News & Event

The Ministry of Education, represented by the Directorate-General of Special Education and Continuous Learning, in cooperation with the Embassy of the United States of America in Muscat, carried out yesterday morning (Wednesday) a workshop on “Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities”, in the presence of Shanuna Al Habsi, Assistant Director-General for Special Education in the Ministry, and from the American Embassy, Hala Al-Benjawi, Community Communication Consultant, Sarah Al-Khadouri, Community Communication Consultant, and Cameron Tyrone, Deputy Head of the Public Affairs Department, Acting Director of the Department of Media and Cultural Affairs at the Embassy. The two-day workshop is taking place at the Specialized Institute for Vocational Training for Teachers.

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.

On the importance and objectives of implementing this workshop, Shannouna Al Habsi, Assistant Director-General of Special Education at the Ministry, said: “Within the framework of the fruitful cooperation between the government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Embassy of the United States of America in Muscat; to support the education of people with disabilities and hone the skills of workers with this important group in society, comes this workshop implemented by the American expert Sandra Story, a specialist in education for people with special needs and education for the disabled. 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 workshop includes several topics, including methods and strategies for teaching English Language to students with disabilities, activating technology in teaching these students, reviewing comprehensive education for them, and strategies for integrating social-emotional learning, diversity, and equity.

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, as well as comprehensive design for learning was reviewed.” 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 U.S. Embassy is proud to partner with the Ministry of Education on the special needs’ workshops for educators. The joint efforts to bring a U.S. Department of State specialist to teach this two-day program is a sign of the strong partnership between the U.S. and Oman.”