Introduction
About the Facilitator
Dina Saeed Abbas is a learning facilitator from the Arab Republic of Egypt, based in Cairo. She works in teaching Aqeedah and Islamic sciences. She has experience working with female learners from diverse age groups and social backgrounds, and through her facilitation practices, she seeks to enable the learning of religious content in an impactful way that connects with real life and leads to emotional and behavioral change. She was introduced to the FIRSTedu-ADLX framework through professional development journeys and began applying it the learning journeys she designed and facilitated, aiming at deepening the faith-based impact on learners.
Learner Context
This journey involved a group of fifty female learners whose ages ranged between twenty and fifty-five years. The group included students, employed women, and non-working women. The learners’ personalities were diverse in terms of life experiences and readiness to interact and participate, which created a rich space for dialogue and shared reflection.
Introduction to the Application Story
The FIRST framework was applied to an Aqeedah topic centered on patience in the face of painful destinies. This topic directly touches the human and faith realities of the learners. The choice of this topic came in response to the learners’ need for a deeper understanding of the meaning of patience and how to deal with trials and painful destinies with acceptance and certainty, in a way that enhances emotional and psychological stability and strengthens the connection with Allah Almighty.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this journey, the learner is expected to be able to achieve the following outcomes:
Attitude Learning Outcomes
To become convinced that patience is an essential part of faith and is a gateway to inner peace and closeness to Allah.
Skills Learning Outcomes
To facilitate for others how to deal with painful decrees of Allah.
To respond positively to life trials and hardships.
Knowledge Learning Outcomes
To recall Qur’anic verses that explain the reward of those who are patient.
To recall situations from the Seerah of the Prophet that demonstrate patience in the face of painful destinies.
Parallel Learning Outcomes
To respect time, as a supportive skills-based outcome that enhances commitment throughout the journey.
Performance Outcomes
To internalize the faith-based meanings of patience and apply them in real-life situations, while following the example of the Prophet in dealing with painful destinies.
Learning Journey Flow
The journey relied on a smooth learning sequence that began with mental and emotional readiness for the learners, then moved into reflection and learning activities, followed by a linking and summarizing activity, and concluded with a closure activity. In designing the journey, the facilitator focused on positioning the learner as the center of the learning process and creating opportunities to connect Aqeedah concepts with the learners’ personal and real-life experiences.
Applying the FIRSTedu-ADLX Framework Domains
1) Focusing on the Learner
The facilitator was keen on building a personal connection with the learners by addressing them by their names, eliciting their opinions and experiences, listening attentively to their contributions, and then building on what they shared and linking it to the themes of the session. This enhanced their sense of value and active participation.
2) Interacting within Positive Group Dynamics
This domain was activated through creating a safe space for sharing emotions related to the topic of patience within groups, showing empathy toward the learners’ experiences, and initiating discussion around the different ways people respond to painful situations. This strengthened human and emotional interaction within the group.
3) Reviewing Activities within RAR Model
The RAR model was applied through the main learning activity which was based on displaying images to stimulate thinking and explore emotions.
During the Readiness Increase stage, learners were informed that they would observe a set of images and reflect on them for three minutes, thinking about the connection between the images and patience.
During Activity Facilitation, the facilitator listened to the learners’ observations, commented on them, and guided them in alignment with the learning outcomes.
During Reviewing Actively, the facilitator elicited the conclusions reached by the learners after reflection and dialogue and and pulled the link to the faith-based meanings of patience.
4) Sequencing within the Learner eXperience
The session was characterized by smooth transitions between its stages, starting with the opener, moving through the learning activity and dialogue, then linking and summarizing, and finally the closure activity. This maintained coherence of the experience and sustained focus without disruption.
5) Transforming Learning into Performance
This domain was activated by inviting learners to recall situations from the Prophetic Seerah that resemble what they may experience in their own lives, discussing how to follow the Prophet
as a role model in patience, recalling the reward and recompense promised to those who are patient, and connecting all of this to their daily realities.
Impact of Applying the FIRSTedu-ADLX Framework
Impact on the Facilitator
Applying the FIRSTedu-ADLX framework illuminated the path for the facilitator to create an impactful journey in which her role is design and facilitation, while considering the learner as the core focus. The framework strengthened attention to attitude outcomes as a driver for change, making the facilitator feel more aware of her role and more effective in her practice. She also observed that the impact of learning and the learners’ engagement became stronger compared to her previous practices, and she became more attentive, more focused on following up on outcomes, and more intentional in using diverse means to facilitate learning.
Impact on the Learners
The learners demonstrated greater engagement and affection toward the content and the approach. Their deep emotional impact was evident through their comments and words, which reflected on their outlook on life and their way of dealing with painful destinies. The framework had a clear effect in deepening the relationship with the learners and increasing their openness, acceptance, and emotional influence.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this learning journey was an enjoyable and impactful experience for both the facilitator and the learners. The facilitator hopes, by Allah’s permission, that it will contribute to reforming future generations through anchoring the meanings of patience, acceptance, and certainty.