Fred Bemak

George Mason University, Fairfax, VA USA

September 20, 2022 to October 20, 2022

Dr. Bemak is a Professor Emeritus from the George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and Founder and Executive Director of Counselors Without Borders. Dr. Bemak’s work has focused on cross-cultural psychology, refugee and immigrant mental health, and social justice and human rights. He has published extensively in the fields of cross-cultural and multicultural psychology and counseling, developing culturally responsive clinical intervention models to work with immigrants and refugees, as well as a cross-cultural counseling model to work in disasters. He has lectured and consulted about refugee mental health throughout the world working in 60 countries; been a Visiting Professor in Turkey, Brazil, Australia, Mexico; was a Research Scholar in Taiwan, received Fulbright awards in Brazil, Scotland, and Turkey, was a former recipient of a Kellogg Foundation Fellowship in International Leadership and Development; received an Honorary Distinguished Professorship from Amity University in India; and was the recipient of the 2018 State Council for Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV) Outstanding Faculty Award. Dr. Bemak is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and American Counseling Association. Dr. Bemak is currently working in support of a SSHRC PDG grant with numerous SFU faculty members as well. While here, Dr. Bemak is working with Dr. Robert Williamson and Dr. Masahiro Minami.

Rita Chi-Yung Chung

George Mason University, USA

September 20, 2022 to October 20, 2022

Dr. Chung is a Professor Emertia from the College of Education & Human Development at the George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She is a well-known scholar whose focus is on cross-cultural psychology and counselling, human rights and social justice, refugees and immigrants, Asian mental health, and human trafficking. Born and raised in New Zealand, she has worked all over the world and has a history of invited presentations such as one to the United Nations to speak on human trafficking. She has served as Project Director with the NIMH funded National Center for Asian American Mental Health based at UCLA, is extensively published, has been the recipient of numerous extremely prestigious awards including the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award, and remains a Fellow of APA and ACA. While here, Dr. Chung is working with Dr. Robert Williamson and Dr. Masahiro Minami.

Man Huang     

Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China

August 30, 2022 to August 29, 2023

Dr. Huang is an Associate Professor in the School of Foreign Languages at the Shenzhen University, Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, China.

Her previous work focuses on lexical and metaphorical studies at cross-linguistic level, probing into a cognitive interpretation of the difference and similarity between Chinese and English language phenomena. Her current work develops in two strands: the first strand investigates variable language use in networks from an ecolinguistic perspective, and the second strand focuses on course evaluation and assessment in an EFL context. While here, she will be collaborating with Angel Lin in her recent EGAP/EAP research in analyzing whether IELTS tests can predict academic success. She is also compiling a textbook of Academic English Reading, and is working on a current National Social Science project, which is a comparative study of idiomatic variation and its pedagogical implications in both Chinese and English. While here, Dr. Huang is working with Dr. Angel Lin.

Jennifer Miskec

Longwood University, Farmville, VA USA

May 1, 2022 to May 31, 2022

Dr. Miskec is an English Professor at in the English and Modern Languages Department at Longwood University, who specializes in children’s and young adult literature. Jennifer is a Fulbright Scholar. Her courses include Children’s Literature, Young Adult Literature, Diversity in Literature for Young Readers, and Special Topics in Young Adult Literature. Dr. Miskec’s interests include contemporary American’s and young adult literature, popular picture books, Early Reader books, Middle Grade Reader books, global children’s culture, and place-based pedagogy. While here, she will be working with Beth Marshall in the development of an undergraduate special topics course on equity, diversity, and middle grade children’s books. As children’s books are central to the curriculum in elementary and middle-grade classrooms in British Columbia, teaching future educators how to choose high quality literature is critically important as middle grade fictions allow for the incorporation of diverse perspectives into the classrooms. While here, Dr. Miskec was working with Dr. Beth Marshall.

Peter Chin Soon Teo

National Institute of Education, Singapore

April 1, 2022 to May 31, 2022

Dr. Peter Teo is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language & Literature at the National Institute of Education in Singapore. Having started out in his career as a language teacher in school and now a teacher educator at the National Institute of Education in Singapore, Peter Teo has had the opportunity to view teaching from both the practice and theory perspectives. His postgraduate education in Macquarie University in Australia and Lancaster University in the United Kingdom has also afforded him a critical lens with which to view sociocultural and sociolinguistic phenomena. His current work, both in teaching and research, converges on fields like Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and topics related to critical literacy and language pedagogy. While here, Dr. Teo was working with Dr. Angel Lin.

Orly Buchbinder

University of New Hampshire, Lee, NH USA

March 2, 2022 to May 31, 2022

Dr. Orly Buchbinder is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of New Hampshire, receiving her PhD in Mathematics Education from Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. Prior to pursuing her doctorate she taught high school mathematics in Israel for 8 years. Her research interests are broad, with the main focus on teaching and learning mathematical reasoning and proving at the secondary level. Studying both the cognitive and social aspects of students’ mathematical reasoning and justification processes, she aspires to understand the ways in which teachers can support students’ development of mathematical reasoning and argumentation skills. From a teacher educator’s perspective she queries the kinds of knowledge and professional support that pre-service and practicing teachers need in order to create learning environments that foster students’ engagement with justification and proving. From an instructional design perspective her research activities include design and evaluation of curriculum materials that provide students and prospective teachers with opportunities to practice mathematical reasoning, argumentation and proving. While here, Dr. Buchbinder was working with Dr. Rina Zazkis.

Yukihiro Takagishi 

Kumamoto University, Japan

February 4, 2022 to September 16, 2022

Dr. Takagishi is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences at the Kumamoto University in Kumamoto, Japan. While here, Dr. Takagishi is working with Dr. Masahiro Minami on an international joint research related to the child welfare fields. The joint research is an attempt to develop and connect an advanced course to the basic staff training CORE developed and implemented by Dr. Minami for working in the child welfare field. His research interests can be divided into two main categories: 1) examination of theories of the causes effects of therapeutic and educational interventions for sexual problems among children in foster homes and psychological treatment facilities for children, and 2) development of programs for staff who intervene in sexual problems among children.

José Domene

University of Calgary, Canada

January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022

Dr. José Domene immigrated to Canada with his family when he was a teenager, and has a Mexican and Chinese cultural heritage. José joined the Werklund School of Education as a Professor at the University of Calgary in 2018, having previously taught at the University of New Brunswick and Trinity Western University in British Columbia. He teaches graduate courses in counselling psychology and is a Registered Psychologist in Alberta.

Dr. Domene specializes in career development, and has engaged in a number of projects related to youth, and particularly marginalized youth. While here, he is working with Dr. Kris Magnusson in structuring the data entry and first round of data analysis on the Connecting Career Development and Mental Health for Youth (CCDMHY) Partnership Development Grant.

Ofer Marmur

University of Auckland, New Zealand     

July 10, 2021 to July 9 2022

Ofer Marmur is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor equivalent) of Mathematics Education in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His research focuses on the interrelationship between the cognitive, affective, and social dimensions of student learning, specifically in the context of undergraduate mathematics and teacher education. He was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University, Canada, after having completed his doctoral studies in the Faculty of Education in Science and Technology at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.

Dr. Marmur is working on two ongoing projects. The first is a book with Dr. Rina Zazkis on “Memorable events in teaching, learning, and investigating mathematics”, which acknowledges the human dimension of mathematical doing and analyses “memorable events” from one’s mathematics studies across different topics and populations (students, teachers, mathematicians, and mathematics educators). The second is a scholarly article in collaboration with Associate Professor Yvonne Lai from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in which they compare different representations of practice and the aspects of teachers’ mathematical and pedagogical knowledge evident in each. Additionally, he is collaborating with Prof. David Pimm, inquiring into the role of lecturers’ gestures in communicating mathematical ideas in undergraduate mathematics courses.

Dr. Neha Shivhare

Dr. Neha Shivhare is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education, Dayalbagh Educational Institute in Agra, and presently is visiting Simon Fraser University, where she is collaborating with Dr. David Kaufman in his projects on the theme Digital to Social Learning. She is an ISO certified Internal Auditor and has been a recipient of the Director’s Medal and President’s Medal for her extraordinary academic achievement at the University level. During her visit, Dr. Shivhare is discussing and exploring possibilities for future research in the area of digital learning from a pedagogical perspective and a gerontological  benefits perspective with faculty members at  Simon Fraser University. She hopes  to exchange ideas for collaborative educational programs between SFU and her university in India.

Dr. Junling Li

Dr. Junling Li is an Associate Professor from the International Confucianism Research Center, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, Jinan, China. She is working with Dr. Heesoon Bai from February 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021.

Dr. Zhiying (Maggie) Zhong

Dr. Zhiying Zhong is a professor of the School of Foreign Languages in South China Agricultural University, China. Her advisers at SFU are Dr. John Nesbit and Dr. Sepideh Fotovation. Her research has been closely related with Applied Linguistics, Psycholinguistics and Ecolinguistics, such as Teaching English as a Foreign Language, English vocabulary size testing, psychological processing of English high-frequency formulas by foreign language learners. She currently researches Ecolinguistics hoping to contribute to the ecology from the language perspective.

Dr. Vivien Swee Leng

Vivien Huan visited the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University in the Fall of 2018. She worked with Wanda Cassidy, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in Education, and her research team on cyberbullying behaviors among youths. Back in Singapore where she is from, Vivien is an Associate Dean at the Office of Teacher Education with the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. Apart from collaborating with Wanda on research matters, Vivien also met up with different education faculty staff to discuss and exchange ideas related to teacher education programs, in particular, the professional development program.

Jiang Dong

Jiang Dong is a lecturer at Yuanpei College, Shaoxing University, where he has been teaching English as a foreign language for eleven years. His academic interests are English language literacy and research, translation studies and intercultural communication. He is now collaborating with Dr. Joel Heng Hartse on the project of English education in the Republic of China (1912-1949). He has his works published by TESOL Press, the Journal of Liaoning Normal University and etc.

Dr. Romee Lee

Dr. Romee Lee is a research fellow of the Institute for Educational Research in Yonsei University, Korea. She is currently a visiting scholar in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. In her time in the Faculty Dr. Lee has conducted research on her own project on the theme of women, immigrants, and lifelong learning in which SFU’s commitment on diversity has contributed. She has worked directly with Dr. Suzanne Smythe and presented her research at the 2018 American Educational Research Association (AERA) along with other Canadian scholars in a session entitled Transnational Perspectives on Adult Learning chaired by Dr. Smythe. Dr. Lee has contributed to PhD classes in the Languages, Cultures, and Literacies program, including presenting her research on the publishing experiences of Korean women scholars. Dr. Lee is currently involved in a research project on Korea’s K-12 policy development funded by Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI), investigating Canada’s teacher education policy and practices with implications for Korea.

Dr. Hyu Yong Park

Dr. Park has earned his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, majoring in bilingual and multicultural education in 2008. He's an associate professor at the Department of Education, Chonbuk National University, South Korea, and has been researching in the field of curriculum theories, multicultural education, and language education. He is currently serving for the vice-president of the Korean Association of Multicultural Education, and working for the chief editor of the Korean Journal of Educational Research. His adviser at SFU is Dr. Huamei Han. Under her leadership, he is attending to the graduate students' seminars. He is currently interested in the research themes, such as critical thinking in education, critical multicultural education, and the future agenda for education reform.

Dr. Helena Brandão Viana

Dr. Brandão Viana conducted research on her own project and worked directly with Dr. David Kaufman. She joined the AGE-WELL NCE research group and continued to study methods of education for elderly people. Her contributions also included educational technologies, digital games for learning, problem based learning, and teaching and learning in higher education.

Minxian Feng

Minxian Feng is currently collaborating with Dr. Saskia Stille on a comparative study on English teaching and learning methods for adults and children. She is also offering consultations on matters related to applied foreign languages and is contributing to the development of programs for the Faculty of Education in the area of English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

Dr. Vladimir Kudriavtsev

Dr. Kudriavtsev visited the Faculty of Education in March to continue his work with Dr. Natalia Gajdamaschko and Dr. Mike Cole (UCSD) on a manuscript on CHAT and imagination development. He also participated in meetings with different faculty members and graduate students that are interested in Vygotsky theory. One of the highlights of the visit was a public presentation with Dr. Mike Cole and Dr. Kudryavtces, that was sponsored by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Education in association with CELLTR and IERG.  

Dr. Sian Preece

Dr. Preece visited the Faculty of Education to work with Dr. Steve Marshall, Dr. Valia Spiliotopoulos and Dr. Danièle Moore. She worked collaboratively with the Visiting Scholar Dr. Lee supporting research related to pluri/multilingual education, and participated in the seminar series for the British Association of Applied Linguistics.

Dr. Wiske Rotinsulu

Dr. Rotinsulu began her visit by attending the 9^th World Environmental Education Congress and the follow on UN University Workshop that Dr. David Zandvliet chaired in downtown Vancouver lasting 7 days (September 9-15). The congress was held on location at the Vancouver Centre and she attended a variety of sessions reflecting her interests and diverse perspectives on environmental education – particularly as it applies in developing countries. Following the congress and workshops she began planning for the next Indonesia Field School that will be held in July 2018 with a weeklong series of meetings based at the Surrey campus. Dr. Rotinsulu also attended a variety of special events and meetings including an SFU Alumni event downtown and a consultation with SFU International. In addition to these meetings, Dr. Rotinsulu attended several meetings and information sessions with International Services for Students and the Faculty of Education at the Burnaby campus. Highlights of her visit included a renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding between SFU and UNSRAT, a renewed Indonesia field school curriculum and several new ideas for continuing research collaboration between Dr. Rotinsulu, Dr. Zandvliet and other colleagues from Universitas Sam Ratulangi.

Dr. Yanhong [Cathy] Zhang

Dr. Yanhong Zhang, from Guangxi University in China, has conducted research on her own project and will collaborate with Dr. Roumiana Ilieva and other researchers associated with the Centre for Research on International Education (CRIE) at SFU. She has presided over the project “strategy of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education in Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)” funded by Guangxi government and collaborated in research that looks into ASEAN’ educational cooperation with Canada. Dr. Yanhong will compare status of educational cooperation between China and Canada, finally making a report to Education Office, Embassy of the P.R China. Her contributions also include regional cooperation and educational strategy, e-learning and ICT integration in higher education, learning science and technologies.

Dr. Chunrong Zhao

Dr. Chunrong Zhao is currently visiting the Faculty of Education from Beijing Open University and working directly with Dr. Steve Marshall. She is attending PhD classes on the Languages, Cultures, and Literacies program to learn more about graduate teachings of multilingual and multicultural education in Canada. Attending research meetings, she is also involved with "Plurilingualism as an Asset for Learning across the Disciplines at SFU" project, led by Dr. Marshall and Dr. Danièle Moore. In the Spring of 2018, Dr Chunrong will be collaborating again with Dr. Marshall and colleagues on the development of online teaching resources to help students develop their academic English skills here at SFU. She is aiming to bring some new ideas to her work at Beijing Open University, which is part of the Open University of China, an institution that teaches online courses to approximately 3.5 million students across the country.