CV

Here is a downloadable version of my UBC-CV  (updated in June 2021).  Below, I include some highlights from this document to provide context for the contents of this site.

Education
Positions Held
Courses Taught at UBC
Awards and Recognitions
Educational Leadership

Education

PhD 2009, Hispanic Cultural Studies; Cognate in History; Michigan State University; Department of Spanish and Portuguese; East Lansing, MI. U.S.A.

MA 2003, Hispanic Languages and Literatures; Michigan State University; Department of Spanish and Portuguese; East Lansing, MI. U.S.A.

BA 2001, Double Major in Spanish (Honours) and English; Secondary Education Specialization and Practicum; Michigan State University; Departments of Spanish and Portuguese, English, and Education; East Lansing, MI. U.S.A.

Study Experience Abroad

  • 2002 Graduate Study Abroad (9 MA credits); Universidad Complutense de Madrid; Madrid, SPAIN.
  • 2001 Intensive Summer Course in French language and culture; Universidad de Celaya, Celaya, MEXICO.
  • 1999 Semester Study abroad (12 UGA credits); Universidad de Extremadura; Cáceres, SPAIN.

Positions Held

  • 2019 Assistant Professor of Teaching (Spanish); The University of British Columbia; Department of French, Hispanic, & Italian Studies; Vancouver, BC, CANADA.
  • 2017-2019 Instructor Arts One Program; The University of British Columbia; First Year Programs; Vancouver, BC, CANADA.
  • 2013- Lecturer of Spanish; The University of British Columbia; Department of French, Hispanic, & Italian Studies; Vancouver, BC, CANADA.
  • 2010-2013 Assistant Professor of Spanish (Without Review); The University of British Columbia; Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies; Vancouver, BC, CANADA.
  • 2009-2010 Assistant Professor of Spanish (tenure-track); The University of Arkansas at Little Rock; Department of International and Second Language Studies (2009-2010); Little Rock, AR, U.S.A.
  • 2008-2009 Visiting Instructor; Michigan State University; The Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities; East Lansing, MI, U.S.A.
  • 2006-2008 Visiting Spanish Faculty; Lansing Community College; Department of Communications, Media, and the Arts; Lansing, MI, U.S.A.
  • 2001-2007 Teaching Assistant; Michigan State University; Department of Romance and Classical Studies; East Lansing, MI, U.S.A.
  • 2001 Visiting Instructor (Second Language Pedagogies); Universidad de Celaya; Celaya, MEXICO.

Related Professional Experience at the Graduate Level  

  • 2006-2007 Graduate Student Director; Michigan State University; El Taller: Spanish Writing Center; East Lansing, MI, U.S.A.
  • 2006-2007 Head Writing Center Consultant; Michigan State University; El Taller: Spanish Writing Center; East Lansing, MI, U.S.A.
  • 2004-2005 Assistant Coordinator Intermediate-level Spanish (18 sections); Michigan State University; Department of Romance and Classical Studies; East Lansing, MI, U.S.A.
  • 2003 Study Abroad Program Assistant; Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo; Santander, SPAIN.

Courses Taught at UBC

  • Spanish 101 Beginner’s Spanish I
  • Spanish 102 Beginner’s Spanish II
  • Spanish 201 Elementary Spanish I
  • Spanish 202 Elementary Spanish II
  • Spanish 221 Introduction to Methods of Literary Analysis
  • Spanish 222 Introduction to Methods of Cultural Analysis
  • Spanish 280 Revolution! (Taught in English)
  • Spanish 312 Hopscotch: Topics in Hispanic Literature (taught in English)
  • Spanish 364 Colonial Encounters in Spanish American Literature (15th-19th centuries)
  • Spanish 365 Modern Magics (Spanish-American Literature) (19th-21st centuries)
  • Spanish 401 Translation
  • Spanish 405a/505 Celebrating Diversity: Topics in Hispanic Literature
  • Spanish 406 Breaking the Mold: Gender Representations in Hispanic Literature
  • Arts One B: Authority and Resistance

Awards and Recognitions

Killam Teaching Prize, The Faculty of Arts, The University of British Columbia; Vancouver, BC, CANADA. (2017-2018)

Top Instructor in the Arts Recognition, The Faculty of Arts, The University of British Columbia; Vancouver, BC, CANADA. (2013-2016)

Unanimously Elected Faculty Group Leader for Departmental Self-Study, Department of International and Second Language Studies, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; Little Rock, AR, USA.  “Standards for Teachers: Developing and Demonstrating Excellence through ACTFL.” (2009)

Educational Leadership

Select Leadership Positions Held

  • Director, Spanish Language Program in the Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies at UBC.  Vancouver, BC, CANADA. 2019-present.
  • Chair, Spanish Textbook Selection (A1-B2) Committee in the Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies at UBC. Vancouver, BC, CANADA. 2019-2020.
  • Course Coordinator, Spanish 101-102 in the Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies at UBC. BC, CANADA. 2019-present.
  • Chair, TA Training and Mentorship Committee in the Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies at UBC. Vancouver, BC, CANADA. 2017-present.
  • Director, FHIS Learning Centre in the Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies at UBC. Vancouver, BC, CANADA. 2015-present.

Faculty of Arts

  • Co-organizer, Interdepartmental Working Group on Plurilingualism and Language as Intercultural Meaning for language units across campus at UBC.  Vancouver, BC, CANADA. 2019-2020.
  • Member, Leadership Committee for the Faculty of Arts Breadth Requirement Renewal for the Faculty of Arts at UBC. Vancouver, BC, CANADA. 2019-present.
  • Member, Speaking Pedagogies Working Group for the First Year Experience at UBC. Vancouver, BC, CANADA. 2020-present.

 University

  • Member, Virtual Classroom Tool Working Group for UBC IT.  Vancouver, BC, CANADA. 2021-present.

Recent Presentations

Teaching with Technology Presentations 

Co-presenter with Luisa Canuto (FHIS), Florian Gassner (CENES), and Qian Wang(Asian Studies): “What We’ve Learned from Moving to Online Instruction: A PanelPresentation.” The Arts ISIT Series on Online Language Teaching, UBC.  Vancouver, CANADA. June 4th, 2020. Link to session.

Co-presenter with Qian Wang (Asian Studies): “Keeping the Integrity: Language Assessments for Online Learning Environments.” The Arts ISIT Webinar Series on Online Language Teaching, UBC.  Vancouver, BC. CANADA.  June 11th, 2020.  Link to session.

Co-presenter with Luisa Canuto (FHIS), Stephanie Palisse (FHIS), Florian Gassner (CENES): “Simple Engagement Options for Language Teaching.” The Arts ISIT Webinar Series on Online Language Teaching, UBC.  Vancouver, BC CANADA. June 16th, 2020. Link to the session.

Presenter: “Extra-curricular Support for Fostering Online Language Communities.” The Arts ISIT Webinar Series on Online Language Teaching, UBC.  Vancouver, BC CANADA. June 25th, 2020.  Link to session.

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Presentations given at UBC

Presenter: “From the Chifa to the Corneta China: Navigating Hispano-Asian Culture in Spanish Language and Culture Courses at UBC.” The 2nd Annual Heritage Language Teaching Workshop (HLTA) in Asian Studies, UBC.  Vancouver, BC CANADA.  August 20, 2021. [Upcoming, August 2021]

Co-presenter with Leila Ferreira (Journalism) and Moberley Luger (Coordinated Arts Program): “Activating the Audience: Teaching Speaking in a Hybrid Learning Environment.” The Centre for Teaching and Learning Technologies, UBC.  Vancouver, BC CANADA.  June 8, 2021.

Moderator: “Strategies for Bringing New Dimensions to Intercultural Learning in the Classroom and Beyond.” Celebrate Learning Week, UBC. Vancouver, BC CANADA. May 19, 2021.

Co-presenter with Leila Ferreira (Journalism) and Moberley Luger (Coordinated Arts Program): “Activating the Audience: Teaching Oral Skills Online.” The Centre for Teaching and Learning Technologies, UBC. Vancouver, BC CANADA.  February 10, 2021. Link to session.

Select Projects

Universal Graded Reader Project:

  • Description: I co-designed a proposal and compiled data sets for Computational Linguistics MA students to build a proof-of-concept graded reader retrieval system that accurately identifies Spanish texts according to level-specific descriptors (A1-B2) from the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR).

Pilot of OneDrive in Spanish 280 as part of the TLEF Project: “Strategies for Effective Design and Implementation of Collaborative Peer-peer Learning Activities”.  2020-2021.

  • Description of pilot: Students used OneDrive to host, archive, update, and revisit collaborative notes for the weekly “Assembly” and regular class sessions.

The FHIS Learning Centre, The University of British Columbia; Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies.  Vancouver, BC CANADA. 2015-.

  • Description: In 2015, I created the FHIS Learning Centre, a peer-driven learning community, for which volunteer-tutors currently enrolled in FHIS degree-granting programs are trained to offer extracurricular support with the continued development of the skills necessary for acquiring and ultimately becoming proficient in Romance Languages.

Interviews on Teaching and Learning

“Killam Teaching Prize recipient Brianne Orr-Álvarez shares best practices and memorable moments.”  FHIS Department, FHIS Inaugural Newsletter (December 2018), UBC. Link to interview.

Co-contributor: “Reimagining Higher Education: Reflections on the transition to online course delivery.”  The FHIS Department, FHIS Newsletter (June 2020), UBC.  Link to interview.

 

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