Teacher training in year two of Taqaddam

We learned so much from the first year of Taqaddam giving us a real opportunity to develop and improve the experience for students and teachers alike. Anna Rowlands, Project Manager for Taqaddam, tells us how teacher training can support teachers delivering the programme in the classroom.

Most of us know how vital the job of a teacher is to every young child. A role model, a guide, a confidante, a good teacher can make a real difference to a child’s life. Taqaddam taps into this – the teachers are the driving force behind the programme – the people who really make it happen on the ground.

As Project Manager for Taqaddam and part of the team who designed the teacher training, I was very excited to see the training in action. I was lucky enough to be able to travel to the UAE and do just that.

Teacher Training Session – UAE 2017

Seyi and James, two of our finest Taqaddam facilitators were delivering the training. The session started as it meant to go on – with an energetic mingling activity, getting everyone in the room introducing and sharing with one another. The teachers were then given an overview of the programme before being tasked with devising their own character strength classes, working with teachers that they may never have met before that day, sharing ideas, hopes and best practice. It was a truly inspirational room to be in for the day. As well as devising their own lesson plans, teachers were also introduced to the online platform and they heard from Student Ambassadors (students who participated in year one of the programme) who shared their experiences and told how the programme had inspired them.

One of the Ambassadors said: ‘I enjoyed today’s training even though it was mainly for teachers. I managed to get a good insight of this year’s Taqaddam aims and goals. Furthermore, I have understood the stages of Taqaddam and its purpose in depth.’

Seyi and James did an amazing job of motivating and mobilising the teacher network in UAE, and we received feedback from the teachers to that effect:
‘The teacher’s workshop was a wonderful way to kickstart the programme and coupled with yesterday’s student workshop it has set a wonderful momentum and excitement in the students as well as the teachers taking the training forward.’

Teachers across all the countries involved have shared similar thoughts and feedback. One teacher from Egypt said: ‘I will be able to change some of my teaching tools and methods, apply some of the ideas shared today to my students, work on my own strengths even more, to be able to support my students to do so as well’.

Teachers, thank you for your support in making Taqaddam possible.

About Taqaddam

Taqaddam, meaning ‘move forward’ in Arabic, aims to support young people to build confidence and develop personal skills as they leave school. The programme has been developed by and is run in partnership with HSBC and the British Council. The content for the programme has been developed by Spark+Mettle, part of the Goodall Foundation.