On 16 April, AFLEC held a seminar in Dubai on the theme “Learning and teaching differently”. The seminar brought together the leadership teams of its schools, in person for the teams from the Emirates and remotely for those from the lycées in Lebanon and Djerba.
Why “Learning and teaching differently”?
The idea is not new; it has developed over time and has taken shape in recent months because of the ever more pervasive use of screens and mobile phones outside school, which is not without consequences for pupils’ lifestyles and learning abilities.
Several scientific studies have indeed shown that spending too much time in front of a screen increases the risk of cognitive disorders (in particular reducing memory, attention and concentration), and can be a source of stress, hyperactivity and mood disorders. Excessive screen use also affects the social development of children and adolescents; by entering a virtual world (which ignores the constraints of real life), they gradually become addicted to it and little by little lose their bearings in everyday life.
By connecting (under pseudonyms) to chat or gaming platforms, they withdraw into themselves while hiding their identity; face-to-face contact outside school is steadily diminishing.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has recently intensified this situation, in particular with the arrival in 2022 of ChatGPT, a chatbot capable of generating written text. By its very design, AI is incapable of generating new ideas, and its excessive use hinders the development of critical thinking and imagination.
It represents a real risk of escape from reality and can also affect the healthy development of social and emotional skills, a development that is part of the School’s mission.
The founding ideas of “teaching and learning differently”
The rapidly growing influence of screens and AI on the learning abilities of children and adolescents has led AFLEC to propose “teaching and learning differently” by introducing new teaching methods. The concept consists of devoting part of school time to teaching around concrete projects that lead to tangible outputs, using a multidisciplinary approach.
This is in itself a pedagogical revolution, since it requires every teacher to change paradigm, moving from the stance of a teacher serving their subject to that of a teacher serving a project linked to “teaching and learning differently”. Such a change cannot be improvised and requires support for teachers, beginning with an initial pilot phase to be held during the 2025/2026 school year.
The seminar of 16 April gave AFLEC’s various schools the opportunity to present the projects they will pilot next year.
Clearly, the pilot that will begin next September is well on track and will make our eyes shine.