Presenters
Improving Teaching Through Research
April 25, 2016
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Robyn Albers holds a MEd in TESOL (2002) from the University of Southern Queensland, Towoomba, Australia and a BA English Honours (1996) from Bishops’ University, Quebec, Canada. She has taught English and Business Communication at universities in Korea, Canada and the UAE for 18 years. For the past 10 years, she has been an instructor at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE and is currently teaching Business Communication in the College of Business. She enjoys engaging students in service-learning projects to motive students and better prepare them for the job market. Her research interests are in PBL through service learning, Emirati success, mobile learning and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) |
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Michelle Antero is an Assistant Professor at Zayed University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Information Systems from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark and her M.Sc. in Analysis, Design and Management of Information Systems at London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. Her research looks into the use of mobile technology to innovate and as an effective tool to improve academic reading. She also spent 14 years working in telecommunication and consulting companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley in the U.S. |
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Afaf Bataineh is an Associate Professor of Arab Studies. She received her Ph.D. from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. In addition to being an academic, Afaf is a novelist, short story writer and translator. She published two collections of short stories, two novels and two book-length translations. Her areas of interest include linguistics, literary criticism, translation and gender studies. Afaf is a member of many professional associations. She served on the Jury of many prestigious Arab literary and language prizes. One of Afaf’s main interests is the promotion of Arabic language use in academic and educational settings. Currently, she is exploring new ways through which bilingualism can be promoted in higher education. |
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Shashidhar Belbase earned his PhD in Mathematics Education from the University of Wyoming, USA. He is currently serving as assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at University College of Zayed University, Dubai Campus. His research interests are: beliefs and conceptions about teaching and learning mathematics, technology integration in teaching and learning mathematics, and scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) of mathematics. He is conducting one study on “Exploring the impact of individual consultations on students’ learning of mathematics at college level” and another study on “Beliefs of freshman undergraduate students in learning mathematics with technology” in Zayed University. He is also interested in international collaborations in teaching and research in the area of mathematics and mathematics education. With this interest, he is collaborating with the School of Education, Kathmandu University, Nepal to develop a M.Phil. and PhD program in Mathematics Education as visiting volunteer faculty. |
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Scott Benson serves as Institutional Effectiveness Coordinator in the Office of Organizational Effectiveness at Zayed University, where his main roles are to help drive the institution’s learning outcomes assessment program and support the accreditation processes. He has a M.Sc. in Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning from Boise State University and an M.A. in TESOL from Southern Illinois University. Scott delivers presentations and workshops at the institutional, regional and international level and has published most recently in Innovative Higher Education. His current research interests include meta-assessment and strategies for evidencing learning improvement. |
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Robert (Rob) Bohning joined ZU in August 2013 from the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he was an instructor with the Applied Language Institute for 13 years. As an instructor, he taught grammar, reading, writing, listening, and speaking. He specialized in researching patterns in students’ native languages in order to help students discover for themselves how to improve their grammar and writing. With a background in Spanish Education, Rob has helped hundreds of Spanish speakers learn English more quickly. Rob has also written an instructor’s document for English teachers of Somali students. In addition to this, he has worked in the American public school setting for 11 years assisting teachers in learning about students from over 100 different national and/or language backgrounds. Since joining ZU, Rob has begun to investigate patterns between Arabic and English, using many of his strategies developed from previous experiences. Rob’s research interests are in the areas between second language acquisition and second language teaching including error correction in writing, collocations between languages, corpus linguistics, and multilingual education. |
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Michael Bowles has been a teacher, teacher trainer, examiner, examiner trainer and project manager. Prior to coming to the UAE, he worked in South Korea and Hong Kong at the British Council for 13 years. He is currently teaching as an Instructor in the Academic Bridge Program at Zayed University and has been in this position for nearly 7 years. Michael holds an MEd in Educational Technology and ELT, and the Cambridge CELTA and DELTA. He is an IELTS Examiner and Examiner Trainer and a CELTA Tutor. |
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Edward Carlstedt is a faculty member in the General Studies Department at the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi. He previously worked at the American University of Sharjah from 2000-2015 as a Senior Instructor in the Intensive English Program. Previous to that, he served as the ESL Program Coordinator at the American University of Dubai, and a lecturer at UAEU University. He holds a MS degree in Counseling from San Francisco State, a MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Leicester, as well as a Trinity College Diploma. |
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Mark Causapin completed his doctoral studies at Teachers College, Columbia University in 2012. He moved to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for his first full-time academic post. He worked in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Zayed University where he became the Co-Chair. His research covers issues surrounding mathematics learning in a second language, problem solving, and teaching and learning statistics. He will be starting a new appointment at Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee starting in the Fall of 2016. |
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Nayyer Iqbal Ali Chandella holds a Doctoral degree in TESOL from the University of Exeter, UK. She has to her credit 30 publications/presentations in the areas of interest: critical thinking, communication skills, creativity and TESOL. She emphasizes upon the importance of critical dialogic pedagogy and how it can be implemented within the parameters of cultures and teaching contexts. Her research interests encircle ways and means of teaching English language. Dr Chandella is currently working as Associate Professor at Lahore College for Women University in Pakistan. |
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Senem Donanci has worked in the areas of ESL and EAP in various capacities as an instructor, syllabus coordinator, teacher trainer and examiner in tertiary contexts in Turkey and UAE for over 20 years. She holds a Master of Applied Linguistics degree in Language Program Management from Macquarie University, Sydney, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language Teaching from The Middle East Technical University, Ankara. She is a certified teacher trainer and International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examiner. Her areas of interest are curriculum development with a focus on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the impact of mobile learning on second language learning, the flipped classroom model, motivational attitudes with a focus on Generation Y, dialogic teaching and exploratory talk. She currently teaches English composition courses in University College, Department of English and Writing Studies. |
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Angela Elsmore holds an MBA in Educational Management & Leadership (2008) from the University of Leicester, a PGDip in Applied Linguistics (1990) from the University of Victoria, Canada, and a BA (1988) from the University of Victoria, Canada. Angela has been in the field of education for 25 years. She has been in the Gulf Region for over 12 years and is currently teaching in the College of Business at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi. She has also worked in Europe and Asia teaching English, Business and Tourism. Her present research interests include mobile learning, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), project-based learning and Emirati success in the workplace. |
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Valerie Priscilla Goby is a Professor in the College of Business at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates. She has published widely in the fields of communication, IT and education. |
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Tim Groombridge is a University College Instructor teaching with the English and Writing Studies Department. With a background in EFL and ESL, he received his Master’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Surrey, U.K. He worked as a teacher trainer in Costa Rica and in London before moving to the Middle East in 2002 and prior to ZU worked in Fujairah and Muscat, Oman. Along with the use of English in other subject areas, he is also interested in enhancing levels of intrinsic motivation within the classroom and researching the sorts of writing that might make this possible. |
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Cindy Gunn is the Director of the Faculty Development Center (FDC) and Professor in the Department of English at the American University of Sharjah (AUS). Before joining AUS in 2001, she lived and taught in Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, Turkey and the United States. While a member of the English Department at AUS, she helped to develop the MATESOL program and the Education minor. Her main research paradigm is Exploratory Practice focusing on the contributions teachers and learners make to classroom research. Her main research interests are reflective teaching and learning, materials development and technology use in Education. In her role as Director of the FDC she facilitates a topic based learning community and offers workshops devoted to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Numerous SoTL projects have emerged from the learning communities and the workshops many of which can be found in the edited volume entitled, Enhancing Teaching and Learning in the United Arab Emirates: Reflections from the Classroom. |
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Eltigani Abdelgadir Hamid is currently a Professor of Politics and Islamic Studies at the Institute for Islamic World Studies, Zayed University, UAE. He holds a BA degree in Philosophy, a Master degree in Political Philosophy, with special reference to Islamic Political Thought and a Ph.D. in Politics (University of London). The academic positions he held includes: Professor of Politics and Islamic Studies (Zayed university), Language and Culture Instructor (Arabic Dept. Foreign Service Institute-US Department of State), Associate Professor (the Graduate School of Islamic & Social Sciences-Leesburg-Virginia, USA), Adjunct Professor of Islamic Studies (Shenandoah University, Winchester-USA), Associate Professor of Politics (Dept. of Political Science, International Islamic University, Malaysia), Assistant Professor (Dept. of Political Science, University of Khartoum, Sudan), Assistant Professor(Dept. of Islamic Studies, University of Khartoum, Sudan). His research interests expand over two areas: Western Political Thought and Islam (with especial reference to Political Thought, Movements and Qur’anic Studies). He publishes in both Arabic and English. One of his books (Qur’an and Politics) has been translated into English and Modern Turkish. |
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Sarah Hopkyns teaches English in the Academic Bridge Program at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi. She previously taught English in Tokyo, Japan and Vancouver, Canada. She holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Leicester, where she is currently completing her PhD in Educational Research. Her main research interest is the relationship between global English and Emirati cultural identity, and a further research interest includes the use of mobile technology as a motivational tool for vocabulary learning. She has published widely on these research areas, and has presented internationally in a range of countries including United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Italy, Malta, Hong Kong and Taiwan. For the next academic year, she has been appointed Chair of the Research Committee in Zayed University’s Academic Bridge Program, a role which she is very much looking forward to undertaking. |
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Zoe Hurley is an instructor in the ABP at Zayed University. She is a PhD candidate with Lancaster University in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning. Her interests include: mobile learning, dialogic technological pedagogy, language across the curriculum, new media and online identity. She has presented at conferences in Asia, the Middle East, the United States and Europe. Her focus in this research project is augmented reality and mixed methods research. |
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Nalan Kerr has worked in several countries at Tertiary level teaching EFL and EAP as well as working as a Curriculum and Testing Advisor in Bilkent University, Turkey. She is currently working as an EAP Instructor at Zayed University. She has presented on the use of mobile technology in EAP in the United Stated. Her focus in this research is promoting critical thinking and cooperation for a deeper understanding of academic texts in EAP. |
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Guy Meredith has been teaching English for nearly 20 years. He has worked in Spain, the UK and the UAE. In the UK he taught ESOL to asylum speakers and refugees in inner-city London for 8 years. He also taught Academic English at various universities around the country. He now works in the Academic Bridge Program at Zayed University. His specific interests include project work and academic writing. |
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Mouhamad Mouhanna is an instructor at the UAE University. He has conducted research in the areas of L1 use in the classroom, teacher research in ELT and EMI policy. He is a keen presenter at many international conferences and has completed his doctorate thesis at Exeter University in the UK. |
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Jase Moussa Inaty, Australian with a Lebanese background is Assistant Dean and Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at Zayed University (College of Education) based in Abu Dhabi. She received her Masters degree from the University of Sydney and her PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of New South Wales, Australia. Since 1994, she has had various experiences with students of all age groups through supervising a day care and counseling and teaching school students to lecturing university students. In addition to her teaching duties at ZU which involve both undergraduate and graduate courses, today Jase is actively engaged in conducting research and offers a wide range of workshops and presentations for professional development on various topics such as metacognition, enhancing thinking skills, standard-based instruction, motivation, science self-efficacy, science anxiety, parental involvement, and effective teaching and learning processes. |
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Catherine Nickerson is a Professor in the College of Business at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates. She is interested in the use of mobile technologies in the classroom and the development of appropriate methods of assessment for business communication. |
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Timothy Nicoll is an instructor in the Academic Bridge Program at Zayed University (ZU), and has previously taught English in Canada and Japan. He holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Leicester, as well as an MA in European Union Studies from the University of Newcastle. Timothy is also a teacher trainer, and is currently one of the team at ZU for the well-known and respected Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA). Other professional interests including examining, in which he has extensive experience, as well as materials development. His research interests centre on the integration and use of learning technologies in the field of English Language Teaching, as well as how to improve the teaching and learning of core areas such as reading and vocabulary. He is currently undertaking a PhD in Educational Research with the Lancaster University in the UK. |
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David Palfreyman is Chief Editor of LTHE and an Associate Professor at Zayed University, Dubai. As well as editing LTHE, he teaches language-related courses and contributes to faculty and curriculum development for the university. He holds a PhD in Language Studies and an MA in Language in the Multicultural Community. Before joining Zayed University he worked with students and educators in Europe, as well as in a middle school in the UAE. His current research interests include the development of biliteracy, the use of new media and the contributions of sociocultural context to learning. He has published several articles in the field of language and education, and co-edited two collections, "Learner Autonomy Across Cultures" and "Learning and Teaching Across Cultures in Higher Education", both published by Palgrave Macmillan. |
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Troy Priest is the Senior Mobile Learning Specialist in Zayed University's Centre for Educational Innovation where his main role is to help support faculty in the exploration of innovative pedagogies including the use of mobile technologies. He is also the lead principle investigator in a cross-disciplinary research project looking at developing students’ critical thinking skills across the university. Troy has a MA in applied linguistics from the University of Louisville and is a PhD candidate at the University of Lancaster in the UK. Some of his research interests include innovative critical thinking pedagogies, evaluation and change processes in higher education. |
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Nada Rabie has been an adjunct instructor in the Institute for Islamic World Studies at Zayed University since 2015. She is interested in Islamic economics and wealth management, financial performance of Islamic banks, CSR, and behavioral finance. More specifically, her work in SoTL examines the active learning practices. She is a researcher in another SoTL project about the effects of using Jigsaw activities as a cooperative teaching approach in teaching higher education courses. She has a MA in Islamic economics and wealth management from Zayed university. Currently she is a PhD candidate in Business management at the British University in Dubai. |
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Nihal Hamed Rabie is a freelance researcher in the Education field. She is interested in designing curricula and assessment tools, inquiring about different pedagogical methods, and learning about different educational contexts. She has a MEd from ALHOSN University in Education. Her thesis was about a case study for gifted learners in UAE and Finland. Moreover, she did further research on the effects of the professional development level of the teachers on the students’ learning process. Currently she is a PhD candidate in Education at the British University in Dubai. |
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Chrysi Rapanta is a post-doctoral researcher at the ArgLag of Institute of Philosophy at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (IFILNOVA). Her research interests lie between the areas of education, communication, argumentation, and the use of technologies for teaching and learning. |
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Fayez Sayed is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics within University College at Zayed University. Prior to this Dr Sayed was Member of staff in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at The University of Manchester, UK. An experienced educator in the field of mathematics, taught across all age groups and in different education systems. A strong believer in the adaptation of new technologies in Teaching and Learning in general and in mathematics in particular. Current research focus is on Mobile Learning and Critical Thinking. |
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Erik Thornquist is a faculty member at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, UAE, where he teaches in the Academic Bridge Program and in the College of Technical Innovation. Mr. Thornquist received his M.A. in TESL from the University of Idaho. He has presented and published for a selection of journals and conferences in North America, Asia, and the Middle East. Since 2013 Mr. Thornquist has published a book chapters on intensive reading best practices and gaze-controlled reading applications, the effects of eye tracking software on reading, and the effects of mobile learning from both pedagogical and professional perspectives. Before coming to the UAE, Mr. Thornquist worked for universities and private companies in the United States, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Japan. He is a member of both TESOL Arabia and TESOL International, trained as an IELTS examiner, and is an accent modification specialist with the ILP. |
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Jonathan Turner is the Supervisor for Learning Resources at the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi, where he has also worked as faculty in the General Studies department, and he is a Cambridge CELTA and Delta trainer. Before coming to the UAE in 2009, Jonathan was Academic Consultant for Cambridge University Press in the Andean Region based in Ecuador. He also worked in Spain, the UK and Equatorial Guinea as an English and Spanish teacher. He has a Master’s in Online and Distance Education from the Open University and an MSc in TESOL from Aston University. |
