Academy for Educational Development

Mohammed Dweek teaches e-commerce and computer programming at one of the largest, and poorest, schools in Jordan. Al Huseen Bin Ali is an urban boys’ school located in Aqaba, the country’s third largest city.

Dweek started teaching three years ago, soon after he graduated from college having studied the exact subjects he is now teaching. But even though he knew his topic quite well, he had no preparation in pedagogy.

That started to change two years ago. Dweek was so enthusiastic about his profession, he volunteered to participate in an AED project that gave him the skills to become a teacher trainer. One of the first things he learned, and implemented in the 625-student school, was how to establish communities of practice.

Before the communities were nurtured, every teacher worked for themselves,” he says. “Having teachers collaborate in the classroom and co-teach is the best innovation AED brought to my job.”

Another strategy Dweek says he learned from AED is how to analyze student data. Through their communities of practice, teachers are now gathering data, looking at where the students are and where they should be, identifying gaps in behavior and academic achievement, and looking for the underlying causes.

“For the first time we are able to monitor the progress of the kids,”says Dweek. “Before the AED project, we wouldn’t know why certain kids weren’t performing, We would not even be asking that question.”

In addition, AED has helped Dweek introduce a new curriculum that will teach the students statistics, accounting, and business administration, as well as how to operate online businesses and program computers.

“We have started making linkages between what is being taught in my school and the labor market,” he says. “The kids are now more likely to get jobs in the future.”