Hi, I’m Dr. Randall Gwin, the founder of the Araketke-Bereket Charitable Foundation. I’ve lived in Central Asia since 2004 with my wife, a family practice doctor and the director of The Tendik Project, and my four children.
Current Research Interests
- The relation of cultural values to the diffusion of innovation, especially in educational technology
- The potential of education as a tool for sustainable development
- Open Badges and digital credentials for online learning
- Validation of online professional development for teachers, doctors, and lawyers
- Social presence and community in online learning environments
- Technology and systemic educational reform.
Professional Accomplishments
I have been blessed throughout my life with talented and devoted colleagues. This list shows some things that I’m especially grateful for being part of.
Leadership and Strategy
- initiated the formation of the STEM-CA and STEM Volunteers professional networks for STEM teachers across Central Asia
- developed and led a qualitative internal research examining systemic biases within a multi-national development NGO, resulting in the NGO’s international executive team implementing major strategic changes
- lead a team of expatriate professional volunteers in the training of local partners to become leaders and managers at a medical clinic, mobile clinic, and village community development project, resulting in sustainable management strategies that do not require expatriate expertise
- lead the implementation of a learning management system and training in educational technology, resulting in being able to open all courses in a K-12 international school online within 72 hours of the school closures mandated by the COVID-19 pandemic
- lead as primary researcher, writer, and editor for multiple self-studies for a K-12 school, resulting in its accreditation through multiple inspections
- developed a strategy to help a school with a parent population representing over 20 countries develop legal and financial policies that would comply with the NEASC accreditation standards
- when stepping unexpectedly into the directorship role of an international school with a volunteer staff, 70% of whom were planning to leave at the end of the year, led the team to open the school on time with full staff, meeting all institutional deadlines, retaining 90% of the, and recruiting new teachers so that the school not only opened the next year and received renewed accreditation from the NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges).
- in a period of three months, lead a team of volunteers to raise funds, build a clinic, supply its annual operating expenses, and provide high-quality medical service primarily from Western-trained volunteer health professionals
- recruited and led a team of expatriate and local medical workers and educators to raise funds for, build, and staff a clinic, preschool, community center, and continuing education program for an impoverished village
- oversaw the initial development of curriculum, student policies, human resource policies, and program vision to found an institute for business and sciences in rural Kyrgyzstan
- initiated and led an international consortium in developing a comprehensive multi-level program for private-sector education and certification of foreign-language teachers, resulting in the foundation of Awaytoc®, LLC. in the United States, Awaytoc, LLC., in Kyrgyzstan, and Uschool, LLC., in Uzbekistan
- restructured financial systems, assessment processes, and employee training programs for a non-governmental educational program, resulting in a 300% increase in student enrollment and a change from a deficit to financial sustainability without donor income within three years
- redesigned the physical layout, personnel training, and record-keeping procedures for the English-language resource center of a non-government organization, resulting in a 1,000% increase in material usage and a 20% decrease in lost, damaged, and stolen materials with a 40% decrease in personnel costs
- designed an intensive language camp and led teams of twenty volunteer teachers in cooperation with non-government and government organizations
- initiated and drafted an Emerging Curriculum grant involving faculty and administrators from ten colleges and universities in the Minnesota State College and University System
- coordinated the ESL for Medical Purposes interest group within the MinneTESOL professional organization
- developed long-term strategies for training entry-level healthcare workers as part of a State legislative task force, resulting in state grants being designed for healthcare systems and language-education providers for training recent immigrants
- represented ESL instructors from a consortium of ten colleges and universities on the Minnesota Master Academic Planning Committee
- represented the faculty on the Minneapolis Community and Technical College Facilities Committee during a multi-million dollar renovation of
- the college and the design and construction of a $12 million library
- represented the liberal arts faculty on the Minneapolis Community and Technical College Curriculum Committee during the merger of a technical college, community college, and university
- chaired the Curriculum Sub-Committee on Course Duplication after the merger of a technical and a liberal-arts college
- founded and directed a for-profit business for training language teachers and establishing language centers, resulting in eight language centers in Kyrgyzstan and three in Uzbekistan
- advised in the design of language and education resource centers in Russia, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan, resulting in long-term non-government programs in those areas
- assisted with policy design and negotiations for implementing language and culture exchanges between an American non-profit organization and the Vietnamese government, resulting in the establishment of a Master’s program in TESL in Vietnam
- led a research team of medical and education graduate students on a one-month project in Costa Rica
Curriculum, Assessment, and Materials
- created a homeschool curriculum for preschool, elementary school, middle-school, and high-school students so that all students could study together under the direction of a single teacher
- developed a Comparative Religions/ Comparative Worldview curriculum to meet the developmental needs of students in Grades 9-12
- submitted innovative syllabi for the AP Comparative Government and Politics, AP World History, AP Statistics, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Psychology courses, resulting in over 80% of students in the courses passing the AP Exam with scores of 3 or higher
- developed a system for parent-, teacher-, and student-satisfaction surveys for an elementary and secondary international school and implemented the program to gather the data required for the school to renew its NEASC accreditation
- led a team of Russian and Kyrgyz teachers and health professionals in developing a preschool curriculum and teacher-training materials to promote inclusion of children with disabilities in public education
- wrote and piloted a comprehensive eight-level curriculum for teaching English to adults in developing countries
- developed and implemented curriculum, materials, and assessment for teacher-certification programs and institutional accreditation in several countries
- facilitated faculty work groups on creating curricula and selecting materials for college-level ESL courses
- participated in the Minnesota State College and University Faculty Consortium on Global Education
- developed, piloted, and normed technology-free comprehensive placement tests for students in language programs in developing countries
- wrote a four-level curriculum for training foreign language teachers in developing countries
- led the ESL faculty curriculum committee through a change from a three-level curriculum based on nine-month courses to a six-level curriculum based on three-month courses
- consulted in the development of an online, self-directed course for on study skills, developmental reading, and developmental writing for adults planning to enter state colleges or universities
- created and piloted Internet-delivered reading, listening, and speaking assessment tools, resulting in the development of online reading and listening/speaking courses being accepted by the Minnesota State College and University curriculum
- designed and coordinated ESL faculty calibration processes on entrance and exit assessment
- initiated, designed, and piloted intensive courses in reading and writing resulting in a 30% reduction in the pre-college study required for ESL students, and a 20% reduction in student attrition when entering college courses
- created and piloted narrative scoring guides for diagnostic assessment of reading proficiency, resulting the creation of new courses to meet the needs of English Language Learners
- participated on the institutional accreditation committee to ensure that the newly-formed Minneapolis Community and Technical College met national accreditation standards
- developed and coordinated multi-year studies of research, writing, listening, and speaking assessment tools, resulting in the several of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities adopting new tests and scoring procedures
- initiated a system for faculty calibration and cross-scoring exit exams for all ESL courses, resulting in an 80% decrease in student complaints about test fairness and the implementation of the process as a Minneapolis Community and Technical College faculty policy
- designed an intensive ESL course sequence involving joint curricula with ESL and other academic programs
- compiled materials for an ESL advanced reading course focused on health careers
- assisted in developing placement tests for listening/speaking courses, resulting in a 50% decrease in student attrition during the first two months of the term
- consulted on the development of tools to assess the teaching ability of international teaching assistants, resulting in the adoption of the tools by the University of Minnesota.
Educational Technology
- designed and supported a Learning Management System and nearly 20 courses for children whose education was disrupted by the Russia-Ukraine war
- designed and supported an entire K-12 educational program during nearly 18 months of school closures during the pandemic, resulting in no significant decrease in student retention or test scores relative to the period before the pandemic
- piloted and conducted participant research in MOOCs and distance education programs to incorporate them into a distance-education program for use in homeschooling programs that comply with the U.S. Common Core and College Board curricula
- assisted with the development of one of the first electronic HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, U.S. Standards) medical records systems in Kyrgyzstan
- led a team of health professionals to develop a mobile app that would provide pregnant Kyrgyz women with information about the prenatal development of their child and practical advice for their own health during pregnancy
- implemented the consultation of advanced researchers in educational technology in the school-wide implementation of the Google Apps for Education platform for a preschool-12th-grade international school
- led the design and implementation of a Learning Management System for all courses in a K-12 international school
- worked with programmers, expatriate teachers, and local teachers to adapt the Connecting EFL curriculum for delivery through interactive DVD’s and smartphone apps
- developed and maintained the Awaytoc, Araketke, and Hope Academy websites and social networking presence (Webistes, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Edmodo)
- developed distance-learning materials for English teacher education through proprietary websites and the Edmodo online course delivery program
- wrote and received five small grants for creating technologically-based educational materials and assessment tools
- designed a database that integrated library records, student grades, enrollment, tuition, and fees, resulting in the implementation of strategic marketing policies and class scheduling
- initiated and wrote a grant for the development of a $150,000 computerized language lab
- participated on the Electronic Academy grant review committee
- created an online grammar program for ESL and developmental English students
- developed and piloted a Web-assisted English reading and listening/speaking courses that were adopted into the standard Minneapolis Community and Technical College curriculum as some of the first hybrid university courses in the American Midwest
- designed a website to ease articulation of curriculum and transfer of ESL students between ten allied colleges and universities
- created and piloted online assessment tools for reading and writing for high-intermediate and advanced ESL
- designed and maintained the Minneapolis Community and Technical College ESL faculty website
- wrote an online content-based ESL advanced reading text that resulted in a 30% increase in student success in the course
- introduced technology-facilitated exit assessment for all levels of the listening/speaking curricula, resulting in the procedure being adopted by several colleges and universities in Minnesota
- created and piloted Internet-delivered audio-visual tools for the development of student portfolios, resulting in the writing program being recognized as the model by the Minnesota State Legislature