Teacher training in Qatar: prioritising professional development for science curriculum success
Cambridge, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) in Qatar and other partners are delivering professional development sessions and teacher training in Qatar. The programme aims to support the effective implementation of a new approach to the national curriculum, despite the pandemic.
Cambridge is working with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) and local partners to support the implementation of the national science curriculum by facilitating teacher training in Qatar.
This three-year project covers new teaching, learning and assessment materials for Grades 1 – 12, as well as teacher training courses to ensure the resources are introduced successfully.
Mohammed Abdel Fattah, Curriculum Expert, Chemistry, MOEHE, Qatar: “Students are at the centre of the learning process. The student is the primary beneficiary of the development of the whole education process, including the curriculum and teacher development. Our aim is to develop independent learners and ultimately improve their outcomes through balancing content coverage with skill development. Such students will be better prepared to tackle the 21st Century challenges, adopt modern technology, and stay up-to-date.”
A forward-looking vision for education in Qatar
The State of Qatar recognises that future economic success increasingly depends on people being equipped to thrive in an international, knowledge-based environment. The government aims to build a modern education system that provides students with a high-quality education comparable to the best in the world, demonstrated by performance in international benchmarking studies. To help reach this goal, they launched the Qatar National Curriculum Framework (QNCF) in 2016. It shifts focus from teacher-directed education towards student-centric instruction and places emphasis on experiential learning.
Tarek Zuainat, Curriculum Expert for Life Sciences, MOEHE, Qatar: “The strategies and methods teachers have learned through [the training sessions with Cambridge to support the new materials] had great impact on communicating educational materials to students. New teaching sources and modern training methods have developed students' inquisitive and research capabilities, and their abilities to take part in international research and competitions.”
The Qatari science curriculum
When the Qatari science curriculum was revised in 2018, it was closely aligned with the objectives of QNCF to ensure students gain science knowledge and skills and develop attitudes to achieve national education goals.
The national science curriculum in Qatar now aims to help young people become active, confident and responsible citizens in the global economy. It seeks to prepare them to be scientifically literate lifelong learners who will thrive in the 21st century.
The national curriculum identifies five key competencies in science learning:
- inquiry and research
- communication
- critical and creative thinking
- co-operation and participation
- problem solving
The curriculum connects these competencies to learning experiences.
As with most national education programmes, the science curriculum needs complementary planning and support to help implementation succeed.
One of the organisations engaged by the MOEHE to deliver supporting activities is Qatar-based education specialist TechnoLab. TechnoLab is partnering with Cambridge to deliver new materials and associated teacher training to support curriculum implementation.
Cambridge is developing student books, teacher guides, assessment guides and e-books aligned to the science curriculum.
Consistent and high standards of Arabic language and context are important to create effective materials here. So, Cambridge is working with Arabic-language speaking and Middle East experts in Cambridge’s UK and Qatar offices as well as in Lebanon to develop these teaching and learning resources.
Ahmad Fawzi Hassan Bahbah, Science Teacher, Qatar: “Before [the training with Cambridge on the new resources], teaching had been mostly theoretical. Experiments were explained through demonstrations with little or no practical work. After training, the scientific inquiry component in teaching has increased remarkably. Lesson starter activities became very efficient. They enabled the teachers to improve student learning.”
Teacher training and professional development in Qatar
From 2019 – 2022, Cambridge and partners are designing and delivering a three-phase teacher training programme in Qatar to ensure the new science curriculum materials are successfully implemented.
Research shows coherence of curriculum, teacher training and resources is one of the key features of high performing education systems around the world (A Cambridge Approach to Improving Education, 2017).
The programme involves training for school coordinators twice a year, with each session aligned to the most recently published resources. The teacher training courses provide a clear steer on how to use new materials. This ensures that books are tied into teaching strategies and the approaches in the curriculum are reinforced.
Cambridge and partners are working closely with teachers to design this professional development programme. This included an initial survey to understand teacher training needs and the local context in which the curriculum and materials would be implemented. We also visited local schools to communicate directly with teachers about their practice.
Once training began, this gave way to a regular loop of feedback to enable iterative improvements in the sessions and understand their impact on the teachers' professional development.
After the first phase of training, a survey was conducted on the effect of the training on teaching practices in Qatar, involving a cohort of Grade 1 and 2 teachers. The survey found 93% of participants considered the teacher training courses supportive in their daily work to ensure better student results and involvement in learning.
ElSayyed Ahmad Rehreh, Science Coordinator, Qatar: “[This teacher training programme] had a positive impact on teachers, eventually improving the use of scientific inquiry through distance learning. When students make an effort to access information, they will retain that information much better.”
Mary Sassounian, Teacher Trainer: “We need to enable our teachers and constantly enrich their capabilities so they are able to educate our future generations and allow them to unlock their full potential…When an educational system enhances the development of life-long learners, the critical thinking of self-learning individuals, and subsequently develops independent leaders then we can confidently say that educational system impacts not only the present, but also the future.”
Continuing to prioritise teacher training despite the pandemic
The first professional development sessions in this programme were held face-to-face in Qatar in 2019.
However, following the spread of the global Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the team had to pivot the training approach to be delivered remotely.
Cambridge continued listening closely to the views of partners and teachers, creating additional resources when necessary. The team developed a video series to support teachers at the beginning of the school year in 2020.
To ensure continuity of high-quality training when moving to online delivery for phases two and three, the team implemented a bespoke interactive digital platform. The online approach included a wide variety of educational games and remote learning strategies, including virtual lab experiments.
Participants reported that these online teaching resources resulted in engaging training and an authentic modelling of remote lesson delivery that would support their virtual classroom activties.
Teacher training and professional development in Qatar: summary
Since the national science curriculum was revised in 2018, there has been an increased focus on improving teaching resources and teacher training in Qatar to support its successful implementation.
Cambridge has partnered with the MOEHE and local partners to deliver effective resources to facilitate training and professional development for teachers in Qatar.
Survey results following the first phase of these programmes reveal that participants have found the teacher training courses effective in supporting their work and improving student results.
Interviews conducted by Fatima Fadlallah, Project Manager (Qatar), Cambridge Partnership for Education, and filmed by Ashraf Akl of Hamza Bin Abdel Moutaleb Preparatory School for Boys, Doha.
