred to widely as the silent killer. He went to the hospital to check on another condition and his elevated blood pressure was discovered. This set the wheels in motion and before long he was put on blood pressure medication, which they say he will have to take for the rest of his life. But that made us start to wonder if there were natural ways of controlling blood pressure, ways which would eliminate the need to take medication. Before we dive any further into this article, please note that the information provided in this article is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. if you

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have any questions or concerns about your health, please consult with your doctor.

Like most other diseases, lifestyle is a very important part of how well you do in recovering from or controlling the disease. Before looking at any herbal remedies or even conventional medicine, it is key to take stock of your lifestyle. We all know what to do, but very few of us actually do it. If there is one thing that I would want you to get from this article, it is the resolve to do something to improve your blood pressure and your overall health.

Take Time To Know Your Numbers First and foremost, take time to know the significance of your blood pressure

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readings. According to the American Academy of cardiology, Normal blood pressure is below 120/80 mm Hg. Blood pressure between 120129/80 is elevated blood pressure.

Blood pressure of 130/80 or above is considered high. Invest in a home blood pressure monitor and make sure to check your blood pressure on a regular basis.

Watch Your Waistline It is said that your chances of developing high blood pressure increases as your weight increases. People with larger waistlines are considered to be at a higher risk of developing this nasty disease. Work toward decreasing your waistline. This can be done through diet and exercise. Easier said than done, but it might be one thing that

Health helps make a positive difference to your health. I suggest you start by developing one small healthy habit today. Substitute one unhealthy food item for the healthier alternative. If you always have bread for breakfast, try substituting bread with a rice cracker or something with less carbohydrates.

This simple change can be the start of developing good eating habits.

Get Up and Get Moving According to Mayoclinic.org, Regular physical activity — such as 150 minutes a week, or about 30 minutes most days of the week — can lower your blood pressure by about 5 to 8 mm Hg. This is probably the best thing you can do in a bid to lower your blood pressure and to keep it that way. You do not need to go to the gym or buy any special equipment. A 30 minute brisk walk most days is all you need.

If you are sporty and wish to do more, then go right ahead, you will certainly reap the benefits.

Now, how do you develop this habit of regular exercise? We all know how hard it is to get into a routine with exercise, but there might be an easy way to get this habit to stick. In his book, Atomic Habits, James Clear proposes a method called habit stacking. To get habit stacking to work for you, you need to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behaviour on top. For example, you might listen to a podcast every day. Why not listen to the podcast while taking a brisk walk around the neighbourhood? Look at your daily routine and see which activity you already do that could also accommodate some physical activity.

Lower your sodium intake and consider increasing your potassium intake. Potassium is said to be able to lessen the effects of sodium on blood pressure. The best source of potassium is food, rather than supplements, and this can be found in foods such as fruits and vegetables.

If you are a smoker, quit smoking, I know this does not count as food but, quitting smoking can help reduce your risk of heart disease and improve your overall health. In the same vain, cut back on caffeine. You do not have to give up your morning cup of coffee, but if you have a caffeine habit that sees you downing several cups a day, you might need to cut back. Although it is not clear if caffeine has a long term effect on blood pressure, it is said to be able to cause it to increase in the short term.

Keep Calm and Carry On Watch your stress levels. Prolonged stress can have a negative effect on your blood pressure. In addition to the emotional discomfort we feel when faced with a stressful situation, our bodies react by releasing stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) into the blood. These hormones

prepare the body for the “fight or flight” response by making the heart beat faster and constricting blood vessels to get more blood to the core of the body instead of the extremities.

Constriction of blood vessels and increase in heart rate does raise blood pressure, but only temporarily — when the stress reaction goes away, blood pressure returns to its pre-stress level.

The problem comes in, when the stress leads to anxiety which is more chronic.

Find ways to keep stress at bay.

Walk away from stressful situations.

Reframe problems and take action.

Think about what you can control and work on those things. Know what your triggers are and plan ahead to mitigate against them. A fantastic way to remain calm is to practice gratitude.

Expressing gratitude to others or just in general, can also boost your level of feeling good about life and reduce stressful thoughts.

Being diagnosed with a chronic illness such as high blood pressure is not easy and sometimes you may have to take medication in order to ensure you remain healthy but also remember that there are several things you can do on your own to help your overall health.

Watch What You Eat and Drink I could have easily said watch your diet, but it is much more than diet. I have discovered in my research that eating less of the bad foods is not enough, you must eat the right foods in order to reap the benefits. Make sure your diet is rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Keeping a food diary in the initial stages could help you to track what you are eating and also assist you in knowing what your diet is lacking.

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Finance

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR EVERYDAY EXPENSES IN THE UAE BY: JEFF EVANS

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iving in a lavish country like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), can tempt us to spend our money on meaningless things. In a world where ‘trends’ keep changing, we often catch ourselves spending on items that we do not even want, need or use. Such actions lead us to not being able to save enough for other important needs or for future and often unforeseen expenses. For new educators to the UAE, it could be difficult to stick to a strict budget while dealing with; utility bills, children’s education, shopping, entertainment, vacations, etc. But what if we show you some ways in which you can save money while still being able to enjoy life in the UAE. Keep reading to learn how you can save money on your everyday expenses right here in the UAE.

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1. Wise Shopping Stick to a solid shopping list which contains only the necessary items you need. Fun fact: You are more likely to impulsively buy more things (even non-food items) when hungry.

So, eat before you go grocery shopping to stick to your shopping list! Buying in bulk at wholesale stores is also another option. Buy groceries that will last for a month or two, so that you do not need to spend on groceries every week. Compare prices at different stores and find out which store sells products that fit your budget. Check the receipts to see if the cashier has made any mistake while checking out your items, so that you are not paying extra unintentionally. A tip to save while shopping online is to make use of coupon codes. UAE is a leader, in the region, for online businesses such

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as Amazon, Namshi, Shein, etc. which as part of their product promotions, offer discounted coupons. Every budgeted discount redeemed, is a saving earned.

Do not be tempted to always buy the imported brands that you are familiar with. A trip to your local supermarket can be an adventure.

Try finding local brands that you can grow to love. Buying locally produced goods will save you a ton on your grocery bill. Here is a top tip, instead of buying everything at a supermarket, try finding a local gift market. Gift markets, normally sell grocery items cheaper than supermarkets. Visiting a gift market once per month and stocking up on non-perishable items can save you quite a bit on your monthly grocery bill.

Finance 2. Keep an Eye on Your Bills As the weather in UAE keeps us switching on the air conditioner all the time, try to use it in the most effective way.

Keeping the temperature at 24 degrees Celsius is the most optimal setting for the UAE weather.

According to DEWA, 12pm to 6pm is the time that contributes to the rise in electricity charges. So, minimal usage of electronics at this time would help you save on your electricity bills.

Switch off and unplug your appliances when not in use, to save energy. Every time you leave the house, make sure to switch off the light in the living room as well as the bedrooms. Pick your call and data packages according to the lowest amount of minutes and data, you need. Always make sure to check your call and data usage, before the bill is due, to avoid extra charges.

Saving energy and fuel in your car is also important in saving on your expenses. Turn off the engine while you are waiting or even roll down the windows, instead of using the air conditioner when the weather is good.

Sudden and unnecessary breaking, while driving your vehicle also leads to fuel and energy wastage.

3. Pay Your Debts Before it’s Too Late Many of us have the habit of using our credit cards every time we shop. This debt keeps piling up, that sometimes it becomes difficult to repay on the due date. This is why it is important to keep track of your debts so that you do not get buried by mounting credit card debt. Paying debts as soon as possible, helps you to escape higher interest rates as well.

4. Build an Emergency Fund

If there is one thing that we can be sure of, it is that at some point in time we will have an emergency. This could be a small or large emergency but if we are prepared then the effects will not be as severe. Putting aside an emergency fund is vital especially when living in another country, away from family and friends. We have less of a safety net when we live abroad, so try to have at least three months of living expenses saved up just in case you need it. This money should be accessible but do not put it in your regular current account as you may be tempted to use it on things that are not emergencies.

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5. Set Limits and Boundaries Setting limits and boundaries might be one of the most important things you can do in saving money. You cannot go to all the social events, so only attend the events that fit into your budget. Know your spending limit before you go out. If you have a problem with self-control, try not to take your debit or credit cards with you, when you go out, instead, only bring with you the cash you have budgeted for, so that when it is all spent, you will not be tempted to keep on spending.

In setting boundaries, learn to say ‘no’ to some of the invitations you receive. You do not need to attend every brunch, sometimes a quiet walk on the beach is all you need, to feel rejuvenated or maybe instead of going out and spending, you could stay home, watch a good movie or read a good book, both of which will cost you nothing.

Sometimes the hardest challenge in establishing thrift spending habits into our daily lives, is not about knowing what to do, but more to do with gathering the courage to implement the tips that are readily available to us, online.

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Travel

TRAVEL TO VIRTUALLY ANYWHERE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME BY: CHRISTINA MORRIS

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et’s face it, one of the main reasons many of us choose to teach abroad is so that we can travel and explore new place. This quest has been interrupted

by COVID-19 which has made travel either difficult or impossible in many scenarios. By this time in the academic year, many of us would have already carefully crafted a list of places that we would like to visit, during the upcoming holidays of the academic year.

Staycations are great and I do recommend them wholeheartedly.

But how can we satisfy our desire to see and experience far-flung and exotic places. In light of the ongoing restrictions, many countries and tourist destinations are now offering virtual tours from the comfort of your own home. Check out our top picks below and feel free to tweet us your favourites @teachmiddleeast on twitter.

South African Safari I am a big fan of safaris and have done quite a few over the years, so this has to be at the top of my list. To raise funds for conservation, a few safari parks in

South Africa are now offering unique virtual experiences such as a private zoom session where viewers can chat to guides who will answer all of your questions, share their experiences from a recent drive or interpret the sightings recorded at the reserves together with you.

The fee from booking a virtual safari session is donated to the Africa Foundation as well as going towards essential habitat maintenance,

sustainability and conservation initiatives at the reserves that would normally be funded by eco-tourism.

To get involved, click here.

Virtual Scuba Diving Tours If you had planned to go scuba diving and those plans have been thwarted, you may still be able to dive into a virtual scuba diving experience.

National Geographic has created 360 degree videos of nature spots and dive sites which, when paired with an Oculus Quest VR headset, can

Travel offer users the chance to swim with Humpback Whales in Antarctica or explore Indonesia’s coral reefs. This may not be as good as the real thing, but it is quite close.

Tour the Most Popular Tourist Destinations Virtually Some of the world’s most visited tourist destinations, have made it easier to keep their visitors coming back for more in the virtual space. See our list below, of some of the world’s most popular destinations that you can visit virtually.

1. The Guggenheim is offering VR access to its entire contemporary arts collection through a partnership with Google Arts & Culture. Using the Street View feature, visitors can tour the museum’s iconic architecture, sprawling design and any of its galleries.

2. The largest Van Gogh collection in the world — 600 artworks and 700 letters — is housed in this Amsterdam museum and can be viewed via a virtual guided tour.

View the inside of the museum along with insights into the Dutch postimpressionist artist’s life through paintings including “Sunflowers” and “The Yellow House.”

3. China’s most famous attraction offers virtual tours of some of the most visited sections of the wall, 3,000 miles of which are walkable.

With much of the country under quarantine measures, the virtual tour offers a reprieve from the crowds who normally come

from all over the world to see the 2,000-year-old marvel.

4. The British Museum, which is the world’s oldest national public museum, is another space that has partnered with Google Arts & Culture to showcase a virtual, interactive gallery. Visitors can roam the halls of the museum, peruse the exhibits and see famous objects like the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and Egyptian mummies. This could be a treat for adults and children alike so if you are a parent, you should definitely get your children involved.

5. The San Diego Zoo is known for its open-air, cageless natural habitats

and is famous for being one of the few zoos that spearheaded conservation efforts of giant pandas. Even though pandas are no longer in the United States, the San Diego Zoo has set up live streams of its habitats for anyone to view the koalas, baboons and penguins that call the zoo home.

Keep the kids entertained with a virtual trip across the world to the San Diego Zoo. I hope this has peaked your interest in places you can visit virtually. Why not get online and do a search for virtual country tours. This is a great way to update your bucket list of places that you would like to visit when the world starts to travel again.

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