Education Above All (EAA) Foundation’s programme, Reach Out To Asia (ROTA), kicks off the iEARN-Qatar Programme by hosting the training workshop for teachers in Qatar

Doha, Qatar, November 18, 2018: Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, through its programme Reach Out To Asia (ROTA), kicked off the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN) Qatar Programme by hosting two workshops for teacher in Qatar. The first workshop took place on the 4th of October 2018, and the second on the 13th of October 2018, both at Qatar University, the official partner of the iEARN-Qatar Programme.

A group of 40 teachers from 13 governmental and private schools attended the iEARN teacher’ training workshop, providing the opportunity for teachers and students in Qatar to collaborate with an online network of educators and learners across 140 countries.

EAA views education as a right, and a tool for community development. iEARN addresses both: improving the quality of education, while enabling youth to take action addressing local or global issues. The main role of the iEARN-Qatar Programme is to connect schools and youth organisations worldwide via a virtual network to empower young people, encourage inter-scholastic collaboration, and debate world issues in real time, with the ultimate objective of enhancing learning and making a difference in their own communities and around the world.

Commenting on this occasion, Shamma Al-Dosari, Online Education Specialist, EAA, said:

“Through the iEARN-Qatar Programme, we are pleased to join forces with the National Center for Educational Development in Qatar University for the purpose of bringing together educators and students to collaborate and work on projects that will enhance global citizenship. The programme ultimately allows professional development for educators by including the integration of technology and project-based learning into their curriculum, and enables young people to make a meaningful contribution to the health and welfare of the planet and its people by being effective agents of positive change. We thank Muntajat for their generous sponsorship of the iEARN-Qatar programme.”

From her side, Ms. Salwa Al Kahlout, Project Based Learning Specialist at National Center for Educational Development, commented:

“Through the application of Project-based Learning in government schools in Qatar, the National Center for Educational Development (NCED), seeks to deepen and consolidate the educational competencies of students. Moreover, it helps them deal with life in and out of school. Project-based Learning is the embodiment of theoretical knowledge, offering opportunities for application, experimentation, and innovation that enhance the skills and competencies needed in life-long learning and problem solving. This is what the Professional Development Specialists at NCED focus on as they provide training and guidance to teachers and students during the process of the project. They strive to ensure the implementation of methods in research, investigation, problem solving, creative thinking, cooperation and communication. The partnership with iEARN-Qatar programme, provides students with opportunities to connect with peers from around the world and exchange knowledge of global cultures, issues and world problems. This paves a path for solutions thus contributing towards building a secure and meaningful digital and global citizenship.”

The workshops are an ideal platform for teachers’ development which build on the basic principle of Project-based Learning (PBL), allowing teachers to share their best practices, in addition to providing them with opportunities to create and work on their projects using the ROTA Knowledge Network.

Furthermore, an Open House is organised as part of the iEARN programme, which gives students the chance to display their work and showcase their projects for an audience of educators, parents and seniors from various organizations. Every iEARN project should answer the question, “How will this project improve the quality of life on the planet?” This year’s iEARN-Qatar programme will commence with the Open house event in April 2019.

Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (Muntajat), is committed to youth development and education in Qatar, and has identified ROTA as a key leader to deliver this through its iEARN Qatar Programme. ROTA also values Muntajat’s continuous contribution to its work through its sponsorship of the iEARN-Qatar programne

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