On 12 April, QCERD concluded the first stage of the 2013 Teachers’ Exchange Programme (TEP). During this stage, six British teachers from Woodrow First School, along with British drama expert Luke Abbott, worked in six Palestinian kindergartens together with Palestinian teachers with the aim of exchanging knowledge and experiences in teaching methods to help staff develop lesson plans for use in their classrooms.
TEP is part of a project entitled 'Comprehensive Development of Kindergartens in Jerusalem' implemented by the Qattan Centre for Educational Research and Development and the Early Childhood Resource Centre, with funding from the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development channeled through the Welfare Association. The programme, which is the first knowledge-sharing initiative of its kind in Palestine, encourages Palestinian and British early education teachers to share their experiences and work together to develop their skills. The main focus is to help teachers find meaningful ways to use drama as an educational tool, guided by the principles of the Mantle of the Expert approach.
Teachers participating in this year’s programme so far have been exposed to a range of teaching methodologies and philosophies. They gained experiences which they will in turn exchange with other teachers, thereby prorogating the creation of new ideas.
The second stage of TEP will be launched in June 2013, involving Palestinian teachers visiting British schools to implement the lesson plans developed during the first stage, while learning more about the early education in the United Kingdom.