Pelusa Orellana, faculty member at the School of Education and researcher at the Reading Research and Innovation Center (CIIL) at Universidad de los Andes, recently participated in an academic visit to the Educational Research Center of Panama (CIEDU AIP) as part of the international project “Mobility for Capacity Building in the Study of Phonological Awareness and Reading Comprehension Among Future Teachers in Panama.”
The initiative brings together researchers from CIEDU AIP, Universidad de los Andes, the Applied Neurosciences Institute at Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) in the Dominican Republic, and the Specialized University of the Americas (UDELAS). The project seeks to examine reading comprehension, phonological awareness, and reading habits among students preparing to become teachers in Panama.
The study aims to generate evidence on the academic preparation of future educators and provide insights that can help strengthen initial teacher education programs. According to information gathered by CIEDU AIP, no previous studies have explored these topics in the Panamanian context, underscoring the relevance of this collaborative research effort.
The June 2026 visit followed an earlier academic exchange held in Chile in January, when researchers from CIEDU AIP and UNIBE visited Universidad de los Andes as part of the project’s international mobility activities.
During her stay in Panama, Orellana worked alongside Nadia De León, Ana Alejandra Espinosa, Delfina D’Alfonso, and Daniel Cubilla-Bonnetier on the review of research instruments, the scoring of assessments, and the reliability analysis of the pilot study. These activities contributed to the validation of the tools used for data collection and analysis.
She also joined the research team in visits to the universities where data collection was conducted and participated as a speaker in CIEDU AIP’s Research Seminar Series, an initiative designed to promote academic exchange and strengthen collaborative research networks.
As part of her presentation, Orellana shared experiences from Chile aimed at addressing reading delays among students, including the initiatives Conectado Aprendo Foundation and the Reading for Growth Clinic (Leer para Crecer). Both programs engage pre-service teachers as tutors for students experiencing reading difficulties and have shown promising results in supporting learning recovery.
Orellana’s participation helped strengthen collaboration among the partner institutions while contributing to the development of knowledge on key factors influencing teacher preparation and the improvement of reading outcomes across the region.
