أطفال غزة ونظريات التربية والتعليم

 

MOHAMMED ABED Credit: AFP via Getty Images

أقرأ المقالة في مدونات العربي الجديد

كأستاذةٍ في طرائق التدريس ومختصّةٍ في التعليم والتعلّم، أحاضر عن إدماج المتعلمين في عملية التعلّم عبر استخدام اللغة والنشاطات التي تحترم الجميع وتُراعي مشاعرهم وخلفياتهم ومستوياتهم مهما اختلفت، وأنصح الأساتذة الذين أعمل معهم على تضمين هذه المفاهيم في ممارساتهم التعليمية. ويحوز مفهوم الرفاهية أو الصحة النفسية للمتعلّم على أهميّةٍ كُبرى، المفهوم الذي شقّ طريقه بسرعة إلى عالم التربية في السنوات الأخيرة ليصبح من أهم المواضيع التي أجد نفسي أدعو إليها خلال عملي مع طلاب كلية التربية والتربويين.

وتشمل الصحة النفسية للطلاب تأمين بيئة تراعي مشاعرهم والجانب النفسي لهم، وتصميم التجارب التعليمية التي تحاكي الأحداث الاجتماعية لجعل الصف التعليمي بيئة محبّبة للمتعلّم. من شأن كلّ ذلك، أن يشعر الطالب بالأمان خلال تفاعله مع أقرانه ومعلميه، ويتمتع بالطمأنينة التي يحتاجها أي طفل لينمو بشكل سليم. 

وجاءت أحداث غزة وصور الأطفال، أطفالٌ ليسوا في صفوفهم كما ينبغي للأطفال أن يكونوا في شهر أكتوبر/ تشرين الأوّل! لا يجلسون مع أقرانهم، لا يتلقون أيّ تعليم مدرسيّ، ولا حاجة لتدريب أساتذتهم حول كيفية تصميم تجارب صفية تحاكي حياتهم، فحياتهم غير حياة صغار العالم، حياةٌ بعيدةٌ كلّ البعد عمّا يفهمه المنظرون التربويون في عالم الأبحاث والدراسات، حياة لن يُكتبَ عنها في الأدبيات، ولن تُصاغَ لها التجارب التعليمية لينقلها الأساتذة ويستفيدوا منها في حياتهم العملية. لا حاجة لتدريب أساتذة غزة على كيفية خلق بيئة صفية آمنة لطلابهم، فصفوفهم ليست مكانًا لتعلم الرياضيات والعلوم واللغات، بل ملاجئ لهم ولمن بقي على قيد الحياة من قصف عدوّهم.

والحال هذا، أيّة أدوات نستخدم لقياس مشاعرهم؟ من صمّم تلك الأدوات، وفي أي بلادٍ، وعلى أيّ تلاميذ جُرّبت؟ كيف نصمّم لهم نشاطات تعليمية تتضمّن تفاعلاتٍ اجتماعية؟ وعن أيّ تفاعل اجتماعي نتحدّث أصلًا؟! أين التربية الحديثة من أطفال غزة؟ وأين مبادئ الدمج؟ وأيّ دمج هو ذاك الذي نقرأ عنه في أدبيات التعليم؟ أين المدرسة؟ أين المتعلّم؟ أين المعلّم؟ أين الكتاب في بلادٍ اختفت فيها كلّ معالم الحياة التي نعرفها؟ من ندمج؟ وبأيّة بيئةٍ ندمجه؟ بيئةٌ تُبتر فيها أطراف الأطفال، بيئةٌ ينزف أولادها دمًا، وهم يهيمون بين الجثث بحثًا عن وجه مألوف، أيّ وجه من وجوه عائلاتهم!

حياة الأطفال في غزة غير حياة صغار العالم، حياةٌ بعيدةٌ كلّ البعد عمّا يفهمه المنظرون التربويون في عالم الأبحاث والدراسات

 يصرخ أحدهم متعرّفًا على جثة أمّه من شعرها، يسمع نحيبًا من تحت الركام يستغيث أن ساعدوني، وتسأل طفلة الطبيب إن كانت حيّةً أو أنّها ماتت! عن أيّ دمج، وعن أي تجارب تعلميّةٍ نتحدث؟ وعن أيّة بيئة آمنة نُنظّر، والعالم كله، بجيوشه القاهرة وعتاده المتطور وأسلحته التي يتباهى بتطورها، قد تآمر على طفل صغير، فزجّ به في معسكر اعتقالٍ، كلّ معتقلٍ فيه بريء، يمارس عليه أفظع أشكال التعذيب والعنف، ويحرمه لا من أبسط حقوقه في التعليم فحسب، بل حتى من لحظات الأمان مع أمه، واللعب مع أقرانه، والنوم قريرًا حينما يحلّ الظلام.

أكتب كلماتي هذه بينما يصدح التلفاز في الخلفية متحدّثًا عن مجزرة جباليا. أنظر خلفي، فأرى الأطفال في الشاشة يقفون فوق الأنقاض والدمار. ربّما كانت هذه الجبال من الركام المدرسةً التي ينبغي أن يتعلموا فيها كما يفعل باقي أطفال العالم في شهر أكتوبر/ تشرين الأوّل. كيف لي أن أحاضر عن دمج المتعلّم، وأنا أعرف أنّ ما أتحدث عنه لا يشمل أطفالًا، هم أكثر فئات العالم هشاشة في يومنا هذا؟ كيف لي أن أحاضر عن احترام الاختلاف، وأنا أرى العالم يستثني آلاف الأطفال من أدنى حقوقهم في العيش والعائلة والهوية؟ كيف لي أن أحاضر عن مراعاة المشاعر وبكاء الأطفال يتصاعد من هاتفي وتلفازي وشاشة حاسوبي كلّما خسر أحدهم أفراد عائلته... كلّها؟

أنتجت التربية النظريات التي تهتم بالطفل، وتُولي اهتماماً عالياً بصحته النفسية والعقلية والجسدية، وبنت له المدارس النموذجية، ليتعلّم ويتفاعل مع محيطه ويتحرّك براحة لينمو، لكني أصبحت أخجل أن أتبنى تلك النظريات الناعمة لأني تيقنت أنها أُنتجت لتخدم الصغار بانتقائية في عالم النفاق وازدواجية المعايير. استوردنا هذه النظريات، وآمنا بها لنجد أنّ من أنتجها استثنى طفل غزة بكلّ وقاحة، بل أنتج وحوشًا شرسةً، إن لم تأخذ حياته، شوّهتها.

Empowering All Children through Improving Their Language and Communication Skills

 

Published on Harvard Graduate School of Education | Middle East Professional Learning Initiative website. 

You have a grade four student who engages in classroom discussions, contributes ideas, agrees with/refutes other’s opinions using appropriate language and transition words and phrases. Whether during conversations or in writing, this student employs complete sentences with minimal errors and has a rich reservoir of vocabulary that makes his ideas clear, appropriate, and varied. On the other hand, you have another student who shies away from participating in the whole-class discussions and avoids any situation that calls for sharing ideas orally. He relies on short, incomplete sentences that often do not relay the ideas clearly. His vocabulary is limited, lacking vivid and precise words to convey the intended idea or meaning.  

Which of the two students gives a better impression? Which of the two students is perceived as more competent and is expected to achieve better in school? Most likely the answer is the first student whose language is more sophisticated and elaborate. This is often the case in school, where outgoing and outspoken students who show language competence are often considered to be more intelligent and receive better attention, not only from teachers but also from their social context at large. Students viewed positively by their peers and teachers tend to achieve better at school as they receive more support and opportunities to participate in activities. All this boosts their confidence and self-efficacy. The opposite might be true with students who are labeled as less intelligent. 

According to the sociolinguist, Basil Bernstein, children’s language incompetence can be a reason for them to be excluded from educational opportunities (Bernstein, 1971). Our role as educators is to identify any barrier to a child’s education to achieve an inclusive education. With respect to language, teachers can do a lot to help, including the following:

·         Be aware of the impact of their perceptions on their students’ academic achievement. Such awareness helps them not privilege students whose language is “elaborated” over those whose language is “restricted” and stay mindful that a students’ language competence is not necessarily related to their intelligence or abilities. 

·         Find ways to empower students through growing their language capital. Simple ways include designing ample learning experiences that engage students in reading different genres and different topics and styles. Moreover, they can engage in varied speaking and listening tasks. 

·         Provide opportunities for students to work collaboratively in class. This helps them interact with each other and be exposed to a variety of communication styles. This should enrich their own reservoir of styles to select from as needed.  

·         Respect students and help them feel valued regardless of the language style they use. Teachers should encourage them to express themselves and to feel good about what they have to say and how they say it. 

·         Provide students with constructive and compassionate feedback to improve their language.  

·         Offer students language and vocabulary support and teach them how to seek support on their own when they need it. It is important that students feel safe and appreciated when they ask for help. 

·         Teach students effective communication strategies. Additionally, teachers can help them understand different communication styles and know when and where each style is suitable and effective. 

·         Enhance the language development of children by immersing students in language-rich environments that promote their language development. This can be done by enriching the classroom and the school at large with print that is comprehensible and meaningful for the students. Providing ample reading material in the classroom of varied topics and levels exposes students to language and encourages them to read. Moreover, teachers can provide opportunities for students to engage in discussions and debates to experiment with their language.  

·         Communicate with young learners both orally and in writing. Teachers need to engage in communication loops where students don’t merely respond to a teacher’s question but carry on a conversation. 

Children’s first encounters with language are in their homes, and they carry that to their classrooms. Their language development prior to entering school might be a vital factor in their educational progress. Therefore, it is helpful for families to be aware of how language bias might affect their children. Schools can play a role in this regard by communicating with families and spreading awareness on how they can enhance the language development of their children through:

·         creating language rich environments at homes and engaging children in activities that develop their language such as carrying out discussions with children, interacting with people of various backgrounds and reading stories;

·         visiting book fairs and other cultural events;

·         allowing children to choose their own reading material, which ensures that they choose what interests them, thus increasing the likelihood that longer reading will be sustained; 

·         encouraging engagement with language by being models for their children. When children see that their parents read and use language appropriately, they are more likely to imitate that model. 

In conclusion, strong language skills and effective communication can impact the academic achievement of children and have the power to shape their future. Parents and teachers are instrumental in nurturing these skills by fostering a supportive environment marked by open dialogue and exposure to language in its various formats. This should start in the early years of children’s lives so when they enter school, they are ready for the language demands of school life, allowing teachers to build on the skills they have already developed. 

References

Bernstein, B. (1971). Class, Codes and Control-Theoretical Studies Towards Sociology of Language. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.

UNESCO. (2016). Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning. UNESCO. Retrieved 25 October 2023, http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/education-2030-incheon-framework-for-action-implementation-of-sdg4-2016-en_2.pdf

 

أدوات واستراتيجيات التقويم في عصر الذكاء الاصطناعي

 قامت الأستاذة هناء جابر بترجمة مقالتي من الإنكليزية، وراجعها ودققها الأستاذ وئام العلي، فشكرا لهما. 
المقال موجود على موقع مبادرة الشرق الأوسط المهنية لجامعة هارفرد: 

رابط المقال

لى الرغم من أن الذكاء الاصطناعي (AI) موجود منذ فترة طويلة، إلا أن المعلمين بدأوا مؤخرا في التعبير عن قلقهم من أن طلابهم سيستخدمون أدوات الذكاء الاصطناعي لإنشاء أبحاثهم ومهامهم المدرسية الأخرى. وقد أدى ذلك إلى قيام بعض المؤسسات باعتماد تدابير صارمة ضد أولئك الذين يعتمدون على الذكاء الاصطناعي في عملهم الأكاديمي. لطالما أثار الانتحال أو السرقة الأدبية قلق المعلمين. ومع ذلك فإن الأدوات التي تسهل السرقة الأدبية ستصبح أكثر ذكاء وأكثر صعوبة في اكتشافها على الرغم من التحسين المستمر لأدوات الكشف. وهذا يستدعي من المعلمين التفكير في طرق جديدة لتقييم فهم طلابهم باستخدام مهام التقييم التي تؤدي إلى مخرجات تعلم  تخص الطلاب فقط، بدلا من المخرجات الناتجة عن الأدوات والبرامج الرقمية.

يعد تقييم فهم الطلاب جزءا لا يتجزأ من التدريس لأنه يساعد المعلمين على معرفة مدى قرب (أو بعد) المتعلمين عن  مخرجات التعلم المقصودة. هذا يطلع المعلمين على احتياجات التعلم لطلابهم، مثل ما يجب إعادة تدريسه أو عندما يحتاجون إلى مزيد من التمرين؛ كما تطلعهم على من يبلي بلاء حسنا، ومن يحتاج إلى مزيد من الاهتمام. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، يعمل التقييم كتغذية راجعة للمعلمين، لإبلاغهم بضرورة تعديل طرق التدريس أو تغيير وتيرة التعليم. ومع ذلك، لا يتم الحصول على هذه الفوائد إذا لم يكن الناتج الذي يقدمه المتعلمون من صنعهم الخاص ولكن هو كليا أو جزئيا نتاج بعض الأدوات أو البرامج.

طرق التقييم الأصيل لا تعد ولا تحصى، وتعالج كليات التربية التقييم الأصيل تقريبا في كل مقرر دراسي حول التقييم. ومع ذلك، لا يزال المعلمون يعتمدون بشكل كبير على الأشكال التقليدية لتقييم طلابهم وذلك من خلال اختبارات القلم والورقة، حيث يتحتم على الطلاب الجلوس للامتحانات التي تتكون من أسئلة الاختيار من متعدد (MCQ) وكتابة المقالة وأسئلة الإجابة القصيرة، كما يتم تكليفهم بمهام مثل كتابة التقارير والمقالات والأبحاث. في هذه الأنواع من الاختبارات والواجبات يمكن توليد مخرجات أو إجابات الطلاب من خلال الذكاء الاصطناعي بسهولة، مما يقوض صلاحيتها، لأنها لا تختبر ما يجب أن تختبره – ألا وهو تعلم الطلاب.

في الوقت الحاضر، ومع سهولة وصول الطلاب إلى أدوات الذكاء الاصطناعي، زادت خطورة  السرقة الأدبية وتقديم الطلاب واجبات تم إنشاؤها بواسطة هذه الأدوات. نتيجة لذلك، يجب على المعلمين تكييف ممارسات التقييم التي يمكن أن تطلعهم على تعلم طلابهم وتساعدهم على اتخاذ القرارات اللازمة المتعلقة بممارساتهم التعليمية. هذا يجعل من الضروري للمعلمين أن يصبحوا أكثر مهارة في كيفية تقييم تعلم الطلاب. فيما يلي بعض الاقتراحات التي يمكن أن تساعد في هذا الصدد:

• اعمل على ابتكار المهام التي يمكن تقييمها من خلال مراقبة أداء الطلاب. يحتاج المتعلمون إلى إظهار معرفتهم من خلال الأداء الذي يمكن ملاحظته من قبل أقرانهم أو معلميهم. يجب وضع معايير واضحة للمراقبة. طريقة أخرى هي أن بإمكان الطلاب تسجيل أدائهم وتقديم تسجيلاتهم ليتم عرضها وتقييمها من قبل مراقبيهم الأقران أو معلميهم.
• أشرك الطلاب في المهام التي تتطلب من الطلاب التعاون والتفاعل مع بعضهم البعض. بعد ذلك، يتعين عليهم أن يقدموا تقريراً عن تجربتهم ومتابعة هذا التقرير بمناقشة مفتوحة.
• قم بتعيين مهمة للطلاب واطلب منهم الإبلاغ عنها شفهيا إلى زملائهم في الفصل أو إلى جمهور آخر. يمكن أن يطلب منهم تقديم دليل على عملهم في شكل صور أو مقاطع فيديو. تتطلب مثل هذه المهام تعليم الطلاب مهارات العرض ومهارات الاستماع إلى الجمهور بطريقة ناشطة وبعمق والاستجابة لهم.
• اطلب من الطلاب أن يقوموا بإجراء بحث تجريبي حيث يتعين عليهم جمع بياناتهم الخاصة من المقابلات والتجارب والمجموعات المركزة والاستبيانات. هنا يطلب من الطلاب الإبلاغ عن النتائج التي توصلوا إليها وأن يكونوا مستعدين لشرحها لجمهور أو لجنة وأن يكونوا مستعدين للرد على أسئلتهم.
• أشرك الطلاب في المناظرات وحلقات النقاش والندوات التي تتطلب منهم إعداد حججهم ودعمها. سيتعين عليهم أيضا توقع الحجج أو وجهات النظر المضادة والاستعداد للرد عليها. إن تعلم كيفية الاستماع والرد على أسئلة الجمهور أمر ضروري في مثل هذه الأنواع من الأنشطة.
• اطلب من الطلاب إعداد ملفات صوتية (بودكاست) ومقاطع فيديو يشرحون فيها مواضيع مختلفة تتعلق بالمادة الدراسية الخاصة بهم. يمكن أن يوفر تحميل مثل هذه المواد على منصة المدرسة جمهورا حقيقيا لما ينتجه الطلاب.
• اطلب من الطلاب إضافة شرح أو تعليقات توضيحية إلى نص معين تم إنشاؤه بواسطة أداة للذكاء الاصطناعي أثناء مقارنته بالنص الخاص بهم لشرح الفرق بين الاثنين. يمكن للطلاب التعاون مع شركاء أو زملاء لمناقشة مسوداتهم والتعليق عليها ثم إرسالها مع نسختهم النهائية ليتم تقييمها. قد يكتبون أيضا تأملاتهم وأفكارهم حول عملية الكتابة بأكملها حيث يناقشون الاختلافات بين كتابة الذكاء الاصطناعي وكتاباتهم. يمكنهم أيضا شرح ما تعلموه عن مهاراتهم في الكتابة أثناء العملية.

الذكاء الاصطناعي موجود هنا ليبقى.

الذكاء الاصطناعي موجود ليبقى. سيستمر في أن يصبح أكثر ذكاء وسيستمر في الحصول على فهم أعمق لاحتياجاتنا، مما سيؤدي إلى اعتماد الطلاب عليه بشكل أكبر. وبالتالي، يحتاج التربويون إلى العمل باستمرار على تحسين معرفتهم   بالذكاء الاصطناعي أو محو أميتهم به وقبوله كجزء من ثقافة التدريس الخاصة بهم. وهنا بعض النصائح للمعلمين:

• اجعل التوقعات واضحة للطلاب حول كيفية استخدام الذكاء الاصطناعي لإنجاز مهامهم، بمعنى إيضاح ما يمكنهم وما لا يمكنهم القيام به. يجب أن يتم ذلك في وقت مبكر عند تعيين المهمة أو الواجب، قبل أن يبدأ الطلاب العمل.
• اعمل على ترسيخ ثقافة التقييم للتعلم بدلا من التقييم للاختبار والتحكيم. عند القيام بذلك، سيكون تركيز المعلم على جعل الطلاب يقتربون من نتائج التعلم المقصودة بدلا من التركيز على الدرجات التي يحصل عليها هؤلاء الطلاب. سيتم منح الطلاب فرصا متعددة، إذا لزم الأمر، لتحسين عملهم وليصبحوا أكثر دراية ومهارة.
• أشرك الطلاب في مناقشات حول ما يمكن وما لا يمكن للذكاء الاصطناعي فعله وحول الجوانب الأخلاقية المتعلقة باستخدام هذه الأدوات.
• شجع الطلاب على تكوين صداقات مع الذكاء الاصطناعي كزميل في الدراسة لمساعدتهم في توسيع معرفتهم. كن قدوة ونموذجا للطلاب وأرهم كيف يمكنهم اللجوء إلى أدوات الذكاء الاصطناعي لمساعدتهم في صياغة طلبهم والبناء على ما يعرفونه بالفعل من خلال الانخراط في مناقشات حول مهامهم بدلا من طلب إنشاء مهامهم بالكامل.
• عزز تعلم الطلاب باستخدام الذكاء الاصطناعي بدلا من قمع استخدامه في المدارس.

Assessment Tools and Strategies in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Assessment Tools and Strategies in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Published on June 25, 2023 on Harvard Graduate School of Education - MEPLI Website 

Although artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for quite a long time, educators recently started to express concern that their students would use AI tools to generate their research and other school assignments. This has led some institutions to adopt strict measures against those who rely on AI for their academic work. Plagiarism has always worried educators; however, tools that facilitate plagiarism will only get smarter and more difficult to detect despite the continuous improvement of detection  tools. This calls for educators to think of new ways to assess their students’ understanding using assessment tasks that result in outcomes that are solely the students’,  instead of outcomes  generated by digital tools and programs. 

Assessing students’ understanding is an integral component of teaching, as it helps educators know how close (or far) learners are from the intended learning outcomes. This informs teachers about their students’ learning needs, such as what should be retaught or where they need more practice; and who is doing well, and who needs more attention. In addition, assessment serves as feedback to teachers, informing them to modify their teaching methods or pace of instruction. Nevertheless, these benefits are not obtained if the output  presented by the learners is not their own creation but wholly or partially the generation of some tool or software. 

Authentic assessment methods are countless, and colleges of education address authentic assessment in almost every assessment course. However, educators still heavily rely on traditional forms of assessing their students’ work through pen and paper tests. Students must sit for examinations consisting of multiple choice, essay type, and short answer questions, and they are given tasks such as report and essay writing and research work. Students’ output in response to these tests and assignments can be generated by AI, thus undermining their validity, as they do not test what they should be testing–students’ learning. 

Nowadays, with  students’ ease of access to artificial intelligence tools, there is a greater risk of plagiarism and students submitting assignments that are generated by such tools. As a result, educators must adapt assessment practices that can inform them about their students’ learning and help them make the necessary decisions related to their teaching practices. This makes it imperative for educators to become more skillful in how they assess student learning. Here are some suggestions that can help in this respect: 

• Create tasks that can be assessed by observation of student performance. Learners need to demonstrate their knowledge through performance that can be observed by their peers or teachers. Clear criteria need to be established for observation. A variation to this is that students record their performance and submit their recordings to be viewed and assessed by their peer observers or their teachers. 

• Engage students in tasks that require students to collaborate and interact with one another. Afterwards, they have to report on their experience and follow this reporting with open discussion. 

• Assign students a task and have them report on it orally to their classmates or to another audience. They can be required to present evidence of their work in the form of photos or videos. Such tasks require teaching students presentation skills and skills of actively and deeply listening to an audience and responding to them. 

• Require students to conduct empirical research where they have to collect their own data from interviews, experiments, focus groups, and questionnaires. Here students are required to report their findings and be ready to explain them to an audience or a panel and be ready to respond to their questions. 

• Engage students in debates, panel discussions and seminars that require them to prepare their arguments and support them. They will also have to anticipate counter arguments and be prepared to respond to them. Learning how to listen and respond to audience questions is necessary in such types of activities. 

• Have students prepare podcasts and videos in which they explain various topics related to their course material. Uploading such material to the school platform can provide an authentic audience for the students’ products. 

• Ask students to annotate a piece that is generated by an AI tool while comparing it to their own piece to explain the difference between both pieces. Students may pair up with partners to discuss and annotate their drafts and then submit them along with their final version to be assessed. They might also write a reflection on the whole writing process in which they discuss the differences between the AI writing and their own. They can also explain what they learned about their own writing skills during the process. 

Artificial intelligence is here to stay. It will keep getting smarter and will continue to have a deeper understanding of our needs, which will lead to students relying on it more. Thus, educators need to work continuously on improving their AI literacy and to accept it as part of the teaching culture. Some tips for educators would be: 

• Make expectations clear to students about how they can and cannot use AI to accomplish their tasks. This should be done early on when the task is assigned, before students start working. 
• Work on establishing the culture of assessment for learning rather than assessment for testing and judging. In doing so, the focus of the teacher will be on having students getting closer to the intended learning outcomes instead of focusing on the grades students get. Students will be given multiple opportunities, if needed, to improve their work and become more knowledgeable and skillful. 

• Engage students in discussions about what AI can and cannot do and about the ethical aspects related to the use of such tools.

• Encourage students to befriend AI as their study buddy  to help expand their knowledge. Model to students how they can resort to AI tools to help them with prompts for their work and to build on what they already know through engaging in discussions about their assignments instead of requesting their whole assignment to be generated. 

• Augment student learning with AI instead of suppressing its use in schools.

Education in Lebanon: Severe Problems that Require a Leadership Initiative

https://www.lifeedu.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Lifereport_2021.pdf#page=31 

The various deeply enrooted political, social and economic problems in Lebanon have been impacting the educational system for decades. Numerous projects which are generously funded by international agencies are taking place in Lebanese schools. However, their impact on student learning outcomes is nothing but visible or observable; students “lag behind their peers in human capital development” (Lahire, El-Ghali, & Sedmik, 2021, p. 4), and two thirds of Lebanese students do not achieve basic literacy (Lahire, El-Ghali, & Sedmik, 2021). The recent school closure due to the coronavirus outbreak, lasting for almost a year and a half, and the culmination of the already-existing problems, exasperated those problems. 

Current Problems in Education 

Curriculum-related problems: The Lebanese educational system in Lebanon is facing a plethora of problems. First and foremost is the dated curriculum that was first planned for in 1994, had its principles and guidelines established in 1995, and was put into effect in 1998. Twenty-seven years after its inception, the curriculum has not witnessed any modifications or amendments except for the deletion of a chapter or more in selected subjects and grades due to the lengthy requirements or recently due to the reduction of the number of teaching days caused by the COVID 19 school closure. The outdated curriculum comes with other problems that surface in critical times as the case was when the schools had to close down in February 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID 19. During this time, it was essential that teachers and students have access to the digital version of the national textbooks. This, unfortunately, is still not available, and the Ministry of Education was unable to supply it during the pandemic. Many teachers initiated scanning the textbooks and distributing them to teachers and students across the country. Up to the date of writing this report, the books have not been formally published electronically.

 Another curriculum-based issue is that the curriculum is not compatible with the textbooks; the curriculum states objectives that are not to be found in the textbooks. Add to that, is the lack of flow of teaching objectives among the different grades. Then is the added issue that the official examination requirements are not always included in the textbooks that the students use to study. This puts a burden on the teachers to fetch their own teaching material, which in turn creates the problem of not having consistency of teaching material among all teachers and students in the country. 

Leadership-related problems: The majority of the school principals in the public sector are appointed based on their political affiliation, while their qualifications play a little role in this appointment. Studies show that most principals had neither undergone an interview nor an examination before their appointment. What is commonly experienced is a combat among candidates right before the appointment of the principal, and politics usually plays the major role in defining the winner of this combat (Basha, 2018). Add to that, the majority of the school principals have bachelor’s degrees in a scientific, humanities or social studies field, and hardly any of them have a degree or any certification in education or a teaching-related field. Moreover, school leaders adopt an authoritarian style giving little attention to the instructional dimension of their role (Akkary, 2013).

 Student numbers: Schools have been overwhelmed by the large number of Syrian refugees with more than 356,000 Syrian children enrolled in the Lebanese educational system in 2019 (Lahire, El-Ghali, & Sedmik, 2021). To accommodate for the large number of new students entering the system, schools had to resort to double shifts, and many teachers and principals took on an additional afternoon shift in pursuit of improving their financial income in times when the value of the national currency has declined by more than 400% of its original value. 

Infrastructure-related problems: When schools resorted to online teaching, many problems surfaced. It became clear that the majority of the Lebanese students lacked the necessary devices and internet connection that would enable them to follow up on their education and learn the necessary skills. Not only did students lack devices and internet but so did their teachers. This was extremely severe in public schools and its impact is more observed in k – 6 grades. Students in these grades lack the basic literacy, mathand social skills. As a result, the Center for Educational Research and Development (CRDP), whose main aim is to improve the quality of education in the country, developed a four-week recovery program (CRDP, 2021) to compensate for students the skills they missed during almost two years of deficient online learning (Lahire, El-Ghali, & Sedmik, 2021). 

Recent problems: As of the summer of 2021, additional problems emerged that will definitely have a long term effect on student learning. The past three years have been fraught with country-wide protests, road blockages, a pandemic, and the explosion of the port, all of which have exacerbated the economic collapse recently described by the World Bank as one of the worst in the world since the 1800s (The World Bank, 2021). Shortages of basics necessary for schools to run smoothly and efficeintly have been expereinced most conspicously starting in the spring of 2021. The country has experiecned shortage and a sudden increase in the price of fuel which lead to Internet diconnection and outage of electricty. In addition, the scarcity and prices of the fuel supply have limited road travel and made its cost beyond the capacity of the parents and teachers to commute to schools. The fall semester of 2021 commenced with country-wide teacher strikes in the public sector as teachers were asking for a fair financial compensation for the prices they pay for internet and fuel and also to compensate for the devaluing of their salaries. While the government is unable to fulfil the teachers’ requests, the latter went on a strike that lasted for almost two months. Although the teachers decided to go back to their classes after the minister of education has made several promises to compensate the teachers, it is everyone’s expectation that promises won’t be fulfilled and strikes will be resorted to. Moreover, the lack of fuel in schools will make it impossible to continue especially in the harsh winter months as fuel is a requirement for heating and lighting. The second part of the delimma is that if teachers and parents decide that it is less costly for them to revert to online teaching/learning, electric outages and poor internet connections will make online education inefficient and close to impossible. Impact of the problems on the schools While the move to online teaching during the coronavirus school closure has equipped many educators and students with skills they would not have acquired any other time, teachers still lack the pedagogy that should accompany online teaching; they are not only struggling with reaching out to their students but also they lack basic skills in assessment and student engagement (Farhat, 2021). Poor infrastructure makes education not accessible by the majority of the students; only a small group of Lebanese students will be able to attend classes regularly and acquire the necessary skills and knowledge appropriate to their grades. Young students have not acquired basic literacy and scientific skills. The emotional well-being of teachers and students need careful attention. Programs have been devised by CERD to deal with these issues, but such programs will not attain their optimal results due to student absenteeism. 

 Solutions

While educators and parents have no faith in any national solution that would positively impact the system, many private schools have devised their own survival plans. Those schools have purchased their own platforms, trained their teachers, and were able to connect with the parents. Many teachers took the initiative to learn and progress on their own. They enrolled in teaching diploma programs especially now that these programs have become available online. They also take any opportunity to learn from their colleagues or enroll in training programs. This remains a small percentage of the teachers, while the vast majority are reliant on their administrations to provide such professional development opportunities for them. Potential role of LIFE The Lebanese recession has unprecedented consequences on education and educators. However, the civil socieites have shown solidarity and creativity in devising and implementing plans to improve the various sectors in the country and have proven successful in areas where the government failed its people. The majority of these initiatives and plans have been targetting students, teachers and improving the physical school contexts. Little initiatives have targeted school leaders who are in an urgent need to assist them in facing the various challenges and improving conditions in their institutions. It is mandatory that leaders become agents of change and improvement. When they become more knowledgeable of the requirements of their roles, teaching pedagogies, and leading and managing institutions, they are more likely to devise plans that help them mitigate the impact of the current problems on the stakeholders. LIFE initiative can take on the role of capacity development of leaders who will become in better positions to improve the processes at their schools. This initiative can get leaders together to share practices and engage in discussions that benefit all. If leaders can form professional learning communities, then the barriers that set them apart might be diminished, and they can build on the experiences of each other. Leaders of education need to be part of a community that connects them and brings them out of their isolation especially in times of calamaties. 

References 

(2021, November 19). Retrieved from CRDP: https://www.crdp. org/project-details/33006 Akkary, R. (2013). 

The Role and Role Context of the Lebanese School Principal. Educational Management Adminstration & Leadership, 42, 718-742. Basha, S. (2018). Leadership Role of Public School Principals. Educational Studies and Research Center. 

Farhat, A. F. (2021). University Instructors’ Perceptions toward Online Teaching at the Onset of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Lebanon: A Descriptive Study. Middle Eastern Journal of Research in Education and Social Sciences, 2(2), 37-57. doi: https://doi. org/10.47631/mejress.v2i2.243 

Lahire, N., El-Ghali, H. A., & Sedmik, E. (2021). Foundations for Building Forward Better: An Education Reform Path for Lebanon. Washington DC: World Bank Group. Retrieved from https:// documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/627001624033308257/ pdf/Foundations-for-Building-Forward-Better-An-EducationReform-Path-for-Lebanon.pdf (2021). 

Lebanon Sinking into One of the Most Severe Global Crises Episodes, amidst Deliberate Inaction. World Bank. Retrieved November 19, 2021, from https://www.worldbank.org/ en/news/press-release/2021/05/01/lebanon-sinking-into-one-ofthe-most-severe-global-crises-episodes

Leading Learning and Culture

Published by NAMA Foundation

This mind map summarizes much of what we need to know and practice when leading in an educational setting. By the way, mind maps are excellent to help us see the relationships between ideas and retain what we learn for longer. 

This mind map is the outcome of an EDULEAD Module on educational leadership. 

Talented Sena helped me design it. Otherwise, my mind map would have been black and white with just arrows connecting ideas 😄

Thanks to NAMA Foundation for publishing it. 

 

Distance or face-to-face learning, which should we adopt?

 Published in IATEFL Blog, VIEWS

After a little more than two years of the sudden shift to online teaching, our department decided that we adopt a hybrid approach to teaching, which meant that part of the program was taught face-to-face. I was a little hesitant before I went to my first on-campus class. I had to dress appropriately, ensure that I had all I needed for my class: laptop, HDMI adapter, white board marker, coffee mug… I felt a little awkward at the beginning of the lesson; I only knew the names of  those students who usually had a picture on their Zoom profile. It wasn’t appropriate on my sixth week of teaching not to be able to call students by their names. In distance learning, I was more in command; I could see each student’s full name on my screen. 

I decided against group work in that first face-to-face session. I didn’t feel comfortable breaking students into groups. I thought of how malleable it was to assign students into breakout rooms where I could decide if they chose their own groups or I assigned them to random groups. Definitely in the coming sessions, I will have group work, but not now. Projecting my carefully prepared PowerPoint was another issue. Where is the cable? The remote control? The screen to project my laptop on was too high. I had to ask a student to pull it down because by no means I could reach it. I made the joke asking students if, seeing their instructors through Zoom only, they thought they were taller than they were in reality. I lost many of the PowerPoint controls I usually saw on my screen. It took me a while to find them by hovering the mouse over the lower part of the screen. A student asked me if I could enlarge the print so that it could be seen easily. Again, I had to figure out how to do something I usually did spontaneously. Navigating among webpages, videos, and different documents was so easy in my online class. Now I had to configure the wi-fi settings on my computer to access the internet. Umm. I forgot to do that before entering class. A student offered  wi-fi hotspot so that I could connect to the Internet as mine would not work on my laptop. That took quite a few minutes.

The class time went well. Students were interactive and responsive. I wonder if it was fairer in the online setting where students were called on according to the order they raised their hands. It was easy to tell who raised their hands first and call on them to talk. 

To take attendance, I had been taking it in the online class through a Google Form Exit Ticket where students were considered attending after responding to a question that summarized the lesson and another where the students assessed their learning on a scale from 1 to 5. No matter how large the class was, attendance was taken in no time as all the students completed the Google Form simultaneously. Now I had to do it manually and call the names of the students one by one. It was a little time-consuming. 

This was how I compared distance teaching to face-to-face teaching. But the students’ story was different. I asked them to reflect on both experiences. They had positive perceptions of in-person classes. I could see the excitement on their faces and feel it in their voices. They were all smiley  and happy. Very appreciative. Very interactive. Very attentive to every word said in class as though expressing their gratitude to be on campus again. We had a short reflective talk comparing online classes to face-to-face classes. The majority affirmed that they benefited more from face-to-face classroom discussions and that they were more focused on what was going on in (the) class. Although it was more comfortable for them to be at home, the home environment had many distractors. In a face-to-face lesson, they were better able to take cues on when it was appropriate to ask a question or participate in a discussion. In addition, some expressed that they could no longer bear the isolation from friends. They did not want to graduate not knowing how being in the physical learning environment felt like. 

Still there were very few who were happy to have had the opportunity to continue their education online because otherwise they would have had to stop their education. Among those were students who had a full-time job or a job that did not allow flexible timing. Mothers and those who were out of the country were also at a disadvantage when it came to pursuing their degrees. Moreover, as many countries are struggling financially and inflation has been at unprecedented rates, commuting to schools and universities is costly especially for those living in remote areas. 

Students’ experience during their learning matters a lot. Often, as educators, we focus on our experiences as teachers when assessing the success of a new method or technique. We need to keep in mind that teaching is not about a show that we display in the presence of our students, rather we need to be aware of what students experience and how they learn. The experiences learners go through impact not only their learning but also their mental well-being. Having experienced distance learning for a little more than two years now, and not being far from teaching fully in-person, this is the ideal time to think of a teaching/learning model that combines the merits of distance learning and face-to-face learning. A model that brings out the best of teachers and accommodates to the students' needs and learning styles.