E-MAIL

seza.oktem@bogazici.edu.tr

EDUCATION

M.A., Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), King’s College London, England, 2024 (Pass with Distinction)
B.A., English Language Teaching (ELT), MEF University, Türkiye, 2021 (GPA: 3.86/4.00)

CERTIFICATES

CELTA from Cambridge, 2019 & 2024

ABBREVIATED CURRICULUM VITAE

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Instructor of English

Boğaziçi University School of Foreign Languages | 2022–2023, 2024–2025, 2026–Present

Dean's Assistant

MEF University | March 2017 – June 2021

• Reviewed and updated course syllabi, instructional materials, and assessment methods to improve curriculum quality.
• Coordinated the Learning Management System (LMS) and supported course assessment processes.
• Oversaw the academic experience of approximately 100 preservice teachers each semester.
• Collaborated with faculty to ensure consistent instructional quality and program effectiveness.

Assistant Project Manager

MEF University Online Laboratory School | March 2020 – May 2020

English and Mathematics online education initiative supported by the Australian Embassy.

• Managed educational and operational processes for an online learning program serving 200+ K–12 students and 25 preservice teachers.
• Monitored instructional quality and routinely evaluated educational program implementation.
• Resolved operational challenges in a fast-paced, remote learning environment while ensuring stakeholder satisfaction.

LEADERSHIP & VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

Operations Manager & Project Manager

DERSDEM BİREBİR Tutoring Project | May 2018 – May 2021

• Led the strategic expansion of the project from a local initiative to a nationwide tutoring program.
• Managed operations supporting 600+ participants annually, ensuring program sustainability and coordination.
• Recruited and coordinated 300 volunteers from 30 universities to provide tutoring for 560 students during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Built partnerships with 23 public schools to implement large-scale virtual tutoring.
• Mentored 50 tutors and designed training programs for 200+ volunteers to improve instructional quality.

SELECTED PROJECTS

Tutor Training Coordinator

The DERSDEM BİREBİR Nationwide Service-Learning Project | September 2020 – March 2021

• Redesigned the tutor training curriculum to align with best teaching practices for preservice teachers.
• Established mandatory tutor training, improving instructional consistency and tutor preparedness.

Mentorship Program Developer

The DERSDEM BİREBİR Nationwide Service-Learning Project | April 2020 – March 2021

• Designed and launched the project's first mentorship program for preservice teachers.
• Created structured mentoring and peer feedback processes to support the transition from theory to classroom practice.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Undergraduate Teaching Internships

Hisar Schools | 2018-2019

Terakki Schools | 2019-2020

▸ RESEARCH INTERESTS

Learner-responsive Pedagogy, Materials Design, Preservice Teacher Development

▸ PUBLICATIONS

Demir, S., & Oktem, S. (2023). A benchmark dataset for Turkish data-to-text generation. Computer Speech & Language, 77, Article 101433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csl.2022.101433

Özcan, M., & Öktem, S. (2018). How should teacher education be? A model suggestion: University within School. In Proceedings of the International Symposium of Thinking About Justice and Future in Education on the 78th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Village Institutes.

▸ TALKS/PRESENTATIONS

Öktem, S. (2022, April 25). DERSDEM BİREBİR: An evaluation of a service-learning project for preservice educators [Paper presentation]. 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. https://doi.org/10.3102/1889586

Öktem, S. (2022). DERSDEM BİREBİR: An evaluation of a service-learning project for preservice educators [Conference paper]. MEF University International Student Conference on Educational Sciences, Türkiye.

Karaman, A., Çetin, G., Alibeyoğlu, M., Özcan, M., Öktem, S., & Pekkan, Z. T. (2019). Teacher education at MEF University: Through students' eyes [Conference keynote]. Future in Education Conference '19, Türkiye.