Shanaaz Howell, a Year 6 teacher at Al Maha Academy for Girls, was named the 2017 Engineering Leaders STEM Educator of the Year by Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq) and Maersk Oil Qatar during a ceremony that recognised some of Qatar’s top
science teachers.
Howell received a cash prize of QR20,000.
Second place went to Noha Mohsen Mohamed Helmi Farid from Alkawthar Independent Secondary School, while the runners-up were Ban Najimaldeen Abdullah from Al Bayan Educational Complex for Girls, Mallika Raja from Al-Arqam Academy for Girls and Hessa Ismail Faraj from Roda Bint Mohammed Independent
Secondary School for Girls.
“I am extremely excited about winning such a prize and more importantly being part of it. I really appreciate being recognised today for all the hard work I do in offering the young students these new techniques and knowledge in learning their subjects because they are the future leaders,” Howell said.
The STEM Educator of the Year award recognises teaching excellence in math and science, and encourages educators to instruct and inspire students in these subjects in innovative ways.
In being nominated for the award, Howell was described as charismatic, creative, confident and knowledgeable. Her colleagues, students and students’ parents praised her use of technology in the classroom and her willingness to take on new challenges in imparting instructions to students and creating an excellent classroom environment.
In her submission essay, Howell said the learning process in her classroom is inquiry-based, with students as active participants who work in teams and use their skills to research, discuss and share their findings. Howell said she is able to gauge how well her students understand their lessons and track their performance more effectively, which in turn allows her to develop tasks that cater to her students’ needs and personalised targets.
Since introducing this alternative way of learning, she said her students have shown almost immediate change in terms of engagement, assignment completions and student confidence, which have had a positive impact on their results.
The award is part of the Dhia: Engineering Leaders partnership between Tamuq and Maersk Oil Qatar. Dhia: Engineering Leaders supports the development of Qatar’s knowledge-based economy through outreach programmes to inspire young people in Qatar to take up science, technology, engineering and math in school and university.
Tamuq dean César O Malavé said, “Texas A&M University at Qatar is cultivating the future engineering leaders Qatar will need to drive its development to meet the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030. It is critical to have outstanding educators in Qatar’s schools to guide students to STEM majors and prepare them for success in higher education.
“The teachers we recognise here today are shaping Qatar’s future by helping to build capacity and skills in science and
engineering.”