Teachers Education Program

Islamic Education: Purpose and Art of Teaching

Course - 1This introductory course serves as the foundation for the program as a whole by exploring essential questions related to the nature of teaching and the purpose of education. The course will examine the broader context of Islamic schools thereby empowering teachers and administrators with a renewed contextualized vision. By engaging alternative perspectives of art of teaching and exploring theories and principles of education according to Shia thinkers, teachers will discover that pedagogical foundations in Islam can yield a variety of instructional strategies that prove relevant for educators today. Outline

Integrating, Infusing, Initiating:Designing Curriculum for Islamic Schools

Course - 2The major task confronting Islamic school teachers is teaching curriculum content from an Islamic perspective. This course builds on Course 1 by facilitating learning tasks and conceptual frameworks that will help teachers revamp courses, units, and individual lessons not simply through appending religious content, but teaching from an Islamic perspective. The course will also include a comparative analysis of existing curriculum models in Islamic and other faith-based schools while providing useful resources for classroom instruction.Outline

Implementing Islamic Art of Teaching in Schools

This course provides instructional strategies drawn directly from the teaching approach of the Imam Jaffar Sadiq(a.s) . These strategies frame contemporary issues of student engagement, classroom management, and controversial issues in the classroom. Building upon this foundation, the final part of the course will present methods and resources needed to respond to critical issues related to religious identity, observance, adolescent issues, and social and cultural differences. Outline