Leadership Institute from Ms. Zainab and Ms. Hessa

Day 2: Tuesday April 1st, 2014

Morning Program (8:00 AM - 4:30 PM)

The program of this particular day includes some of the thorough educational lectures and discussions that are related to the following subjects:  

Inter-cultural Awareness: The U.S. and UAE Contexts

Knowing about the American culture and beliefs is one of the best ways for educational leaders to explore how other leaders who are from different countries and backgrounds views issues related to the field of education. When people know how each culture is formulated, then it becomes obvious and clear why people in a particular situation are acting in such ways and why some educational ideas are working in some schools and contexts and not in others. Therefore, metacognitive thinking (thinking beyond thinking) and questioning various ways of knowing is an effective strategy for educational leaders to explore and study various cases and then adapt them to their own field.

Creating a Sense of Belonging for Students and Developing a Culture of Caring in Schools

What defines a successful school is not how big the size of the school or how colorful the walls are is; it is how the culture of the school looks and sounds like. It is about the relationships between educational leaders, teachers, staff members, students as well as parents and community partnerships. The more the relationship is transparent, caring, supporting and loving, the more the culture of the school will be flourished. When educational leaders care about and support their staff, the later will transfer these positive attitudes to the students in the school. Consequently, a sense of caring and belonging will be created for the students who are the main target of the educational systems.

Understanding PISA Results: Implications for Improvement

To improve PISA results, it is crucial to explore how other countries improved their PISA results and what are their secret processes and strategies to do that. One of the areas of needs to have low PISA results in the United Arab Emirates is the language barrier and it is very important to consider this factor in the teaching and learning processes. Gender gap between boys and girls in the UAE educational system was obvious in PISA results. Discussions with inspiring school leaders and visiting various types of schools in Vanderbilt open our minds to think about different factors that might help to raise the level of boys in UAE schools and close the gender gap in academic achievement we are facing in the current time.

International Perspectives Conversation with the Vanderbilt International Humphrey Fellows Group was one of the extraordinary experiences to share and exchange various perspectives and ideas about others' educational systems and techniques used in different international educational systems.

Some of the ideas to improve the learning and teaching processes are:

Applying creative instructional teaching strategies in classrooms;

Implementing collaborative group work techniques instead of direct lecturing by the teacher;

Involving parental partnerships in the school;

Students have to be the center of the learning and teaching process;

Teachers have to share planning and work collaboratively

Afternoon Program (7:15 PM - 9:30 PM)

The program includes a wonderful visit to the Sunset Grill Restaurant for dinner.

   

Day 7: Sunday April 6th, 2014

A visit to Cheek wood Gardens for brunch was organized in this day. The program also included a wonderful tour and concert.

School Visits

On Wednesday, April 2, the Vice Principals visited three different independent schools in Nashville, Tennessee.

After the visits, the ladies met as a group and listed what they noticed or learned during the visits.

-       Trust is vital in the schools we visited. Administrators trust teachers and students. Teachers trust administrators and students. Students trust teachers and administrators.

-       Culture is incredibly important. Students know the culture and have a sense of belonging. They feel committed.

-       In order to create culture, you have to have trust.

-       We need to create activities to push the personal character. We need to help the kids have confidence. They should be able to introduce themselves and what they are learning.

-       The principal of Montgomery Bell Academy teaches one class a day.

-       I did not see special techniques such as differentiation, but the teachers were still teaching, and the students were still learning. In Abu Dhabi, we don’t have soul – the passion. In the schools we visited, the administrators trust the teachers to do a good job. They don’t monitor as much as we do. It makes me wonder about all the paperwork we require.

-       We asked the students, “How often do you go to the administrators to complain?” They said, “We don’t have to. If we have complaints, we go to teachers and advisors.”

-       The periods at Harpeth Hall (girls’ school) are longer than the periods at Montgomery Bell (boys’ school). Students at both schools appreciate sports and other extracurricular activities. They have so many. Maybe we have to change our mentality about how many periods we have in a day so the students can participate in extracurricular activities.

-       We need more autonomy. If we can’t get good teachers, we cannot go far. We need to be able to set high expectations.

-       One thing at Harpeth Hall – the student’s voice is heard. At our schools, Student Council is not enough. We need more student voice.

-       I liked the school environment and the advisor system. We wish to build more trust in the schools.

-       What I like about the schools – Everything is controlled. Parents are proud to bring their children. They extend the culture of trust from parents on.

-       The students have a feeling of belonging.

-       We asked the students, “Why do you come every day?” We found that the children come to be with their friends and play. How can we make our students come to the school?

-       The schools had fun extracurricular activities for everyone. They have advisors at their schools. In Abu Dhabi, we have teachers and administrators.