Cecile Popp

Background

About Cecile Popp

As an educator I am passionate about learning and model this attitude of growth for my students. I am constantly examining my own classroom pedagogy and curriculum, and in collaboration with colleagues growing and evolving. Over the past twenty years I have had the privilege of working with talented teachers and administrators at excellent schools in Turkey and Toronto, Canada; as well as attending workshops by prominent educators across all areas of this profession. For seven years I worked at Robert College in Istanbul, where I taught English Literature to grade nine students. Robert College is an independent high school and its students are among the best in Turkey. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest American high school still operating outside of the United States. The calibre of students at Robert College allowed me to implement truly student-centred teaching methods. The school's 1:1 laptop program and collaborative tools such as GoogleClassroom helped me maximize student engagement as I taught critical thinking in reading and writing, developed my students' language skills, and instiled in them a love of reading. My talented and like-minded colleagues and administration gave me the opportunity to collaborate on curriculum and assessment reform, two areas about which I am passionate. After a two year hiatus during which I focused on my writing, I recently returned to teaching, this time at the university level. In addition to teaching, I coordinate the ongoing professional development of teachers at the School of Foreign Languages at the Adana Alparslan Türkeş Science and Technolgy University. My areas of expertise include: ESL and Literature, Readers' Workshop, team leadership, UbD and 1:1 laptop integration.