Yesterday, Sunday 6 March 2011, we started, in our school Ahmed Bin Hanbal Independent Secondary School for Boys, the first professional development workshop in Semester 2. I decided that the best thing to do is to start with revising what was presented in Semester 1. The main target was not only revising the pedagogical knowledge and teaching skills practised earlier, but also to show how a revision lesson is effectively conducted. My intention was to provide a number of activities and tasks to ensure the active participation of the trainees.
The workshop was a good chance to revise all information tackled in Semester 1. The workshop activities helped teachers practise the different skills related to the topics handled. The workshop activities focused on: the main target of the school, the key factors that build good rapport between the teacher and his students, what we expect to see in a classroom, what ensures effective teaching and learning, the National Professional Standards for Teachers and Leaders, the attestation process and the use of Elearn. The activities used ensured the participation of all trainees and gave a good example of a revision lesson and how a teacher can act as a facilitator and a monitor. It also clarified the importance of the preparation stage for a revision lesson. All in all, it was a successful workshop and the teachers were really interested and excited.
You can download the workshop presentation here.