Food For Thought

Dr. Golkowska welcomes Education City writing faculty to the
lunchtime program.

Education City writing faculty took away plenty of ideas to put into use in their own classrooms, thanks to the thought-provoking presentations and ensuing discussions at the debut of this year's WCMC-Q Working Lunch Series held October 16. Writing faculty from most of the universities resident in Education City, as well as from the Academic Bridge Program and Qatar Academy Senior School, attended the session.

First up was Dr. Peter Fortunato, Senior Lecturer in the WCMC-Q Writing Department, who provided a lively presentation on "Teaching in the Post-literate World." In this world, says Dr. Fortunato, the value of reading and writing is perceived more and more as a way to facilitate manipulation of other media, with an emphasis on functional knowledge. But he warns that a liability of post-literate culture is fragmentation; when everything is just a click away, individuals often feel they can become "instant experts" on just about any topic. 

But information is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, he reminded the audience. The challenge of teachers, then, is to help students become lifelong learners and critical thinkers.

Sharing a meal and ideas: Dr. Fortunato's and Dr. Innocenti's
presentations generate lively discussions

Helping students achieve the capability of "deep" reading and writing is essential to this goal, and Dr. Fortunato provided several practical techniques he employs as a teacher of writing. Have students read aloud from books in the classroom, to embody the story and enact the text, he advises. He suggests guided imagery as a way to help students develop focus and awareness, and recommends putting away laptops and encouraging students to enjoy the tactile sensation of pen or pencil on paper. Ask students to think about what they are writing - to re-read and to revise.

Following Dr. Fortunato's constructive talk, Dr. Lorenza Innocenti, humanities teacher and CAS coordinator at Al-Bayan High School in Doha, provided insight into the structure of Qatar's high school system in her presentation, "A Look at High School Curricula."

Dr. Innocenti was invited to help faculty better understand the standards and grading used in Qatar high schools. In recent years, Dr. Innocenti explained, the Qatari school system has implemented an exit exam as a requirement for high school graduation, and are gradually increasing the weight that exam holds in students' final grades. This brings with it issues similar to those experienced in the United States and their standardized exit exam program.

Dr. Innocenti put those issues in context for the Education City writing faculty and discussed her own efforts to address them. In addition to course content, some of the areas Dr. Innocenti focuses on in her own teaching are time management, study skills, punctuality, classroom rules and the development of initiative.

Now in its second year, the Working Lunch Series is organized by Dr. Krystyna Golkowska, WCMC-Q Senior ESL Lecturer in the Foundation Program. The next session will be held in Spring 2009, with a focus on intercultural communication.

Report by Nora Minor