Our project
The Learning Sciences Platform integrates a humane approach to education, professional quality, diversity, experience and innovation to articulate, develop and sustain educational initiatives at local, national and international levels. Our experienced interdisciplinary team prides itself on its state-of-the-art training and research practices used to improve educational quality. The collaborative work of the team aims to support all actors in the system, including policy makers, researchers, educational organizations and institutions, families, students and especially teachers who have the greatest influence on quality.
Our work is primarily focused on 1) developing personal and professional skills sets and processes core to the learning sciences 2) research in the learning sciences 3) advice on issues and projects related to the learning sciences.
Mission
Help individuals, groups and learning communities maximize their potential through on-going training, research and strategy development using an interdisciplinary and international approach.
Vision
To lead a change in the way humans learn in modern society by fostering natural intellectual curiosity, the use of multi-modal access to information, designing engaging experiences, and valuing collaborative and inclusive teamwork.
Objectives
- Help individuals, groups and learning communities maximize their potential.
- Catalyze educational change.
- Encourage personal and professional reflection with a transdisciplinary lens.
- Optimize the possibilities of the digital universe and the democratization of knowledge.
Our team
Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Ph.D.
Tracey is a Professor of Education and Neuropsychology and is currently an educational researcher affiliated with the Latin American Social Science Research Faculty (FLACSO) in Quito and teaches a course at the Harvard University Extension School entitled ”The Neuroscience of Learning: An Introduction to Mind, Brain, Health and Education Science”. She is a former member of the OECD expert panel to redefine Teachers’ New Pedagogical Knowledge due to contributions from Technology and Neuroscience. She has taught Kindergarten through University and is ex-Director of the Institute for Teaching and Learning (IDEA) and former Director of Online Learning at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
Tracey’s vision is to improve the social, democratic and economic structures of countries through a better educated population. She strongly believes in the active role of universities as change agents to influence public policy. She has more than 27 years of teaching, administrative and research experience and believes firmly in the power of a single teacher to change many lives.
Tracey is author of eight books and dozens of peer review articles on themes ranging from multilingualism, to Mind, Brain, and Education, and 21st century skills.She has coordinated multiple international research projects and facilitates hundreds of workshops for thousands of teachers each year. Her clients include the Government of Costa Rica, the Dutch Government, the Government of Ecuador, the International Baccalaureate Organisation, international school associations in Europe (ECIS, Switzerland, France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom), Latin America (Tri-Asociación, Colombia, Panama, Peru Chile, Brazil, Puerto Rico), North America (USA, Canada, Mexico), Asia (TAISI, EARCOS, India, Japan, South Korea, Thailand), the Middle East (Israel, Iran), and businesses such as Procter & Gamble, Gymboree, Ares Sorono, and ASCD.
Her current research focuses on the integration of Mind, Brain, and Education science into teachers’ daily practice and professional development; changes in curriculum to enhance early math and pre-literacy skills; bilingualism and multilingualismñ and the leveraging of technology to enhance learning outcomes.
Tracey is a member of AERA (American Education Research Association), WERA (World Education Research Association), IMBES (International Mind, Brain, and Education Society) and Invited Founding Expert of the Science of Learning Community. She received her BA in International Relations and BS in Communications from Boston University (magna cum laude), her Master’s in Education from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, and her Ph.D. from Capella University.
Cynthia Borja, Ph.D.
Cynthia Borja has a PhD in Psychology from Capella University (USA), a Master’s in Psychology from Boston University (USA), and a Bachelor’s in Neuroscience and Behavior from Vassar College (USA). She has been a part-time and full-time professor at Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador) and Universidad de Las Américas Quito (Ecuador) since 2009. Since 2011 she has been the President of Fundación Mykah, an non for profit organization dedicated to help individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Ecuador. From 2014 to 2019 she was Dean of the Schoof of Psychology at Universidad de Las Américas Quito..
Dieuwerke (Dee) Rutgers, Ph.D.
Although originally from the Netherlands, Dee has lived in the UK for 10 years and in Ecuador for 3, and speaks four languages (Dutch, English, Spanish, and German). Multilingualism and multiculturalism thus lie at the core to her personal and professional identity. She has a PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge, UK, and is currently based in the US, where she holds a position as a visiting research scholar at the College of Education, University of Florida. Her research and teaching are driven by a fascination with the cognitive, psychological, and social consequences of bi/multilingualism and their relevance for education. Additionally, she is passionate about supporting the development of critical thinking and research skills in students across the globe. Her specific areas of expertise are multilingualism and multilingual language development; bilingual education and content-and-language-integrated learning (CLIL); critical thinking and critical reading skills; educational research; qualitative research.
Adriana Arellano, MA
Adriana Arellano is an independent consultant in design, evaluation and implementation of public policies, with an emphasis on educational policy, and also devotes her time to the design of development projects and the preparation of grant proposals. Adriana was Research and Knowledge Management Director of Grupo FARO, an Ecuadorian research center. There, she promoted the quality of research and adequate knowledge management within the organization, led diversity of research projects, designed numerous projects, coordinated the presentation of proposals to donors and was author and co-author in a variety of publications and chapters from books. She has concentrated his research work is educational policy, in particular at the higher education and that related to research. Prior to this, Adriana worked in the Ministry of Social Development Coordination, first as Education Specialist, and then as Director of Policy Management and later as an Investment Advisor in the Coordinating Ministry of Production, Employment and Competitiveness.
Adriana has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and Social Policy Administration from the Florida State University, where she also participated in the institution’s project research team.
Adriana is Quito (Ecuador) and for a year she has lived in the province of Manabí, where she also seeks to contribute with her contribution to several local development projects.
Mariana Rivera, M.Ed.
Mariana has a Master’s in Mind, Brain, Health and Education Science from Universidad San Francisco de Quito (2012). She also has a Bachelor´s Degree in Education with a specialization in teaching Chemistry and Natural Sciences from the Universidad Católica del Ecuador (1998). She is very interested in educational processes from planning to assessment. Her most recent work experience is focused on curriculum development, competency-based planning, skills performance criteria, support in teacher training processes and assessment of learning results at school and at the university level. She is currently academic coordinator on San Luis Gonzaga School.
Mishel Tirira Vallejo, BA.
Mishel studied Organizational Communications and Public Relations at Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador). She is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Corporate Social Responsibility at the Universidad Anáhuac de México.
She worked at Instituto IDEA (Institute for Teaching and Learning) of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in the coordination of promotion and logistic of projects and events related to education for six years. She has written several articles for IDEA´s educational journal, Para el Aula as well as for local newspapers. Since September 2015, she serves as a volunteer in a Scout group in Quito where she works with teenagers from 11 to 15 years old. Mishel is interested in all aspects of communication, social networks, public relations, and social projects that develop and support people through the promotion of high quality education and help the integral development of each person, respecting their individuality and context.
Affiliates
Cheryl Martens, Ph.D.
Cheryl Martens holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Manchester (UK), a Master’s in applied Linguistics from Macquarie University (Australia) and a B.A. Honours in Political Science from the International Studies Program, York University (Canada). She is Research Professor in Sociology at the Universidad de San Francisco de Quito and a visiting professor at the National University of Cuyo, Argentina, where she has taught the Critical Reading core module for the PhD Program in Social Sciences since 2011. She was formerly Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University in the UK, Research Professor in Journalism and Director of Research at UDLA (2014-2016). She has also worked as a consultant to the Higher Education Council (CES) of Ecuador on the country’s Academic Regime and has led research on University Wellbeing with the Council for Evaluation, Accreditation and Quality Assurance (CEAACES), Academic Coordinator for the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Guayaquil. She has also taught at the University of Fine Arts in London, the University of Manchester (United Kingdom), the University of Bratislava (Slovakia) and the International University of Hiroshima (Japan). She has led several processes of teacher training for research methodology has published a range of works in Communication with Sage, Fordham University press and Palgrave MacMillan publications. Publications cover topics related to communication, technology, sociology, political economy, media, digital culture, gender, HIV, research methodology and wellbeing.
Karina Delgado, Ph.D.
Research Center of the Indoamerican Technological University.
Karina is a researcher in the field of inclusive education, she is currently managing the publication of her book “Inclusive education in Latin America. A question of
attitude”.
She is PhD in Applied Pedagogy, from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Master in Educational Management. She has directed and made various contributions to the Educational System in the implementation of projects, strategic and operational planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects through the Organization of Ibero-American States and the National University of Education. She has developed university teaching in several undergraduate and postgraduate disciplines in exact sciences, diagnostic approaches of educational policies, educational systems and contexts, education for diversity, among others. She has a wide scientific production associated with social educational management and teaching, and the contribution as an evaluating pair.
Chacko Abraham, Ph.D.
Isabel Solano, M.Ed.
Isabel has worked in several private institutions of Higher Education dedicated to the needs of the educational environment and to generate training products that help teachers to play their role successfully. Isabel has also facilitated interactive workshops related to pedagogical topics that provide teachers with tools to implement a more participatory and dynamic teaching. She is committed to include enriching learning experiences in education that help empower knowledgeable and critical individuals in our environment.
Jovi Nazareno, ALM Degree Candidate
Jovi currently hold a BA in Psychology and English (Hawaii Pacific University) and is working toward an ALM in Psychology (Harvard University Extension School). Writing relies on cognitive, social, emotional processes, to name a few, which is why Jovi believes that a transdisciplinary view from mind, brain, health, and education is essential. Jovi’s goal is to help build a holistic understanding of human learning and transform how education and writing take place in the classroom, workplace, and homes.
During undergraduate school is when Jovi first began connecting psychology, English, and education. She noticed that the fondness she has for writing, which grew throughout childhood, became a valuable protective factor in school success. She also began tutoring in a writing center, where she observed the psychological factors that helped or hindered the growth of students. Motivated to improve her teaching and writing ability, Jovi grew interested in personality and writing, practices for assessing writing, and using writing to assess learning. Jovi then began a career as an editor/writer working with engineers, scientists, and management professionals where she again observed how the ability to learn new skills, such as writing, is valuable throughout life. Jovi hopes to further her knowledge about mind, brain, health, and education, and in doing so, to help find practical ways to maximize each person’s potential.
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