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TOP teachers from some of the world’s leading international schools returned to the classroom to access the best way forward for passing on knowledge to children and checking the message is getting across to young minds.
They want students to be running into class asking ‘how have I done with my learning?’ and not ‘what grade did I get on my test?’
Riffa Views International School (RVIS), one of the kingdom’s leading educational institutes, hosted a professional development programme last weekend.
The three-day Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA) Winter Training Institute took place in Bahrain for the first time, with more than 330 teachers and administrators from 22 different schools flocking to the school.
The focus of the conference was on standard-based assessment literacy as a critical tool for both students and teachers, supplemented by a keynote speech from Dr Carol Commodore, founder of the Leadership, Learning and Assessment Institute and the Wisconsin Assessment Consortium, and a series of group-based activities where teachers from different regions could pool ideas and share their experiences.
Dr Commodore said: “The importance of assessment underpins all our decision-making in classrooms. Students and teachers are both primary users of assessment and information; teachers should use this information to guide instruction, while the student should use it to dictate their path of learning. That is the message I wanted to convey.
“The conference itself went superbly, there was such a wonderful and dedicated group of educators here, who despite being masters of their craft, wanted to extend their abilities even further. It was a pleasure delivering this presentation here in Bahrain and at RVIS.”
The Director of RVIS, Dr Kurt Nordness, expressed his pride at bringing the prestigious event to Bahrain. He said: “This is the first conference of its kind to be held in this region. Nearly 70 schools applied for the right to host the NESA conference, and they chose us, which is a great honour for RVIS.
“More importantly than personal pride, our staff have the opportunity to learn from 300 other teachers from the region and a world-class assessment expert in Carol. Many of the teachers and administrators here are experts in their own right, so our teachers are telling me that from sharing experiences and engaging in professional dialogue in the small group sessions, it has enriched their attitudes towards teaching.
“Now, the attendees at this event have the opportunity to continue their learning together and forge connections for years to come. This conference does not end today, it is a launching pad for years of mutual learning and that will, of course, rub off on the students, who will benefit the most.”
Dr Kurt further emphasised that RVIS was focussed on catering to students’ appetite for knowledge and learning, rather than falling into the pitfalls of target-based ‘teaching to the test’.
He explained: “The frequent, formative assessment of students is imperative. We want students to be running into class asking ‘how have I done with my learning?’ and not ‘what grade did I get on my test?’ It’s a big paradigm shift; we want to foster a positive learning environment and encourage students’ thirst for knowledge, not to learn how to pass a test. Exams should be a supplement to education, not the other way around.”
Teachers from both Bahrain and the wider region could be seen engaging in deep discussions with their peers across the weekend, with unanimous agreement that the programme had been hugely beneficial to their attitudes towards teaching.
Kristin Nugent, a middle school maths teacher at RVIS, said: “It is very reassuring to know that already we have a lot of things in place that Carol spoke about. It’s also comforting talking to people from other schools that have had similar struggles to us and understanding how they overcome problems and approach standard-based assessment.
“I have learnt many things just in this short space of time and the ideas that I’ve gathered from people all across the region will be incorporated in my teaching from now on.”
