Sahir Devani, grade 11, shares his experience as an Academy representative at the IB World Student Conference held at King’s College London, from 6-12 August 2017.

The IB World Student Conference was one of best weeks of my life. I was one of 279 students from all over the world who gathered to explore the theme “Well-being in a healthy world: personal responsibility and global health.” It helped me to build perspectives around global health and well-being, and meet amazing people from different cultures. It was hectic, but enriching.

We started our mornings with motivational, life-changing lectures led by eminent personalities representing high ranked organisations and educational institutions like UNHCR, WHO, and KCL. These were followed by sessions in smaller groups called ‘Global Action Teams’ (GAT) and mine had 19 people from eight different countries. Our difficult job was to recognise mental health issues and well-being issues in our own schools and communities, and come up with one project that would help address the issues of ALL the communities.

The difficult part was that all these countries were very different - culturally, socially, economically, and geographically. Issues were many, and needed to be prioritised to change what genuinely required help. For example: in my community, substance abuse leading to mental ill-health would be alarming, but Michaela (from the United States) was pressed to address chronic depression. Therefore, in order to recognise our GAT’s responsibility, it required discussions, colliding perspectives and debate. Filled with learning, socialising, productivity, it was undoubtedly the most engaging week of my life.

All participating students were either pursuing IBDP or had just graduated IB, hence the like-mindedness that was present helped us work better. Listening to stories of students from around the world, it made me realise that I was merely ‘surviving’ IB. After the conference I’ve learnt to not view it as a threat, but as a challenge. It is often seen that teenagers are victims of mental health issues as a result of academic pressure, but by embracing our learner profile and by actively participating in our CAS activities, we can successfully turn the cause into a cure. I will be working over the coming year to implement our GAT strategy at the Academy, and I’m excited! 

The Teacher Preparation Programme (TPP) is one of the Aga Khan Academies’ landmark teacher development initiatives. In this interview with Kamini Menon at the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad, TPP participant Maryam talks about the TPP’s unique aspects and her experience with the programme. 

Please tell us a little bit about your background.

I’m a part of the Teacher Preparation Programme in Hyderabad. This is my fifth year in teaching, and previously I worked for a Teach for India school in Delhi teaching 48 amazing girls. When my fellowship with Teach for India was over, I applied to the Academy, and here I am. 

What made you join the Academy and inspired you to come here?

My previous experience as a Teach for India Fellow made me feel like I wanted to something more than just being a teacher. So I was looking for an option post-fellowship that shared a similar mindset or similar values. When I read about the Academies, the vision really interested me as well as the whole inclusive policy: giving a chance to anyone coming from any background and making sure that we provide them this idea of excellence in education. That was something that really inspired me, and so I joined the Academy.

Talk about the Teacher Preparation Programme (TPP) and where you are in that journey.

The Teacher Preparation Programme is the initiative of the Academies to make sure that we have home-grown teachers who become IB educators. This is a great initiative. This is my ninth month into the programme, and I teach in a classroom, I research, and do a lot of things at the same time. I am getting mentored by experts and improving my pedagogy every day.

Can you explain the structure of TPP? How it is organised and what does it involve? 

The programme is an intense 18-month long process, and you do things in phases. In Phase One, we were in a classroom, paired with a mentor, teaching 20% of the time. Now, we are in Phase Two, and I have to teach 50% of my time in a classroom. But it’s not just the teaching. We also have to write an action research paper, which is crucial to the whole programme. Another thing which is important is the Problem-Based Learning Sessions, which are a great way to reflect on who you are as a person, not just as a teacher. In these sessions, we meet three times in a week, and we bring together all our research findings and what we have collected, and we progress to the next learning target. We work on this in groups, and then we get to reflect and apply that in a classroom at the same time.

Can you share two aspects of the programme that you find particularly unique or helpful?

For me, the most interesting part was problem-based learning. It takes a lot of patience to think in a broader way about a problem. The problem sets are given to us – then you create your learning targets, and the whole group researches with different objectives. That makes you really responsible, that improves your research skills. At the same time, it teaches you how to collaborate with members of the group. Another part that I find really interesting and at the same time challenging is my action research piece. It’s not just research; the action part is the most challenging part because you have to reflect on your own practice. For example, I am doing something on inquiry right now, but it’s not just inquiry – it’s “why inquiry in an IB classroom?” or “why even think of those big theories?” So, this has made me more reflective, it has made me more thorough with my work. At the same time, if and when I fail, it’s alright to seek advice and it’s alright to go back to my mentor to ask why this did not work in a classroom. Both problem-based research and the action research, I find that these are pushing me to become a better teacher. 

How would you evaluate the model of mentorship that’s in place within the TPP?

Sandra is our mentor, and she is a really experienced Ontario teacher. She has streamlined the programme, she gave it more structure and depth. When you work with Sandra, you are not intimidated by her. You are working with an expert who knows so much, but at the same time she gives you a chance to really apply yourself. She is a mentor for me when I am doing anything in the classroom – she is always providing me with constant feedback on my pedagogy and on my action research paper. Even in the intense Problem-Based Learning Sessions, where it gets a little crazy at times, Sandra is always there to nudge you in the right direction so you come to a conclusion.

How do you and your colleagues in the TPP work together and collaborate?

We are a very diverse group. Sitting with all of them has made me a better teacher in so many ways. It is not easy to admit sometimes that you don’t know things, but I get to learn from these people because their experience, our discussions, and the help we give each other is really great. We also collaborate outside the classroom – for example, if I have a doubt or find something challenging, I go to one of these colleagues and ask for their help. They are always there for me. We really push each other to reflect, to ask the right questions, which makes you think.

Can you talk more about the process of reflection that you have in your TPP group?

For us, reflection is about making yourself vulnerable in front of the whole group. It is not easy – it is not at all easy. We don’t reflect on a superficial level; we have to really apply ourselves in the entire process. When create our reflections, we have to share them with the whole group – and the group knows and understands who you are and gives you feedback. They push you to think along certain lines, and our mentors force us to think about the way we think – it becomes more about metacognition. The whole idea of learning from someone is that you have to be vulnerable and sometimes even fail, and then admit that you failed. When you draft that experience into a reflection, it makes you a better teacher. And definitely a better person.

How do you think the TPP has made you a better person in actual fact?

The way the TPP is designed, you become a reflective practitioner – that’s the goal! You teach in a classroom and you know that it’s not just a physical space, it’s much more than that. You cannot teach in isolation – you have to collaborate with other people, you have to go and ask for help. At the culmination, you really will become a better teacher.  It’s a rigorous process, it’s an intense process, it’s a very reflective process. But the goal is that, ultimately, you will be the kind of teacher you want to be as well as an effective teacher. 

Can you give us an example of how you’ve applied something you’ve learnt through the TPP in a classroom setting?

Right now, I am doing an action research, and a huge chunk of this is based on inquiry-based learning in a classroom. I’m teaching grade 6, and the unit I was dealing with was “did they live like us?” It is a lot about civilisations and the way people lived and interacted with their environment. All the research that I did during the Problem-Based Learning Sessions and my action research, I applied it in this classroom setting. I created the lesson plan and then got the feedback from my mentors. Then it gave me a chance to reflect on my practice: sometimes I tend to go a little overboard, and I got to see if my plan would work out. This is how you become a better teacher.

Is there anything else that you’d like to add about the TPP? 

I’ll say, for the whole process, you have to be very open. You have to be open-minded to get into this process. It’s not easy just to acknowledge that you’re going though 18 months of training – you might feel intimated, or that your prior experience doesn’t matter. But that’s not the point. The point is to become a better teacher. If that is your goal, then this programme will work for you. The way this programme is designed is rigorous and beautiful. The most important point depends on you: what do you want to take away from this. And there is a lot, if you are really open to exploring.

Students Cinzia Torriani (year 10) and Alisha Doshi (DP1) interviewed Alison Hampshire, the new Head of Academy at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. They discussed passions, dreams, important themes in education and life lessons. 

Hello Mrs Alison. Could you please share a brief background of yourself? 

Hello girls! Of course! Well, I was born in Leeds, North of England, and I lived there until I was 17. I left home to attend the University of Sussex in Brighton, which is on the south coast of England. I studied for a music degree and was even a musician for a period of time! I then decided to train to be a teacher and started my teaching career in Brighton. After a little while, I got involved in theatre and became involved with a theatre group. I then ended up in Africa teaching, went back to England, ended up in Hong Kong, then Malaysia, and now back in Africa – Kenya more specifically. 

If you were to describe yourself in a sentence, what would it be? 

I think in a sentence I would describe myself as honest, passionate about education and protective. I am like a lioness and will protect the people that I am looking after, and that would include my students, my staff and my own family. My birth sign is actually a Leo, and my animal in the Chinese culture is a tiger, so I could see myself as a tiger and a lion – both loving yet protective animals.

Those are very important traits in a person. Similarly, what are the two things that you are not? 

I know that I am not a mean person. I am not a very sporty person either! 

Can you please tell us a little more about yourself and your family, for our readers to get to know you better? Is there something about yourself (a few interesting facts) that you would want students to know?

One of the things that perhaps people don’t know about me is that I really, really like heights, which is why I have done many activities that involve taking the risk of jumping out of an aeroplane, abseiling or even paragliding. I have done a number of things that require me to take a risk. And so, although I am sometimes hesitant, every time I have a birthday ending with 0, I like to give myself a new challenge and do something that is very difficult for me. There is nothing greater than accomplishing your goals.

The other thing is that I really like spicy food, so if I’m ordering a curry and the option is mild or hot, I would go for the hot one!

What is the most valuable life lesson you have ever learnt that you feel has had the biggest impact on you as a person?

One of my most valuable life lessons was when I was only 15. It was the first time that I ever felt that I had failed. When I was young, I played the flute and I received a distinction on every exam that I took, until I did my grade 6 (bronze level) exam where I got a merit. In the scheme of things, that’s not terrible, but it was devastating for me, and the life lesson I learned was that you have to pick yourself up, brush yourself off and try harder next time.

I was not prepared to proceed to grade 8 (gold level) until I was convinced that I was going to get a distinction, and so I worked and worked and worked and eventually that’s what happened. But the feeling I got when I was disappointed in myself was really hard, and the lesson I learnt was that sometimes you just have to forgive yourself and carry on. 

What made you choose education as a profession? Is it a calling, a service, an agency or a love?

I started out as a musician and then realised that it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. It was selfish in a way – it was about being the best you could be, it was a very competitive environment. Also, while growing up at school, people had always said to me that I was such a good teacher. And so when the music didn’t work out as a profession, I looked to other options and tried many things out before deciding to be a teacher, but when I finally did decide to be a teacher I knew it was the thing I should have been doing from the beginning. 

What values do you promote in terms of a learning environment?

I find that English literature provides all sorts of scenarios by which students can engage with issues and also aids in developing empathy. And I think that, as an English teacher, the important thing you need to develop is for students to be able to step inside another world and think about the lives of others.

And so the novels that I choose would possibly be about those that have challenging themes. I remember teaching To Kill A Mockingbird in a school which was entirely white, to help a rural British community understand the challenges of the themes in that novel. It was a very interesting experience. I also find that this is what literature can do – it can help us to see other people and other people’s worlds, and help us develop our understanding of different perspectives and ideally empathy for others.

I completely promote pluralism – it is also one of the main things literature can do. I remember having read the Chinua Achebe trilogy, and it was the beginning of my love for stories, literature and the love for Africa as well.

Why the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa?

Mostly because of the vision and the mission of His Highness. I completely believe that education is about empowering young people and that it is about change. I have always felt that I have gone into education to make a difference, not necessarily one that I can make but one that can be made through the lives of others through young people. And so, when I came across the mission and the vision of the Academy, it really seemed to synchronise with my own values. The other attraction was that having lived in Africa for my very first posting outside of Britain, the thought of returning was very exciting.

The community of students here is one that I felt was interesting to join. To be honest, in the past I have never worked in a situation where there were local teachers in an international school – it has mostly been expatriate teachers, and I found that to be a very exciting prospect.

What is something you have never done before and you may be able to do here in Mombasa?

I have never eaten a whole lobster! Actually, I would love to learn how to kite surf over the next few years. I would also really like to go and find some great African music and spend a whole night dancing!

What is your take on the students at the Academy, based on your interactions with them thus far? Do they measure up, in terms of mindset and potential, to those you have experienced in the west?

I think it is really hard to generalise a whole student body, especially with the regard to the fact that I have mostly taught in the east in Asia rather than in the west, but there is definitely a big difference between students in England and students I have taught in an international setting.

I have found that students here are really open and really social, very welcoming, and they seem quite interested in the adults in their lives. They are polite and also seem to be inquirers. My most intense experience was when I went on the DP1 trip, and I felt that the level of interaction the students had with each other showed great compassion with one another. They asked great questions, seeming to be very interested and open-minded, which are very good traits. 

Is there a favourite quote or saying or aphorism – a thought that you live by, a statement that encapsulates your personal view?

There is a quote by Gandhi which I live by, and it encapsulates my personal view. It is basically about self-esteem and states that nobody else is in charge of your happiness, other than yourself. It is “Nobody can hurt me without my permission”. I think that how you react to a situation is in your control, and over time I have learnt that it is nobody else’s power to do anything to you; physically they can, but emotionally how I react is how I am – which is the lesson I have learnt.

Finally, is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about you?

The really important thing that I would want to let everyone know is that I am having a lot of fun so far, and I am really enjoying my time here, and I hope that carries on.