Our University faculty were among the experts who conducted workshops and shared their knowledge on specific topics during the 6th Arab Gulf Teachers Forum that was held on 24-25 August 2020 and organized by Abu Dhabi’s Ministry of Education. The online forum, under the theme “Education for Quality of Life,” focused on highlighting the role of education in developing the learners’ personal skills in parallel with academic and scientific skills, and at the same time reinforcing their interest in adopting a balanced lifestyle characterized by excellent psychological, social, mental, and physical well-being.
The goal of the forum was to motivate school communities to adopt different aspects of quality-of-life practices to enrich the teaching and learning process with quality practices that enhance positive attitudes toward achieving the learning outcomes in a changing international environment.
As the top-ranked university in the UAE, Khalifa University is dedicated to sharing knowledge and expertise not only within the KU community but also to the local and global communities that we serve.
Dr. Ahmed Al Shoaibi, Senior Vice President, Academic and Student Services, was one of the speakers in the opening session of the forum entitled “Hybrid Learning: A New Direction in Education.” The session discussed the advantages of the hybrid learning, the smooth transition from traditional learning to hybrid learning, effectively using educational platforms for hybrid learning, and the expected positive impacts of hybrid learning on the quality of education in UAE schools.
Other KU faculty were also able to impart their expertise to help educators utilize all the resources that they have to provide learners with a full and comprehensive learning experience. Dr. Nader Ayish, Assistant Professor of the College of Arts and Sciences, talked about the role emotional intelligence plays in developing empathy among children and adults.
Dr. Siobhan O’Sullivan, Program Director of Medical Education, spoke about students being creators and curators of knowledge and promoting collaborative learning in an online environment. The workshop of Dr. Abdulhadi Shoufan, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, focused on learning management systems (LMSs) for distance and life-long education and how to address the limitations and challenges of LMSs. And Dr. Dymitr Ruta, Chief Researcher at EBTIC, and Dr. Asli Hassan, Center for Teaching and Learning Director, presented the concept of EduSense, a comprehensive system of detecting and measuring factors that affect student performance. They shared with the participants several case studies in higher education settings that illustrate how the sensing and acquisition of new data capturing various aspects of students’ interaction in and with the educational environment can be used to discover previously unknown information.
These workshops and discussions showed educators the different developmental opportunities that are available as our society recover from the changes and challenges brought about by the Corona virus pandemic.
We would also like to recognize the leadership of the Ministry of Education of Abu Dhabi for continuously working to update the educational experience in light with the current circumstances, and prioritizing the safety of students and educational staff.
Ara Cruz
Creative Writer
31 August 2020
