Aretired Pakistani educationalist and former official of the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE), Islamabad, recently taught a workshop on modern teaching techniques to the teachers of three international community schools in Riyadh, last week. About 70 male and female teachers from three international community schools including Pakistan International School, Riyadh (PISR), Doha International School (DIS) and Mansoura International School (MIS) attended the two-day workshop. The forum dealt with a number of topics all relating to teaching, student discipline, character building and drafting question papers in multiple choice and short question and answer patterns. Tariq Mahmood Saeed, Principal of Mansoura International School said the principals and management of three community schools coordinated efforts with FBISE to make the workshop a huge success. “We have now gained confidence the way question papers are drafted,” he remarked. He said there has been a growing need for teachers' training programs such as workshops that not only keep the teachers to updated but also instill confidence through the teaching techniques they consequently learn. During the workshop, there was also a question and answer session that helped teachers clarify doubts about the drafting of question papers, he added. After the workshop, the teachers were upbeat about having gained a bit more knowledge about the process of teaching and felt that attending the training program allowed them to aspire to international teaching standards. Saeed said the decision was taken to avail from the expertise of FBISE's former director Mahmoodul Hassan Nadeem, who is now living a retired life in Makkah. He added that international community schools that are following the British curriculum are constantly required to upgrade teaching skills and learn how to draft questions papers. “We are planning to organize teacher training workshops by inviting Nadeem to Riyadh at least twice a year,” he said.
