I have worked in adult education in different countries for more than 10 years. Holding a Cambridge Delta qualification in adult teaching, I have taught ESOL (English as a Second or Other Language), Business English and Communication, IELTS preparation and EAP (English for Academic Purposes). 
 
My main research interest in education has always been interdisciplinary research in learning and teaching. At OPAIC I am currently teaching English for Academic Purposes to international students who are pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in New Zealand. Being an inherently practical and experiential subject, English has been at the basis of many of my research endeavours into learning and teaching models that can be applied across different academic subjects. My focus has been to find new ways to increase learner autonomy through experiential learning and learner-centred teaching practice. Here at OPAIC I also helped facilitate an academic staff induction programme, by supporting new academic staff in their use of experiential learning and reflective practice, as part of their professional development. 

I recently completed a research-based Master of Professional Practice in Tertiary Education, looking into innovative ways to enable my students to form lifelong learning habits with the help of experiential learning and reflective practice. By using an experiential learning model we developed together, the students could successfully apply it to their English for Academic Purposes course, as well as other subsequent subjects they studied. 

I am currently researching another method to encourage learner autonomy in my classes and have started a project on co-creation of assessments. Together with a colleague from another department, we are hoping to engage our students to play a bigger role in the decision-making processes regarding their academic studies. This will hopefully result in more student participation in both assessment and curriculum design. 

Read more about my research here.