Murree and Bhurban 20-23 Nov.: As a part of its on-going support to education and good teaching practices, Oxford University Press (OUP) organized two symposiums for school teachers on ‘Teaching 21st Century Skills’. Conducted by OUP authors and trainers from Pakistan and UK, the objective behind organizing the symposiums was to effectively address the current learning needs of students and the pedagogical challenges faced by teachers. Around 184 teachers from 23 cities across Pakistan attended the two separate events which provided the participants and trainers a valuable platform to share ideas, experiences, and best teaching practices.
Productive sessions were held showcasing the existing and new OUP textbook series and resources developed for pre-primary, primary, secondary, and O levels. Subjects like English, Science, Social Studies, History, Mathematics, and Atlases were addressed. The trainers—who included Hayley Sutton and Kate Nash from OUP UK, Shazia Asad and Arwa Khuzaima from Pakistan, and the OUP Pakistan authors, Ismat Riaz and Nicholas Horsburgh—gave useful tips to enhance teaching methodologies to enable teachers to maximize the learning goals of these subjects through OUP textbooks. Short presentations highlighting OUP Pakistan’s digital resources were also part of the symposium programme.
Informative presentations were also made on OUP’s new initiatives: the recently launched reading programme ‘Oxford Big Read’ and a new professional development programme for school teachers ‘Oxford Teachers’ Academy’. Sessions emphasizing Intellectual Property Rights issues were held and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi of the Punjab High Court addressed this at one of the symposiums.
The highlight of the event was the workshop on ‘Learning and Teaching in the Classrooms of Tomorrow’ conducted by the popular OUP author, Nicholas Horsburgh. The workshop focused on cultivating among children the 21st Century Skills: a set of abilities—which includes critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication—that students need to develop in order to succeed in the information age.
Interactive discussions between the trainers and the participants resulted in an exchange of feedback and suggestions on how to best utilize and build upon the content of textbooks and teaching resources in order to enrich the teaching and learning experience.
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