On Wednesday 17 July, Coomera Anglican College welcomed a group of 18 teachers from Saudi Arabia who visited and toured the College as part of an international immersion programme with Griffith University’s Gold Coast Campus. 

Griffith University is one of only a handful of Australian universities to host teachers in the year-long professional learning agenda as part of the Khebrat programme under the Saudi Arabian Vision 2030.

Dr Mark Sly, Founding Principal at Coomera Anglican College said that this was a great opportunity for the College to be involved in such a unique programme. The visiting teachers were very interested to observe our College in action.

“At Coomera Anglican College we recognise that to be successful and productive in the 21st century our students need to be highly skilled, creative and versatile users of emerging technologies,” said Dr Sly.

“With this at the forefront of our College we have embedded future focused ideologies and practices right across the board to ensure our students receive an education that is well equipped to deal with the future of tomorrow.
“If showcasing the wide range of interactive learning methodologies that we have implemented can help drive learning and education change in other countries – this is part of the wider picture of our industry.” said Dr Sly.

The Pod and Imaginarium was one of the main showcases of the visit.  A first for any educational facility in Australia, The Pod helps students meet the needs of the rapidly changing technological landscape.  

During the visit the 18 teachers from Saudi Arabia experienced The Pod in full action, with students engaged in activities such as indoor drone flying, 3D printing, heading to Mars in the Imaginarium and taking a 360 degree look at immersive learning.  The visiting teachers were also taken around the Junior and Senior Secondary campuses by our student leaders so they could experience Coomera Anglican College from a student’s perspective. 

Furthermore, Coomera Anglican College will host three of the teachers in Terms 3 and 4 where they will get to observe teaching styles and technology used in learning.

“Our College has a lot of different elements that showcase best and new practices within the education field,” said Dr Sly. 

“What is also important is that our teachers have an opportunity to learn from others as well, and look at differences and the impact it can have on student outcomes.” said Dr Sly.

The Saudi Arabian teachers will work alongside different teachers as they gain an understanding of the practices employed at Coomera Anglican College.