Zakir is a Teacher-Librarian, a spirited researcher and an advocate of school librarianship. As an Educator, Zakir is committed to inquiry-based, interdisciplinary and contextualized learning with vertical and horizontal alignment. To him, learning should be inclusive, active, challenging and fun. As a Teacher, his strengths lie in facilitating lessons on research skills, digital citizenship, academic integrity and artificial intelligence tools.
The most significant thing I have ever done was to become an international educator. My international teaching experiences have allowed me to work with students from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, and I have gained the ability to adjust my teaching styles and provide accommodations for all of my students, regardless of their level of capacity. As a Teacher-Librarian and a Google Certified Educator, topics such as information literacy and ICT are at the forefront of my delivery and I believe Teacher-Librarians are the catalyst for multi-literacy efforts in schools.
Before moving to ICS, Zurich, I worked at universities and international schools in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia, and delivered workshops and conference presentations in the US, Singapore, Croatia, Greece, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. As an early career researcher, my research interests revolve around the field of school librarianship, copyright and academic integrity literacy. I have been named for several professional awards and grants as a result of my commitment and dedication to the broader community."
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Currently serving as a Vice President (elect) of the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL), Zakir is intimately involved in the school library movement locally and globally. Personally, Zakir is a progressive thinker and results-oriented individual, and an aficionado of traveling, forest-walking, cycling and a tech geek at heart!
