This workshop sheds light on the importance of project-based learning and its role in connecting learning to real-life situations. It keeps pace with the rapid changes in the third decade of the 21st century. This workshop is expected to raise awareness among participants about the role of this type of learning in developing higher-order thinking skills in students. It aims to enable students to interact and integrate into an era dominated by the knowledge economy, where they can employ these skills to solve real-world problems.

Educational studies indicate the profound impact of strategies for teaching pedagogies on students’ performance; the more effective the strategy, the better the students perform. Simultaneously, various factors influence the effectiveness of these strategies during planning and application, which are vital for teachers. These factors include student characteristics, content complexity and the learning environment.

Learning difficulties, often without associated mental or physical disabilities, are a widespread issue affecting a significant number of students. These difficulties result in academic setbacks and reduced self-confidence, underscoring the need for teachers and parents to provide proper support.

Unexpected changes and challenges have emerged as new factors influencing the quality of modern human life. This underscores the need to educate new generations on coping with rapid changes and devising optimal solutions to real-world problems. Creative and entrepreneurial skills like critical thinking, collaboration, initiative and communication are crucial for every student’s future success. Entrepreneurship education is vital in driving economic growth and creating job opportunities. 

Building a teacher’s capacity to formulate questions is essential in their professional development journey. Mastering this skill is crucial, as it enables assessments to gauge learning outcomes accurately and evaluate their quality and quantity.

Teachers should adeptly formulate questions that span various cognitive levels, prompting diverse ways of thinking. They should be mindful of the purpose behind their questions and define the scope needed to explore students’ knowledge, thereby fostering genuine discovery of new learning.

Modern pedagogical trends, rooted in constructivist theories, have transformed pedagogical assessment. Emphasis has shifted from solely delivering instructional content to supporting students’ learning processes through formative assessment. Assessment, in all its forms and strategies, is no longer separate from the teaching process but rather integral to it, supporting student learning by providing feedback to teachers and students to enhance the overall teaching and learning processes.

Formative assessment is considered the most pivotal element in a teacher’s instructions, serving as the decisive indicator of whether learning outcomes have been achieved. Based on this assessment, decisions are made to either proceed with the current teaching methods or pause to address misunderstandings, miscomprehension and learning difficulties. Consequently, formative assessment is fundamental for improving student learning, teacher performance or both.

In this workshop, we will explore different elements that teachers need to adapt inside the classroom to meet the different needs of individual students. Participants will explore ways of how to create an environment of differentiated instruction. Throughout the workshop, we will apply different strategies/routines that can be used to cater for the different needs, and we will get the chance to reflect on the use of these strategies/routines.