Khawla Kittaneh

Specialization

Composition & TESOL

Education

• A.B.D. in TESOL & Composition. Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Indiana, Pennsylvania.
• M.Ed. with TESOL Certificate. University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• Bachelor of Science in English Literature, with minor Teaching English as a Second Language for Adults. University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. Whitewater, Wisconsin.

Biography

Khawla Kittaneh joined VCUarts Qatar in Fall 2014 where she teaches composition, literature, and research courses as a member of the Liberal Arts & Sciences program.

Khawla’s research interests range from Second Language Learning and Second Language Writing, Culture and Identity, and Learning and Technology. However, her passion lies most in Pop Culture in Education, which is the reason why she tends to integrate several pop culture elements in her teaching such as Friends, Harry Potter, and Marvel as she finds them very relevant to students and their interests.

In her free time, Khawla enjoys listening to audiobooks and murder-mystery podcasts. She also enjoys watching horror movies and reading horror fiction, especially Stephen King novels.

Research Interests

• Second Language Learning
• Second Language Writing
• Culture and Identity
• Popular Culture & Horror Fiction
• Learning and Technology

Publications

• Kittaneh, K., Weber, A. S., Bianchi, R., Laws, S., & Yyelland, B. (2022). Student online engagement in Qatar during COVID-19: Survey of expert opinion. Proceedings of the 16^th annual International Technology, Education and Development Conference. Valencia, Spain / Virtual.
• Amor, M. C., Ghanam, R., Kittaneh, K., Lee, A., Al-Sulaiti, K., Alsayed, M., & Boone, S. (2022). Impacts of technology on learning in a studio-based environment: Lessons from Covid-19. Proceedings of the 53^rd The Environmental Design Research Association Conference. EDRA. Greenville, SC.
• Atun, H., Çınar, D., Öztaş, E. S., Gülbahar, Y., Laws, S., Weber, A. S., Bianchi, R., & Kittaneh, K. (Manuscript in process). A systematic review of online engagement for Turkish context.

Funded Research Projects and Grants

• Co-Principle Investigator, “Best Practices in Synchronous Conferencing Software-assisted Teaching: An EC Faculty Group Perspective”, Faculty Group Grant (FGG): Qatar Foundation Multiversity Grant, 2022 (9,500 QAR)
• Co-Primary Investigator, “Qatar-based Student and Faculty Focus Groups and Survey on Online Student Engagement”, Faculty Research Grant Undergraduate (FGG-U), 2022 ($ 11,000 USD)
• Co-Principle Investigator, “Systematic Review of Online Student Engagement in the MENA Region (1995-2022)”, Faculty Research Grant Collaborate (FGG-C), 2022 ($11,000)
• Co-Principle Investigator, “Impacts of Technology on Learning in a Studio-Based Environment”, Faculty Research Grant-Undergraduate, funded by Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, January 1-December 31, 2022 ($11,000).
• Co-Principal Investigator, “Enhancing Online Student Engagement in the State of Qatar”, Dean’s Special Initiatives, funded by Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, 2020 ($14,000).