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Rita Smilkstein has over 50 years of teaching experience. She currently teaches at the Seattle Urban Campus of Western Washington University's Woodring College of Education. Smilkstein's experience includes 50 years of teaching, authoring or co-authoring 26 publications, 10 grant-funded projects, 9 awards for her performance in the academic field, and countless presentations. Read below for a detailed listing of her professional accomplishments.
| Teaching Experience |
| 1998-Current |
1998- Invited Faculty, Western Washington University’s Woodring College of Education, Seattle Urban Campus: Methods for Teaching English in Secondary Schools, Management and Motivation (co-instructor) |
| 1998-Current |
Professor Emerita, Department of English, North Seattle Community College |
| 1970-1998 |
Faculty, Department of English, North Seattle Community College: Developmental Reading, Writing, Study Skills; Freshman Composition; Creative Writing; Literature (all genres); Integrated/Coordinated Studies |
| 1997 |
Guest Lecturer. Master in Teaching Program, Antioch University West, Seattle, WA |
| 1995-1997 |
Guest Lecturer. Master in Teaching Program, City University, Seattle, WA |
| 1992-1994 |
Guest Professor in Master in Teaching Program, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA: Theory and Practice, Child Development, Curriculum and Instruction, Secondary Language Arts (on leave from North Seattle CC) |
| 1994 |
Invited faculty, Kellogg Institute (summer), Appalachian State University |
| Winter 1998 |
Guest Professor. The Bridge Program/The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA |
| Fall 1995 |
Guest Professor. The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA |
| 1967-70 |
Adjunct Instructor. Department of English, State University of NY (SUNY) at Westchester Community College |
| 1967-70 |
Faculty. Department of English/Speech, Fox Lane High School, Bedford, NY |
| 1963-66 |
Faculty. English/History, Karafin School (private high school), Mt. Kisco, NY |
| 1960-62 |
Instructor. Department of Humanities, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI |
| 1957-58 |
Instructor. Department of Speech/Drama, Windham College, Putney, VT |
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Other Positions |
| 2008-Current |
Invited Member of the International Delphi Panel for the Emerging Field Unifying Neurology, Psychology, and Pedagogy |
| 1998-Current |
Consultant/Trainer |
| 1983-1998 |
Washington State Board of Community College Education/Washington Association of Developmental Education Resource Bank (Specialist in learning and teaching theory and practice) |
| 1995-1997 |
Campus Representative at State Board for Community and Technical Colleges’ Assessment Conferences |
| 1995-1997 |
Chairperson, Assessment Committee, North Seattle Community College |
| 1987-1997 |
Planning Board, The Washington Center for the Improvement of the Quality of Post-Secondary Education |
| 1985-1996 |
Executive Board, King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO |
| 1996 |
Principal Investigator for Title III Grant, North Seattle Community College: Improvement of ESL and Developmental English Programs |
| 1982-1985 |
Vice-President, Washington Federation of Teachers |
| 1982-1984 |
Washington State Director, Western College Reading and Learning Association |
| 1979-1981 |
1979-1981 President, Seattle Community College Federation of Teachers |
| 1973-1975 |
President, Northwest Part-Time Instructors’ Association; wrote and was major lobbyist for successful legislation to improve the wages of Washington state community college adjunct faculty |
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Education |
| 1994 |
Ph.D., University of Washington: Educational Psychology (Human Development, Cognitive Development, Thinking/Learning, Cognitive Processes Underlying Writing) |
| 1992 |
Certification as Developmental Education Specialist, Kellogg Institute, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC |
| 1978-1981 |
Post-Graduate studies, University of Washington: Higher Education |
| 1962 |
M. A., Michigan State University: Speech and Drama/English |
| 1955 |
B. A., University of Iowa: English/Creative Writing |
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Grants |
| 1990 |
Seattle Community College District: To create a curriculum for teaching basic grammar |
| 1988 |
Seattle Community College District: To co-develop a coordinated technology-and- humanities 15-hour course |
| 1987 |
Seattle Community College District: To co-develop a coordinated developmental reading and writing course |
| 1987 |
Seattle Community College District: To co-develop a coordinated developmental English and math course |
| 1987 |
Seattle Community College District: To co-develop a new freshman composition program |
| 1986 |
Seattle Community College District: To co-develop a coordinated studies program (developmental English and a content course) |
| 1984 |
Seattle Community College District: To co-develop and write a curriculum and train instructors for the Adult Basic Education program |
| 1982 |
Seattle Community College District: To develop and write a curriculum with daily lesson plans for a pre-college basic writing course |
| 1981 |
National Endowment for the Humanities: to co-develop and teach an integrated humanities-and-basic-skills course |
| 1980 |
FIPSE: To develop and teach a 30-hour summer institute for community college faculty (applying theory to teaching) |
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Publications |
| Tools for Writing, 2nd edition, ManyKites Press, 2009. |
| Igniting Student Potential Using the Brain’s Natural Learning Process, with A. Gunn and R. Richburg. Corwin Press, 2007. |
| Constructivism, In S. Feinstein (Ed.). The Praeger Handbook on Learning and the Brain. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. |
| We’re Born to Learn: Using the Brain’s Natural Learning Process to Create Today’s Curriciulum. Corwin Press, 2003 (Won the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Educator’s Award, 2004) |
| How the Brain Learns: Research, Theory, and Application, Learning Assistance Review, 2001. |
| How the Brain Learns: Research, Theory, and Mathematics Classroom Application, Adults Learning Mathematics Conference Proceedings, 2000. |
| Teaching Grammar the Way the Brain Learns Best, NADE Conference Proceedings, 1999. |
| Tools for Writing, Harcourt Brace, 1998. |
| The Natural Human Learning Process, Journal of Developmental Education, 17 (2), 1994. |
| Acquiring Knowledge and Keeping It, Gamut. Seattle: Seattle Community College, 1993. (ERIC: ED382 238) (Different kinds of knowledge. Principles of learning for empowerment and implications for the classroom.) |
| A Natural Teaching Method Based on Learning Theory, Gamut. Seattle: Seattle Community College, 1991. (ERIC: ED382 237) (How the human brain learns. The physiological processes underlying human learning. Examples of curriculum based on how the brain naturally learns.) |
| The Natural Process of Learning and Critical Thinking, Gamut. Seattle: Seattle Community Colleges, 1989. (ERIC: ED 382 236) |
| A Teacher Born Again: From Punch-and-Judy to the Third Way, Crosscurrents. Spokane: Washington Community College Humanities Association, 1986. |
| Getting Down in the First Unit: Teaching ENG 102 by a Developmental Discovery Method, Washington English Journal, 1986. |
| The Reliability and Validity of Two Theory-Based Rule Systems for Generating Letter Series Inductive Reasoning Problems. Research Report. Seattle: University of Washington Graduate School of Education, 1986. |
| The Effect of Self-Generated Writing Practice on Learning Grammar. Research Report. Seattle: University of Washington Graduate School Education, 1985. |
| Critical Thinking and Community College Students. ERIC (ED 253264), 1984. |
| Using a Constructivist Method for Teaching a Six-Hour Unit to College Students. Research Report. Seattle: University of Washington Graduate School of Education, 1984. |
| Piaget and the Humanities, Crosscurrents. Spokane: Washington Community College Humanities Association, 1982. Reprinted in New Horizons, 1983. |
| The Successful Student's Handbook: A Step by Step Approach to Reading, Thinking and Study Skills. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1983. |
| Helping Students Learn the Humanities, Washington Community College Humanities Association Newsletter, 1982. |
| Learning to Do Humanities. ERIC (ED 233750), 1982. |
| Teaching ENG 101 Along Natural Lines: The Structure of a Curriculum Based on Learning Theory. In C. Carter et al. (Eds.), Structuring for Success in the English Classroom. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1982. |
| Teaching English with Piaget and Bloom, from Developmental Writing to Literature. ERIC (ED 222902), 1982. |
| An Example of Teaching Along Natural Lines: An Instructional Sequence on the Use of Commas in Lists, Based on the Hierarchies of Piaget, Bloom, Krathwohl and Harrow. ERIC (Ed 204 784), 1981. |
| The Mirror and the Light, Catalyst. Olympia: Washington State Humanities Project, 1981. |
| Towards a Holistic Theory of Adult Education: Academic-Skills-Deprivation, Cause and Cure. ERIC (Ed 207456), 1981. |
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