The A.M. Qattan Foundation organised a workshop entitled “Mantle of the Expert: Planning and Practice,” on 15th February 2020. This workshop was held as part of the Early Childhood Educators’ Forum and was led by researchers Malek Rimawi, Vivian Tannous and Nader Wahbeh.
The workshop, which was attended by 30 educators, focused on planning mechanisms based on cultural educational topics that meet the considerations of the adopted curriculum for early childhood, the interests and rights of children, and the social and environmental contexts of the kindergarten.
The workshop started with a retrieval of the principles and directions of education and planning and its relationship to the developmental needs of children and their rights to learn and play. It also touched on the importance of the role the educator plays in linking the curriculum to life on the one hand, and the interests of children on the other hand, and what is required to attain that such as developing the educator’s planning skills in the form of tasks and roles, and using multiple tools and strategies for their application.
The educators worked in groups, where each group built an educational plan using the strategy of the Mantle of the Expert. The educators will work on implementing the plans with their students in kindergartens, in addition to sharing them with their colleagues through the process of implementation and critically reading the plans.
The Early Childhood Educators’ Forum represents an educational laboratory to develop educational practices through building plans, exchanging experiences and reflecting on them, in addition to hosting new experiences in the field of early childhood to promote the professional development of educators.