Izah Azahari
The Ministry of Education (MoE) through its Department of Educators Management, jointly organised a Teacher’s Day Conference in conjunction with the 32nd Teacher’s Day celebration with the Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE), Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and the Religious Teachers University College of Seri Begawan (KUPU SB) at UBD’s Chancellor Hall.
Minister of Education Datin Seri Setia Dr Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh was the guest of honour.
Some 500 teachers and educators from primary and secondary schools, as well as sixth form centres within the government and private sector under the MoE, Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA), Institut Tahfiz Al-Quran Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, IBTE and higher education institutions registered for the conference.
The event commenced with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and Doa Selamat led by KUPU SB Assistant Lecturer Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ajak, followed by a welcoming speech by UBD Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education Dean Associate Professor Dr Noor Azam bin Orang Kaya Maha Bijaya Haji Othman in his capacity as the Co-Chairman of the event.
Themed ‘Building A Resilient Education Ecosystem’, Associate Professor Dr Noor Azam said the conference aims to provide a platform for teachers to share and discuss the latest thinking and best practices, to improve the performance of teachers, students and quality of education.
The dean added that by the end of the conference, participants will have enhanced their knowledge on a four-key related theme such as bringing about innovations in the curriculum, application of innovative pedagogies, innovative assessment and teacher professionalism.
Highlighting His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s recent titah on the need to provide sustainable system to ensure continuous learning in the face of future uncertainties, the dean said the call befits the event’s theme as UNICEF (2021) stated that building resilience in education ecosystems is imperative to reduce the adverse impacts of educational crises, which can manifest in the form of learning loss among students, social equities, and educational inequality.
“Indeed, the challenge ahead in building a resilient education ecosystem is hugely significant. We do not promise we will find all the answers during this conference, but it is hoped that by taking part in this conference, all participants will be able to take away key messages pertaining to improving teacher and education quality, by taking small but sure steps towards improvement.”
Continuing the event was a speech by the guest of honour prior to the official opening of the conference.
The highlight of the conference was the presentation of a keynote address ‘Why formative assessment should be a priority for every teacher and every school’ by leading education expert in the field of Formative Assessment Professor Emeritus Dylan Wiliam.
The keynote is designed to help teachers develop a “big picture” understanding of what formative assessment is (and isn’t). Education matters, for individuals and for the society.
However, most of the policies pursued have been directed at the kinds of schools that students attend – policies that, even when well implemented (which most are not) would have limited impact on student achievement.
What matters for student achievement is what happens inside the classroom, and what matters most is the quality of interaction between students and teachers; teachers finding out what their students know, and making appropriate adjustments to their instruction as a result.
In the afternoon session, he also facilitated a workshop with the conference participants titled ‘Strategies and Techniques of Formative Assessment’.
Permanent secretaries at the MoE, vice chancellors, rector, deputy permanent secretaries at the MoE, heads of departments and senior officers from the MoE and higher education institutions were present.
The conference continues today with a plenary session ‘Teachers’ Mental Health from the Perspective of Islam’ by Ra’es of KUPU SB Dr Haji Adanan bin Haji Basar, followed by the presentation of 21 papers according to the sub-themes of the conference this year by 20 presenters comprising MoE officials and teaching staff from government schools and sixth form centres, as well as lecturers at higher education institutions.
