Student-Centered Learning in the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic – KRD – Dr Bnar Ahmed – بەسەنتەرکردنی قوتابی بۆ فێربوون لە کاتی کۆڤید-19.

About the webinar:

Covid-19 pandemic profoundly affected education. In order to keep education running, educational institutions have had to quickly adapt to the situation. This has resulted in an unprecedented push to online learning. However, transitioning to online courses poses logistical and pedagogical challenges. These transformational challenges do not allow us to return to the previous, rather, they are an opportunity to check-in and ensure taught courses are centering on students and their learning experience. Teachers require ongoing professional development opportunities to improve their academic skills. Koya university has been investing in improving the quality of education through an innovative professional development programme led by Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and conducted by Häme University of Applied Sciences. The university supported the implantation of a student-centered learning pilot programme and its comprehensive feedback which collected by student reflections and questionnaires to adjust its implementation at the university level. In addition, conducting several pedagogical development training courses for the academic staff, that focused on student-centered and competency-based education. This prior pandemic strategy helped the university to adapt to the pandemic challenges and empowered teachers with the knowledge and skills they need to cope with the shifts needed post-Covid-19.  

About the Instructor:

Bnar is a doctor of nanotechnology in the Department of Chemistry, where he has joined the work at Koya University since 2007. He gained a B.Sc. degree in chemistry from Baghdad University in 2003, M.Sc. degree in the chemistry of polymer from Baghdad University in 2007, and Ph.D. degree in nanomaterials from the Durham University, UK, in 2016. He started his academic teaching in 2007 when he joined the work at Koya University, Kurdistan region-Iraq, as an Assistant Lecturer in the department of chemistry. Recently, Dr. Bnar is heading the pedagogy and academic development centre at Koya University.