Rafael Leonardo da Silva is the newest faculty member of Boise State University’s Department of Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning (OPWL) starting this January in the spring 2022 semester.
Dr. da Silva earned his Ph.D. and his M.Ed. in Learning, Design and Technology at the University of Georgia. During his graduate studies his excellence in research resulted in him being featured in TechTrends and the International Journal of Design for Learning. These publications led him to receive the Robert M. Gagne Award for Graduate Student Research in Instructional Design in 2020. Dr. da Silva’s keen interest in instructional design was put to work developing instruction for local and state governments, in medical contexts, and in creating English as a Second Language (ESOL) innovative tools and approaches, including interactive training modules and educational games.
Dr. da Silva grew up in southern Brazil and pursued his love of language and teaching during his undergraduate studies at the State University of Londrina, in Brazil, earning his B.A. in English as a Second Language. During his undergraduate degree, he worked as an Editorial Assistant for Scriba Projetos Editoriais developing TESOL instructional materials and served as an English Teacher at College Language Center in Londrina. Prior to starting his graduate studies, the University of Georgia awarded him a Fulbright Portuguese Teaching Assistant, where he taught individual and small group Portuguese conversation classes to college level students, providing accelerated Portuguese lessons, developing video game-based classes, and participating in Portuguese language tables. Those foundational experiences led him to his graduate studies in Learning, Design and Technology at the University of Georgia, which brought him to Boise State University’s Department of Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning (OPWL).
OPWL is delighted to have his expertise and passion in instructional design added to the faculty roster. This spring, he is facilitating the Portfolio culminating activity class and OPWL 525 E-learning Content Design and LMSs. This summer, he will be teaching OPWL 523 E-Learning Authoring and Development, and, this fall, he will be offering a newly designed course OPWL 597 Special Topics – Game-Based and Gamified Learning.
Dr. da Silva resides in Boise, Idaho with his wife and three cats.
About the OPWL Program
The Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning (OPWL) program helps prepare students for careers in the areas of instructional design, training and development, e-learning, workplace performance improvement, organizational development, program evaluation and performance consulting.