Featured Teacher
ANDI PRICE- A TRUE EDUCATION LEADER
USING TECHNOLOGY TO TRANSFORM
STUDENTS’ LEARNING
BY LEISA GRACE WILSON
A
ndi is originally from the
south-west of England,
he is a class teacher at
Ranches Primary School
(RPS), based in the new community
of Arabian Ranches 2, Dubai. He
has nearly 20 years of teaching
experience, evenly split between the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the
United Kingdom (UK). His story is a
bit unusual, as he has relinquished his
school leadership roles and returned
full-time to being a classroom
teacher.
I paid a visit to Andi’s classroom and
immediately felt at home. It was not
only because he and his students
were friendly and welcoming, but the
classroom environment was one that
promoted students’ independence,
productivity and comfort. There
were students working in groups
on a sofa, others were huddled in
a corner working collaboratively,
some were on laptops and tablets,
completing work, while others were
working with robots on the floor. The
space was set up so that students
were free to work in the way that
best suited them. The room was a
hive of activity and all students were
actively engaged in learning, with
Andi taking on the role of a facilitator.
I was fascinated by how seamlessly
everything flowed. As a former
classroom teacher, I am well aware
that this is not easily achieved, but
luckily for us, Andi understands the
power of collaboration and sharing
good practice, so in this feature he
lets us in on some of his secrets to
success in the classroom. beginning of my career, as with
most enthusiastic teachers, I was
eager to get into leadership. I was
promoted quickly up through middle
leadership and then into senior
leadership. Before leaving England,
I became a Deputy Head Teacher/
Acting Headteacher and enrolled
on The National Professional
Qualification for Headship (NPQH)
programme. After completing the
programme, I relocated to the UAE
and became Head of Primary at a
large established school in Dubai,
where I spent 7 years.
Tell us a bit about your career
to date What do you enjoy most about
being an educator?
I was very driven at an early age
to become a teacher, I think
from as early as age 10. From the I love seeing how modern
technology can enhance learning
across the curriculum. The ability
to use technology every day with
my students was one of the major
pull factors for me returning to the
classroom fulltime. I wanted to live
the pedagogy I was advocating to
my staff. I believe that it’s a very
exciting time to be a teacher. We
are preparing our students for the
unknown challenges that lie ahead
in this fast-changing world. As
educators we must be adaptable
and be prepared to change our
practice quickly. I greatly enjoy
learning from other practitioners,
whether in my own school, locally or
even on the other side of the globe
through different forms of media.
My recent decision to return to the
classroom as a full time teacher, was
not one that I took lightly. I went into
leadership because I had the desire
to influence and guide at a whole
school level. After being in post, I
realised that it was not as fulfilling as
interacting with the students at the
classroom level. I also realised that
you can lead and influence from the
classroom. You don’t need a title to
make a difference.