The third in a series of conversations on Advancing Arabic Language Teaching and Learning will explore the preparation and development of Arabic language teachers. Consideration will be given to issues such as the selection of teachers, initial teacher education, and continuous professional development of teachers.
Opening Remarks
Panelists
Hanada Taha Thomure
Endowed Professor of Arabic Language, Zayed University
Professor Taha Thomure designed the first system for leveling Arabic texts which is currently used by regional and international publishers to level their Arabic children’s books, with more than 8000 books leveled thus far. She also developed the Arabic language arts standards that have been used by more than 100,000 students all over the Arab world. She is the senior author for Pearson’s Arabic language Arts K-9, a state-of-the-art curriculum that is standards, literature and inquiry-based. She has reviewed the national Arabic curricula for Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, and Bahrain and is an adviser for Arab Thought Foundation, Queen Rania Foundation, USAID, DLI, the World Bank, and many others. Her research is in the field of Arabic language teaching and learning, oral reading fluency, Arabic children’s literature and teacher preparation and curriculum studies.
Lubna Al-Dereiny
Senior Education Specialist, Queen Rania Teacher Academy
Lubna Al-Dereiny, Senior Education Specialist at the Queen Rania Teacher Academy, leads a number of Arabic language programs at the Academy. She has experience in the education sector for 20 years; It varied between education and teacher training inside and outside Jordan, authoring curricula and developing educational and training materials. She has additional experience in setting standards for teaching Arabic to native speakers or non-native speakers. She also has experience in assessing and building language proficiency tests for teachers and students, and teaching Arabic to non-native speakers.
David EvansSenior Fellow, Center for Global Development
Evans is a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, working on education, health, and social safety nets. Previously he was at the World Bank, where he co-authored the World Development Report 2018, Learning to Realize Education’s Promise, coordinated impact evaluation work for sub-Saharan Africa, and managed education projects in Brazil. Evans has evaluated education, early child development, agriculture, health, and social safety net programs in Brazil, the Gambia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania. He received a PhD in Economics from Harvard University, specializing in economic development and labor economics. Dr. Ted Purinton
Dean of Bahrain Teachers College
Senior Education Advisor for the Economic Development Board of Bahrain with special secondment as the Dean of the Bahrain Teachers College (BTC). Previously, he served as Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the American University in Cairo (AUC), as well as Associate Provost for the University (AUC’s senior internationalization officer, also responsible for academic administration and strategic initiatives). Prior, he served as Chair of the Department of Educational Administration at National Louis University in Chicago; Associate at the Center for Literacy, North Central Regional Educational Laboratory; programs administrator at the Paramount Unified School District in Los Angeles; and a high school/intermediate school English teacher in Los Angeles. He holds a doctorate in educational policy, planning, and administration from the University of Southern California. Purinton has served on multiple boards for various schools and other educational institutions and has consulted for a wide range of educational organizations and governments on issues ranging from organizational restructuring to teacher professional development, university budget allocation to tertiary system redesign, and more. Dr. Intisar Ambusaidi
Deputy Director General, Specialised Institute for Professional Training of Teachers (SIPTT), Oman
Intisar Ambusaidi is a Deputy Director General at the Specialised Institute for Professional Training of Teachers at the Ministry of Education, Oman, whose work is focused on planning and delivering professional development programs for teachers and school leaders at the national level. She has extensive experience in supervision, curriculum development, learning assessment, and professional development. Her recent activities include providing in-person and online training for novice and experienced teachers, school leaders, and supervisors. Intisar has developed strategic plan to improve the supervision and teaching practices and performances at the national level. She led leaders of leaders at the central level including subject section heads, chief supervisors, and senior supervisors, and more than 1,600 senior and regional supervisors. She presented data-based action plans to the minister of education and undersecretaries on how to improve teachers’ performance and students’ learning. Dr. Rula Mustafa Mohamad
Professional Development & Curriculum Unit Coordinator, UNRWA, Jordan
Professional Development & Curriculum Unit Coordinator at Jordan Field- UNRWA. Education Leadership and Training Specialist previously worked as Acting Assistant Professor at FESA. School principal and Arabic teacher at UNRWA schools. Awarded the Best Supervisor for Reading Arabic Challenge on its fourth cycle at Jordan level, Consultant for many programs both inside and outside UNRWA, Participating in composing Touchstones Curricula with Jordanian Ministry of education. Moderator
Amal Arab
Presenter, Al Araby Network
Amal Arab has served as a news and program presenter at Al Araby TV network since 2014. She has over 13 years of experience as a broadcast journalist. Prior to joining Al Araby, she served as the senior news and program presenter for Al Ghad TV based in the United Kingdom. She also had roles at Paltoday TV, Alalam and Algerian TV. Arab earned a degree in legal and administrative sciences from the University of Oran Assenia in Algeria.