Academic Week was held from August 18th to Aug 20th. All ATHS and STS school teachers participated in the three-day professional development forum which was designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning across all campuses. Academic Week offers new and returning teachers the opportunity to attend a series of professional development workshops. The purpose of the Professional Development event is for all teachers to receive exposure and become familiarised with best practices and new scientific and artistic methods, for implementing technology and specialized materials in a comprehensive framework, for effective education curricula.
The event provided a series of sophisticated workshops for teachers according to their specialties, the aim being to cultivate a deeper understanding of “STEAM” education. Workshop content included the exchange of experiences and reviews on the latest educational methods of teaching and learning. The objective was to discover innovative solutions to problems and difficulties that teachers may face during the school year. Discussions on different aspects of teaching included the teachers and students role in education; the ideal of academic performance was also highlighted, which strive to lift the educational process in all its aspects including the achievement of advanced education in all schools by working on the mechanisms and curricula of various subjects. The event is in line with the vision for “technical and technological education” in Abu Dhabi, which enables high schools students with “practical” and “technical” skills to enhance their levels of technical and technological educational training, which is constantly evolving in compliance with global standards.
During the three-day event, various STEAM initiatives were introduced to encourage teachers to apply new teaching methods to cultivate students’ skills in scientific inquiry. The purpose being to develop and improve student performance and to equip them with the capacity and skills to enhance their performance levels using creative and innovative methods to present innovative scientific projects that reflect their understanding and usage of new technological methods. These teaching methods empower students to use the latest technology to apply their knowledge; at the same time they are encouraged to consolidate scientific material into the process and reality of daily life applications. A variety of modules were covered with a particular focus on new strategies and teaching tools. Inspirational teaching methods and practical skills were introduced for topics such as Mathematics, Physics, Business, Applied Engineering/Aviation, Chemistry, Biology, CMP/Creative Design, HST and Computer Science. Teachers were exposed to blended learning using logo! and Inventor. Train the Trainer, a workshop taught specifically for high quality instruction, was also on offer. Workshops covering Learning Strategies for English language, Arabic and Islamic studies were also included. The Academic Week is also an opportunity for teachers to expand their professional network with colleagues and educators from around the world, exchanging information with each other through networking and collaboration to enhance their knowledge as they benefit from one another’s practical experiences.
Academic Week 2015 - MBZ
Academic Week 2015 - Alain Boys
Academic Week 2015 - Abu Dhabi Females
