From Practice to Mastery

Barbara D. Sussman (BA, University of Rochester, MS, University of Pennsylvania) is an Associate Professor, Senior at Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida. She currently teaches all levels of developmental reading at the Wolfson Campus and has taught at the college for more than twenty years. Previously, she taught in the public school systems in Pennsylvania and New Jersey as a reading specialist. She was chosen by the Florida State Department of Education to create The Florida College Basic Skills Reading Exit Test in collaboration with other reading professors from across the state.

Maria C. Villar-Smith is an Associate Professor Senior of English and developmental writing at Miami Dade College. She has taught at the college from 1993 to present. She is fluent in Spanish and French, and is functional in Russian. Her foreign language skills have given her a unique insight and perspective into English language acquisition, making her quite an effective composition instructor. As an initial test creator for the Florida Basic Exit Exam, she was approached to develop a study guide that would aid Florida college students succeed on the exit exam. Author of From Practice to Mastery--Reading and Writing: A Study Guide for the Florida Basic Skills Exit Test, (Bedford/St. Martin 2004), Villar- Smith is also a member of NADE (National Association of Developmental Education) and NCTE (National Council for Teachers of English). She is a graduate of the University of Florida, American University, The University of Paris-La Sorbonne, Norwich Russian School, and Florida International University. She is currently writing her second textbook on developmental English.