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Jul 26 2016

Jodi Lefort

The International Educator

Jodi Lefort is an educator who has made a name for herself in the international scene. Lecturer, Writing Coordinator, President, Student Support Head, Assistant Director, these are some of the titles she has had as she has impacted education throughout the Middle East and North Africa region.

From founding MENAWCA, setting up numerous writing centers and working with university students to innovating with the Takatuf Scholars Programme, Jodi has had a hand in taking education to new places in the region. She has currently made a transition in her career from Assistant Director to consultant with the Takatuf Scholars Programme. She holds degrees from Exeter University, University of New Orleans and Stephen F. Austin State University. She moved to the region as an enthusiastic 30 year old fresh out of graduate school.

Writing as a Passion

Jodi has a passion for writing. One of her biggest successes has been through opening writing centers. Her background in learning support led her to develop writing instruction across the region. She is a founder of MENAWCA (Middle East North Africa Writing Centers Alliance) which began ten years ago and just had its sixth conference. She has been a key component in starting from five writing centers in the region to now over fifty. As Jodi puts it, “writing centers have come up in a grass roots way.” When Jodi first began in the region, some universities did not include writing as part of the curriculum. She has helped build that and the theoretical side, establishing a culture of writing here. “It is so linked to people’s success, especially when studying English as a second language.”

Her Work at Sultan Qaboos

As the Head of Learning Support at the Language Center, Jodi developed an extensive reading program using technology run through Moodle. This program was for university students learning English. “It was a tremendous experiment that worked,” she stated. As a result of running this program through the use of technology, Jodi saw students who were reading far more than required and students hanging out in the library together centered around books.

The Takatuf Scholars Programme

The Takatuf Scholars Programme in Oman brought Jodi on board due to her work as Head of Student Support at Sultan Qaboos University. The Programme was started by Oman Oil company to develop leaders for the country. Jodi stated, “it is human capital development at the earliest stages.” Jodi’s main role with the program was curriculum development for the summer residential program which brings in faculty from all over the globe. The summer resident program is focused on developing 21st century skills and competencies.

Innovation in the Programme

The CEO of the program has stated that the programme, “reflects the Takatuf Oman values of diversity, respect, innovation, responsiveness and creation of value.” Jodi sees innovation as “creative thinking in the programme and thinking outside of the box.” This is seen in the resident program that she has developed where students:
  1. Look at community and define their community.
  2. Begin looking at issues or problems within the community, however they defined that community.
  3. Define the problem and view it from different perspectives.
  4. The end product of this process is that the students develop a creative solution to the problem through investigating how it would be resolved in different parts of the world and coming up with a uniquely Omani solution.
The students are scaffolded through “innovative and creative thinking” as the majority of the students come from government schools which is a rote learning environment. Jodi acclimates her students to this style of learning through interactive activities including POOT, Place Out of Time simulations. A testament to her students, “what they come up with, I would never think of, business leaders come in, look at their projects and say you should really share these ideas.” A handful of the students in the Programme are selected to attend Universities around the world on full scholarship. Upon graduation they bring what they learned back to their home country, Oman.

Eportfolios

Another main role Jodi has played is the student use of eportfolios. This is a work in progress for the Programme. The original platform didn’t quite work as it couldn’t be modified. Therefore, Jodi moved to the use of Google Sites for the students to create their portfolios. This enables students to keep them going as they attend University and beyond. Jodi has set up a template for the students to work from, then the IT teachers introduce the students to it and help them personalize it through the summer program. As international scholars, the eportfolios have become a success as students are using them when applying for University and for jobs. Not only does it show an end product of students’ work, but they use it as a learning tool as well. Students set goals, reflect on their goals, blog, showcase their awards and achievements, projects, assignments and more. Jodi thinks that, “it is beneficial for the programme because it shows what we do. I believe it is beneficial for the scholars because I think it is beneficial for anyone to sit down and reflect and set goals.”

What’s Next?

Jodi has recently stepped into a consultancy role for the Takatuf Scholars Programme as her family is relocating to Abu Dhabi. Her thoughts on our learning as educators is one that requires keeping an open mind, being involved and staying curious. She says, “be willing to make mistakes and get in there and mess it up!”

Profile completed by Kendra Cantrell - April 2016

Written by iie

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