Some personal information (InformaciónPersonal)

About ME:

Rafael Ángel Espinoza Pizarro

I have been in the field of education since 1987. My early years in the field include teaching elementary first through fifth grades. My academic preparation began in 1986 at the National University of Costa Rica (NUCR). I received a B.S. in Elementary Education in 1989. I also obtained a B.S. in Educational Administration. During the time that I was studying, I was working as a full-time elementary teacher in Costa Rica San Jose’s school district.
I began my work in higher education at the National University of Costa Rica teaching methodology courses for elementary teachers. My work included teaching classes in curriculum development, research in the classroom, and coordinating student field experiences.
I obtained my Master’s degree in Education in Curriculum and Instruction and a minor in Educational Management.
In 1993, after I finished my Master's Degree at New Mexico State University, I became a full professor in the department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at the National University of Costa Rica.
I provided numerous workshops and short courses to teachers within Costa Rica and across all of Central America, to bilingual educators. So, I become an international workshop facilitator in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Chile, Argentina, Jerusalem, Mexico, and the United States. In June of 2001, I was higher a Curriculum Development Consultant in an International USA organization, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA (www.iica.int)). This institution has 34 offices in the hemisphere, which are working to meet the needs of the countries in areas such as agricultural health, technology, and innovation; education and training; information and communication. I developed capacities for training stakeholders in rural areas through technology such as videoconference, Internet, and CD-ROM.
In this globalized world, getting in touch with international professors will be an added value for my country to share knowledge and build capacities.

In the last 5 years, I have been doing consulting on designing learning environments through the Internet. Thus, I was the coordinator of an international project in South America.
I hold a doctoral degree in Research in Education. In 2010, I graduated with a Ph.D. in Learning Technologies.