Lyna Mohamad
The 2nd Education Specialist Seminar, organised by the Ministry of Education (MoE) through the Department of Educators Management, at the Chancellor Hall of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) was launched yesterday.
Minister of Education Datin Seri Paduka Dr Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh officiated the seminar held in hybrid format for the first time with 500 attending physically and 400 virtually.
Acting Director of the Department of Educators Management Masdiah binti Haji Tuah said the seminar’s objectives are to improve the quality of evaluation system to ensure equity; promote excellence in education for developing 21st Century skills; and reinforce the role of research among educators and stakeholders for the development and improvement of the country’s education system.
“We aspire to gauge the relationship between curriculum, instructions, assessment and educational technology and the relevance to educational assessment framework with reference to local and international assessment data.”
This, she added, is to support the MoE’s initiative to explore the potential in real-time big data collection and to leverage existing local and international assessment data in improving assessment strategies for building 21st Century school system. The seminar also seeks to build and develop quality education specialists through evidence-based professional best-practices.
She shared that it is supported by the current Tier 1 professional development training for potential education specialists comprising 22 educators from various specialisations in developing the generic competencies outlined in the Brunei Darussalam Education Specialist Competency Framework (BDESCF).
Director and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary General at the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Dr Andreas Schleicher’s keynote speech is a highlight at this year’s seminar.
His keynote speech today is aligned to the Education Specialists Seminar’s sub-theme titled: ‘Educating Learners for Their Future – Not Our Past’, to share his world-renowned expertise with our local educators.
A dialogue session with the heads of department to address the strategic questions compiled from the first Education Specialists Seminar in 2021 will also take place during the seminar.
There will also be a roundtable validation of the specialised competencies for BDESCF from inputs from last year’s workshop, with the educators identifying specialised competencies required in the six areas of specialisation.
The seminar’s second day will showcase two sharing sessions by senior education officers from the Department of Planning, Development and Research; sharing of best practices on conducting research through innovation and evidence-based data by Teachers Unit of Brunei Darussalam Leadership and Teacher Academy (BDLTA).
The seminar will also have sharing sessions from three education specialists currently undergoing professional development trainings in Tier 1 under BDLTA. They will present their research projects on the use of assessment data in driving decision making at school level.
Following the speeches, Dr Schleicher will deliver his keynote address followed by a question-and-answer session moderated by UBD lecturer from the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education Dr Desmond Tan Chia Chun.
The event continues with a dialogue session moderated by BDLTA Head of School Leadership Unit Jennifer Wong Yok Ting followed by confirmation of special competency that will determine the framework of BDESCF.
