Kanchi Das

Background

About Kanchi Das

I hold a PhD in English Literature and have around 20 years of teaching experience; I have taught MYP English, IB English A, Cambridge IGCSE curriculum as well as the Edexcel O and A levels. I am an experienced IB English Extended Essay Supervisor. I have also taught core English Literature at the UG level. My IB students have scored straight 7 in all papers while my EE students have scored full marks in IB Extended Essay. Since the last 15 years, I have been an IB English examiner and English Extended Essay examiner. I have also received the CIE certificate for First Language English Coursework Moderator. At Dubai International Academy, I received Outstanding Teacher rating from KHDA, Incyte Director Caroline McKee and from other Inspectors and now mentor DIA teachers for the Incyte Mentoring programme. Before joining DIA, I was the English Coordinator for Grades 8 to 13 (IGCSE & IB) at Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai, India. In my above mentioned capacities, I have served at the head of several leadership teams in the English department and have designed assessment strategies and played a lead role in the horizontal and vertical alignment of the linguistic skills from different curricula so as to streamline and render more effective the department’s philosophy. The assessment policy was restructured focusing more on skills rather than on content to help students develop as independent learners. I conduct PD sessions on MYP and DP English and in my role as a mentor, have supported many teachers to evolve as Outstanding professionals. I also help students write their Personal Statements and University Application essays. I use different teaching strategies, especially Visible Thinking strategies, Design Thinking and inter-disciplinary approach to engage students and make the learning more meaningful. My lessons, therefore, go beyond Differentiation and personalize the learning. Consequently, my lesson plans have annotations on Lesson Outcomes, Scaffolded and Extension tasks to address particular student(s). My expertise lies in planning strategies for clear and measurable success in students’ learning. Triangulation of data from various sources makes certain that I use data meaningfully to inform the department goals. Professional Ph.D. in 2006 on “Image versus Identity: Resisting the Stereotypes, A study of Sexual Politics in the Writings of Fay Weldon”.