Workshop hones skills of teaching students with disabilities

Staff Reporter

Muscat, may 16

The Ministry of Education (MoE), represented by the Directorate-General of Special Education and Continuous Learning, in cooperation with the Embassy of the United States of America in Muscat, recently carried out a workshop on ‘Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities’.

The workshop targeted 25 participants from teachers at special education schools, supervisors of the Department of Special Education, and senior supervisors from the Directorate-General of Educational Supervision in the ministry.

Shannouna al Habsi, Assistant Director-General of Special Education at MoE, said: “The workshop comes with the aim of providing the participants with the knowledge and skills of Universal Design for Learning, introducing them to the practical applications of strategies for teaching people with disabilities, exchanging experiences among them, and getting acquainted with the different international models for teaching students with disabilities.”

The American expert Sandra Story, a specialist in education for students with special needs and education for the disabled, and the presenter of this workshop, said: “We reviewed a number of concepts of learning difficulties, and we also worked to enrich these participants with strategies to support the educational process for learners with disabilities.” She added that these learners with disabilities have human needs and are not necessarily special, as these strategies support the learning process for all learners of all abilities.

Cameron Tyrone, Deputy Chief of Public Affairs and Acting Director of the Embassy’s Media and Cultural Affairs Department, said: “The US Embassy is proud to partner with the Ministry of Education on the special needs’ workshops for educators. The joint efforts to bring a US Department of State specialist to teach this two-day programme is a sign of the strong partnership between the US and Oman.”