the Educational Research and Development Programme (ERDP) of the A. M. Qattan Foundation (AMQF) organised a forum, which brought together 30 male and female teachers, who had participated in the ERDP tracks. The event was observed at the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre.
In coordination with Motasem Atrash, ERDP Researcher, the forum was launched at the initiative of, and as a contribution by, teachers themselves. The forum is a prelude to future regular encounters, which will bring together teachers from across governorates. It will mark a hub of communication between teachers and the AMQF. For example, over the past decade, more than 500 teachers have joined the Summer School: Drama in a Learning Context. Dozens of teachers have also engaged in other AMQF activities, comprising a diverse community of teachers and early childhood educators from across Palestine and the Arab world.
A number of participants asserted that the main purpose of their engagement in the ERDP programmes was not only tailored for self-improvement and provision of individual skills, but it also sought to share experience with educators and transform integrative, critical learning into an effective approach within the Palestinian society as a whole. The forum also furnishes an opportunity to provide a renewed momentum for participants and build on what they have learnt and applied in drama and reflective writing.
Malik Al-Remawi, Manager of the ERDP Languages and Humanities Track, and Vivian Tannous, ERDP Researcher, moderated the encounter. Drama activities were carried out with the aid of a small briefcase, which offered many possibilities for themes of learning. For example, participants proposed travel, war, and separation from family. Each participant had a personal story with the briefcase.
The briefcase reminded a teacher of her father, who used to bring her gifts from his extensive travels. The briefcase could not replace its carrier. It reminded others of lost loved ones, whose belongings remained in a closed briefcase. Participants told their stories, which transcended the briefcase - a mere object made of cloth. These stories were rife with personal and social meanings and implications.
Al-Remawi and Tannous also used drama techniques, namely, a set of representations inspired by the art of the theatre. Drawing a distinction between drama in a learning context and acting on the stage, these techniques create spaces for students to explore and invoke the world - imaginatively - into the classroom. Using these techniques, teachers worked in groups and presented scenes on the theme of the briefcase itself.