Under the patronage of H.E. Professor Mohamed Albaili, UAEU Vice Chancellor, the College of Education at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) has launched on Wednesday 25 April 2018 at the UAEU campus the Curriculum and Methods of Instruction Forum.

The forum themed ‘Education in the Year of Zayed: Future Vision and Prospects’ focused on education from Zayed’s view, the UAE developed education curriculums, teacher license, and moral education.

The forum was opened by Professor Hassan Tairab, Acting Dean of the College of Education, in the presence of UAE education experts and researchers, Ministry of Education teachers, faculty and students of the UAEU College of Education. Professor Tairab stressed the significance of developing the education process and improving programs to meet the UAE’s aspirations and enhance the partnership with the Ministry of Education.

He added that this forum represents a contribution of UAEU and the College of Education to organize such an important forum where experts, teachers and students gather to participate with their visions in the field of education, present education initiatives, and achieve results that can enrich UAE curriculums and teaching methods.

Teacher License: a national requirement suggested by the government

Ms. Hind Al Nuaimi, Professional Licensing Department, Abu Dhabi, stated at the forum’s main seminar that the teacher license has been viewed by the government as a national requirement in order to promote education in line with the national agenda of 2021, reflecting Sheikh Zayed’s aspirations in Education. Launching the teacher license in the Year of Zayed shows its importance and the importance of the teacher’s role in knowledge dissemination and intellectual development.

Moral Education: important theme in raising future generations

Mr. Ibrahim Al Marzouqi, Special Projects Director, Department of Education and Knowledge, explained that moral education is one of the main pillars in raising an educated generation who are capable of keeping pace with society’s changes. All education institutions seek to instill values such as individual and society development, culture and heritage, self-education, rights and responsibilities as these values are important in preparing initiator, leading generation.

Positivity and Happiness in Education

Mr. Khalid Al Mansoori, Department of Education and Knowledge, spoke about the importance of positivity and happiness in the educational environment and their impact on teaching skills and promoting quality work through body language and activating dialogue in classrooms. He presented illustrations and a video showing the importance of happiness in building and developing the education system.

Dr. Ibrahim Al Dabel, Cardiff University, UK, addressed positive parenting in schools, its definitions and classifications, and presented models showing results of different types of parenting.

Workshops on creative ideas and practices in teaching methods

Professor Mohamed Jaber, the Forum’s Coordinator, explained that topics and workshops were carefully selected to suit the forum’s theme ‘Education in the Year of Zayed: Future Vision and Prospects’. The diversity of topics and interventions as well as the large number of participants enriched the forum and contributed to its success.

The workshops held at the forum focused on educational practices to develop the skills of creativity and innovation, moral education, integrating technology in teaching Arabic language, the effect of using drama in enhancing language communication, smart children curriculum, creative teacher’s skills, strategies of telling stories to kids, using E-Writing to develop writing skills and independent learning.