Queen takes a look at student projects during visit to teacher academy

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Wednesday paid a visit to the Queen Rania Teacher Academy (QRTA) at the University of Jordan for an update on the progress of its training programmes.

During the visit, Her Majesty met with the academy’s staff and a group of student teachers, who explained how they are developing their teaching skills, a statement from Her Majesty’s office said.

While sitting in on a session detailing the academy’s past achievements and future plans, the Queen was briefed on how the QRTA utilises technology and innovation in education, and on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) educational approach that helps students learn new skills to keep pace with the modern world. 

 Her Majesty also met with members of the QRTA’s staff, who spend this time of year evaluating the academy’s achievements, objectives and the feedback it received throughout the previous academic year. The QRTA team also outlines plans for the upcoming academic year to ensure adherence to innovations in teacher training, the statement said.

The QRTA underlined its vital collaborative approach and partnerships with world-renowned educational institutions including Harvard University, University of Connecticut and University College London’s Institute of Education to enhance its academic programmes.

 The Queen also sat in on some of the TEPD Student Teachers Inquiry projects by the programme’s third cohort, under which student teachers present the main skills they have acquired throughout their time at the academy. The inquiry projects aim to assess the student teachers’ conversational skills and highlight the importance of research in the field of education.   

 Stressing the academy’s dedication to supporting Jordanian educators through various training programmes, QRTA CEO Osama Obeidat explained that the academy’s staff are currently working on assessing the results of the TEPD’s third cohort, which is comprised of over 780 student teachers. He added that the academy will be welcoming 1,200 new student teachers selected by the Civil Service Bureau for the 2019/2020 academic year.  

 To date, the QRTA has provided over 75,000 training opportunities to educators, the majority of whom are in Jordan, while also training Arab teachers from Palestine, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Morocco.

  Additionally, over 300 school principals have completed its Advanced Instructional Professional Leadership Diploma, and 100 new trainees are expected to enrol in the upcoming academic year.