Educational Philosophy Imam Al-Ghazali’s Perspective

Islam is a divine religion. It is based on divine revelation (Holy Quran) and sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. As a religion it is a complete code of life. It does not deal with worships only but addresses all fields of life. Like Beliefs and worship, Islam focuses on education also. As a last and chosen religion, it motivates human beings to seek knowledge. The first word of the first revelation (Chapter Al-alaq) starts with Iqra means Read. In first five ayat of chapter Al-alaq, the basic requirement for enhance of education (Read, knowledge and pen) have been mentioned six times. Similarly, the Holy Prophet r took many steps for imparting education. In this connection, the example of first residential university (Suffa’h) is sufficient. Imam Ghazali one of the most famous Muslim thinkers discusses the education in his books in detail. He was born in 448 AH (1057 CE) at Tabaran a town in the district of Tus, which lies within the Khorasan Province of Iran and died on 18 December (1111 CE). In this article knowledge, its classification, stages, curriculum, art of teaching, responsibility of both teachers as well as students have been discussed in the light of Imam Ghazali educational philosophy.

Teaching Mathematics Geometry Through Pedagogy of Stem Education in Grade 8 in a Private School of District Ghotki, Sindh

The rapid growth in technology and digitalization, the nature of jobs has been changed. Many of the earlier mechanical jobs have become redundant now. During recent times (21st century), organizations require employees who are creative, life-long learners, and ability to handle multi-tasks. Therefore, the expectations of organizations have put a pressing demand on schools to instill creativity and innovation to meet the expectations of their future employers. One way to develop diverse knowledge and skills in students is investing in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. As integration between core disciplines such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is rapidly growing around the globe, but the recognition of such integration may hardly be identified in Pakistan. This study made an attempt to explore how mathematics can be taught through STEM pedagogy. The purpose of the study is to understand how to engage students in learning mathematics collaboratively and provide an interconnected learning based on real-world applications. The action research method was selected followed by qualitative design. Further, Kemmis, McTaggart, and Retallic (2004) model was adopted, which suggests a few steps of conducting action research such as to observe, plan, act and reflect. Overall, grade 8 children were selected as participants among them 6 students (i.e. above average, average, and below average) were selected for focus group discussions and interviews with a mathematics teacher. The findings of the study reveal that the level of eagerness, active participation, and interest for learning Mathematics was augmented through the integration of multidisciplinary approach. It also helped students to develop diverse knowledge and sense of team work which they lacked earlier. STEM pedagogy engaged learners in two major activities (e.g. laser based activity and construction of a greenhouse) that provided opportunity to be inter-dependent and learned the concepts like the reflection of light, photosynthesis process in plants, angle and geometric shapes, effective use of GeoGebra software, and Architecture engineering as their future career. The study highlights the need of collaboration among teachers of STEM disciplines to develop multidisciplinary instruction to further strengthen students’ capacity to empower the next generation of innovators.