Curriculum, learning and teaching
Can you boost attainment by celebrating success? Yes you can, says Paul Young For many of us working in international schools, finding effective ways to boost the attainment of a transient student population can be par for the course. At Doha College, we endeavour to ensure that every one of our students reaches their full potential. But not knowing if they’ll be with us for six months, or the full duration of their studies – or anything in between – certainly adds an additional edge. Foremost in our minds is the question of how we can provide all our students with the support they need to make good progress – regardless of how long they are with us. The school welcomes 1800 children, between the ages of 3 and 18, from 90 different nationalities. Our aim is to ensure learning targets are put in place, based on each individual’s starting point, that are aspirational enough to Autumn
Spring |
| 2017
challenge and inspire. After all, standards here are high. Many of our students are accepted at top universities around the world including Oxford, Cambridge, Yale and Harvard. So how do we make sure every student’s time with us really counts? We’ve found a careful calibration of monitoring progress and attainment from day one, plus looking at different ways of encouraging each child to give their best, helps to ensure that our students achieve all they are capable of. Our six steps to success are as follows: 1. Benchmarking As is the case in many international schools, a child can start at any point of the school year, in any age group, from any educational background – so the first stage is to benchmark
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