Mariam Manzur-Leiva

Director of Teaching & Learning

Quality Matters Coordinator & Teaching Online Certificate Facilitator

Education

PhD in Education – Learning Sciences track (In progress), University of Central Florida

MA in Spanish Language and Literatures, University of South Florida

Graduate Certificate in e-Learning, Development, & Delivery, UCF

Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies, USF

Graduate Certificate in Cuban Studies, USF

Mariam Manzur-Leiva was born and raised in Argentina, where she taught ESOL courses at the elementary, intermediate and high school level. She came to the US as Fulbright Scholar in 2006, and later earned an M.A. in Spanish Language and Literatures, along with graduate certificates in Latin American & Caribbean Studies and Cuban Studies, from University of South Florida. More recently, she has obtained certificates in Online Teaching, Online Proctoring, Online and Hybrid Instructional Design and e-Learning Ecologies from University of South Florida, University of Central Florida and University of Illinois, respectively. She is also a certified Quality Matters Peer Reviewer for Higher Ed and K-12 as well as a Certified Facilitator for the QM Teaching Online Certificate, Intro to APPQMR, and APPQMR course.

She joined her alma mater’s Department of World Languages as a full-time instructor of Spanish in 2010, where she taught intermediate and advanced level Spanish courses and supervised the First Year Spanish Online Program. She co-led the USF Study Abroad Program in Argentina ( 2010-2013) and the first USF Global Citizens Study Abroad Program in Panama (2013).

In 2016, she was awarded the “Excellence in Education” Award at the Viva Tampa Hispanic Heritage Festival.

She joined New College of Florida in 2017. At NCF, she has taught Elementary, Intermediate, Spanish Oral and Written Communication, Spanish for Heritage Speaker and a Seminar in Second Language Acquisition & Course Design while supervising the Spanish TA Program.

As director of Teaching & Learning, she serves as the institutional Quality Matters Coordinator and supports faculty providing pedagogical and course design strategies as well as implementation of tools to enhance the learning experience. Her primary research interest is the implementation of e-Learning technologies and their impact on teaching methodologies.

Recent Courses

Elementary Spanish I & II
Intermediate Spanish I & II
Conversation I & II
Spanish Oral and Written Communication
Advanced conversation
Advanced Spanish for Native & Heritage Speakers I & II
Seminar: Second Language Acquisition & Course Design

Academic Presentations

• Guest Speaker: National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC) and Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center (Tech Center) at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa: 2023 “Mastering Mentoring: Conversations with Accomplished Mentors” Series: https://nflrc.hawaii.edu/events/view/olpmentoring/
• Guest speaker: National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC), University of Hawaii at Mānoa: 2021 NFLRC Online Language Pedagogy (OLP) Series — “Supporting Students in Online Language Learning: Voices of Experience“.
• Presenter: “Re-thinking our course design process: Are we there yet?”  American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese) FL Annual Conference 2023. Orlando, FL.
• Presenter: “The Role of Effective Assessment Systems to Foster Motivation in the FL Classroom.  American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese) FL Annual Conference 2022. Orlando, FL.
• Presenter: “Maximizing the L2 Learning Experience: Course Design to Promote Acquisition”.  American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese) FL Annual Conference 2022.
• Presenter: “Diseño de Alto Impacto: Estrategias para maximizar el aprendizaje” Congreso Internacional de Investigación en Innovación

  Educativa 2021. Politécnico Grancolombiano. Colombia.

• Presenter: “The role of alignment for effective class design”. Florida Distance Learning Association Annual Conference 2021.
• Invited Panelist with Prof. Esperanza Roman Mendoza (George Mason University). Presentation: “Heritage Learners as Creators of Artifacts of Knowledge”. International Association for Language Learning Technology Bi-AnnuaI Conference 2021: Resilience, Transformation and Beyond.
• Presenter: Sponsored by IALLT ( International Association for Language Learning Technologies): “Developing More Resilient Language Students: Technologies to Enhance Persistence and Buoyancy in the Foreign Language Classroom”. Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium (CALICO) Bi-Annual Conference 2021.
• Presenter: “Hacia nuevas fronteras: Espacios de enseñanza-aprendizaje para el siglo XXI”. Encuentro Latinoamericano de Experiencias de Iniciación Científica 2020. Sociedad Colombiana de Investigación e Innovación Formativa de Colombia.
• Co-Presenter w/ Dan Song: “Opening Doors of Proficiency: Universal Design for Learning in the World Language Classroom”. UDL-IRN Summit 2020.
• Co-Presenter w/ Prof. Christopher Hromalik: “Reducing Barriers: Universal Design for Learning for Language Instructors”. ACTFL Annual Convention 2019. Washington DC.
• Presenter: “Authentic and Social Media as Cultural Competence & Proficiency Tools in Heritage Speakers Classes”. Florida Foreign Language Association Annual Conference 2019. Orlando, FL.
• Presenter: “Digitalization and Engagement in the Foreign Language Classroom”. Contact North Online Learning Conference 2019. Toronto, Canada.
• Presenter: “Retention of Knowledge in the Foreign Language Classroom: Digital Ecosystems as Tools to Develop HOTS” IALLT Conference 2019. University of Oregon, Eugene, OR.
• Presenter: “Creating Effective Digital Ecosystems in the 21st Foreign Language Classroom”. Twelfth International Conference in e-Learning and Innovative Pedagogies 2019: From the Ends of the Earth to Connected Learners” Hobart, Australia.
• Presenter: “Technology Mediated Foreign Language Classrooms: How to Build Effective and Inclusive Learning Environments”. SWALLT/ NWALLT Conference 2018, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
• Presenter: “Classrooms without Boundaries: The Impact of Digital Technologies Implementation in our Pedagogical Practice”. Lectores para la Justicia Conference 2017, University of Buenos Aires (UBA)- Law School.

Recent Publications:

Manzur Leiva, M. (2020) Perspectives on Online Course Design:
Towards a Meaningful Language Learning experience. The Language Educator, 15(3), 25-26.