I'M SO HAPPY YOU ARE HERE!
Massrat Shaikh – Educational Psychologist | Career Counselor| Mindfulness Educator |Provider for Learning Solutions.
PhD Scholar – Tata Institute Of Social Sciences.
Member of American Psychological Association.(APA)
Member of International Council of Psychologists. (ICP)
Member of Middle East Psychological Association. (MEPA)
I am an Educational Psychologist and edupreneur with deep expertise in learning disabilities and special education needs (SEN). I have worked at Al Ahlam Training and Higher Education Services in Oman for more than ten years, and I am a consultant to most of the International and Private schools in Oman. I work in collaboration with schools to promote better services for vulnerable learners. I guide the SEN department in schools to support students with learning challenges. I strive to bring inclusion, positive mental health, and achievement to all children. I aim to make all students feel safe, valued, engaged and purposeful.
Educational Psychologist: I am a clinician specialising in diagnostic psychoeducational assessments to identify learning disabilities and other neurological conditions in children and young adults. Psychoeducational assessments show how a child learns and diagnose a learning disability, attention deficit, or developmental issues and identify any other social, emotional, or behavioral problems. The most important result of a psychoeducational assessment is the comprehensive recommendations for home and school. I use different psychological tools such as ability, academic and behavioral assessments to identify children and young adults who need help.
Provider for Learning Solutions: I use EdTech solutions to teach vulnerable learners. Partnering with Scientific Learning, Pearson, and other companies, I have made neuroscience-based learning solutions accessible for students with learning difficulties. SEN students suffer from learning gaps that are hard to fill, and time spent in remedial learning is crucial. As an educator, I find ways of making a difference in shorter sprints. Ed-tech allows me to achieve learning gains faster than any conventional method. Since digital learning solutions have the potential to give layers of support that can accelerate learning, I have made this service accessible for SEN students to help them meet their individual learning goals.
Career Guidance Counselor: I use psychometric assessments to measure students’ interests, aptitudes, and personalities to guide them to the best career path. I offer a comprehensive career guidance program to assist individuals in making and implementing informed educational and occupational choices. A career assessment enhances the linkage of academic and career options and, thus, improves career preparation and management.
Mindfulness Educator: I offer an 8-week mindfulness course for students, educators, and parents. Students’ capacity to learn is directly impacted by whether they feel emotionally supported in the classroom. Today, with so many young people experiencing stress, trauma, and isolation, teaching students mindfulness is a resource and an essential part of teaching social-emotional skills. It is an integral part of teaching wellbeing to children that adults in the lives of young children learn self-regulation too.
Advocate for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): To bring transformation to our education system, I assess and teach SEL to children. SEL has the potential to transform our learning environment as well as provide us with tools for systematic change. Following the CASEL framework, I make SEL an integral part of education. SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships. I see the importance of SEL in our education system as it can empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy and just communities.
Author: I am a columnist for Oman Observer Newspapers, where I share my regular articles. I am also an author for GESS Education and have contributed several articles for other newspapers and magazines in Oman.
Speaker: I speak for GESS Leaders in Education and GESS Dubai & GESS Turkey Conference & Exhibition. I am also a speaker for EduTraC Oman – Higher Education, Training & Career Expo, Future Skills & HRD Summit 2021, and GHEDEX – Oman’s Higher Education, Training and Future Skills Show. I have also participated as a speaker for the Middle East Teaching and Learning conference.
Awards – Finalist for GESS Awards 2021 and 2022 for the Inclusion and Wellbeing category.
Education Influencer – I have participated as a speaker in World Empathy Week 2022 as an education influencer representing Oman alongside 35 educators in a global online conference. I am proud to play my part in this global initiative.
My objective has been to strive and better myself every passing year, learn from experiences and widen my horizon. As an educator, constant learning is an essential part of my life, and I will continue this journey as far as I am in this role. I am looking ahead to everything that 2023 has to unfold.
Where I Work
Al Ahlam Training and Higher Education Services excels in offering training and higher education services in Oman. Al Ahlam is two decades old and is a leading provider of higher education services in Oman. Al Ahlam is representative of more than 50 UK and Irish Universities of all ranks.
Al Ahlam’s contributions to education in Oman are outstanding. Over the years, Al Ahlam extended its wings from offering higher education options to career guidance, mental health and learning support for students of all ages. As one of the oldest companies in Oman, Al Ahlam’s motto is to offer exclusive and individualized services to all our students and families. Our priority is our students, and we aim to provide all students with a suitable option that will enable their true potential to be achieved.
To learn more about what we do at Al Ahlam, check the following link