*This initiative is overseen by the TAMAM steering team and expert coaches.
In 2016, Al-Asriyya School proposed establishing a Hub of private TAMAM schools in Jordan. The steering team supported this initiative as it aligns with TAMAM’s strategic goals to create hubs in participating countries and to disseminate TAMAM vision. The team assisted the schools in structuring the initiative, developing an internal system and bylaws for this hub, and selecting a committee to manage its regular activities.
In 2019, a group of schools within the Jordan Hub, including Al Asriyya School, Amman Baccalaureate School, Al Bayan School, Ahliyyah & Bishop’s Schools, and the Baptist School, initiated a collaborative effort to work on a unified improvement project and follow the TAMAM improvement journey to address a common pressing need. Together, these schools established what is known in the international literature as the Network Improvement Community (NIC). NICs are groups dedicated to addressing a shared need through an organized improvement process supported by researchers and specialists relevant to the topic chosen by the schools. This network has been active with experts for four years and still working on it engaging more than 130 educators from the five participating schools including Arabic language leaders, Arabic language teachers, TAMAM leadership teams, and school principals, and impacting over 1,700 students. The TAMAM steering team has closely supported this initiative on multiple levels. Below, we present the accomplishments and activities of each year and the role of the steering team and experts in this initiative.
2019-2020: Identifying the Common Need
During this year, the school teams came together to embark on the first station of the TAMAM improvement journey focusing on identifying a shared improvement need among the network schools that is directly connected to the learners. With guidance and support from the steering team, the schools’ leadership teams conducted action research cycles in their respective schools and collected information from various stakeholders within the school community including students and teachers. Through a collaborative process of data collection and analysis, they identified a common improvement need centered on improving Arabic language instruction.
2020-2021: Appointment of Arabic Language Experts to Support the School Teams in the First Stage
The TAMAM steering team continued to advance this initiative in collaboration with the TAMAM Jordan Hub coordinator by appointing Arabic language specialists who are well-versed in the TAMAM approach to leading change. Their role was to train the teams and support them throughout the process. The appointed specialists included Dr. Hanadi Dayyah, an expert in language acquisition and its impacts, and Mr. Yusri Al-Amir, an educational consultant specializing in Arabic and the editor-in-chief of the journal “Manhajiyyat.”
From the project’s outset, these experts provided essential guidance and support to team members. The underlying causes and the manifestations of the improvement need were thoroughly and collaboratively considered and outlined in a report shared with Dr. Hanadi. This collaboration led to the formulation of a shared vision that addresses this need and broadly encompasses the learner, teacher, curriculum, parents, and school environment. A unified improvement goal was also established among the participating schools: “A passionate learner who is capable of communicating in proper Arabic in both everyday and cultural contexts.” Additionally, improvement objectives and indicators were defined as part of this project.
Intensive and regular meetings were held in 2020-2021 between the school teams, the TAMAM steering team, and Arabic language experts resulting in a well-defined agenda for implementing the improvement project plan over the next three years focusing on grades 1 to 8. The year concluded with a boot camp led by Dr. Hanadi Dayyah where she worked alongside language leaders from the participating schools to develop three interconnected continuums that outline the characteristics of learners and their proficiency in reading, writing, and communication skills.
2021-2022: Implementation of the Improvement Project Plan in Its Second Stage
The 2021–2022 academic year was launched with a general initiation meeting held on September 22, 2021, bringing together teachers and Arabic language leaders for the targeted grade levels (Grades 1, 3, and 6), alongside members of the TAMAM leadership teams, the steering team, and Arabic language specialists. The purpose of the meeting was to officially announce the start of the project for the year, provide a structured framework through the guiding team, and share the annual plan with attendees. Following that, the specialists coordinated with the steering team to implement the plan for that year, working weekly with Arabic language leaders and teachers from the targeted grades for the first year: grades 1, 3, and 6. During the 2021-2022 academic year, approximately 75 meetings were held by Mr. Yusri Al-Amir with teachers of the targeted grades to explain the generated continuums and how to use them for the diagnostic assessment of students. This assessment guided the development of improvement plans for each grade focusing on reading, writing, and communication skills based on the results.
Mr. Yusri accompanied the teachers and Arabic leaders during the implementation of these plans and oversaw the conduct of formative assessments of students followed by final evaluations at the end of the academic year. Throughout the year, a follow-up and reflective meeting was held on 14th of December 2021 with the TAMAM leadership teams and Arabic language leaders in the participating schools in addition to meetings were also conducted with specialists, school principals, and the coordinator of the TAMAM Jordan Hub Schools to discuss progress, identify obstacles, and strategize solutions, as well as to plan the next steps for the success of the improvement project.
The academic year concluded with three meetings. The first meeting was held on June 23, 2022, with all participants in this initiative (Arabic language leaders, Arabic language teachers, TAMAM leadership teams, and school principals) to thank the teachers for their efforts in implementing the Arabic language project in the targeted grades. The meeting also focused on highlighting the results of the learning outcomes achieved from this work and generating recommendations and proposals for the upcoming year. The second meeting took place on June 26, 2022, with members of the TAMAM leadership teams and Arabic language leaders where discussions focused on the progress of the year’s work, lessons learned, and planning for the upcoming year. The third and final meeting was held on July 17, 2022, with school principals to discuss the proposal from Dr. Hanadi Dayyah and Mr. Yusri Al-Amir for the next year’s intervention (2022-2023) and to finalize the necessary steps to continue the work.Top of Form
2022-2023: Implementation of the Improvement Project Plan in Its Third Stage
The 2022-2023 academic year commenced with a general initiation meeting on September 4, 2022, involving teachers and Arabic language leaders from the new target groups – grades 2, 4, and 7. This meeting was attended by members of the TAMAM leadership teams, the steering team, and the Arabic language experts. Its purpose was to officially announce the project’s launch, provide a framework for it, and share the plans for the year with all participants.
Following this, a meeting was conducted with the TAMAM leadership teams and Arabic language leaders to highlight the importance of planning for effective implementation while taking into account the unique context of each school. They also discussed the challenges that members might encounter during their work and their roles as leaders in addressing these challenges. Subsequently, Mr. Yusri Al-Amir initiated weekly sessions, organizing approximately 73 meetings with Arabic language teachers and leaders to implement the plan for the Arabic language project for grades 2, 4, and 7. The first semester concluded with two follow-up meetings: the first included all participants to express appreciation for the teachers’ efforts, and the second was specifically for the Arabic language leaders and the TAMAM leadership team to review achievements and challenges. Additionally, two meetings were held at the end of the year on June 13, 2023; the first was to thank all participants for their contributions throughout the year and to frame the year’s activities, while the second focused on developing plans for the upcoming year.
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2023-2024: Implementation of the Improvement Project Plan in Its Fourth Stage
The 2023-2024 academic year commenced with a general initiation meeting in September 2023 involving all participants in the initiative including teachers and Arabic language leaders of the targeted classes (grades five and eight), as well as the TAMAM leadership teams and the school principals. During this meeting, the process for gradually transferring responsibility to the Arabic language leaders in the schools was clarified. Subsequently, Mr. Yusri Al-Amir began working weekly with the Arabic language leaders conducting approximately 35 meetings throughout the year to support them in implementing the plans for grades 5 and 8 while also maintaining the support and coaching for the teachers of other grades. The first semester concluded with a follow-up meeting on December 11th, 2023, to discuss both achievements and challenges.
This year represented a turning point as Arabic language experts gradually withdrew and the responsibility for overseeing the project was transferred to the Arabic language leaders in the schools. These leaders demonstrated a strong commitment to implementing the plans and improving the skills of Arabic language teachers for grades 1 through 8. This transition aimed to institutionalize the project within the schools’ plans and structure. The year concluded with a reflective and evaluative meeting on June 13th, 2024 focused on assessing the initiative as a whole, documenting and disseminating the experience, and exploring ways to present the findings to decision-makers in Jordan. Additionally, plans were outlined for the next phase to continue progressing toward the collective initial improvement goal: “a passionate learner capable of effectively communicating in both everyday and cultural contexts using the Arabic language.”
2024–2025: Implementation of the project by the schools independently.
This year, the participating schools have worked on the project independently. Two follow-up meetings were held on December 19 and January 21, 2024, to support the schools in overcoming any challenges they faced. A plan was also developed in collaboration with the TAMAM Jordan hub committee to guide the documentation of the initiative by the schools and to begin drafting a manual for using the continuums, emphasizing the importance of institutionalizing the initiative.
The meetings also included coordination around the evaluation study of the interschool collaboration initiative and the impact of the Arabic Language Project currently being implemented. Additionally, discussions were held on sustaining the Arabic Language Project and shaping the idea of organizing a gathering focusing on the implemented Arabic language improvement project.
It is important to highlight that this initiative is unique in the Arab region as it unites diverse schools to collaboratively address a pressing need: improving Arabic language education and reaffirming its role in shaping the identity of our students and their daily lives.
Concurrent Research Efforts by the TAMAM Steering Team as Part of the TAMAM Research Lab
In addition to closely monitoring the project’s launch and coordinating with experts to implement the improvement plans across the four stages as well as ongoing support to ensure the sustainability of the initiative and to document its progress, the steering team, acting as action researchers within the TAMAM research lab, conducted an in-depth review of the literature related to interschool collaboration and networking. This research aimed to enhance this unique initiative – voluntarily undertaken by Arab schools- by incorporating insights from international literature and expertise on interschool collaboration and networking as effective strategies for large-scale educational reform. The steering team supported this scholarly endeavor through the master’s thesis authored by the project’s manager, Ms. Rola Katerji. Her research explored the interschool collaboration and networking experience of the Jordan Hub schools utilizing international literature to gain a deeper understanding of the conditions necessary for success and the challenges associated with this experience. Furthermore, her research proposed an interschool collaboration model\design tailored to our specific context outlining effective mechanisms for collaboration and strategies to provide the essential support required for the success of such initiatives among schools.
Currently, the steering team is collaborating with school representatives from the participating schools and Dr. Julia Mahfouz, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Denver, USA, to extract lessons learned that will both support and enhance the networking design-based generated model. They are also engaging in evaluation of the initiative’s effectiveness and measuring its impact on teachers, school operations, and student outcomes.
Through collaborative action research, the steering team aims to leverage the interschool collaboration model among schools as a viable strategy for large-scale educational improvement and aims to expand this initiative and implement it in additional schools within the TAMAM professional network throughout the Arab region. They also seek to develop mechanisms for enhancing Arabic language instruction resulting from this initiative with the intent to share these insights with the TAMAM community and the wider community of educators in the region. Their goal is to provide innovative solutions to the common challenges facing Arabic language education reinforcing the Arabic identity within our students and schools.