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The Human Approach: Re-centering Connection in Today’s Classrooms

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:10:15 +0000

In an era where artificial intelligence, data dashboards, and digital platforms are rapidly transforming education, one essential element remains irreplaceable: human connection.

While innovation continues to shape how we teach, it is relationships that define how students learn. In the pursuit of progress, there is a growing need to pause and ask — are we advancing systems, or are we truly reaching learners?

The Human Approach invites educators to re-centre what matters most — the relationship between teacher and student. It reminds us that meaningful learning does not begin with content or tools, but with connection.

Why Human Connection Matters More Than Ever

Every learner enters the classroom with a unique story — shaped by their identity, experiences, and sense of belonging. When educators take time to understand these layers, learning shifts from a transactional process to a meaningful partnership.

Research consistently highlights that strong teacher–student relationships lead to increased engagement, improved behaviour, and stronger academic outcomes.

In early years and primary classrooms, morning meetings become a meaningful space for building connection and understanding student identity. As part of the routine, greetings are shared in different languages, allowing students to greet one another — and their teacher — in their home languages or learn new words from their peers. This simple practice not only supports language development, but also creates a sense of belonging, where students feel their cultures are recognised and valued. Over time, this leads to increased confidence and participation, particularly among students who begin to see themselves reflected in the learning environment.

The Classroom Environment as a Reflection of Values

A classroom is more than a physical space; it is a reflection of what we value. It communicates expectations, beliefs, and the kind of learning that is possible.

Human-centred classrooms are intentionally designed to include, empower, and engage.

In practice, students play an active role in co-constructing the classroom environment, transforming it into a true reflection of shared values and identities. From creating anchor charts, labels, and displays, to contributing to schedules and organising learning spaces, students are involved in shaping their classroom from the outset. This sense of ownership fosters belonging and engagement, as learners see themselves represented in their environment.

Student voice is further embedded through opportunities to make collective decisions — such as voting on project themes or contributing ideas for end-of-unit learning experiences. By intentionally incorporating students’ cultural backgrounds, preferences, and perspectives, the classroom becomes a space that is not only inclusive, but co-created — strengthening both engagement and connection.

This approach shifts the classroom from a teacher-designed space to a learner-driven environment, where students are not only participants, but contributors.

Scaffolding as a Relational Practice

Scaffolding goes beyond technique — it is rooted in understanding the learner. A humancentred approach to scaffolding involves listening to understand prior knowledge, observing before intervening, adapting instruction in real time, and gradually releasing responsibility to build confidence.

In diverse international classrooms, where students bring multiple languages and cultural identities, connection becomes the bridge that makes learning accessible to all. This requires educators to be culturally responsive — designing learning experiences that are relevant, inclusive, and sensitive to the backgrounds of every learner.

In practice, this means recognising that scaffolding is not only academic, but also cultural. It involves adapting language, examples, and interactions to ensure that all students can access the learning while still being appropriately challenged.

During early literacy instruction, students are grouped based on their needs. While some receive targeted support, others are extended through application tasks. Visual supports and adapted language ensure accessibility, allowing all learners to be both supported and challenged within the same lesson.

Knowing Students: The Core of Effective Teaching

Effective teaching begins with knowing the learner. When educators understand students’ strengths, challenges, and learning preferences, instruction becomes more intentional and responsive.

Assessment data, alongside ongoing classroom observations, can be used to group students purposefully and inform targeted instruction. This approach supports both confidence and measurable progress, as teaching is aligned with individual learning needs.

The Human Approach in Daily Practice

Re-humanising the classroom does not require large-scale reform. It begins with consistent, intentional routines that build connection and community.

In daily practice, structured routines, such as group activities and the use of Seesaw, allow students to express their learning in diverse ways. Some students choose to quietly record and caption their work, while others confidently use voice recordings to explain and present their ideas. Others express creativity through visuals and images. These varied approaches not only support student agency, but also help teachers better understand how each learner prefers to communicate and engage in group settings.

Through these shared routines, students develop a strong sense of community. They learn to respect one another’s work, collaborate effectively, and appreciate different forms of expression. Strategies such as Turn and Talk further strengthen peer connections, encouraging discussion, active listening, and mutual respect.

A Call to Re-Humanise Our Classrooms

As education continues to evolve, the question is no longer how much we can automate, but how deeply we can connect.

The Human Approach challenges us to lead with intention — to design classrooms where every learner feels seen, supported, and stretched. Because when connection comes first, everything else follows: engagement, confidence, and achievement.

In the end, the most powerful impact we make as educators will not be measured solely by outcomes, but by the relationships we build and the lives we shape.

That is the legacy we build as teachers and pass on.

By Ratana Nayeck, Batool Hassan and Farida Sehorewala

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1 week 1 day ago

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Transforming Teaching Excellence: Why Teacher Development Must Be Built as an Ecosystem

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:16:11 +0000

The single most important factor in student success is not the building, the technology, or even the curriculum. It's the teacher. Not only is this a truism, but it's perhaps the single most supported idea in educational research. Yet for many years, the way we approach teacher development has been to think of teaching as a static skill set—a set of competencies that's "developed" in university and then simply "refreshed" once or twice a year in some sort of unrelated workshop setting.

If we're ever going to realize true teaching excellence, we're going to have to rethink our entire approach to teacher development. We're not going to get there with another round of "training sessions." We're going to have to start building a teacher development ecosystem. This concept of a teacher development ecosystem assumes that teaching is a constantly evolving craft that requires constant, continuous development in a healthy, collaborative environment.

1. The Erosion of the Traditional "Workshop" Model

The traditional model of teacher development has been the workshop. An expert comes in, talks to teachers for 90 minutes or so about some new methodology or best practice in teaching—differentiated instruction, project-based learning, etc. And then the expert goes home. And we're supposed to see some sort of significant change in teacher practice as a result of this event.

The problem with this model is that it's fundamentally flawed. We've known for many years that this sort of passive "sit and get" approach to teacher development simply does not work. In fact, studies have shown that unless we're providing constant support, fewer than 10% of teachers are likely to implement anything that's presented in this sort of setting. There are two primary reasons for this "transfer problem":

•   Lack of Context: A generic strategy discussed in a workshop setting rarely reflects the complexity of a classroom environment with diverse students.
•   Isolation: Once the workshop is over, the teacher returns to their isolated classroom without a partner to help solve implementation challenges.
•   Overwhelm: The expectation to become proficient in a new educational methodology based on a 90-minute theory session is overwhelming.

2. What Does a Professional Learning Ecosystem Look Like?

The term "ecosystem" suggests a system where all parts contribute to growth and development. In a professional learning ecosystem, teacher growth is not a separate entity, but rather the natural state of being. Signs of a healthy teacher growth ecosystem include collaboration, psychological safety, and impact rather than activity.

A teacher growth ecosystem requires three nutrients to survive:

A. Job-Embedded Professional Development (JEPD)

For teacher growth to occur, it must take place where the teaching takes place. Job-Embedded Professional Development schedules professional growth into the daily calendar of the school, rather than an "add-on" at 3:30 PM.

Some JEPD Examples:

•   Lesson Study: Teachers work in teams to design, teach, observe, and critique a single lesson, intensely focusing on student thinking rather than teacher performance.
•   Video Reflection: Teachers film segments of their teaching and reflect on them, either individually or with a trusted colleague, to objectively assess student engagement and teacher discourse.
•   Instructional Rounds: Teachers and other educators visit several classrooms to observe specific problems of practice (e.g., "How do teachers facilitate peer discussion?"), then discuss commonalities across the school.

B. The Culture of Psychological Safety

The greatest enemy of growth is fear of failure. If a teacher realizes she will be disciplined during her annual review if she tries a new, ambitious teaching technique that doesn't work, she will fall back on safe, conventional, but boring approaches. Safety is a requirement of an ecosystem. A feedback mechanism needs to be established by administrators or coaches. Teachers need to feel comfortable saying, "I tried something, but it didn't work. Help me figure out what I did wrong."

C. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

The engine driving an ecosystem is the collective. A strong collective of teachers works interdependently to analyze student work, share what works, and solve problems. True PLCs transfer responsibility from "my students" to "our students." When a collective of teachers works toward a collective goal, their power and students' power increase exponentially.

3. Making Development Data-Informed, Not Data-Driven

If educators are to hone their craft, they need precision. The ecosystem takes feedback from vague ("Your lesson was engaging") to specific feedback based on observable data. This feedback loop, either from a coach or a PLC, has four steps:

1.   Analyze: Examine student data, student engagement, or a video of a lesson. What specific pedagogical need does a teacher have? ("Student feedback occurs too rarely. / Wait times are too short.")
2.   Learn: What specific, small-scale solution can a teacher implement to fix a specific need?
3.   Act: Implement a solution in a classroom for 1-2 weeks.
4.   Assess: Gather data again to see if the strategy was successful.

This process is similar to the scientific method. Teachers become "action-researchers" in their own classrooms.

4. Leadership as Ecosystem Stewards

The biggest threat to the successful implementation of this strategy is leadership. PD needs to be more than just a line item in the budget or a compliance requirement for the administration.

The best leaders do not "manage" teacher development; they emulate it. They become "Lead Learners" who:

•   Create Time: They redesign the school day to create consistent and sacred time for the PLC and peer coaching (not during teacher prep).
•   Allocate Resources: They invest in coaches who become non-evaluative partners in the ecosystem.
•   Participate in the Learning: They sit side by side with the teacher in training and participate in the same training that they expect from their teaching staff.

5. Conclusion: Cultivating Sustained Excellence

Becoming teaching excellence through an ecosystem approach is a marathon, not a sprint. There won’t be a three-month payoff in test score results. However, the long-term payoff is undeniable:

•   Sustained Retention: Teachers are professionals who want to be good at their craft. When they are supported and growing, they will stay in the profession and eliminate the massive cost of teacher turnover.
•   Adaptability: As the world changes (such as the sudden emergence of generative AI in testing and evaluation), the ecosystem will be primed to adjust and incorporate the latest and greatest in a natural and organic manner.
•   Collective Efficacy: The school becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Excellence is no longer confined to "that one exceptional classroom" and now permeates the entire building.

When we think about teacher development as an ecosystem, we no longer think of excellence as a rare mutation but rather as an inevitable consequence of a health environment.

By Dr. Maha Thabet

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1 week 1 day ago

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Redesigning Student Assessment in the Age of AI

Fri, 29 May 2026 11:13:16 +0000

Taking place on Wednesday 24th June, 12:30 BST/UK, 15:30 GST/UAE.

As AI reshapes how students learn and teachers teach, traditional assessment models are constantly being challenged with the increasing students access and usage.

Join us for this webinar as we explore how schools in the GCC can adapt assessment to ensure academic integrity and authenticity, connect with fellow education leaders, gain actionable insights, and discover innovative strategies for navigating assessment in the age of AI.

REGISTER NOW

Sponsored by Turnitin

Turnitin stands with educators and institutions as champions of learning integrity who understand the enduring value of education in a rapidly changing world. As a global company with more than 16,000 customers in 185 countries and territories and more than 25 years of experience working closely with educators, Turnitin designs every product it builds to address timely needs in today's learning settings. From integrity solutions offering transparency in the writing process to delivering secure high-stakes and course assessments, Turnitin provides educators and researchers with the tools they need to navigate responsible use of AI in education and the learning experience. Learn more at turnitin.com

REGISTER NOW

Speakers:

Dr. Neelam Parmar
Director of Digital Education & Professional Learning - AISL Harrow Schools

Dr. Neelam Parmar is an internationally recognised educational consultant and advisor in Digital Education, with over 20 years of experience in the EdTech landscape. Currently, she serves as the Director of AISL Academy at AISL Harrow in Southeast Asia, delivering on a global, online professional learning and development platform offering accredited and certified high-impact programmes, pathways, courses and webinars for K-12 academic and non-academic members.

Previously, she held the position of Chief Digital Officer at E-ACT MAT in the UK and has worked with Ashford School and the United Learning Multi-Academy Trust. Neelam’s recent collaborations include impactful partnerships where she led initiatives focused on educational disruption and transformation. She actively supports global EdTech startups and has advised governments internationally on digital transformation and AI strategies, advocating for innovation in education governance and policy development.

Neelam holds prominent leadership and advisory roles in the education sector, more notably as an EdTech Advisory Board member with the Chartered College and Department of Education (DfE). She serves as a Governor for Bournemouth and Poole Colleges, Bett Advisory Board member and judge. Dr. Parmar is part of the Schools and Academies Show Education Steering Committee and contributes to the Shape the Future Leaders Coalition. Internationally, she contributes to the AI in Education Panel with Educate Ventures, championing the integration of AI in education through thought leadership and policy innovation.

Dr. Ambika Gulati
Principal - The Millennium School Dubai, GEMS Education

Dr. Gulati brings over 25 years of experience in school leadership. Beginning her professional journey as an investment banker, she soon discovered her true passion lay in teaching, learning, and educational research. This calling led her to school education in 2000. She has held several leadership roles in India and the UAE. Today, she serves as the Principal/CEO of The Millennium School, Dubai.

Dr Gulati is deeply committed to pedagogical transformation and inspiring her team to make micro yet meaningful shifts in classroom practice that positively influence school culture and student learning. Her research offers a framework that school leaders could engage with as they work towards creating a culture of learning for school improvement. Nurturing leadership and being a lifelong learner remain at the heart of her work.

Brendon Owens
Group AI & EdTech Lead - Taaleem

Brendon Owens is Head of Digital Strategy and Primary Computing Lead at Dubai British School Jumeirah Park. He is also the group level AI and EdTech Lead for Taaleem, helping to shape the strategic direction and responsible implementation of emerging technologies across multiple schools.

Alongside teaching, Brendon supports staff through team-teaching, curriculum design, and whole-school digital strategy, with a focus on embedding innovation in a way that is purposeful, practical, and sustainable in the classroom.

He is particularly passionate about AI literacy, ensuring both students and teachers develop the skills to use emerging technologies critically, safely, and effectively.

Brendon has been recognised as a finalist for Best Primary Teacher in the UAE and for Most Impactful Primary Teacher at the Global EdTech Awards.

Faten Matar
Director of Teaching & Learning - RAK Modern Private Schools

I am an educational leader with extensive experience in curriculum development, instructional leadership, and digital learning innovation. Throughout my career, I have been passionate about supporting teachers and creating inclusive, future-focused learning environments that empower all students to succeed. My work has focused on assessment practices, teacher professional development, student wellbeing, and the meaningful integration of technology in education.

In recent years, I have developed a strong interest in how artificial intelligence is transforming teaching, learning, and assessment. I actively work with educators to explore practical and balanced approaches to redesigning assessment in ways that promote critical thinking, authenticity, and student agency. I am excited to contribute to this panel discussion and collaborate with fellow educators in shaping assessment practices that are relevant, ethical, and future-ready.

Mohammad S. Alnatour
Academic Director & IBDP Coordinator - Collège De La Salle Amman

Mohammad S. Alnatour is Academic Director and IBDP Coordinator at Collège De La Salle Amman, delivering Physics, Mathematics, and Global Politics across IB MYP, IB DP, Cambridge AS & A Level, Pearson IAL, AQA, and Oxford international programmes. He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (University of Jordan) and a WIPO-registered patent in medical technology. An independent theoretical physicist, he has published four research papers across the IIGSS, QSTF (The Whispering Theory), PRST, and Lens Computing frameworks. He is the creator of CIPQ Bot, IBDPinternals Bot, and EduWellBOT — AI tools purpose-built to support educators in curriculum research, assessment evaluation, and inclusive education. As co-founder of Tantum Consultancy Middle East, he advises Gulf enterprises on AI systems architecture.

Whitney Edmondson
Founding Head of Maths - Sherborne School Jeddah

Whitney Edmondson is the Head of Mathematics at Sherborne Jeddah, bringing nearly 10 years of experience across the Middle East in both IB and British curriculum schools. She specialises in founding schools and has played key roles in two new school openings within the GCC region.

Whitney is passionate about advancing education through innovative learning, inquiry-based teaching, and real-world applications that prepare students for an ever-changing future. Her work focuses on developing enriching mathematics curricula that build critical thinking, problem-solving, and independence while ensuring students develop the skills needed beyond the classroom.

Alongside curriculum development, Whitney is committed to supporting families through the trust and transition involved in joining new school communities, helping create forward-thinking educational environments where students, staff, and parents feel supported and empowered.

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2 weeks 2 days ago

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NWEA MAP Assessments in the UAE: Are They Really Informative?

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 15:41:09 +0000

I once sat in a leadership meeting where a beautifully colour-coded MAP report was projected onto the screen with great reverence. Percentiles. Norms. Growth bands. The room fell silent. Someone finally said, “Well… the data is clear.”
It wasn’t.
What was clear was that we had confused having data with understanding learning - a subtle but important distinction that plays out daily in schools across the UAE.

NWEA MAP assessments have become a staple in many international schools here. They are widely respected, globally benchmarked, and frequently referenced in inspection conversations. But the question school leaders should be asking - quietly, honestly, and without the marketing gloss - is this: are MAP assessments really informative, or just impressively presented?

The comfort of numbers in an uncertain world

Let’s start by acknowledging why MAP has gained such traction in the UAE. In a fast-growing, high-stakes education landscape, where regulators, parents, boards, and owners all want reassurance, MAP offers something deeply comforting: numbers that look objective.

Adaptive testing. International norms. Growth over time. For schools juggling multiple curricula, transient student populations, and constant comparison, MAP feels like a common language. It gives leaders something to point to when asked, “How do you know learning is happening?”

And to be fair, MAP can be genuinely useful. When implemented well, it offers insights into patterns of progress, highlights gaps, and supports conversations about curriculum alignment. The problem isn’t the tool. The problem is how often we expect the tool to do the thinking for us.

The great myth: “Data speaks for itself”

Here’s the uncomfortable truth many of us are thinking but rarely say out loud: MAP data does not speak for itself. It whispers. And sometimes it mumbles.

One of the most persistent myths in education is that standardised assessment data is inherently meaningful. It isn’t. Data only becomes informative when adults are trained, confident, and curious enough to interpret it - and when it is triangulated with what we know about children, teaching, and context.

In the UAE, I regularly see MAP results used as a proxy for teaching quality, student ability, or even inclusion effectiveness. That’s a dangerous leap. MAP measures performance on a particular day, in a particular format, through a particular cultural and linguistic lens. It does not measure resilience, creativity, wellbeing, language acquisition journeys, or the quiet progress of a child who arrived mid-year with interrupted schooling. In addition to this we have the many MANY complexities of the UAE context- English language proficiency, cultural context- dollars & dimes not dirhams and fils and of course what they heck is Arugula…to mention but a few!

If we are not careful, MAP can become less of a mirror and more of a mask.

Inclusion, equity, and the MAP conversation we avoid

From an inclusion perspective, MAP raises important questions that deserve more airtime. How are we interpreting results for students with additional learning needs? For EAL learners? For children whose brilliance does not sit neatly inside a multiple-choice adaptive test?

Too often, I see MAP used to label rather than understand. A low percentile becomes a fixed identity instead of a starting point for deeper inquiry. Growth data is celebrated -or lamented - without sufficient discussion about access to support, quality of intervention, or the emotional experience of the learner.

An inclusive, future-focused school does not ask, “What did MAP say?” It asks, “What is MAP telling us and what is it not telling us?” That distinction matters.

From data consumption to data literacy

The most effective schools I work with in the UAE don’t obsess over MAP scores. They are far more interested in data literacy than data volume. Leaders invest time in training teachers to understand the assessment, question it, and use it alongside classroom evidence, student voice, and professional judgement.

They ask practical, reflective questions:

What curriculum decisions are we making because of this data?
Who benefits from how we are interpreting these results and who might be disadvantaged?
How does this align with our values around wellbeing and inclusion?
Are we measuring what truly matters, or just what is easiest to measure?

When MAP becomes part of a wider assessment ecosystem - not the headline act - it can genuinely inform improvement. When it becomes the star of the show, we risk narrowing learning and oversimplifying complexity.

So… are MAP assessments really informative?

My answer, based on years of inspection, consultancy, and leadership experience, is this: MAP assessments are potentially informative, but never sufficient. They are a tool, not a truth. A data point, not a diagnosis.

In a region as diverse, ambitious, and future-focused as the UAE, our assessment practices must reflect nuance, humanity, and purpose. The real work of school leadership is not interpreting graphs, it’s making wise decisions in the grey spaces between them.

Perhaps the most informative question leaders can ask isn’t about MAP at all, but this: If this data disappeared tomorrow, would we still know our learners well?

If the answer is yes, you’re on the right track.
If the answer is no, the issue isn’t the assessment: it’s our dependence on it.

And that’s a conversation worth having.

By Dr. Catherine O’Farrel

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4 months 2 weeks ago

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Three Tools Needed to support the rise of Self Directed Education

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 10:47:56 +0000

After reading Dr. Peter Gray’s article on comparing self-directed education and progressive education, I found myself reflecting on where I stand. Which approach does the world most need today, and which works best for our time?

For me, the answer is clearly self-directed education. As Gray describes, this is where the learner follows their intrinsic motivation and curiosity about the world, with educators, guides, and adults serving as supporters. Progressive education shares many positive overlaps, but the key distinction is in who drives the learning. That difference makes self-directed education feel like the pedagogy we should be striving toward as humans.

That said, adopting this perspective isn’t easy. For more than a century, industrialized education has conditioned us to see learning as a chore—something imposed rather than something natural. We also hold a strong cultural bias toward a need to collect evidence and data about learning and growth, often convincing ourselves this is the best measure of progress. In reality, much of the evidence we collect serves more to hold the adults accountable, or create shorthand way to inform parents without context about the academic progress of their kids.

Another challenge is our cultural aversion to free play and independent play. We’ve become so accustomed to structured time for children that we overlook the deep value of open, flowing play as a powerful learning tool.

Finally, the world today is far more complex and interconnected than in the pre-industrial era, when self-directed education was more widespread. This complexity can make it feel overwhelming to decide what to do, where to go, or how to share who you are with the world.

Because of these challenges, I believe three components could support a transition toward more self-directed education:

The Sovereign Learner Record (SLR) – a personal record that documents and analyzes diverse learning experiences.
A Database of Experiences – a well-organized directory of opportunities learners can join in their community.
Learning Cafés – community hubs where learners gather, connect, and pursue projects together.

1. The Sovereign Learner Record

The SLR must belong to the learner. For young children, guardians might hold this responsibility, but it should never be owned by a school or organization. Think of it like a CV: a personal record that the learner builds, edits, and decides how to share.

It should accept many forms of evidence—reflective dialogues, certificates from challenges, standard transcripts, or personal accounts—creating a holistic view of the learner.

On the output side, the SLR should allow multiple filters. The same input data could be viewed through different frameworks: the IB program, the UK curriculum, the UN’s development goals, or frameworks like Habits of Mind. Each provides a unique lens for understanding the learner’s growth.

The outputs could then be shared in different ways: kept private for the learner and guardian, shared with trusted guides or organizations, or made public—always with the learner in control.

This kind of tool could only exist in the age of AI, where diverse inputs can be interpreted and transformed into meaningful narratives.

2. The Database of Experiences

As a parent, I often wonder what my daughters might enjoy exploring. While I can ask them directly, I also want to share opportunities that already exist. The challenge is finding them. My awareness of what’s available is limited, and the internet doesn’t always present options in an accessible way.

Imagine a system that organizes experiences clearly:

Which ages they’re for
When they happen
The organization’s values and character
Their location on a map

This would allow learners to discover not only great opportunities but also the ones closest to their home, making participation more practical. Much of this information already exists—it just needs refining and presenting in a learner-friendly format. The concept is most beautifully presented today in the Cities of Learning project form the RSA, wherein youth can find meaningful learning opportunities in the cities they inhabit.

3. Learning Cafés

One of the biggest concerns people raise about not attending school is socialization. Learning Cafés address this.

Rather than showing up at a fixed time for a set curriculum, learners could go to special cafés to meet friends, connect with guides, work on projects, and treat the space as their home base. These already exist in various forms around the world, but they lack recognition and connection. By synthesizing a clear blueprint for Learning Cafés—and linking them with the SLR and Database of Experiences—we could create a powerful distributed ecosystem for learners.

A great example comes from Chris Balme’s writing on Learning Cafés, which led me to discover Alcove Learning in Los Angeles. It felt like a beautiful model of what a Learning Café could be.

Closing

So that’s the big picture: three core components that could help self-directed education thrive—The Sovereign Learner Record, the Database of Experiences, and Learning Cafés.

What do you think? Are these the missing pieces that could make this type of learning ecosystem flourish? Or do they already exist but only in limited geographies?

By Noan Fesnoux

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6 months 2 weeks ago

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From Language to Learning: Rethinking How Literacy Begins

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 16:05:05 +0000

Wael I. Nasr, MD, MBA
Founder & Director, Chapters & Co.

The New Frontier of Education

Artificial Intelligence has transformed the world’s imagination — but in education, it has exposed an uncomfortable truth. Despite countless initiatives to promote critical thinking, we have spent decades treating it as a subject-specific skill rather than a reflection of how the mind learns. Schools continue to focus on content delivery, not cognition. As algorithms learn to write, solve, and simulate, we are reminded that what defines us as human is not information, but understanding — our ability to connect, reason, and create meaning.

If AI is teaching us anything, it is that learning begins with structure. And for humans, that structure is language.

Language: The Starting Point of All Learning

Every act of comprehension — reading a sentence, solving a problem, or expressing an idea — begins with language. It shapes how we organize thought and how we process meaning. For young children, that process begins not with letters or printed words, but with sound.

Infants recognize rhythm and tone, imitate familiar speech patterns, and begin to map meaning to what they hear. These early interactions form the brain’s natural pathway to language — from sound to meaning, and only later, to symbol.

Yet most literacy instruction begins with abstract symbols rather than spoken language. Children are asked to learn letters and decoding rules before they have built a solid foundation in sound awareness.

The Sound-First Revolution

At Chapters & Co., we decided to realign literacy instruction with how children actually learn. Our programs, sMiles for English and Basamat for Arabic, begin where speech begins — with sound.

By introducing sounds in the order they are acquired in natural speech development, we simplify what has long been the most complex step in early education: decoding.

In traditional phonics instruction, children are expected to memorize letter names, recall multiple sound rules, and apply them to printed words — a heavy cognitive load for a five-year-old. In our sound-first approach, decoding becomes intuitive. Children recognize sounds they can already produce, match them to familiar symbols, and begin reading words almost immediately.

It is the difference between forcing language through symbols and allowing symbols to emerge naturally from language.

Simplifying the Decoding Process

Decoding — the ability to translate print into speech — is where many children struggle and where literacy gaps begin to widen. Our framework removes unnecessary steps that separate spoken and written language.

Each new sound is introduced through clear articulation, visual cues, and contextual stories. Children hear it, say it, see it, and use it — before ever encountering it in print. Only once the sound is mastered does the written form appear.

This sequencing dramatically reduces confusion. Instead of memorizing abstract letter names, children learn that every symbol represents a sound they already know. Reading becomes a process of recognition, not translation.

Crucially, writing is treated not as a separate skill but as part and parcel of the same learning process. As children begin to write the letters that represent familiar sounds, they physically reinforce what they have learned. The act of forming letters strengthens the association between sound and symbol, solidifying the decoding process. Writing, in this sense, becomes a tool for learning rather than a later stage of it.

Once decoding is effortless, comprehension naturally follows. The child’s attention is no longer divided between figuring out how to read and understanding what is being read.

A Universal Framework for English and Arabic

When we applied this method to English, the results were immediate: students read earlier, with greater confidence, and with fewer errors. But when we extended the same framework to Arabic, the outcome was even more remarkable.

Contrary to the common perception that Arabic is more difficult to teach, our experience showed that it becomes easier when approached through sound. Arabic has a shallow orthography — what you see is what you say. Once students can recognize and produce its unique sounds, decoding is straightforward.

The challenge, historically, has been that Arabic literacy instruction began with abstract symbols and grammar rules rather than sound and meaning. Basamat reverses that order, grounding the learning of Arabic in the same speech-based progression that underlies sMiles.

The results have been transformative. Teachers report that children are reading words and sentences months earlier than expected. Parents note that their children are eager to read aloud in both languages, switching comfortably between Arabic and English.

Proven in Practice

Across schools implementing sMiles, the results speak for themselves. On standardized Iowa Assessments, every student scored above the 80th percentile, and half reached a Grade 2 reading level by the end of Kindergarten — a remarkable outcome for early learners.

The success of Basamat mirrors this pattern. In pilot schools, Kindergarten students are decoding full Arabic words confidently and reading simple texts with comprehension before the end of their first year. Teachers describe the experience as a “breakthrough” — not only in reading ability but in how children perceive language learning as a joyful, natural process rather than a struggle with symbols.

Beyond Reading: Building Confidence and Curiosity

Simplifying decoding does more than produce fluent readers; it changes how children feel about learning itself.

When literacy begins with success, it sets a positive trajectory for all learning. Children who can decode quickly gain confidence in their ability to understand, explore, and express. They approach new challenges with curiosity instead of hesitation. Writing, too, becomes a natural expression of this confidence — a visible reflection of what the child can now decode and understand.

The Future of Education: Aligning with How the Brain Learns

The arrival of Artificial Intelligence challenges us to rethink education from the ground up. If machines can process information faster than we ever will, our role as educators is not to compete with technology but to nurture understanding, creativity, and human connection.

That begins with how we teach literacy — the foundation of all learning.

At Chapters & Co., our mission is to design educational programs that align with human development. sMiles and Basamat show that when teaching follows the natural sequence of language acquisition, learning accelerates. We are not adding more to the curriculum — we are removing unnecessary complexity and returning literacy to its natural roots in sound, speech, and expression.

The future of literacy is not about teaching earlier; it’s about teaching smarter — by aligning with how the brain was built to learn.

At GESS 2025, Chapters & Co. will showcase its groundbreaking early literacy programs, sMiles (English) and Basamat (Arabic), both designed to simplify decoding and accelerate reading through a sound-first, neurodevelopmental framework that integrates writing as a core element of the learning process. For more information, visit chaptersnco.com or contact [email protected]

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7 months 3 weeks ago

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High-Performance Teams in Schools: Built for Pressure, Not Routine

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 15:46:54 +0000

Teams make the world go round. It might sound like a cliché, but in the school environment it has never been more true. The reality is that we cannot achieve anything of significance without teams, and no matter how strong some of the individuals within a group may be, the team is only as strong as its weakest link.

This is especially relevant in today’s schools. The work is more complex than ever before, the demands are increasing, and the pressures are intense. In international schools, those pressures multiply. Parents expect results. Corporate owners expect growth. Schools are businesses as well as learning communities, competing for enrolment and reputation. The stakes are high, and the environment is unforgiving.

That is why high-performing teams matter. They are not a nice-to-have; they are a necessity. Without them, schools will struggle to navigate the demands of modern education.

Routine versus Pressure

When everything is calm, when routines are in place and systems are running smoothly, it is difficult to tell the difference between a good team and a great one. Both can look organised. Both can appear effective. Systems can create the illusion of high performance. Everyone is in the right place at the right time, the cogs turn as they should, and the machine appears well oiled.

But the truth is that routines hide as much as they reveal. They tell us very little about the true quality of a team.

The real test comes when pressure is applied. Systems crack. Unexpected problems arise. The workload intensifies. People feel the heat. In those moments, the distinction between good teams and high-performance teams becomes stark.

Average teams stumble. They default to dependency, waiting for the leader to step in. They become paralysed by uncertainty. Systems fail, initiative dries up, and problems snowball.

High-performance teams, on the other hand, adapt. They respond quickly, decisively, and strategically. They solve problems in real time, often without needing direct leadership input. They display independence, but never at the expense of the collective. Every action, every decision, still aligns with the team’s purpose and vision.

That ability to adapt under pressure is what separates high performance from simple competence.

The F1 Pit Stop

For me, one of the best illustrations of this principle comes from Formula One. Think of a pit stop during a race. On the surface, it looks like chaos: sparks flying, tyres changing, tools clattering. But what is actually unfolding is an extraordinary display of precision under the highest imaginable pressure, when a drivers life is on the line.

The team has seconds, sometimes milliseconds, to act. The car is red hot. The driver is relying on them. The race is on the line. In those moments, every team member knows exactly what to do. They move independently, but their actions are perfectly coordinated. The tyres are changed, the car is refuelled, adjustments are made, and the driver is back on the track before you can blink.

That is not luck. It is not improvisation. It is the product of systems, training, and shared purpose. But more importantly, it is the product of a team that can adapt and execute under pressure.

High-performance school teams may not change tyres on F1 super cars, but the principle is the same. The daily routines are important, but the real proof of quality comes when those routines are disrupted.

A Tale of Two Teams

I have experienced both sides of this in my leadership journey. In a previous school, I led a team that looked effective on paper. The systems were solid. The routines were clear. But the moment those systems were tested, everything reverted to me. Every decision required my input. Every problem landed on my desk. Staff were paralysed, either because they lacked clarity, lacked confidence, or because my own leadership at the time was too managerial and not empowering enough.

It taught me a hard but valuable lesson: a team that looks strong in routine can still be fragile under pressure if it has not developed independence.

In contrast, my current team shows me what high performance looks like. Over time, our systems have bedded in. People know their roles. But the real difference is in how the team now responds when things get difficult.

September, for example, is one of the most pressurised months for us in PE. There is an enormous amount of groundwork to be done, and everything needs to run smoothly to set the tone for the year ahead. Three years ago, almost every parental complaint came to me. I was the bottleneck. Today, many of those complaints never reach my desk. They are resolved by members of the team before they escalate. Problems are dealt with in real time, by people who know the vision and act strategically to protect it.

That independence is not rogue behaviour. It is not individuals pulling in different directions. Every action is aligned with our shared purpose, and that is the key. A high-performance team is not a collection of mavericks; it is a group of individuals who act independently but never lose sight of the collective goal.

What the Research Tells Us

The importance of pressure as a differentiator is not just anecdotal. Ceri Evans, who worked with the New Zealand All Blacks and other elite organisations, argues that everyone can look competent when comfortable, but pressure is what separates those who plateau from those who achieve breakthroughs. His work shows that leaders can deliberately manage the way pressure is applied by adjusting expectations, scrutiny, and consequences. Get it right, and pressure sharpens performance rather than paralysing it.

This idea resonates deeply with schools. Teachers and staff face constant pressure, whether from inspections, parents, or the demands of the timetable. A leader’s role is not to remove all pressure, that is impossible, but to help their teams harness it, to turn it into a force for growth rather than decline.

Supporting this, a recent study on athletes performing under pressure highlighted the psychological ingredients that enable clutch performance. Task-focused attention, collective confidence, and heightened effort emerged as common themes. What is striking is how collective those factors are. Clutch moments are not just about individual brilliance; they are about groups aligning, focusing, and pushing together under pressure. In other words, the very same qualities that define high-performance school teams.

Purpose, Systems, and Independence

From my own experience, and from the research, three elements stand out as critical for high performance in schools.

First is purpose. Every member of the team must understand and buy into the vision. Without a clear sense of direction, independence quickly becomes chaos. Decisions will be made, but they will pull the team in different directions. Purpose is the anchor that holds everything together.

Second are systems. High-performing teams are not anarchic. They rely on routines and processes that create stability and predictability in everyday work. Systems free up mental space so that when pressure comes, the team can focus on adaptation, not basic organisation.

Third is independence. This is the most important and the hardest to achieve. Independence is what allows a team to respond in real time, without everything defaulting to the leader. It requires trust, training, and a willingness from leaders to step back and let others act. Independence is the hallmark of a team that can withstand pressure.

The Call to Education

This raises a critical question for schools: are we doing enough to build teams like this?

In recent years, I have seen a lot of emphasis on developing individuals. Instructional coaching, mentoring, and one-to-one conversations have become more common. All of this is valuable, but it is not enough. Schools do not run on individuals; they run on teams. And yet we spend very little time teaching people how to build, develop, and lead high-performance teams.

That is a gap we must address. Leadership in education cannot just be about supporting individuals. It has to be about cultivating groups of people who can operate together under pressure, who can adapt and respond strategically when systems are tested.

In sport, this lesson is obvious. Teams are built to win. Players are trained to act independently in the moment, but always in line with the coach’s vision. The best coaches know when to step back and trust their players. In education, we need to adopt the same mindset. Leaders must create clarity of purpose, put robust systems in place, and then empower their people to act independently when pressure comes.

Conclusion

High-performance teams are not defined by how they operate when everything is calm. They are defined by how they perform when the pressure is on. In schools, that pressure is not a possibility; it is a certainty. The question is whether our teams will crumble or adapt.

The answer lies in purpose, systems, and independence. Get those right, and you will have a team that does not just survive pressure, but thrives in it. Get them wrong, and no amount of routine competence will save you when the system comes under strain.

As leaders in education, we need to ask ourselves: are we equipping our teams to withstand pressure, or are we setting them up to depend on us the moment the going gets tough?

Because in the end, the true strength of a school lies not in the brilliance of any single individual, but in the collective ability of its teams to perform, especially when it matters most.

Mike Lowery

Director of Sport - GEMS Metropole

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8 months 2 weeks ago

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When did you last really talk with your colleagues?

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 15:42:04 +0000

Think back to your last leadership meeting ... how much of the conversation was genuine dialogue, and how much involved people talking at one another, skimming past misunderstandings, or sitting in silence because they felt unheard? If you are honest, you will probably admit that much of what passes for communication in schools is not nearly as effective as it could be.

We all know that language is imperfect; yet it remains one of the best tools we possess to move information from one human being to another. When communication falters, frustrations rise - and in schools, where human interaction is constant and high-stakes, the consequences can be particularly sharp. Many of the challenges school leaders face daily - staff conflicts, resistance to change, endless misinterpretations - can be traced back to one root cause: the way we speak, and more importantly, the way we listen.

Over the past decade, schools have invested considerable effort into developing the oracy of students. The rationale is clear: the ability to express oneself fluently in speech is vital for confidence, social mobility, and learning itself. Teachers are familiar with frameworks that help children build their vocabulary, structure their arguments, and speak with clarity.

But here is the uncomfortable truth: adults in schools need this focus just as much as children do. We often assume that because leaders are experienced and articulate, they do not need to revisit the fundamentals of communication. In fact, the opposite is true. Children may need to build confidence in communication, but adults — especially leaders — need to build patterns. Left unchecked, our habits of speech harden into blind spots that make us less effective.

Every leader has blind spots in their communication - recurring ways in which our words and behaviours undermine the impact we want to have. Perhaps you speak too quickly, leaving colleagues overwhelmed. Perhaps you think aloud, but others hear indecision. Perhaps you dominate discussions, or perhaps you withdraw, and your silence is read as judgement.

These blind spots do not make you a bad leader; they make you human. We are all subject to unconscious biases that shape how we interpret what we hear, and how others interpret us. Tools like the Johari Windows remind us that there are always aspects of our communication that others see, but we do not. The key is not to deny these blind spots, but to become aware of them - and to learn how to adapt.

Psychometric tools can play a powerful role here. By making behavioural patterns visible, they allow teams to move past irritation and towards curiosity. Instead of thinking “why does she always…?”, leaders can ask, “what does she need from me to communicate more effectively?” This is the power of oracy for leaders. It is not about polishing speeches or refining public presentations, although those matter too. It is about learning how to talk to colleagues in ways that unlock rather than block, that build trust rather than erode it.

Schools today face immense pressures: accountability, recruitment challenges, the complex needs of students and families. In this environment, leaders cannot afford to waste energy on misunderstandings. Every ounce of collective attention must be directed towards what matters most: learning and the wellbeing of young people.

And yet, without attention to oracy, we haemorrhage that energy. We replay arguments in our heads, we avoid difficult conversations, we spend hours resolving conflicts that could have been prevented with clearer communication. Improving oracy among school leaders is not a ‘nice to have’; it is essential to sustaining healthy, resilient, high-performing schools.

As I write this article, I have just completed an intensive 3 day process with a leading international school in Saudi Arabia, where we worked first on understanding individual leadership work behaviours, and then on how to communicate with colleagues about these behaviours. The result – more honest, detailed conversations based firmly on the data derived from psychometric tests, and translated into concrete action points – was uplifting to see. A high functioning team emerged – and well done to them for engaging so positively with the process! Talk matters, and they embraced this wholeheartedly.

Their experience illustrates a wider truth: when leaders take time to understand both themselves and their colleagues, communication transforms. So, the next time you walk into a meeting, pause and ask yourself: what do my colleagues need from my communication today? That single question may be the first step to transforming the culture of your school.

Dr Helen Wright is an globally recognised international education advisor and executive coach. She will be speaking at GESS Dubai, and can be contacted on [email protected]" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">[email protected], or via LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drhelenwright/

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8 months 2 weeks ago

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Finding Focus in School Leadership

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 15:24:51 +0000

Has anyone on your school leadership team taken up their role in the last two years? If so, up to half will be judged as having failed within that same period. The definition of failure may vary, but perception matters more than precision.

So, what separates those who thrive from those who falter? One factor stands out: the ability to focus on a single, clear ambition and to bring others along with it.

Moving from fog to focus has been the hallmark of effective leaders across sectors.

• John Kotter, the management guru, highlights the importance of urgency and relentless communication in leading change.

• Mellody Hobson, Chairwoman of Starbucks, insists that leaders must first own the problem and hold themselves accountable.

• Sir Michael Barber, architect of Tony Blair’s ‘education, education, education’ agenda, argues that bold ambition and myopic focus, backed by consistent clarity, are what drive systems forward.

• David Hieatt, whose firm focusses on making the world’s finest jeans, reminds us: Do one thing well. It’s enough.

Schools renowned worldwide embody this idea. Gordonstoun in Scotland is known for expeditionary learning. Eton for oracy. Raffles for tradition. Avenues for interdisciplinary curriculum. Each stands out because they channel their energy into one defining focus, while running their routine work seamlessly in the background.

And yet, many schools still resist the lesson. Strategic plans pile up into pillars and initiatives, each treated as equally urgent. The result? Overwhelm, fatigue, and middle leaders stuck managing rather than leading.

Why It’s Hard Today

The pandemic seemed, briefly, to herald new habits—remote learning, flexible work, students owning their learning. Yet by 2023, most institutions had snapped back to old ways. As we head into 2026, our attention is pulled in every direction as the pace of change around us picks up further momentum.

We want to do everything, but rarely achieve our to-do list by the weekend.

Old habits die hard because schools struggle to work at the right level. Too often, Boards leap to lofty ambitions without securing the basics. Too often, leaders fill “strategic pillars” with what should be business-as-usual routine.

The reality is that leadership operates across three levels:

1. Level 1 – Routine Work: The basics done automatically and well. Hiring, formative assessment, DEI work, professional growth, curriculum delivery. Like plumbing, this work isn’t glamorous, but without it, nothing flows.

2. Level 2 – Bold Ambition: The singular stretch goal everyone can align behind. Not ten goals, not three. One. With time, it too becomes routine.

3. Level 3 – Prospecting: Quiet R&D, exploring possibilities, discarding what doesn’t work, seeding the next ambition.

Schools that lack focus often don’t yet have Level 1 in place. If the basics aren’t routine, new ambitions crumble under the weight of unfinished work.

The Cost of No Focus

A lack of focus leads to poor decisions. Consensus decision-making often produces “strategic minestrone soup”: everyone adds their ingredient until the result satisfies no one.

Decision-making by consent offers a healthier model: a decision proceeds unless someone believes it will irrevocably damage the organisation. Disagreement isn’t enough; damage is the threshold.

James Clear describes decisions as hats (easy to change), haircuts (sometimes embarrassing, but fixable, with time), and tattoos (permanent - or painful and expensive to put right). Without focus, leaders can waste time debating and deferring hats while ignoring tattoos.

Another cost is the disease of everythingitis. WordPress lost a year trying to build everything into version 3.0. Apple faced criticism for what the first iPhone couldn’t do. Both remind us that everythingitis delays progress and creates frustration. Schools are particularly prone to it. Strategic plans become laundry lists instead of clear choices.

Focus, by contrast, allows leaders to say: this is what we’re doing now. Everything else will come later.

Three Steps to Finding Focus

So, how do school leaders move from fog to focus?

1. Get Your Levels Right

Before reaching for bold ambition, check whether Level 1 is truly routine. Are the basics of teaching, learning, assessment, and inclusion running smoothly, with little extra effort? If not, start there. Only when the groundwork is solid should you set a Level 2 focus. And protect your Level 3 R&D team so they can quietly prepare for the future.

2. Choose One Bold Ambition

Every great school is known for something. Not everything. Something. Ask:

• Do we already do the basics really well?

• Do we stand out for one thing insiders and outsiders both recognise?

• Do our community and our desired families care about it?

If the answer to the first is no, pause. If the answer to the second or third is unclear, gather evidence. But if all three align, you have your focus. Pursue it with clarity, consistency, and patience until it becomes part of your routine.

3. Resist the Big Launch

Avoid rolling out the next idea with fanfare. Launches are for leaders, not communities. Instead, start small. Identify the 25% who are undecided but open to change. Test with them. Share results. Build momentum.

Movements, whether political or educational, succeed not because everyone is convinced, but because a small group is. As Erica Chenoweth’s research shows, it can take just 3.5% of people actively engaged to tip the system.

Focus Helps Everyone

Schools are already mission-driven places, powered by staff who choose the work despite its challenges. Focus honours that commitment by giving people clarity, reducing overwhelm, and creating real progress they can see.

When you focus, you avoid the trap of everythingitis. You empower middle leaders to turn stretch work into routine. You make better decisions. And you give your community something simple, meaningful, and motivating to rally behind.

As David Hieatt, Steve Jobs, and Plato put it: Do one thing well. It’s enough.

Ewan McIntosh, founder of global education consultancy NoTosh, is a keynote speaker at GESS 2025, known for helping schools and leaders find focus and design bold strategies.

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8 months 2 weeks ago

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