Chrissy Cruz M.Ed., Ed.S.
Lecturer, University of Miami | Instructor, University of Central Florida
About me
Welcome to my digital teaching portfolio. I am a Lecturer at the University of Miami and an instructor at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida. I have 12 years of university teaching experience, including eight years at UCF, focusing on Ad/PR, intercultural communication, instructional communication, and business communication. With a rich academic background of a Master of Mass Communication and Public Relations from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications, I specialize in advertising, public relations, and intercultural communication. My academic journey is further distinguished by a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Psychology, a Master of Education, and an Educational Specialist degree, all from UF, equipping me with advanced skills in instructional design, curriculum development, and faculty development.
I have extensive teaching experience at the University of Florida, UMass Boston, and Santa Fe College, bringing a multi-institutional approach to my teaching and ensuring a scholarly and innovative methodology in communication education. My teaching spans a wide array of communication courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including Advertising, Journalism, Public Relations, and Advanced Debate. My teaching portfolio also includes courses in Interpersonal Communication, Cross-Cultural Communication, Advanced Public Speaking, Business and Professional Communication, and Leadership Communication.
My expertise extends to training doctoral-level GTAs and new faculty in instructional communication graduate courses such as Preparing Tomorrow’s Faculty at the UCF Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning and Oral Communication for International Teaching Assistants at UCF Global. My focus on teaching pedagogies, communication methods, and integrated course design has gained recognition for faculty development and innovative teaching strategies, helping to shape the next generation of educators through my commitment to faculty excellence and communication pedagogy.
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Drawing upon my visual artist background, I am a Certified Adobe Creative Educator, Certified Adobe Graphic Designer, and Certified Apple Teacher. I utilize my instructional design background in the development of higher education curriculum. In this portfolio, you will find key samples of my work, including documentation of my teaching, examples of my teaching effectiveness, materials demonstrating student learning, projects utilized to improve instruction, and contributions to the teaching profession.
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character–that is the goal of true education.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.