Middle East Professional Learning Initiative

Overview & Mission

The Middle East Professional Learning Initiative (MEPLI) is an initiative with Professional Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Professional Education serves nearly 14,000 educators in almost 120 countries annually with transformative professional learning experiences. MEPLI supports teacher educators and system level leaders in developing practices, programs, and structures to help improve student opportunities for learning and achieving productive sustainable lives.

Recognizing the value of these opportunities and the enthusiasm of past participants from the Middle East, an alumnus of Harvard College and the Harvard Business School and his family made a generous gift to the School in 2016. This gift enabled Professional Education to collaborate with governmental and non-governmental entities alike to identify and support change-makers in the field of teacher education in the region. Thus began the Middle East Professional Learning Initiative (MEPLI).

Our Objectives

• Develop professional learning experiences that enhance educators’ knowledge of pedagogies that enhance students’ 21st century skills.
• Develop a cohort of teacher educators and their networks, with skills to facilitate and advance teaching 21st century skills.
• Support the capacity building of system-level leaders in the teacher development field.
• Support the development of case studies that are based on problems of practice in school leadership or teacher development in the Middle East.

Our Offerings

Reimagining Teaching and Learning: Building Skills for the New Era of Online and Blended Education
Developed and Presented with the Queen Rania Teacher Academy
This course is a three-week online workshop that provides just-in-time support for teachers preparing to welcome their learners to school in September. Participants begin by reviewing the fundamentals of how people learn and what those fundamental theories mean for distance and blended education. They will then put this theory into practice and collaborate with your peers to design learning experiences — for example, an e-learning lesson plan or a blended curriculum unit — for their context.

Middle East Professional Learning Initiative Fellowship (MEPLI) | Learn More
The MEPLI Fellowship aims to support educators committed to advancing teacher education systemically in the contexts in which they serve. Download a flyer to share with your colleagues.
*The selection process involves submission of an online application and participation in an interview. English proficiency is required.

Agile Thinking | Learn More
This course covers the fundamentals of Differentiated Instruction. A semester long course on this topic is also offered in English. Learn more about Differentiated Instruction.
*This course is offered in Arabic. The program will be delivered based on the request of 50+ participants. The date will be agreed upon with the participating organization.

Usable Knowledge | Learn More
This page offers relevant research for today's educators in Arabic.

Collaborating Organizations

MEPLI operates through collaboration with organizations in the region. A partial list of collaborating organizations is below.

• Queen Rania Teacher's Academy (QRTA)
• Teach for Lebanon (TFL)
• AMIDEAST
• Sonbola
• United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA)
• Khutwa/ Hani Al Qaddumi Scholarship Foundation 

Faculty Advisors

• Fernando Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of Practice in International Education, HGSE
• Sarah Dryden-Peterson, Associate Professor of Education, HGSE
• Katherine Merseth, Senior Lecturer on Education (semi retired), Teacher Education, HGSE

Related News

• MEPLI Fellows Share Resources to Support Teaching Through a Crisis
• "A Thriving Partnership with Middle Eastern Educators"
• Frequently Asked Questions for the Middle East Professional Learning Initiative Fellowship
• HGSE's Usable Knowledge in Arabic
• Connect with the MEPLI Fellows on Facebook

Contact Us

We encourage inquiries at mepli@gse.harvard.edu.