Our Advanced Researchers are our group of in-service teachers, committed to exploring literacies research and practice in their own classrooms. Advanced Researchers include three kinds of teachers:
21st Century Literacies in P-20 research line.
Meet our current Advanced Researchers:
- Novice Researchers who completed their BAs and wish to continue as LSLP researchers.
- Master's students (both from ML2 or past Novice Researchers) pursuing their research on literacies.
- LSLP researchers pursuing their doctoral degrees.
21st Century Literacies in P-20 research line.
Meet our current Advanced Researchers:
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CLAUDIA MILENA BENJUMEA, M.A.,
Claudia Milena Benjumea Salcedo holds an MA in English Language Teaching- Autonomous Learning Environments from Universidad de la Sabana, A Graduate Specialist's degree in Educational Technology Management from Universidad de Santander UDES, and a B.A. in Philology and Languages from Universidad Libre de Colombia. She has also completed certifications in bilingual education from Universidad UNICA and ICELT from Cambridge University Her Master's research paper explored the development of the pragmatic competence in 10th-grade students, using the TBLT approach through video recordings. Her research interests include the development of the pragmatic competence and sociolinguistics. She joined LSLP at the end of 2016 and will be helping with with our work on the school literacies research line, adding ideas from multimodal design to her work on communicative competence. |
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MELISSA CASTAÑO, B.A. (Melissa)
Melissa is one of the original members of LSLP. She first joined LSLP (SRG-L2 at the time) in 2012 and was a researcher in Phase One of the Urban Literacies project. She left the project to pursue some individual academic and personal projects, including teaching and living in Brazil (where she also met the love of her life!). Melissa returned to Colombia permanently in 2017 and is now teaching at Montessori School (along with Ana Karina and Melanie). At the end of July, 2018 Melissa returned to LSLP, this time to help as a researcher in the early literacies research line and possibly in the upcoming makerspaces project. We are glad to welcome back one of our pioneers to the Legion once again! |
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SEBASTIÁN CASTAÑO, B.A. (Tavarez, the Kommisar)
Sebastián holds a B.A. in English-Spanish Education from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín. He joined LSLP in 2013 to participating in research on gaming literacies in Medellín. Now that he's part of the XRT, we will soon decide his next steps for research and collaboration, but we expect him to continue helping with other inquiries related to gaming. At present, he is a language instructor at Centro Colombo Americano. Additional research interests of his include professional research in Languages, specially English and Digital Communities In addition to his interests in languages, he has a particular interest in Physics and astronomy. He is also a very active gamer, very keen on Russian culture as part of his gaming experience (that somehow explains his moniker, Tavarez) |
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TATIANA CHIQUITO, B.A. (Taty Small)
Tatiana finished her studies in Modern Languages in Italy at “Instituto Tecnico Statale per il Turismo - Liceo Linguistico con orientazione umanistica Artemisia Gentileschi” in 2007. She worked as a Travel Agent Assistant constantly using languages for four years. In 2012 she had the opportunity to work as a teacher in the “Colegio Militar Jose Maria Cordoba” in Medellín, where she worked for two years. She is at present an English teacher at Restrepo Molina School in Envigado, as part of a program led by the Language Center at UPB. Tatiana finished her B.A in English-Spanish Education at UPB-Medellín in 2018. She joined LSLP in 2014 and is currently part of the team for Phase Two of the Urban Literacies study. At present, Tatiana continues to explore the use of culturally relevant pedagogy and critical literacy as part of her instructional practices, is still assisting with data analysis and writing for ongoing manuscripts from Phase Two, and will be one of our researchers in the upcoming study on makerspaces. |
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MARYORI GIRALDO, B.Sc., B.A. (Mayo)
Maryori holds a BSc in International Business and a Technological Diploma as a Bilingual Secretary and a BA in English- Spanish Education at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. She's currently a Spanish instructor at the Open University of Hong Kong. Previous academic experiences include designing thematic contents for virtual programs at View Corporation and serving as Deputy Assistant for the Middle School Principal at The Colombus School in Medellín. She joined LSLP in 2014 and is currently part of the Phase Two team of the Urban Literacies study and the 21st Century Literacies in P-16 project. During her time in Hong Kong, Maryori will continue working on publications and possibly collecting more data for future research projects. |
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MARÍA ALEJANDRA GÓMEZ, B.A. (Aleja)
Aleja holds a BA in English- Spanish Education at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana and is currently teaching. She joined LSLP in 2014 and was part of the Phase Two team for the Urban Literacies study. She is back to LSLP to assist in an upcoming study about makerspaces. Besides teaching and research, Aleja is also involved in music. She is a really talented singer and plays on a rock band. In addition, Aleja is the proud mother of LSLP honorary member Federico! |
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GLORIA GUTIÉRREZ, M.A. (Glory Dory)
Gloria holds an MA in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages from UPB-Medellín, in addition to degrees in English Teaching and Acting. At present, she is an English instructor at Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia. Her current research (which expands on her thesis) continues to explore the aesthetic dimensions of critical literacy through the use of TheatreSport as an alternative for language learning. In addition to her current interests, Gloria is helping as a Teaching Assistant for the research courses at the MA in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages, hoping she will take over one of those courses very soon. In addition to her teaching and research duties, Gloria is also an accomplished actress, performing regularly on stage in different plays in Medellín. |
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GISELLE ISAZA, M.A. (Rouge Belle)
Giselle holds an MA in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages and a graduate diploma in ELT, both from UPB-Medellín. She is currently an instructor at San Ignacio de Loyola School and the Language Center at UPB. Her research interests continue to develop frameworks for the use of critical multimodal design to improve students' communicative competence, a topic she first began to study for her thesis. We expect these inquiries to help us propose better models for multimodal design in schools in the near future. |
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MÓNICA LÓPEZ-LADINO, M.A. (The Organizator)
Mónica holds an MA in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages from UPB-Medellín. After several years as an instructor at Vermont School, Mónica changed venues in early 2018, now teaching middle school English at López de Mesa School in Medellín. After this change, Mónica will continue expanding the initial framework for the use of multimodal storytelling in the preschool context as a conduit to engage students in critical literacies, possibly into secondary school. She will also participate in an upcoming study on makerspaces. |
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MARIA CAMILA MEJÍA-VÉLEZ, B.A. (Cami)
Maria Camila holds a B.A in English-Spanish Education (Licenciatura Inglés-Español) from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellín, Colombia. She joined LSLP in 2013 to work in Phase One of the Urban Literacies study. She was also an English instructor at EAFIT (both Sislenguas and the Children's and Youth program). At present, she's pursuing her MA in TESOL at LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Cami would like to focus her research agenda on issues of early literacy in the Colombian context. Specifically, she would like to explore the impact of children’s first experiences with literature in teaching practices. She has also become more interested in exploring the use of multimodality as a learning strategy in second language classrooms. |
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MELANIE MOLLAN, M.A. Candidate (Mel)
Melanie is currently finishing her MA in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages at UPB-Medellín. She also holds a BA in English-Spanish Education from the same university. At present, she is an English teacher at Montessori School in El Retiro, Antioquia. Melanie joined LSLP at the end of 2016. She's involved through her teaching in our School Literacies line, as she is interested in engaging her elementary school students in critical media literacy. Her other research agenda includes exploring Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) in second language education, the central topic for her master's thesis. |
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ANGELA PATRICIA OCAMPO, M.A. (Angie)
Angela holds an MA in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages from UPB-Medellín and an undegraduate degree in language education. She is currently an English teacher at Colombo-Canadiense School. Her current research explores and characterizes children's personal literacies in and out of school, using multimodality and multiliteracies as conceptual underpinnings. Angela (along with Claudia and two other graduate students) has helped develop our ongoing children's literacies research line. Besides her research and teaching duties, Angela is the proud mom of LSLP honorary member Paulina. As she juggles her research work with the duties of being a mom. At LSLP, we're ready to lend her a hand if need may be :). |
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ANDRÉS FELIPE OCHOA, M.A. Candidate (Andrés)
Andrés is currently pursuing his MA in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages at UPB. He is also an English instructor at Universidad Católica Luis Amigó. His research interests lie in the intersection of new literacies and second-language teacher education practices, issue he is currently exploring in his MA thesis study. |
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TYRONE STEVEN ORREGO, B.A. (Tyrone by Default)
Tyrone finished his B.A. in English-Spanish Education at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín in 2018. He joined LSLP in September, 2014. He has collaborated in the Gaming Literacies project since then, now involved in writing articles. He has a particular interest in Videogames and language learning. So far he speaks Spanish, English and French, but as member of the project, he is would like to inquire about how people develop their own ways of communication in virtual worlds, especially in English and Digital Communities. |
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CARLA PULGARÍN, B.A. Candidate (Karla)
Karla is at present finishing her B.A in English-Spanish Education at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellín while teaching at Benedictinos School. She was part of Phase One of the Urban Literacies study and then was on hiatus for a semester. She returned last year to work on the Language Exchange route in Phase Two of the Urban Literacies study, along with her individual research for her senior thesis. Her current research is geared toward the use of podcasting as a communicative competence tool. |
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DANIEL RAMÍREZ, B.A. Candidate (Dan Van Damme)
Daniel is at finishing his B.A in English-Spanish Education at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellín. He joined LSLP at the end of January, 2015 to participate in the Gaming Literacies project and has been an active researcher ever since. He thesis work (co-authored with Michael) is exploring some avenues to intersect gamification and English teaching, an area where we expect Dan to continue inquiring about as a member of the XRT. In addition to his interest in video games, he is also involved in Skateboarding! |
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NATALIA RAMÍREZ (Nati)
Natalia Ramírez is at present pursuing her B.A in English-Spanish Education at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellín. She joined LSLP in 2013 to work in Phase One of the Urban Literacies study and will now continue working in Phase Two, while also working on her senior thesis. Natalia’s current research interests lie in issues of reading and writing, both in second languages such as English and in Spanish as a mother tongue. Based on her experiences at LSLP and her preservice classes, she would like to focus her future research agenda on the process of acquisition of other languages that exist today. For Natalia, it is important and interesting to do research that combines the archival elements of archival research with extended fieldwork on those educational issues. |
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SEBASTIÁN RAMÍREZ (Zebs)
Zebs joined LSLP in August, 2016. He is finishing his BA in English-Spanish Education at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín, At present, Zebs is in a transition stage, where he will continue helping in Phase Two of our gaming literacies study while looking at other avenues of exploration around gaming and visual literacies, topics that he initially developed in his senior thesis. |
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ANA KARINA RODRIGUEZ, M.A. (Special K)
Ana Karina is an English teacher at Montessori School (after teaching several years at Vermont School) in Medellín. She holds an MA in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages. She is currently interested in using critical literacy frameworks in Pre-K contexts, specifically integrating critical literacy within read-alouds in her Language and Literacy classes. Ana Karina is developing her inquiries within the Early Literacies research team at LSLP. Ana Karina is also helping as a Teaching Assistant for the research courses at the MA in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages, which she will begin teaching in 2019. In addition, Ana Karina has started her own language business to help children learn English through art. Ana Karina was awarded the Early Literacy Educator of the Year Award by the Early Childhood Assembly at NCTE in 2017, the first of many accolades we foresee down the road for her. |
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NATALIA SALAZAR, M.A. (Nati)
Natalia is an English teacher and teacher trainer at Institución Educativa Escuela Normal Superior Rafael María Giraldo, a Normal School in Marinilla. She holds an M.A. in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages from UPB-Medellín, program she completed under a scholarship for public school teachers from the Antioquia Secretary of Education. She's also a teacher trainer with the National Ministry of Education. She is currently studying the use of multimodal literacy frameworks, Edmodo in particular, as the basis for a renewed vision of English teaching practices in initial teacher education at the Normal school level. Natalia's research will help solidify the research on the use of multimodal design for communicative competence that LSLP has been developing for the past two years, as well as expand our research inquiries in teacher education contexts. |
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TATIANA SALAZAR PATIÑO, B.A. (Tati)
Tatiana holds a B.A in English-Spanish Education from UPB-Medellín and recently began pursuing her M.A. in Education at Universidad de Medellín. She has worked on Phase Two of the urban literacies study, and will soon continue her inquiries on multimodality and assessment as part of the XRT. At present, she's an English instructor at San Marcos School, as part of our university's agreement with the school. |
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JAIRO SUÁREZ, M.A.
Jairo holds an MA in English Language Teaching - Autonomous Learning Environments from Universidad de la Sabana and a BA in Language Teaching from Universidad Libre. He also completed an English teacher training certificate in Bournemouth, England and the ICELT certificate by Cambridge university. He is an English teacher at El Salitre de Suba School and Gimnasio de los Cerros. H His Master's research paper explored the development of the pragmatic competence in 10th-grade students, using the TBLT approach through video recordings. Her research interests include the development of the pragmatic competence and sociolinguistics. He joined LSLP at the end of 2016 and will be helping with with our work on the school literacies research line, adding ideas from multimodal design to his interests in communicative competence. |
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SARA URIBE, B.A. (Sara, Cabeza de Familia)
Sara holds a BA in English-Spanish Education at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. She joined LSLP in 2014 as part of the Phase Two team for the Urban Literacies study. She recently began teaching at UPB School and she will continue helping LSLP both writing articles for the Urban Literacies study she was part of and in future research projects in the School Literacies research line. |
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ESTEBAN VÁSQUEZ, M.A. (Esteban)
Esteban holds an MA in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages from UPB-Medellín and is an instructor in the Language Center and the Faculty of Education. His current research, which he will pursue as he completes his PhD in Philosophy (under Raúl's direction) will propose new, groundbreaking assessment models that fit current trends in literacies research, addressing a pressing need in the curriculum. |
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JULIÁN ZAPATA, M.A. (Julian)
Julián holds an MA in Learning and Teaching Processes in Second Languages from UPB-Medellín. He is currently an instructor in the School of Languages at Universidad de Antioquia and the Language Center at UPB and has recently begun pursuing his doctoral degree in Philosophy. He has already had a few forays into higher education at the Graduate Specialization in ELT. |