Language Classroom Content & Pedagogy College & University Education Featured Speaker Workshop
Reflections on the Pandemic: Coming Back Stronger
The COVID-19 pandemic challenged educators professionally. This session reflects on how the pandemic provided initially unwelcome, yet ultimately rewarding, professional development opportunities, especially regarding technology. This session explores how to improve in-person teaching practices with these newly acquired expertise. Using differentiated instruction theory (Tomlinson, 2005), we will focus on repurposing the methods and materials developed for distance learning to scaffold learning more successfully, assess progress more efficiently, provide more effective remediation, and encourage learner agency.
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Thomas Healy is an Assistant Professor at the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Pratt Institute, in New York City. From 2011 to 2015, he was a Professor of English at Kyung Hee Cyber University, based in Seoul. His main research interest is on the use of technology and easy-to-use digital tools in English language instruction. Thomas presents regularly on how to adapt traditional materials and teaching techniques to meet the needs of the Selfie Generation. His presentation Create a Digital Course Pack was highlighted by the International TESOL organization as one of the favorite sessions of the International TESOL conference in 2014. He is a co- author of Smart Choice, 4th Edition, published by Oxford University Press. Thomas holds a master’s degree from the National University of Ireland.