The second in a series of conversations on Advancing Arabic Language Teaching and Learning will explore the development, selection, and use of teaching and learning resources to support children learning to read in Arabic. Consideration will be given to issues such as curriculum, time allocation, children’s reading matter, teacher guides and support materials, and publishing constraints.
Opening Remarks
Panelists
Dr. Fouad Chafiqi, Director of Curricula, Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education, and Scientific Research, Morocco
Chafiqi has been the Director of Curriculum at the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training of Morocco since June 2010, and the Director responsible for Central Educational Research since July 2009. He was previously a Lecturer in Education Sciences at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Marrakech, and prior to that a Professor of secondary education of Physics. Chafiqi is a member of several regional and international organizations including the "Arab Reading Challenge" committee, the International Bureau of Education in Geneva, and the Monitoring Committee of the Consortium for International Researchers and Specialists in Education and Evaluation. He was also General Secretary of the World Association of Educational Sciences and a member of the Didactic Group of Marrakech Sciences of the Cadi Ayyad University. He was a Visiting Professor at the UNESCO Chair in Education Sciences, Cheikh Anta Diop University, and Dakar Ecole Normale Supérieure. He has also served on the reading committee of several scientific journals in France, Morocco, and Canada. Chafiqi holds a PhD in Education Sciences from Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2 University in France and a Postgraduate Doctorat in Science Education from the École Normale Supérieure in Morocco.
Maysoon Masoud, Research and Program Development Manager, Queen Rania Foundation, Jordan
Maysoon is a Research and Program Development Manager at Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development. In this capacity, she leads the 'Learning at School' team efforts to increase Arabic language educators' access and usage of evidence-based literacy practices as well as increase students' access and opportunities to literacy resources. Maysoon is a passionate educator with extensive experience in teaching and teacher professional development. After earning a BA in Language Teaching and an MA in Curriculum and Instructional Methods from the University of Jordan, Maysoon spent more than a decade teaching in schools around Amman. She then moved to the Queen Rania Teachers Academy, where she designed and led the development of professional training programs for Jordan’s in-service teachers. In this role, Maysoon also delivered training courses in new pedagogical practices and instructional design in Jordan and abroad, worked with experts in the field to develop teaching and learning standards for Arabic language acquisition and managed ongoing teacher education programs. Click here to know more about QRF's Massader website section
Dr. Sally Alturki, Senior Vice President, Dhahran Ahliyya Schools, Saudi Arabia
Dr. Sally Alturki has spent almost fifty years working on not-for-profit projects to develop education in Saudi Arabia. She and her husband, Mr. Khalid Alturki, established in 1977 and continue to lead Dhahran Ahliyya Schools (DAS), a preK-12 dual-language, IB school. In 1995, they founded The Educational Book House (Dar Alkitab Atterbawi), a project to publish the best current international educational literature in Arabic so it can be used for pre-service and in-service professional development of Arab educators. Of particular pride to them is the publication of a series of books on the teaching of reading in Arabic and provision of Arabic children’s literature to encourage reading. Most recently, they have founded Numou Center for Education in order to provide training and consulting for educators and schools. DAS, the Educational Book House and Numou Center for Education are now all part of a foundation aimed at being of service to education in the Arab World. Dr. Sally is a co-founder, with Dr Hanada Taha, of Arabi 21, which Is aimed at improving the teaching of Arabic language arts. It is also a founding member of TAMAM and committed to its pillars to support school-based educational development in the Arab world. Previously, Dr. Sally also founded a pre-school teacher preparation center.
Dr. Waleed Al Ali, Advisor, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, United Arab Emirates
Dr. Waleed Al Ali – Waleed Al-Ali is an advisor at Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Initiatives (MBRGI) where he is in charge of a number of initiatives including The Digital School Initiative, Madrasa.org e-learning initiative and the coordinator for Dubai Future Council for Humanitarian Aid. Dr. Waleed is experienced in the areas of strategic planning, innovation management, and ICT innovations in Education. Dr.Waleed has worked with leading private and public organizations in UAE including Dubai Holding, UAE Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, Engineers Office of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Mohammed Bin Rashid’s Smart Learning Program. Dr.Waleed holds a PhD in Project and Innovation Management, a Master’s degree in IT Management, and a Bachelor’s degree in Information Security. Click here to know more about Madrasa
Dr. Nawal Shalaby, Director, Center for Curriculum and Instructional Materials Development, Ministry of Education and Technical Education, Egypt
Dr. Nawal Shalaby, Professor of Curriculum and Teaching Methods at the National Center for Educational Research and Development (NCERD), Former head of the Curriculum Development Research Division, and director of the Curriculum and Educational Materials Development Center at the Ministry of Education. Dr Nawal Shalaby has lead the Center for Curriculum and Educational Materials Development for more than four years to plan and implement the reform vision for the Egyptian education curricula, which is the first step in the new educational system 2.0 , in doing this she combines development and capacity building. Dr. Shalaby has worked for more than three decades on many national projects to develop curriculum with international bodies, including the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the USAID, the French Cultural Center, the British Council, and the German Cultural Center and UNICEF . She also participated in the UNICEF conference to launch the life skills initiative for The Middle East and North Africa countries. She is the national coordinator for this international project, as well as the national coordinator of Egypt with UNESCO in the field of achieving the fourth UN Sustainable Development Goal.
Taghreed Najjar, Children’s Author and Founder of Al Salwa Publishing House, Jordan
Taghreed Najjar, is a 2019 nominee for the Astrid Lindgren award and a several-time winner and short listee of the Etisalat Prize for Arabic Children’s Literature. Her most recent award, YA book of the year (2019) was for her title Whose Doll is This? With a portfolio spanning 4 decades, Taghreed – a multifaceted author - writes picture books, middle grade and young adult books. Her picture books have become classics that are read and enjoyed by generations. While her YA novels have found great success in addressing difficult subjects reflecting political and cultural realities in the region. Several of Najjar’s books have been recommended by The White Ravens and several have been translated to languages including English, Italian, Swedish, Danish, French and Turkish. Click here to know more about Al Salwa Publishing House
Mamoun Turki, Educational Book House, Saudi Arabia
Mr. Mamoun Turki has been working for more than 20 years in the educational field, where he worked as a teacher for several years, and was in charge of the research unit at Dhahran Ahliyya Schools, and currently works as director of Educational Book House, which aims to provide high-quality resources in Arabic for Arab educators. Mr. Mamoun attended many training courses and educational conferences, and was one of the pioneers who joined the TAMMAM project in 2007. Mr. Mamoun holds a Certificate in Advanced Education Leadership from Harvard University, is the Ambassador for CAEL program, and also holds a master’s degree. Click here to know more about Dar Al Kitab
ModeratorAmal 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