Teaching Exam Guidelines in the Educational Professions Licensing System: Physics, Computer Science, Social Studies and Business Studies Laboratory Examination for Teachers

The launch of training versions of the teacher license tests is an important development in the educational profession licensing system in the educational field, as the Ministry of Education aims through this to develop the efficiency of teachers and better qualify them to meet the practical educational challenges in the twenty-first century. These pilot tests come as an important step to ensure high-quality teaching and effective assessment of teachers’ performance in classrooms.

Teaching Tests in the Educational Professions Licensing System

Teaching examinations play a vital role in the teaching profession licensing system, as they:

• An effective means of assessing teachers' skills and ability to deliver information in innovative and effective teaching ways.
• In addition, these tests contribute to developing teachers' skills and motivating them to explore new and innovative teaching methods.
• These tests also provide specific teaching tools for teachers and offer instructions and guidance to improve their teaching performance.
• The test also aims to measure teachers' knowledge of the components of education and their ability to apply them in the classroom.
• The test is administered objectively and professionally to ensure fair and accurate assessment of teachers. Based on the test results, training and development programs are directed to improve teachers' educational and professional capabilities .
• Tests are also an opportunity for teachers to evaluate and improve their performance. By noting the strengths and weaknesses in their work, teachers can identify areas for improvement and take action to develop themselves.
• Passing the School Career Test also provides teachers with better opportunities to obtain job opportunities in the educational field.

Testing is not the end of learning and development, but rather the beginning of a journey of continuing professional learning and achieving continuous improvement in teaching skills, positively influencing students and developing their education.

Physics Laboratory Teacher Licensing System Tests

Laboratory tests in physics are an important tool for assessing teachers' skills in teaching this subject. The teacher must have high skills in analysis and experimentation, and the ability to guide students and explain physical phenomena in an easy and clear way. This test contributes to motivating teachers to improve their teaching methods and innovate new methods to deliver information more effectively. This test also helps in identifying teachers' strengths and weaknesses, and thus training and development programs can be directed to enhance their abilities in teaching physics. This test includes three axes:

Axis 1: Safety and Emergencies

The candidate for the test must possess the knowledge and skills necessary to perform a range of laboratory-related activities following safety rules:

• Student safety before and after class.
• Create a safe working environment, and reduce the risk of accidents, injuries, and work-related diseases.
• Know how to store and dispose of hazardous materials properly.
• Dealing with fires and power outages.

The second axis is procedural knowledge.

The test taker must have:

• Keep the place clean.
• Dealing with all equipment and how to maintain it.
• Select and use appropriate materials and equipment.
• Use mathematical methods of counting, measuring, and calculating to solve problems.
• Analyze and interpret scientific data.
• Identify and analyze errors.
• Knowledge of units of measurement and dimensional analysis.

Axis III: Conceptual knowledge

Enhance scientific skills as the test taker possesses:

• In-depth knowledge of the mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical, acoustic, thermal, atomic and nuclear properties of materials.
• Knowledge of Newtonian mechanics for point bodies and extended bodies, including mechanics, dynamics, work, energy and momentum.
• Collisions, orbits, gravity, balance, and elasticity.
• Magnetic and electric forces.
• Statics, and other branches of physics related to the physics curriculum for all levels.

Education Licensing Examinations Study Science

Computer science tests in the educational professions licensing system play an important role in developing the skills of teachers specialized in the field of computing. Through these tests, the teacher's ability to understand and apply computer concepts and technologies in the learning process is evaluated. The test also contributes to raising the level of technological awareness among teachers and developing their abilities to use technology in teaching and apply it to various educational fields. In addition, this test contributes to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of teachers and directing training and development programs to enhance their capabilities in the field of computing and improve their teaching methods. The test includes the following axes:

Axis One: Computer Science Theory

This section tests examinees' knowledge of key theoretical areas of computer science such as computer systems and networks, data analysis, and the effects of computing. In this section the examinee should be able to:

• Identify computing system hardware and software and their interactions and apply troubleshooting strategies to basic hardware and software problems.
• Design computer networks based on specific network design requirements and describe the network organization in terms of hardware and software components and network security.
• Explain how computer network hosts communicate with each other within a network and with other networks and describe how data is transferred across networks in terms of speed, security, and privacy.
• Use data collection techniques to collect, store, and analyze different types of data and identify patterns in them.
• Represent data in computers using the binary numbering system and use digital tools to create simulations, models, and visually represent different types of data.
• Describe the ethical and legal use of technology and explain the consequences of irresponsible use of technology.
• Identify the impact of technology on people's personal, social and professional lives and describe the consequences of the digital divide.

Axis II: Problem Solving and Programming Practices

This section of the ELPAS tests the examinee’s knowledge and skills in problem-solving techniques. This section of the test is offered in three programming languages: Python, JAVA, and C++, and examinees are allowed to choose their preferred programming language. This section tests whether the examinee is able to:

• Use programming skills as a tool to solve computational problems.
• Design and evaluate algorithms based on defined design specifications and apply the pillars of computational thinking (abstraction, analysis, pattern recognition, and generalization) as problem-solving techniques.
• Identify appropriate variables for program data and decide whether using individual variables or data structures is more effective based on the nature of the program.
• Knowledge of programming using different programming paradigms (methods) such as Procedure-Oriented Programming (POP), Block-Based Programming (BBP), and Object-Oriented Programming (OOP).
• Select appropriate control structures and control structure conditions to control the flow of the program as intended in the program design specification.
• Building software based on a specific software design specification by applying the steps of the software development cycle.

Social Studies Tests for Teaching Professions Licenses

Social Studies Tests are an important part of the teaching profession licensing system in the field of education. The test aims to measure teachers’ knowledge of social studies concepts and their ability to communicate them to students in effective and innovative ways. The test also helps determine the extent to which teachers are proficient in applying social studies standards in their practical life. The test also contributes to developing teachers’ skills in planning lessons, assessing students, and encouraging critical and analytical thinking in the field of social studies.

The testing criteria for social studies teaching licenses include developing teachers' skills in practical work. This includes:

• Their knowledge of the ideological and technological events and developments of ancient history to the classical period, the golden age of Islamic civilization, from the Middle Ages to pre-colonialism, the industrial revolution and colonial expansion, and the modern era.
• National education and social responsibilities are the responsibilities of the citizen in the United Arab Emirates, and the rights and duties of the citizen and resident therein.
• Knowledge of the constitution, governance structures and the role of federal institutions.
• Knowing the role of UN agencies and international institutions
• Knowing the natural characteristics of the country, including land, soil, water and weather.
• Knowing the impact of human resources on humans and the impact of the environment on human settlement.
• Knowledge of sociology, population migration, its causes and factors of social transformation.
• Knowledge of economics, what is microeconomics, macroeconomics, markets and economic systems.
• Information literacy and access to digital information, data collection and processing.
• Knowing the importance of an ethical environment of tolerance, compassion, justice and fairness.
• Commitment to customs and traditions and knowledge of the culture and heritage of the United Arab Emirates.
• Integration, interpretation and dealing with social sciences.

Business Study Tests in the Educational Professions Licensing System

The Business Studies Test plays an important role in qualifying teachers to teach business subjects in schools. The test also helps determine the level of teacher proficiency in using modern teaching tools and techniques in the field of business. Based on the test results, training and development programs are directed to enhance the teacher’s skills and improve teaching methods in the field of business. In addition, the test contributes to enhancing the teacher’s awareness of the importance of business subjects in developing students’ capabilities and preparing them for the future labor market.

The Business Studies test includes a variety of content that aims to assess the teacher's knowledge of business and economics topics. The content includes questions on:

Axis One: Finance and Accounting

This area tests the examinee's knowledge and understanding of:

• The ability to set well thought out financial goals. How goals are used by businesses to achieve their set objectives.
• Knowledge of principles and terminology associated with financial management and business accounting.
• Evaluating financial operations in raising and managing funds, and measuring business performance.
• Understanding ethical decision-making processes to improve financial performance.
• Evaluation of the accounting cycle, accounting processes, and regulatory accounting principles (RAP).
• Interprets Standard Accounting Practice (SSAP) statements and the use of financial statements.
• Analyze profitability ratios to evaluate business performance.
• They explain the purpose of different budgets (including but not limited to) zero-based budgets and past-figure budgets.
• Ratio analysis and financial performance.
• The concept of profit in relation to financial management.
• Demonstrates an understanding of credit, tax, and bankruptcy regulations and concepts.
• Evaluating financial decisions in finding financing and assessing credit performance.

The second axis: Operations management in the educational professions licensing system tests for studying business, which includes:

• Understand the nature and breadth of operations and business management principles.
• Analyzes business operations within the performance objectives of quality, costs, responsiveness, flexibility, reliability, and environmental factors.
• Identify business economics under the classifications of industry sector production: primary, secondary and auxiliary.
• Knowledge of production methods, converting inputs into outputs.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the concepts, techniques and philosophies used to improve and streamline production efficiency. Examples include Kaizen, Kanban, Just-in-Time
• Analyzes how information technology such as computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is used by companies to improve productivity.
• Analyzes operational performance factors that affect labor productivity (including, but not limited to) division of labor, motivation, technology, investment, skills, and experience of the workforce.
• Explains how break-even analysis can support business planning processes.
• Recognizes the need for strategic implementation of project management in business operations.
• The use of project analysis strategies and management tools such as but not limited to (network analysis and critical path analysis) is applied.
• Inventory control, and methods associated with operational decisions to improve performance.
• Distinguish between efficiency, productivity and capacity utilization.
• Quality control and maintaining consistent levels of quality and its four standards.

Axis III: Marketing

Examiners in the Educational Professions Licensing System must be able to:

• Knowing the marketing objectives and the role of marketing in business management and achieving business objectives.
• Knowing the components of a marketing plan.
• How to identify the marketing mix of organizations.
• Aware of the four elements of the marketing mix of organizations (product, price, promotion, place).
• Evaluate types of e-commerce and strategies for planning, developing and establishing Internet-based businesses.
• Understanding the processes involved in designing, maintaining and managing an e-commerce website.
• Sales forecasting and marketing analysis.
• Knowledge of primary and secondary market research techniques and distinction between qualitative and quantitative market research.

Axis Four: People in Business

The educational professions licensing system in this field tests the examinee’s knowledge and understanding of the following:

• How companies develop policies, use structures, systems and strategies related to people in business.
• Knowledge of human resource objectives and distinction between the components of the stakeholder and shareholder model of a business.
• Identify how stakeholders in a business are classified and what their roles are.
• Identify the steps involved in starting a business.
• Types and characteristics of different classes of business ownership, franchises and cooperatives.
• Know the features of private limited companies, public limited companies, the private sector, the public sector, and non-profit organizations.
• Know and analyze the factors that influence leadership style and the management methods, skills and functions related to leadership style.
• Understand the importance of effectively managing change in business.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the factors influencing business decision-making in relation to risk, uncertainty, investment criteria and non-financial factors.
• It identifies various forms of flexible workforce planning practices including but not limited to (flexible working hours, work from home, part-time, temporary, and job sharing).
• Distinguish between different training models such as on-the-job, off-the-job and induction/preparation.
• Knowledge of recruitment procedures including, but not limited to, selection, training, evaluation and termination.
• Analyzing the quality of different communication methods, including but not limited to (applications, resumes, and job interview techniques).
• Knowledge of health and safety standards in the workplace.
• How to use assessments in practice and as a strategic tool for performance evaluation.

Axis Five: External Business Environment

The educational professions licensing system in this field tests the examinee's knowledge and understanding of how the economy and external business environment affect business performance, and may include:

• Legal, economic, social, technological, environmental and ethical factors that may affect business activity.
• Identify external and internal shocks and assess their impact on business practices.
• Evaluating the role of the public and private sectors in providing goods and services.
• Know the concept of market failure and the different types including but not limited to (public good, externalities, hidden information, common property).
• Know the characteristics of perfect competition, monopolistic competition, monopoly and oligopoly.
• Analyze different competition theories and their impact on business behavior.
• Identify the foundations, role and impact of international business.
• Identify the factors that contributed to globalization.
• The importance of global marketing and global brands.
• Understands how changes in demographics can impact the marketing of products and services.
• PEST and PESTLE analysis and international business environment factors.
• Explains comparative advantage and absolute advantage as they relate to international trade.
• Recognizes the value of exchange rates and can interpret and calculate foreign labor.
• Analyzes information on imports, exports, trade barriers, free trade, and the trade balance.
• Know the role of national and international policies related to projects and trade.
• Explains and calculates the opportunity cost of capital.
• Demonstrates an understanding of economic influences including, but not limited to, consumer confidence, business confidence, interest rates, inflation, unemployment.

Teachers' preparation for tests

Teachers’ preparation for the EPLS tests plays an important role in achieving success and excellence in the teaching profession. Here are some tips for teachers to help them prepare for the tests and increase their chances of success:

• Learn about the test requirements: Explore the details.
• Prepare a study plan and identify the subjects and skills you need to focus on during your studies.
• Use different educational resources to study the material comprehensively.
• Solve previous questions and practice to improve your skills.
• Take practice tests and quizzes to improve your solving and timing skills.
• Use the available websites for practice testing and solve very similar questions.
• Take advantage of feedback from teachers and peers and see it as an opportunity to learn and improve.
• Talk to teachers who have taken the test for tips and strategies.

In short, teachers need to focus and prepare well for teaching tests. You can get all this preparation and practical application with the Madrasa.com platform, and increase your chances of success in the tests and achieve excellence in the educational professions licensing system.