Mount Saint Mary College's Sigma Tau Chapter 451 of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), the international honor society in education, recently present a three-day virtual conference titled "Pandemic Pedagogy: Lessons Learned; Moving Forward."
"Pandemic Pedagogy" brought together educators from across the globe to discuss their experiences teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the pandemic's impact on the future of education.
Attendees, including many Mount students, had a chance to hear perspectives on teaching and learning during the pandemic from educators across the world.
From keynote speaker Ramesh Sharma describing the progression of online learning in India, to high school teacher and author Amber Chandler, a finalist for New York State Teacher of the year, sharing her humanistic practices to educate students, the conference was truly international in participation and in scope. Presenters from the USA, Sweden, India, Italy, Greece, Costa Rica, Israel, Canada, and the United Kingdom shared perspectives with attendees from 22 countries.
In addition to Sharma, keynote speakers included:
- Nilay Yajnik, Provost of Navrachana University, Vadodara, India
- Maura Striano, director of the Center for Active and Participated Inclusion of the Students at the University of Naples Federico II; and
- Sara Mursic, Head of Autism Research and Development at Abbot's Lea School, Liverpool, UK
Workshop sessions engaged the audience in thought-provoking discussions, exchange of ideas, and innovative methods of teaching during the pandemic. Presenters included Santyago Lopez, a teacher from Costa Rica; Nives Torresi, a teacher of English from Italy; Mount alumna Rebecca Quackenbush, an elementary school teacher from Chester, N.Y.; Anna Diagileva-Tkachuk, the Founder of TeachersloveEDU, Russia; Joshua Patterson, assistant professor of education at the Mount; Jodi Fahey, assistant professor of Chemistry at the Mount; Megan Jackson of Washington, D.C. and Lindsay Byer of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., research students at the Mount; and many more.
Nellie Deutsch, a Canadian educational technology expert, contributed her expertise working within international, virtual environments and providing technical support for the conference.
About KDP Sigma Tau Chapter 451
Kappa Delta Pi promotes excellence in, and recognizes outstanding contributions to, the field of education. The society endeavors to maintain a high degree of professional fellowship among its members, quicken professional growth, and honor achievement in educational work.
The Mount's Sigma Tau Chapter 451 of KDP is dedicated to service-learning in the local community. It has planned and implemented multiple events before and during the pandemic. Mount KDP students have aided in a literacy program at the local charitable organization, Newburgh Ministry; tutored students from Bishop Dunn Memorial School (a K-8 school on the Mount campus); hosted webinars on a variety.
The chapter is overseen by KDP Mount co-counselors Ludmilla Smirnova, professor of Education; and Sonya Abbye-Taylor, associate professor of Education.
The chapter was recently awarded Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society's Achieving Chapter Excellence (ACE) Award. The award was presented at their annual conference, held virtually. Christiana Kerrs of Wappingers Falls, N.Y. earned the Distinguished Officer award for her leadership as president during the 2020-21 academic year.