Thayra Reyes, PhD

Título/Appointment: Assistant Professor
Departamento/Department: English
Institución/Institution: University of Puerto Rico in Cayey
E-mail: thayra.reyes@upr.edu

Teléfono/Phone: (787) 738-2161, ext. 2188, 2181

Reseña/Biosketch:

Dr. Thayra M. Reyes Díaz is an assistant professor in the Department of English at the University of Puerto Rico in Cayey. She has offered courses in ​​English as a second language, literature, advanced composition, and gender studies, as well as courses in pedagogy in ​​elementary and secondary English. She has also collaborated as an editor, translator, and proofreader at the UPR Interdisciplinary Research Institute in Cayey. She has a Doctorate in Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Environments with an emphasis on Teaching English as a Second Language from Ana G. Méndez University. Her doctoral dissertation was titled: Through the Looking Glass: Female Character Representations in Young Adult Literature in the Teaching of ESL. Dr. Reyes has been a workshop leader in professional development programs for teachers. She has an international certification in Cognitive Neuroscience Applied to Education, from the International Bureau of Applied Cognitive Neuroscience (BINCA). She has collaborated as an opinion columnist in the newspaper El Nuevo Día on topics related to curriculum, teaching, and education in Puerto Rico. Dr. Reyes is an active member of PRTESOL and the International Literacy Association (ILA). She recently published a children’s book titled: Un choque en el tiempo (A Clash in Time- Editorial Raíces, PR 2022), awarded with an honorable mention in the category of Best Children’s Illustrated Fiction Book at the International Latino Book Awards (ILBA) 2023. Dr. Reyes is currently developing a course based on creative writing titled: Writing to Heal: Creative Writing Techniques to Promote Student Resilience, Empowerment, and Agency under the Interdisciplinary Research Institute of the UPR at Cayey and the Mellon Foundation.

Preparación Académica/Education:

Ana G. Méndez University, Puerto Rico, 2019

Ed. D.- Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Environments

Dissertation: Through the looking glass: Female character representations in young adult literature in the teaching of ESL

Graduated with a 4.00 GPA

 

Turabo University, Gurabo, Puerto Rico, 2011

Ed. -The Teaching of English as a Second Language (TESL)

Non-Interactive Research: Action speaks louder than words: The need for an optimal

learning environment to enhance communicative competence in high school students

in Puerto Rico based on Caine & Caine’s 12 brain-based principles.

 

University of Puerto Rico, Cayey, Puerto Rico, 2007

B.A. Honors in Secondary English Education (GPA 3.95)

Concentration: English (Secondary Level)

Honors Thesis: “UPR Cayey 1st Year Basic English Student’s Writing Self-Perceptions:

A Descriptive Study. Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Honors Program Certificate.

Member of the Honors Studies Program (PEH).

Graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.95 GPA.

Obtained a medal for the highest GPA in Secondary Education.

Áreas de Investigación/Research Interests:

Teaching of English as a Second Language (TESL), Second Language Acquisition (SLA), Transformative Learning, Brain-Based Learning, Applied Educational Neuroscience, Gender Studies, Curriculum and Teaching, Children’s Literature, YA Literature, Literacy, Creative Writing, Critical Content Analysis, Literary Theory

Publicaciones/Publications:

  1. Reyes, T.M. (2022). Un choque en el tiempo. Editorial Raíces.
  2. Reyes, T.M. (2021, May 4). Currículo con perspectiva de género: De dónde venimos y hacia dónde vamos. In El Nuevo Día. https://www.elnuevodia.com/opinion/punto-de-vista/curriculo-con-perspectiva-de-genero-de-donde-venimos-y-hacia-donde-vamos/
  3. Reyes, T.M. (2019). Through the Looking Glass: Female Character Representations in Young Adult Literature in the Teaching of ESL (Doctoral dissertation). ProQuest Publishing.
  4. Reyes, T.M. (2017, April). Shifting mindsets, recalibrating schemes: Transformative learning and the women and gender-based curriculum at UPR Cayey. In XI Coloquio nacional sobre las mujeres [XI Colloquium about Women], UPR Mayagüez.
  5. Reyes, T.M. (2017, April 17). Huelga UPR: Aprendizaje Transformativo. In El Nuevo Día. https://www.elnuevodia.com/opinion/columnas/ huelgaupraprendizajetransformativo- columna-2311893/