21 October 2021
On the 3rd of September, CITE member Dylan Chown, was invited to offer an opening address at the Islamic College of Brisbane (ICB) as they launched their whole school “Introduction to Islamic Pedagogy”. CITE have enjoyed an ongoing collaboration with ICB, following a whole school review in 2019, and more recently working with a cohort of leaders and educators in the Graduate Certificate program on Islamic Pedagogy. Dylan commented, “it was inspiring to see the school hall filled, over 200 educators from K-12, and to see their school leaders, being brave, innovative, and championing a purposeful journey of renewal.”
Sharing Hopeful Stories of Islamic Schools engaged in “Renewal”
Short snapshot of renewal at Islamic College of Brisbane, Queensland
By Susan Scott, Chief Learning Officer; Iram Khan, Director of Teaching and Learning; Sami Muamar, Head of Secondary
The Islamic Pedagogy steering committee led a day long workshop, where we launched our introduction to Islamic Pedagogy for all staff. As leaders, we recognised the need to model Islamic pedagogies so staff would familiarise and connect with the authenticity, relational, principled, reflective practices and be inspired to trial these in their classrooms.
Our purpose for t
he day was to introduce and engage the staff in Islamic Pedagogies identifying more similarities than differences, ensuring trust, comfort and success were created as the foundation for our future pedagogical renewal.
The staff indulged in critical reflective practices and gained a deeper understanding of ‘learning, the role of the learner and teacher’. Through this common understanding, we articulated our school’s philosophy of learning. The voice and sentiment of our community is reflected, and our distinction is inherent in these words because of its alignment with Islamic tradition and worldview.
The implications for this will result in renewed:
• teaching practices
• curriculum
• positive learning environments• student engagement
• character building based on the core values of ‘adab’ and ‘akhlaq’
We are committed to the project. We currently have seven staff members enrolled in the Islamic Pedagogy course and we are committing to another wave of enrolments to maintain and improve our momentum and sustainability. We are currently in discussions around planning short- and long-term goals – a project for 5 years. Embedding Prophetic pedagogies, ensures our students are nurtured and fostered to achieve ‘ihsan’ and transformation.
