DAY 1 / PRESENTERS

B. M. C. N Balasooriya is an instructor of English who works at College of Technology under the purview of Department of Technical Education and Training in Sri Lanka. Prior to joining Department of Technical Education and Training (DTET), he worked for the Department of Education as a teacher of English for ten years. In addition, he works as an assessor (NVQ) and Quality Ambassador

He was awarded BA (special) Languages degree by Sabaragamuwa University, Sri Lanka in 1999. He holds two master degrees in Business Administration (MBA) from Wayamba University, Sri Lanka and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from Open University, Sri Lanka. He is currently reading for his PhD at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka.

He has published several books for English and soft skills and number of researches on Quality Management, Employee Job Satisfaction and Industry Linkage.

Topic: Using CBAM to investigate the instructors' concerns at a TVET Institution in Trinidad and Tobago on the introduction of Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carol Mitchell holds a Master in Arts in Leadership in Technical Vocational Education Training and Workforce Development, a Bachelor in Education in Family and Consumer Science from the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Diplomas in Fashion Management from the UTT, Technical Vocational Instructor Teacher Training (TVITT) from MIC-Institute of Technology (MIC-IT) and Certificates from Commonwealth of Learning in Understanding OER for Online Learning. She manages the Academy for Vocational Education & Training at MIC-IT, responsible for the delivery of training areas of Diploma in TVITT, Supervisory Management, and Train-the-Trainer. She is also an Examiner, Moderator, and Compiling Moderator for the National Examination Council in Trinidad and Tobago.

Dr Ferdinand-James has over 20 years of experience in post-secondary education (online and face-to-face) both in the U.S. and the Caribbean. She teaches technology-related and workforce development courses both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She has worked with industry partners for the advancement of the TVET sector as a former Quality Assurance Officer. Her research interests include curriculum inclusiveness, blended learning, academic support, mixed methods, Industry 4.0, and Education 4.0. She presents at different symposia to include webinars and virtual summits, and publishes in these areas locally, regionally, and internationally

Grace McLean joined the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information in July 2009 as Deputy Chief Education Officer, she was appointed in the post of Chief Education Officer and has since been promoted to Act as Permanent Secretary. She attended the Edwin Allen Comprehensive School in Clarendon. A trained teacher and Human Resource practitioner, Grace McLean is no stranger to the education sector. She taught at the St. Jago High School for five (5) years where she served as Head of Department. Before joining the Central Ministry, she served at the HEART Trust/NTA (an agency of the Ministry of Education, youth and Information) for 14 years and left HEART Trust/NTA as the Senior Programmes Director.

Grace McLean holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Career and Technical Vocational Education, Masters of Business Administration Degree in Human Resource Management, from the University of the West Indies and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from the University of Technology. She holds a certificate from the Harvard Business School in Strategic Data Management.

Her wealth of experience and technical skills include TVET Leadership, Strategic Planning, Disruptive Innovation, Log Frame Planning and Balance Scorecard Methodologies, Change Management, Strategic Data Planning, Business Process Improvement as well as Behavioural Interviewing Techniques.

Grace McLean has served and continues to serve on several boards and committees in various areas of the Country. She also serves and represents Jamaica on a regular basis at regional and international meetings where she serves on several committees. She is regularly involved in public speaking, responds to various educational issues in the media and aims to continuously improve the educational system.

Grace McLean has been lending her expertise on the boards and committees she sits on in the areas of Human Resource, Finance, Audit and Operations. She is also an expert in Technical Vocational Education and Training and provides guidance locally, regionally and internationally on various TVET issues, concepts and principles from which she has done several publications.

Grace McLean is a member of the Barbican Baptist Church. She is married to Eron and has two children; son Orville and daughter Eronica.

Title: ‘Online TVET Delivery by YTEPP Ltd. in Trinidad and Tobago’.

Josann Maxine Moses is a holder of a Master of Arts in Leadership in Technical and Vocational Education and Workforce Development, a Master of Science in Strategic Leadership and Management (both from the University of the West Indies), and a Bachelor in Business Administration (University of New Brunswick). She is a Course Designer for the Universal Postal Union.

With the personal credo, “the sky is not the limit, the mind is”, she is charting her career path toward contributing to the development of the human resource of Trinidad and Tobago and by extension the Region. Her research interests are teacher quality, youth development through TVET and entrepreneurship.

Title of Presentation: Exploring an Online Collaborative Learning Theory in the TVET Classroom During COVID-19

Serving the field of education for over 30 years.

-Currently serving as Senior Lecturer/Head of School of Technical and Vocational Education

-Adjunct Lecturer in the Graduate School of Education at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica.

-Member of the Research Association of Minority Professors (RAMP) in the USA.

-Member of the ICT Steering Committee at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information

-Presented Research Papers at several conferences and has published Research Papers in Journals.

Qualifications:

- Doctorate in Higher Educational Leadership from Walden University

- Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University

- Bachelors’ Degree in Industrial Technology from UTech, Jamaica

- Post Diploma in School Administration and Management from The Mico University College

- Diploma in Teaching from Church Teachers College

-Adjunct Lecturer in the Graduate School of Education at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica.

-Member of the Research Association of Minority Professors (RAMP) in the USA.

- Member of the ICT Steering Committee at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information

- Presented Research Papers at several conferences and has published Research Papers in Journals. Research Interests: TVET, STEM, Technology Integration, Emerging technologies.

Research Interests: TVET, STEM, Technology Integration, Emerging technologies.

Title of Presentation: Using Innovative Learning Strategies in the Emergency Remote Teaching Environment During COVID-19: Experiences of Inservice TVET Teachers

Madgerie Jameson-Charles is holder of a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (The University of the West Indies), a Masters of Education, Education for Employment (University of Sheffield, U.K). and A PhD in Education, Learning and Instruction in Higher Education (University of Otago, New Zealand). She is a Certified Hospitality Department Trainer from the Education International, American Hotel and Lodging. She successfully completed the Certificate in TVET leadership at UNEVOC, Bonn, Germany.

Her research interests are teacher education, TVET and WFD, Positive youth development and lifelong learning.

Title of Presentation: Fostering transformative learning through quality online learning experiences

Marcia Rowe Amonde (Ph.D) is currently a Senior Director at the Human Employment and Resource Training (HEART) Agency, Jamaica. There she has portfolio responsibilities for the procurement and development of instructional resources and advancing flexible and online learning.

Marcia has been responsible for integration of TVET in the formal education system including secondary and tertiary education and providing leadership for the monitoring and evaluation of TVET programmes and initiatives and was Principal of the Vocational Training Development Institute. Marcia also served as the UNESCO – UNEVOC Cluster Coordinator for the Caribbean and the Official Delegate for WorldSkills Jamaica.

She holds a diploma in teacher education from Sam Sharpe Teachers College, a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the West Indies, a Master of Science degree in Training Systems Design from the University of Twente, Holland, and a doctorate focusing on effective learning in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) from the University of Manchester, UK in addition to certificates in TVET leadership from UNESCO – UNEVOC and skills development from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

She has participated in various conferences making presentations on effective learning with the context of competency based education and training and has taught at high schools and in a further education college in England. She believes in the transformative power of learning and the empowerment of youths deemed to be marginalized and at risk.

Ms. Patricia Bidart has held positions of instructor and administrators at three colleges in Alberta and British Columbia. Pat was involved in leading the development of the first programs at Alberta colleges which saw students with disabilities receive vocational and employment training at the college level. As well in Pat’s portfolio was the development of support services for students with disabilities at the college. Pat’s present role is the Senior Technical Advisor on the Skills to Access the Green Economy working in Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia and Jamaica. A focus of the program is to provide training at the institution level for integrating students with disabilities in to the SAGE programs in the Caribbean.

She has also instructed CBET in China, Tanzania, Mozambique, Canada and Belize and has worked with the partners to facilitate an applied approach to teaching. She worked in Kingston with CICan as Senior Technical Advisor for the CEFE program with responsibilities in Jamaica, Belize, Guyana and Suriname.

S.A. Nalin Danushka is a researcher in both online and blended learning since 2018 and he has published a few articles and research papers in local and international magazines and research conference proceedings. Currently, he has completed his PhD research on the effectiveness of instructional strategies in flipped classroom learning for teacher development courses in the local higher educational contexts. His publications have immensely supported to promote adaptation of instructional framework for flipped classroom learning within the blended higher educational contexts.

Title of the paper: Theoretical and Instructional Strategy Framework of Blended Learning

Dr Thushani Alwis Weersinghe is presently the coordinator of the e-Learning Centre of the UCSC and the Deputy Director /Training at the “Cyber Campus” the Distance Learning Centre of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She obtained her PhD degree from the department of Computer and System Sciences, Stockholm University, Sweden in 2015. She has a special interest on designing online learning environments for distance learning programmes and conducting research on technology enhance learning environments.

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