By Omaira Alam [1]
One of the goals of education is to prepare students to successfully navigate the world around them, now and in the future. For Islamic schools, this means not only preparing students for the challenges of the 21st century, but doing so within the framework of an Islamic worldview.
Emphasizing creativity in the classroom allows students to develop critical life skills such as problem solving, innovation, process-based thinking, decision making, leadership, and many more. It creates opportunities for students to develop skills they’ll carry with them throughout their lives.
But more than that, inspiring creativity in students brings Muslim educators closer to the pedagogy of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. In all his teachings, he is a beacon of inspiration and practical guidance for all of mankind.
By exploring the concepts of intelligence and creativity, this webinar will present research-based practices and classroom strategies that harness students’ natural curiosity and creative growth. We’ll also discuss how to inspire and engage students who are demotivated, disconnected, and barely interested in what’s going on in class.
Classrooms that inspire are ones where student engagement is the key and learning opportunities abound. While exploring the role of creativity in the Islamic school classroom, we’ll address some of the common questions surrounding why it’s imperative for Muslim educators to inspire creativity in lesson planning and instructional practice, including:
Emphasizing creativity in the classroom allows students to develop critical life skills such as problem solving, innovation, process-based thinking, decision making, leadership, and many more. It creates opportunities for students to develop skills they’ll carry with them throughout their lives.
But more than that, inspiring creativity in students brings Muslim educators closer to the pedagogy of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. In all his teachings, he is a beacon of inspiration and practical guidance for all of mankind.
By exploring the concepts of intelligence and creativity, this webinar will present research-based practices and classroom strategies that harness students’ natural curiosity and creative growth. We’ll also discuss how to inspire and engage students who are demotivated, disconnected, and barely interested in what’s going on in class.
Classrooms that inspire are ones where student engagement is the key and learning opportunities abound. While exploring the role of creativity in the Islamic school classroom, we’ll address some of the common questions surrounding why it’s imperative for Muslim educators to inspire creativity in lesson planning and instructional practice, including:
- How do I make Islam “creative” for my students?
- I’m not here to provide edutainment, I’m here to provide education.
- Islam is serious, there is no room for fun and creativity.
- Creativity works great for art class and even gym class, but we don’t need it for the rest of the subjects.
- My students are bored with Islam. How do I engage them back into the faith?
- My students are all high school students. They don’t need to be creative. They’re too old for that.
Facilitator: [1] Omaira facilitates Course 3 of the Islamic Teacher Education Program titled "Implementing Islamic Pedagogy in Schools". She has completed degrees in neuroscience, world history and global education, with a Masters at The George Washington University specialized in at-risk secondary students with emotional and learning disabilities. She has written papers on the concept of discipline, special education in Muslim schools, and is currently researching in the field of urban education. Omaira lives in Arizona with her husband, Josh, and their four year old son.
