Sharing Good Practice
working with robotics . During the first four years of the team ' s existence , more than 300 students participated .
According to McCall , Evahn , and Kratzer , 1992 , the underachiever is defined as a " young person who performs more poorly in school than one would expect on the basis of his mental abilities ." This poor performance is attributed to the discrepancy between the actual and projected performance . However , it is a problematic challenge to categorize the different types of underachievers .
When students have been labelled by their teachers , parents , and peers as " problem students ", that can often become a self-fulfilling prophecy . Students who didn ' t believe themselves to be capable of success at school would not bother themselves to try at all , rather than go through the effort and difficulty of trying and possibly failing . However , when students are given an opportunity to try something new with the faith of a trusted teacher or adult , they can discover a new love for learning that they didn ' t know they had .
Because of the success seen in the robotics team , I started with those two original students . I was able to expand the program to create a team specifically for special needs students and students of determination to learn physics and build with robotics for themselves .
One of the incredible gifts about academic enrichment programs is their ability to offer hands-on and experiential learning . While many students struggle with focusing through a traditional lecture-based class setting , being given open-ended materials and the chance to learn by experimenting , working with their hands and thinking creatively , can give rise to an opportunity to provide an accessible learning experience to many children who wouldn ' t otherwise be able to find something that meets their learning needs . This is especially true for students with special needs , such as ADHD and autism , who might struggle , more than most , in a traditional classroom setting .
Of the original students in the robotics program , many have gone on to do incredible things despite their previous classification as " problem students and underachievers ". One has gone on to lead the space lab in a major university . Another is a TEDx organizer and speaker . Another one , works in immunology science . Having the experience of working hands-on , with science and learning in their adolescence , sparked a love of science and learning that has followed them into their adult lives .
My hope is that the success story of these programs will inspire other educators to bring robotics programs to their own schools and invite students who are otherwise struggling
in school to participate . Not only that , but I hope that schools will start offering a wide variety of hands-on experiential learning programs , both in the classroom and outside of it , especially targeted to students who may not be best suited for a traditional classroom experience . A single positive experience in one of these programs can completely change a young person ' s attitude around science , learning and academics , and possibly change the course of the rest of his life .
Creating these programs has given me the incredible opportunity to receive the Presidency Award in the UAE . However , the sense of accomplishment and gratitude I have towards the students I have had the opportunity to teach over the years , is worth far more to me than receiving awards . Watching so many students who had been treated as a lost cause , find a passion and love for learning , is the greatest reward that a teacher can ask for .
Shady is a multiple award-winning and passionate Egyptian educator , working in United Arab Emirates . He is a winner of the Khalifa Award for Education Excellence , and the Middle East Education Influencer Award . He has been selected to be a speaker in three international education conferences in the region – GESS-Dubai 2016 , 2017 , and Fatih Educational Summit in Turkey 2016 . He was also a GESS education award finalist for two years ( 2016 & 17 ). Shady is the director of innovation at Alttihad National Private School – Al Ain .
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