CURRICULUM
DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP Teachers College, Columbia University |
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Well, to tell you the truth Eliane, I think for next year I have to try my best to have a more homogeneous timetable. I feel like I am torn in pieces and it is hard for people around me to understand how much I have on my shoulders. You know I am involved with the math, science and special education department and every department has its own duties and responsibilities. I will not let myself do this next year!! Aside from that, taking the iEARN courses was one of the best educational experiences that I had gone through. It reminded me of my practicum courses in University. There is a great difference between attending lectures that talk about the learning process, how that affects students’ performance and seeing that really taking place in class. It makes a lot more sense to see for yourself that IT WORKS!! Since I have started with the PBL, the whole learning atmosphere has changed. Students are more involved. They are always on task and short of time to include more and more in their projects. They are doing excellent on group skills. They have improved their work habits. I can see that day-by-day they are becoming more independent. Also, they are extending their concepts by doing more critical thinking applications. They are working harder on their presentational skills. Last but not least, they are enriching their writing skills by producing a written report on the project and writing their reflections in the Science and Environment Newsletter. Not only my students’ learning has improved, my teaching skills have progressed a lot since I started taking these courses. There was more technology integration. I am working very hard to improve the research skills of my students .The thinking process of the science lessons have become a lot more interactive. By communicating with other teachers from outside school, I feel that there is a group support. We are all busy and we are all productive. YouthCaN Med online workshop gave the chance to our students to meet different students from different schools in the Middle East, discover that Environmental Pollution in Lebanon is a national problem and International problem affecting also the our neighbor countries. I really liked the interaction that took place in Saida on Thursday. HBS students communicated their research very clearly to VIS students. They also felt that hand in hand, we could make a difference. When I sign in to the forum, students are always eager to check if there are any replies to their messages. They feel very happy to see their essays displayed in the world wide net. Students feel a lot more acknowledged when their work goes personalized in the forum. They feel that everybody can hear them. When I did my Diploma in Special Education, I learned that there are support groups for Parents. With iEARN I am happy to be a part of a support group of teachers and professionals. I feel very happy too to get responses from other people whose ideas really count. I think that I am grateful to you Eliane for introducing me to iEARN and for being there, always. Not only that, I am grateful to the iEARN team for supporting us every step of the way! Looking forward to more courses Sincerely yours, Rola Annan Valley International School, Lebanon -------------------------------------------- How iEARN changed my life! Both as a person and as teacher Hello Everyone! I am Rania Murr from Valley International School. I'm writing you this letter to tell you how iEARN has helped me discover hidden potentials and different aspects in my personality! To my great surprise I discovered that I am not the timid and shy person I claim myself to be! And I realized how public relations and managing a project is exciting! I can assure you that this was not my first impression or attitude when Eliane suggested the project! I thought "no way!! I can't do this on my own!!" I needed someone helping me with the public relations and setting meetings with different bank managers, tour operators, sponsors, printing press, guest speakers and a lot more! After planning the objectives and procedure of the project I realized that there are a lot of contacts to be made so I finally confessed to Eliane that I'm not a very outspoken character and personally enjoy dealing with kids and educational issues rather than business people and financial and publicity issues! Thank God Eliane did not mind my confession and trusted my potentials! So I ended up doing several phone calls and found out that people are a lot interested in what my students and I are trying to achieve! That gave me a lot of motivation and Enthusiasm to continue since many people are putting their trust in me! The second step was launching the project to my students! When I first introduced the topic and explored the concept of Ecotourism with them they were very excited and enthusiastic to work on such an original and unique project! With that spirit we continued working on the project trying to meet the following objectives: To spread awareness among people toward Eco-tourism
They contacted organizations
1. Technology skills PowerPoint
Writing formal letters addressed to different audiences with different
purposes
Drawing
I would like to end this letter thanking all the people who have worked hard in helping us achieve the impossible as one of my students says! It was a great experience and I would definitely go for an even more challenging project hopefully next year!!!! Thank you all!!!! When I asked one of my students how she feels when I first showed her the finished leaflet she looked at me with a huge smile and glow on her face Miss!!!! Oh! FAMOUS!!! Rania Murr English and Social Studies teacher, Lebanon |