Miriam Diaz-Gilbert, MEd

Lecturer of English
Assistant Director, Writing Center
MEd, Rutgers University – Second Language Education; ESL

Phone: 215-596-8769
Email: m.gilber@usp.edu

Miriam Diaz-Gilbert has been a faculty member at USP since 1999. She is the Assistant Director of the Writing Center and a lecturer of English in the Humanities Dept. She teaches reading/writing and listening/speaking courses to students whose first or best language is not English, and English composition. Additionally, she teaches a world cultures special topics study/travel course on Puerto Rico. 

In 2002, Diaz-Gilbert received a Lindback Foundation Research Grant to study the writing skills of advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students whose first or best language is into. Diaz-Gilbert also received a USP Summer Research Grant to study the vocabulary knowledge of pharmacy students whose first or best language is not English. Both research studies are published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.

Diaz-Gilbert has been a nominee for the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, USP Advisor of the Year, USP Student Club Advisor and has been a finalist of the Patricia Leahy Teaching Innovation Award.

Before coming to USP, Diaz-Gilbert taught at Camden County College, University of Delaware, Community College of Philadelphia and the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University and other colleges and universities.

In 1995, the Camden County Chapter of the American Red Cross bestowed upon her the Good Neighbor Humanitarian Award for her volunteer work and commitment to multicultural understanding. Diaz-Gilbert, a marathon runner, has also raised money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She has run four 50 mile ultra-marathons and is training for her first 70 mile ultra.

Representative Publications
forthcoming: English for Pharmacy Writing and Oral Communication, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, October 2008: ISBN: 9780781774321

"The Vocabulary Knowledge of Pharmacy Students Whose First or Best Language is not English", American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2004; 68(4) Article 91.

"Writing Skills of Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience Students Whose First or Best Language is not English" American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2005; 69(4) Article 101.

"Writing Skills Invaluable to Clerkship Students", Pharmacy Student, March/April 2003

"Mandate Not Translating Well", The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 19, 1999

Representative Presentations
Presenter: October 2007, International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning, Atlanta, GA. "Transforming Research into a Winning Book Proposal"

Presenter: April 2006, Lilly-East Conference on College and University Teaching, Newark, DE. "What Student Reflective Writing Reveals about Student Learning and Teaching Effectiveness that Traditional Course Student Evaluations Do Not"

April 2005. American College of Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Research Conference. "Vocabulary Knowledge of Pharmacy Students Whose First or Best Language is not English" (Poster Presentation).

April 2005. American College of Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Research Conference. "Writing Skills of Clerkship Students Whose First or Best Language is not English: Perceptions of Clerkship Students and Preceptors" (Poster Presentation).

Presenter: November 2005, 25th Annual PennTESOLEast, Immaculata, PA
"Planning and Evaluating Engaging ESL Oral Presentations"

Presenter: November 2004, 31st Annual PRTESOL, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
"Enhancing Writing and Speaking Skills through Guided Reflection Journals"

Presenter: October 2004, International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD. "The Benefits of Cooperative Learning, Peer Modeling and Email: Improving the Argumentative Essay Writing Skills of ESL Writers"

Presenter: May 2003, Talking About Teaching Day - University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. "An Examination of Pharmacy-related Vocabulary and ESL Students’ False Sense of Word Knowledge"

Presenter: January 2002, Teaching & Learning Workshop - University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. "Tips for Teaching and Testing When Language is an Obstacle"

Presenter: December 2001, Occupational Therapy Department, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. "Understanding Vocabulary and Preparing for the OT Licensing Exam"

Presenter: May 2001, Talking About Teaching Day - University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Teaching & Learning Center, "Increasing Our Abilities to Work with Our Diverse Student Population"

Presenter: March 2001 - University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Teaching and Learning Center. "The TOEFL and Assessing English Competency with Non-native English Speakers"

Presenter: November 2000, National Writing Centers Conference, Baltimore, MD. "When the Language Needs of Non-native English Speakers are Greater than the ESL Courses Can Meet: The Role of the Writing Center"

Presenter:  August & November 2000, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Teaching and Learning Center. "Respecting Student Diversity"

Presenter: April 2000, 4th Annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching, Towson, MD. "Teaching Academic Reading and Writing Skills to Non-native English Speaking Students"

Co-Presenter: April 2000, Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Conference, Rockville, MD. "Do You Really Mean That? - How to Respond to Writers Who Risk Alienating Readers"