Jordan has made serious commitment to improving the quality of its public education system, through the Education Reform for Knowledge Economy initiatives I & II, 2003-2015, QRTA launched the” School Networks for Instructional Improvement” , a high-quality evidence-based in-service Professional Development program aiming to improve the quality of teaching and learning of core subjects teachers.
The program seeks to build nested professional communities at the school, network, and directorate levels around the work of instructional improvement to create systems of support and knowledge sharing capable of stimulating and sustaining changes in classroom practice. Each learning network focuses on instructional improvement in a single content area, specifically mathematics, science, social studies and English and Arabic Literacy. Since 2009, the number of educators who benefited from the program almost reached 10,000, from all (42) MOE directorates. Ongoing monitoring activities showed high level of participants’ satisfaction of training quality (89%) for content, organization, and trainers’ qualifications. In 2019/2020 QRTA readapted its program for a blended and online environment, using synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences and enabling teachers to design e-learning experiences for their students and integrate social-emotional learning in their teaching.
Since its launch in 2009, the program continuous improvement is informed by the implementation, QRTA carried out a thorough revision of the program and launched the 2nd phase of implementation in 2014; expanding: math program to cover core mathematical concepts of grade 7-10; English network to include reading, and science network to include science practices. The third phase started in 2019, to include an additional network for social studies and STEM module to mathematics and science, in addition to introducing the Assessment Module for all networks. All networks mapped their content to the teachers’ standards released by MoE. In 2021, the program integrated elements of social emotional learning to better support students learning and wellbeing during and post COVID.
Two studies were conducted to document the program progress and study its impact on improving instructional practices in schools. Evidence showed that the program had a positive effect on students’ achievement outcomes in all 4 subjects. QRTA continues to expand its outreach in Jordan and the region and will offer an online version allowing teachers to opt for a specific module or the full program
