After graduating from CIE in September 2018, I returned to my home country, Bangladesh, and joined my old work place, the Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Dhaka as an assistant professor. I always loved teaching, and still love to learn from my students. However, teaching has become more challenging now after experiencing the teaching-learning pedagogy of our scholar-practitioner faculties at CIE and UMASS. I am continuously trying to improve myself applying new and innovative ideas of teaching, assessment, and student engagement.
I am also wearing different other hats. I am working as a house tutor for a residential hall for girls at this university, with responsibility of organizing different programs and events for the students, and addressing their different needs and problems. I am working as an expert reviewing materials developed for Rohingya children under the Learning Competency Framework and Approach (LCFA) for Children of Displaced People from Rakhine State, Myanmar. I will soon start working with a team of IER faculty on a project of Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) to study teachers’ intended and real application of the pedagogical skills learned in the training, which has a similar focus as my PhD dissertation.
Recently my students arranged a fair to exhibit alternative tools for data collection for research with little guidance and mentoring from me. In the fair they exhibited their tools in different ways and talked about the tools that they developed and tried out in very small scale. This initiative was highly valued and appreciated by the students, faculties of universities, and other relevant persons and organizations. I can’t wait to share new initiatives and accomplishments of mine as they happen with the CIE community.
Standing here at this time, I am very grateful to all my CIE faculty members and peers. What I have learned from the CIE community is tremendous and is still unfolding as I re-invent myself. And yes, if I could revisit any period of my past, I would definitely choose to go back to my CIE, UMASS graduate life. Especially, I remember Amherst every single day! Love for the CIE folks. Sumera [2-20]
Email: Sumera.ier@gmail.com