4th Teacher Skills Forum discusses ‘growth beyond grades’

AMMAN — Under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania, the fourth Teacher Skills Forum was held on Saturday in the Dead Sea area under the theme "Growth beyond Grades".

The 2018 forum, organised by the Queen Rania Teacher Academy (QRTA), aims at empowering teachers by providing them with educational expertise and the best practices in the educational sector, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

 The two-day event also aims at enhancing teachers' communications skills and helping them build sustainable relations with their colleagues according to modern learning methods, and explore innovative means to meet their needs in classrooms.

The forum focuses this year on encouraging educators to examine practices, other than grading, that are likely to have a long-lasting effect on students' learning and equip them with life skills needed for the 21st century, according to their website.

Education Minister Omar Razzaz said that the forum seeks to establish a new assessment approach that focuses on pupils' skills and tendencies rather than their grades. 

QRTA CEO Haif Banyan said that 1,300 teachers and educational experts representing 210 institutions and public and private schools from 23 countries are taking part in the event that also attracted delegations of education ministries from Jordan, Palestine, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman. 

The CEO added that 145 speakers will be discussing the forum's theme through 128 workshops, noting that 170 teachers from Jordanian public schools are participating in the gathering.