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Dr. Rita Smilkstein, a frequent speaker nationally and internationally on brain-compatible teaching, is currently Professor Emerita (English), North Seattle Community College, and Invited Faculty at Western Washington University’s Woodring College of Education, Seattle Urban Campus. Her publications include textbooks and articles on brain-compatible curricula and pedagogy. Her book We’re Born to Learn: Using the Brain’s Natural Learning Process to Create Curriculum (Corwin Press, 2003) was awarded the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International's Educator's Book of the Year Award for 2004. This award recognizes books that "may influence the direction of thought and action necessary to meet the needs of today's complex society." Her new book, which she co-authored, is Igniting Student Potential: Teaching with the Brain’s Natural Learning Process (2007). Among her many teaching awards are two Excellence Awards from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development. In 2005 she was honored with the College Reading and Learning Association’s most prestigious award, the Robert Griffin Award for Long and Outstanding Service. In 2006 she was elected as a Fellow of the American Council of Developmental Education Associations, the highest honor in the field of developmental education, learning assistance, and tutoring services.
She has a B.A. and M.A. in English, a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, has taught middle school through graduate school, including 28 years at North Seattle Community College, and is a founding member of The Washington Center for the Improvement of the Quality of Post-Secondary Education.
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