Innovative Learning: 2025 Educators Training Institute – Highlights & Gallery

By PAIGE McDONALD
High School Science Teacher
American Community School of Abu Dhabi, UAE

*The opening plenary panel with Erma Anderson, Meghan Hargrave, Lee Ann Jung and Tom Schimmer, discussing "The AI Conversation: Transforming Teaching and Learning Together".*

Sitting in the first floor breakout space at American Community School Abu Dhabi on a Friday morning, I hear the gentle hum of discussion of teachers and presenters who have gathered for a weekend of connection and professional learning at the 2025 NESA Educators Training Institute, January 24-25 (extended programs, January 23-25). Participants traveled from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Amman, Cairo, and beyond, eager to engage in learning around one of several pathways, including Instructional Coherence grouped by subject area, Positive Discipline Training, and Instructional Design in Arabic Classes.

Before the morning began in earnest, I was able to catch Tom Schimmer—an expert in assessment and grading—to ask what he was most looking forward to this weekend. Without hesitation, he expressed enthusiasm for reconnecting with educators across the region who are seeking to advance their assessment practices. For him, the goal is to help teachers gain confidence in sound assessment strategies, ultimately for the benefit of kids. Tom added that he was “looking forward to the energy of the NESA event”.

*ACS Superintendent Monique Flickinger, Director of Learning Bobbi Donison & NESA Executive Director Maddy Hewitt.*

This energy has been palpable in the high school hallways, where the usual clusters of jabbering students have been replaced by equally-chatty educators. In fact, it was hard for me to find someone not deeply engaged in conversation. I managed to catch Hailey, an elementary counselor from ACS Amman, as she exited a session of Positive Discipline Training led by Joy Marchese.

Hailey had come here with a mission—to explore whether Positive Discipline could bring school-wide consistency to a behavior management approach. Midway through the three-day training, she was brimming with enthusiasm, saying it had “exceeded [her] expectations”. She added that “Joy has struck a good balance” between specific classroom activities and the key components of a broader framework—such as engaging with parents and getting buy-in from teachers and the community. When asked if she would recommend the training to colleagues, Hailey’s response was a resounding, “Yes, 100 percent!!”.

Professional learning is about more than just sessions; it is about building a community of educators who support and inspire each other.
— Bobbi Donison, Director of Learning, ACS Abu Dhabi & NESA PDAC Member

Meanwhile, Arabic teachers were immersed in three days of Instructional Design in Arabic sessions, organized and led by ACS’s own Hanadi Dayyeh and her Arabic team. With 50 participants from across the region—including Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the UAE—Hanadi described the engagement as exceptional. She noted that due to the scarcity of Arabic-language-specific training, participants “come with a great appetite to learn”.

The training opened with a lesson study protocol, in which ACS Arabic teachers opened their classrooms for delegates to observe them in action with students. Based on NESA’s Instructional Coherence Guidebook, Hanadi expertly adapted this protocol to Arabic teaching, creating structured phases of observation and feedback discussions between teachers and observers. Hanadi noted this protocol to be a highlight, as it ignited a high level of engagement among participants that carried through the rest of the weekend.

This year’s NESA ETI would not have been possible without the leadership of Bobbi Donison, Director of Learning at ACS, and her dedicated team. Bobbi was pleased to report that, “This was one of NESA’s largest ETI events, and the energy throughout the sessions reflected that”. Indeed, with the logistical challenges of hosting 348 educators, Bobbi was thrilled to see everything come together seamlessly.

Beyond the smooth execution, Bobbi emphasized that even more rewarding was observing the spirit of the event. “I looked around and saw educators deeply engaged in conversations, reconnecting with old colleagues, making new connections, and exchanging ideas in the warm Abu Dhabi sunshine. It was a reminder that professional learning is about more than just sessions—it is about building a community of educators who support and inspire each other.”

As the ETI drew to a close, it was clear its impact would extend far beyond the walls of ACS. Inspired and energized, educators left not just with new strategies and insights, but with a renewed sense of purpose—ready to bring fresh ideas back to their schools and drive meaningful change for their students.

More about ETI25...

*The ETI25 Specialist Speakers, with NESA's Giota Tsirogianni (back row, fifth from left), and Exec. Dir. Maddy Hewitt (front row, fourth from right).*

ETI25 kicked off with a panel of specialists – Erma Anderson, Lee Ann Jung, and Tom Schimmer – moderated by Meghan Hargrave, author of The Artificial Intelligence Playbook, discussing, "The AI Conversation: Transforming Teaching and Learning Together".

Educators attended the following two-day professional learning institutes: