Event Date: 26th August 2023

Abstract:

From the “3Rs” of reading, writing, and arithmetic (Dede, 2010) to the multiple Cs including collaboration, critical thinking, character, and creativity (Miro Blog, 2021), educational practices have seen a shift towards more innovative techniques that engage and connect students more with themselves and with others. However, since covid, as educators we have found ourselves recovering and rebuilding as we seek to find a light at the end of the tunnel of COVID depending where we are in the world. As we have answered the call of shifting online, to hybrid, and back and forth again, we have indeed developed further ways to connect and educate around the world, meeting all of the demands that accompany this (Hirsh-Pasak et al. 2021). However, it is now crucial to take pause as we as a global society attempt to find our “newer” normal and understand where COVID times have taken us, what COVID times have revealed to us, and what we are left to work with (Doll et al., 2021).

In this presentation, Dr. Khawaja discusses where we are in education “post” COVID and emphasizes the importance of infusing Social Emotional Learning (SEL) (Pentón-Herrera & Martinez-Alba, 2021) and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) (Sears, 2021) into our classroom conversations and pedagogical practices as we move forward into a new era in education.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Anastasia Khawaja (she/her) is an independent scholar and adjunct professor teaching online composition at University of South Florida currently living in Ramallah, Palestine. She has her doctorate in second language acquisition/instructional technology from the University of South Florida. She researches language experiences and language practices of Palestinians in the Palestinian Territories and in the diaspora. She also trains teachers on different ways to infuse the crucial elements of Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JEDI) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into classroom curriculum. She is the past chair of the Membership Professional Council for TESOL International Association and part of the board of TEFL Kuwait serving as the conference chair and the English for Specific Purposes SIG chair. You can find her work in different TESOL volumes including Creating Classrooms of Peace in English Language Teaching.