Dr. Sheikha Aisha Bint Faleh Al Thani, Founder and Chairperson of Al Faleh Educational Holding (Q.P.S.C) quoted: “We at Doha Academy believe that gifted students have a great role to play in our communities and developing their skills further through strategic guidance is a challenge to every school. Therefore we have solicited the help of experts around the world to set up different strategies that could help us care for gifted students. Today’s workshop saw teachers train on the best way to encourage such talented students. The impact of the training as always will be measured and we will continue to follow up with more training and research.”
As part of school commitment to provide continuous development to its staff, Doha Academy schools organized a CPD session on Gifted & Talented Children by Prof. Laznibatova on Wednesday 23 February 2022, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm.
Dr. Jolana Laznibatová has been working in the field of gifted psychology for more than 30 years. She was the first in Slovakia to address the issue of gifted children and youth. In 1993, she developed the Alternative Care Project for Gifted Children, and as a result, the first classes for gifted children began working on September 1, 1993.
Prof. laznibatova is the head of (SPMNDaG) in Petrosava, Slovakia She is also the founder of Pilot Project for Educating gifted students. After 13 years the project was completed and education law in Slovakia was changed to allow for establishing a school for the gifted.
The school is focused on developing the potential of gifted pupils, from pre-school age to the preparation of students – graduates.
During Session Doha Academy staff were introduced to APROGEN program. It’s a special developed program to help each student develop good habits and a good attitude toward learning.
These include early morning community classroom sessions for younger students to cultivate a positive atmosphere for teaching. For older students, they offer consultation as a learning aid, which is a specific part of the educational program. It also includes mentoring for high school students as a type of bonus to help develop personal competences and coping strategies, such as building stability and personal integrity in order to realize their potential and talents. These and many other innovative elements form the foundation that have developed within the APROGEN.
The teachers innovate the content of the educational program for the gifted. Moreover, on regular basis they review the content and methods in terms of educational practices and approaches with an emphasis on the development of personality and character traits of gifted individuals. Both teachers and students are tested for IQ with specially designed test prior to acceptance.
APROGEN helps the students develop their skills and abilities as well as their competence and flexibility. It supports problem-solving skills and trains the ability to respond quickly to changes. It mainly teaches the ability to think analytically and synthetically, combine various factors in solving innovative assignments. It prepares the students to function in a foreign environment. And last but not least, it flexibly addresses new challenges and unexpected problems as part of a quality preparation for life.
CPD training ended with question and answer session. Doha Academy staff were happy to be part of the session and discover new ways of development.
