Microsoft conducts Peer Coaching Training Program in Bahrain

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The Microsoft Peer Coaching Program complements a series of joint efforts between the MOE and Microsoft to provide improved information and communication technology (ICT) education to students at Bahraini schools under Microsoft's Partners in Learning (PiL) global initiative.

Under Microsoft's Partners in Learning (PiL) global initiative, Microsoft is partnering with Governments, Ministries of Education, and other key stakeholders to offer a variety of educational resources that empower teachers and students alike to realize their full potential. The Partners in Learning (PiL) initiative stimulates teachers to improve the standard of education by incorporating technology into their daily educational curriculum.

'We are very proud of the first batch of graduates from the Microsoft Peer Coaching program in Bahrain,' said Badea Esbai, Country Manager, Microsoft Bahrain.

'We believe that human development is the basis for economic growth and that we have a role to play in helping develop that human talent to its full potential. We have been working very closely with the Ministry of Education in Bahrain and through our Partners in Learning (PiL) intiative have have to date been able to train 1,000 teachers who will in turn further train 10,000 teachers,' Esbai added.

The Peer Coaching Program is designed to help schools implement a professional development model that can enhance standards-based instruction by assisting teachers to offer students engaging, technology rich, learning activities. The Peer Coaching Program will train teacher leaders to serve as peer coaches for their colleagues. As coaches, these teachers will assist their peers in identifying ways that technology can strengthen classroom curriculum and enhance their students' academic achievements.

The MOE's target is to have all its teachers and instructors trained in instructional technology within the next two years.

Speaking on the Ministry's ambitious target to develop its teachers, Dr. Shaker Ali, Director of Training & Professional Development, Ministry of Education, said, 'The MOE has partnered with Microsoft since 1994 to improve access and use of technology in our local schools. We are extremely pleased with the level of interest and participation from the local teaching community to Microsoft's latest Peer Coaching program. Our teachers are keen to implement what they learn in a real-world setting as they know they are directly contributing to transforming the educational experience in the classroom.'

Participants of Microsoft's Peer Coaching program received hands on training and expert guidance on instructional strategies that will help them integrate technology into teaching and learning. In addition to improving their ICT knowledge, the program also helped teachers to build their communication and collaboration skills.

One of the program's participants, Yacoub Al Slaise, a media instructor with the MOE, said, 'I found Microsoft's Peer Coaching program extremely enriching and rewarding. The training has given us the opportunity to gain invaluable skills that will assist us to update our IT curriculum and more importantly change the way we approach teaching.'