Dr. Debbita Tan Ai Lin
SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES, LITERACIES AND TRANSLATION, UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA, Malaysia
Title: Fostering Creative, Inclusive, and Resilient Education in a World of Disparities
Abstract:
The assumption that inclusivity is already the default practice in educational settings is a serious obstacle to learning for the disadvantaged. In this regard, so is the belief that creativity is necessarily encouraged among educators and students. It is not inadequate investment in promotinginclusive and creative educationthat has resulted in a lack of quality educationfor the less privileged. It is inadequate intervention in terms of providing practical, accessible, and student-focused approaches that has resulted in poorer students failing to learn what they should in order to reach their fullest potential.Both inclusive and creative education offer appealingpossibilities and in today’s context,an ideal setting is one that armseducators and students with the bestdigitised tools for teaching and learning. However, reality is ratherremoved from this and many of the bottom billion remain on the wrong side of the digital divide. It is essential then for teaching-learning approaches tonot only be innovative, but to also be creative in a manner that is reliable, reachable, and non-exclusionary. Fundamentally, curiosity, practicalityand adaptability form the core of versatile approaches, and any versatile approach should include lessons that are engaging, easy to design and implement, flexible in terms of delivery mode, and economical to deliver.
Biography:
Debbita has taught at the School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), since 2005. Prior to that, she was a feature writer with work published in various local and international publications. She is keen on interdisciplinary research and her areas of interest include language learning, translation and discourse studies. Her research network primarily comprises academics and practitioners from different parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. She has published widely in high-impact books and journals in the capacity of sole author as well as in collaboration with other scholars, and sits on both local and international editorial boards.
In addition to these, Debbita has reviewed empirical contributions for leading publishers such as Routledge, SAGE UK, and Springer. She is also part of various grants as principal researcher as well as co-researcher, and has presented on different platforms a repertoire of subject matters relating to her research interests and expertise.
Apart from teaching at the undergraduate level, she supervises at the postgraduate level, has graduated students in both tiers (PhD and MA), and continues to serve as examiner in proposal and Viva Voce sessions. In recent years, she has been active in community engagement projects – most notably projects that prioritise learning opportunities for the marginalised and less fortunate – and hopes to grow further in this area in the years to come.
For further details: https://ppblt.usm.my/index.php/lecturer-profile/163-debbita-tan-dr