Rebecca Wiseheart

Associate ProfessorDirector, M.A. Speech-Language Pathology

St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Ph.D., University of Florida, Communication Sciences and DisordersM.A., University of Florida, Speech-Language PathologyB.A., University of Florida, English

Rebecca Wiseheart is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) with a joint appointment in Psychology. Her research and clinical interests focus on language, learning, and cognition in dyslexia, especially in college students who have compensated for earlier reading difficulties. She is currently investigating concussive injury in college student-athletes with dyslexia and has piloted a dyslexia screening protocol for use in collegiate sport concussion management programs.

A secondary line of research explores the development of writing and pre-professional identity in the CSD major. Related to this work at St. John’s, she was a Writing Across the Curriculum Fellow in 2013 and a Writing Across Communities Writer-in-Residence in 2019. She was also recognized as the McNair Scholars Program Mentor of the Year in both 2014 and 2015.

Dr. Wiseheart is a nationally certified speech-language pathologist and a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). She represents ASHA on the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD).

Croft, J., Conn, P., Serafin, J., & Wiseheart, R. (2020). Connecting disciplinary principles of “effective writing” with students’ prior writing experiences. In Diverse approaches to teaching, learning, and writing across the curriculum : IWAC at 25. Lesley Erin Bartlett, Sandra L. Tarabochia, Andrea R. Olinger, & Margaret J. Marshall (Eds.) (pp. 193-209). Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado.

Wiseheart, R. & Wellington, R. (2019). Identifying dyslexia risk for sport-related concussion management: Reliability and specificity of self-report and rapid naming. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 33(3), 519-538.

Wiseheart, R., Kim, S., Lombardino, L.J., & Altmann, L. (2019). Indexing effects of phonological representational strength on rapid naming using rime neighborhood density. Applied Psycholinguistics, 40(2), 253-277.

Croft, J., Benjamin, M.*, Conn, P., Serafin, J., & Wiseheart, R. (2019). Promoting pre-professional identity through writing: An exploratory study across four disciplines. Across the Disciplines, 16(2), 34-52.

Kim, S. Wiseheart, R., & Walden, P. (2018). Do multimedia instructional designs enhance comprehension in college students with dyslexia? Journal of Postsecondary Education and Research, 31(4), 351-365.

Wiseheart, R. & Altmann, L.J.P. (2018) Spoken language production in college students with dyslexia: Effects of working memory and vocabulary. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 53(2), 355-369.

Wiseheart, R. & Wellington, R. (2017). Identifying dyslexia risk in student athletes: A preliminary protocol for concussion research. Journal of Athletic Training, 52(10), 982-986.

Kim, S. & Wiseheart, R. (2017). Exploring text and icon graph interpretation in students with dyslexia: An eye-tracking study. Dyslexia, 23(1), 24-41.

Keshishian, F., & Wiseheart, R. (2015). Bilingual and monolingual students' perceptions of the CSD Major: A qualitative study. Perspectives on Issues in Higher Education, 18(1), 16-31.

Park, J., Wiseheart, R., & Ritter, M. (2014). The roles of the speed and accuracy of morphological processing in the reading comprehension of Spanish-speaking language minority learners. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 3, 12-27.

Park, J., Ritter, M., Lombardino, L.J., Wiseheart, R., & Sherman, S. (2014). Phonological awareness intervention for verbal working memory skills in school-aged children with SLI. International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 3, 3-22.

Wiseheart, R. (2012). Counseling and Intervention. In Linda J. Lombardino, Assessing and Differentiating Reading & Writing Disorders (pp. 182-211). New York, NY: Cengage.

Wiseheart, R., Altmann, L.J.P., Lombardino, L.J., & Park, H. (2009). Sentence comprehension in young adults with developmental dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia, 59, 151-167.

Graduate Courses

CSD 201 Introduction to Research Methods

CSD 203 Models of Language Behavior

CSD 210 Assessment of Speech-Language Problems

CSD 440 Advanced Research Methods

Undergraduate Courses

CSD 2710 Research and Clinical Writing

CSD 2775 Language Based Learning Disabilities

Wellington, R., Wiseheart, R., & Ducca, E. What accounts for the increased risk for concussion in student-athletes with reading disability and ADHD? (July, 2019). Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) Conference, Toronto, Canada.

Wiseheart, R. & Lopez, K. (July, 2019). Does digit RAN mediate reading and math fluency? Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) Conference, Toronto, Canada.

De Reyna, E. & Wiseheart, R. (May, 2019). Teacher knowledge and perceptions about dyslexia among youth experiencing homelessness. New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NYSSLHA) Convention, Albany, NY.

Ducca, E.L., Wellington, R., & Wiseheart, R. (February, 2019). Effects of balance on concussion history in student-athletes with learning disability and ADHD. 2019 Annual Meeting of the International Neuropsychological Association (INS), New York, NY.

Kim, S., Lombardino, L.J., Wiseheart, R. & Thompson, E. (November, 2018). Mutlti-media instructional designs: What do we need to support students in the classroom?2018 International Dyslexia Association (IDA) Conference, Mashantucket, CT.

Conn, P., Croft, J., Serafin, J., Wiseheart, R., & Benjamin, M.* (June, 2018). Connecting disciplinary principles of “effective writing” with students prior writing experiences. International Writing across the Curriculum Conference (IWAC), Auburn, AL.

Wiseheart, R. & Wellington, R. (November, 2017). The importance of dyslexia screening in mTBI/concussion management programs. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention, Los Angeles, CA.

Kim, S. & Wiseheart, R. (November, 2017) Infographic learning for college students with dyslexia. The 2017 International Dyslexia Association (IDA) Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Wiseheart, R. & Wellington, R. (October, 2017). Utilizing RAN to identify dyslexia-risk for sport-related concussion management. New England Research on Dyslexia Society (NERDY) Conference, Sponsored by Haskins Laboratories/UConn, New Haven, CN.

Wiseheart, R. & Wellington, R. (July, 2017) Reliability and sensitivity of dyslexia self-report in college student-athletes: Implications for concussion/mTBI research the Mid-Year, 50^th Anniversary Meeting of the International Neuropsychological Association (INS), Cape Town, South Africa.

Wellington, R., Wiseheart, R., & Ducca, E.* (May, 2017). Evaluating risk factors for protracted recovery from concussions: Implications for injury management. Innovation and Sports Conference, Budapest, Hungary.

Wiseheart, R. & Kim, S. (November, 2016). Dyslexia & infographics in the age of the Common Core: What research tells us. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention, Philadelphia, PA.

Wiseheart, R., Martinez, M., & Benjamin, M.* (June, 2016). Teaching writing in the (second) most diverse college in America. International Writing across the Curriculum Conference (IWAC), Ann Arbor, MI.

Conn, P., Croft, J., Serafin, J., Wiseheart, R., & Benjamin, M.* (June, 2016). Understanding identity through writing: Foundational knowledge, critical thinking, and professional identity in four disciplines. International Writing across the Curriculum Conference (IWAC), Ann Arbor, MI.

Wiseheart, R., Sung, K.*, Jones, B.*, Samuels, S.*, & Jose, D.* (February, 2016). How derivational morphology improves reading in English language learners. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Neuropsychological Association (INS), Boston, MA.

Wiseheart, R. (November, 2014). Numerical magnitude and spatial congruency effects on rapid naming of digits. Presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention, Orlando, FL.

Wiseheart, R., Rashid, S.* & Edwards, A.* (July, 2014). Can semantics explain the reading-RAN-math relationship? Presented at the Annual Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) Conference, Santa Fe, NM.

Altmann, L.J.P., Johnston, K.*, & Wiseheart, R. (July, 2014). Predicting spelling from cognitive and reading abilities in college students. Presented at the Annual Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) Conference, Santa Fe, NM.

Wiseheart, R., Searfin, J., & Conn, P. (June, 2014). Exploring new waves of identity through WID tasks. Presented at the International Writing across the Curriculum Conference (IWAC), Minneapolis, MN.

Altmann, L.J.P., Johnston, K.*, & Wiseheart, R. (Feb, 2014). The complex relationship between word reading, nonword reading, and spelling. Presented at the 42ne Annual Meeting of the International Neuropsychological Association (INS), Seattle, WA.

Wiseheart, R. (2013). The curious case of digits: New findings on the Reading-RAN-Math connection. Paper presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention, Chicago, IL.

Park, J., Ritter, M., Lombardino, L.J., Wiseheart, R., & Sherman, S. (2013). Phonological awareness intervention for verbal working memory skills in school-aged children with SLI and concomitant reading difficulties. 2013 Symposium in Research on Child Language Disorders, Madison, WI.

Wiseheart, R., Park, H., & Lombardino (2013). Is RAN phonological? It depends on the stimulus. Poster presented at the International Workshop for Reading and Developmental Dyslexia (IWORDD), San Sebastian, Spain.

Wiseheart, R. & Altmann, L.P.J. (2012). Phonological representation and RAN speed in bilingual adults: Exploring the weak links hypothesis. Poster presented at the 19th Annual Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) Conference, Montreal, Canada.

Kim, S., Wiseheart, R., & Lombardino, L. (2011). Comparing developmental dyslexia sub-types based on the double deficit hypothesis. Poster presented at 2011 Annual Convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), San Diego, CA.

Wiseheart, R., Lombardino, L., Altmann, L.P.J. & Snyder, L.* (2011). Differential effects of neighborhood density on digit and object naming speed. Poster presented at the 18th Annual Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) Conference, St. Petersburg, FL.

Kim, S., Wiseheart, R., & Lombardino, L. (2011). Diagnosing dyslexia: the dual route versus the double deficit model. Poster presented at the 18th Annual Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) Conference, St. Petersburg, FL.

Magdales, D.*, Wiseheart, R., Lombardino, L. & Altmann, L.J.P. (2011). Phonological awareness in simultaneous and sequential bilingual college students. Poster presented at the 18th Annual Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) Conference, St. Petersburg, FL.

Magdales, D.*, Altmann, L.J.P., Wiseheart, R., & Lombardino, L.J. (2010). Phonological awareness of English in bilingual adults. Poster presented at the 2010 Annual Convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), Philadelphia, PA.

Kim, S., Wiseheart, R., & Lombardino, L. (2010). Competing classification theories of dyslexia: Dual route vs. double deficit. Poster presented at 2010 Annual Convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), Philadelphia, PA.