A delegation of 76 senior lecturers from various parts of Punjab visited LUMS School of Education (SOE) for an information session on Thursday, July 12, 2018. This visit forms part of a potential partnership between the SOE and Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development (QAED), the Government of Punjab’s apex teacher training institution for public schools across Punjab.
Their 2.5 hour visit started with an introduction on LUMS and the SOE by Sarah Mahmood and Rabia Hasan from the SOE Marketing Team who also shared some insight into the mission of the School, which is to address the existing gaps in the educational sector. SOE’s Academic Programme Associate , Ayesha Shahid, outlined the MPhil in Educational Leadership and Management content and its highly engaging field component that forms part of the practicum.
This was followed by an introduction to the SOE Professional Development Initiative by Dr. Naziha Ali, Director of Training and Development. Participants were introduced to the potential benefits of a partnership with SOE and membership of the SOE Professional Learning Network.
The visit included a one-hour workshop that engaged participants in identifying challenges in their classroom practice and sharing some positive developments in their professional development in the last 2 years. This reflective exercise generated interesting responses where aside from challenges in the profession, participants were also able to identify and acknowledge some positive developments in their professional lives. They left with a positive mindset and an eagerness to return to benefit from what is on offer through the SOE partnership.
The session concluded with the presentation of a souvenir to Yasmin Wyne, the Coordinator of the Training College of Teachers, who headed the delegation. The delegation left with an extremely positive understanding of SOE being approachable, beneficial to liaise with, an understanding of contemporary issues in education and a team that is willing to support the process of bridging these gaps through various collaborations.
