On the afternoon of 1st June 2020, Riffa Views International School (RVIS) hosted this academic year’s final session of the TeachMeet Mena Region.
With over 140 participants and six presenters, the event had more answers than questions raised about the new normal in teaching and learning.
Beth Terry’s presentation laid out the new normal classroom routines formulated on inviting student voices.
Daniel Gordon shared an open-ended layout to list the endless considerations for the new normal “back to school” guidelines for all stakeholders: teachers, students and parents.
Samira Jamil, unleashed the potential of a simple and free application that can serve as a virtual library and a reading room to stack books and also help the teacher monitor who’s reading what!
The importance of being happy above the importance of being graded was the highlight of David Kelly’s presentation.
Using simple and minimal text messages from students periodically during the class to know their comfort and happiness quotient can be a real game-changer in the learning process according to him.
In this time of unprecedented stress and expectations from teachers, Vinolia John sensitized the participants on her remote leadership skills grounded in building a strong relationship and staying connected with her teacher community.
Through live interaction and samples of student work, my presentation focused on making the most of the free available applications in creating a high interaction learning environment.
It was truly a very professionally organized event by RVIS that benefitted all participants with respect to the changing scenario of teaching and learning.
While at one end there is a race for a COVID-19 vaccine, at another there is a revolution shaping the way we teach and learn for the new normal.
Neesha Malik
