The Penn State AAC Leadership Project Doctoral Training

The Penn State AAC Leadership Project: Doctoral Training in AAC Janice Light, Kathryn Drager, Erinn Finke, David Mc. Naughton, Krista Wilkinson, Jessica Currall, Barbara Roberts, Julia Birmingham, Beth Breaktsone, Jessica Gosnell Caron, Christine Holyfield, Ji Young Na, Laura Richardson, Michelle. Therrien, Jen Thistle, & April Yorke The Pennsylvania State University The Problem Shortage of AAC Researchers • There are extreme shortages of scientists to conduct high quality research to improve outcomes for individuals who require AAC. • Fewer than 1, 400 speech, language, & hearing scientists nationwide (ASHA, 2013) • Of this small number, only a tiny percentage focus on research to address the needs of children who require AAC • Fewer than 15 AAC researchers published more than 5 papers in the past 5 years Shortage of Ph. D students in AAC • In 2013, only 116 new Ph. D. s in speech language pathology were awarded • Of these, only 44% assume positions at universities where research is considered a primary employment function • Only a few of these engage in research to improve outcomes for individuals who require AAC Quality of Preservice Training in AAC • 18 -35% of preservice programs in SLP do not offer any coursework in AAC • Many of the programs that offer training in AAC do so on a limited basis (1 -4 hrs of AAC content infused in other courses) • Although a small percentage of programs offer full courses in AAC, approximately half of these are not required courses (Costigan & Light, 2010; Ratcliff, Koul, & Lloyd, 2008) • 54 -71% of programs do not employ faculty with expertise in AAC • 64% of programs report that their AAC courses are typically taught by faculty who are not experts in AAC Impact of Lack of Researchers & University Faculty in AAC • Given the lack of active researchers in AAC, the generation of new research is limited and many unanswered questions remain “I am grateful and excited to be a part • Lack of preservice training in AAC is troublesome since of the AAC Leadership Grant at Penn more than 53% of SLPs regularly serve children who require State. It has given me an opportunity AAC (ASHA, 2012). to affect change in preservice speech • As a result of the lack of adequate preservice training, language pathologists through current graduates of SLP programs are often ill prepared to teaching. ” – Julia Birmingham meet the needs of children who require AAC “This experience supported me a lot • Children who require AAC are at significant risk for to develop my own research projects • poor communication outcomes in my specialty areas, which are AAC • misclassification and child language disorders. Now, as • reduced educational expectations/ achievement a doctoral student in a dissertation • exclusion from an appropriate education level, I am confident to begin a new path and contribute to the field. ” - Ji Young Na “The top AAC researchers in the world become your advisors, personally invested in your growth as you develop into the leadership of tomorrow. ” – April Yorke The Penn State AAC Leadership Project is designed to prepare doctoral level faculty to: • Conduct research to guide effective intervention for children who require AAC; • Provide high quality scientifically based preservice training in AAC for future SLPs; and • Assume leadership roles within the field Recruitment of Doctoral Students The Penn State AAC Leadership Project provides funding support for a total of 12 high quality doctoral students over a 6 -year period • Full tuition support • Monthly stipend • More than $18, 000/ per year • Funding for conferences • Seed grants for research Doctoral Curriculum The AAC doctoral curriculum is designed to provide training in • research methods • college level teaching • evidence-based practices for high need children who require AAC • policy and professional issues • interdisciplinary collaboration • “I • leadership skills love that this program has changed the way I think about AAC. Classes on the grant guided me to think about AAC in a broader way. The conceptual framework I developed shaped the way I designed my research related to literacy outcomes for children with CCN. ” – Jessica Gosnell Caron Training in EBPs in AAC • Advanced doctoral seminars are designed to build expertise in AAC research & evidence based practices: • Communication & language development for beginning communicators who require AAC; • Language, literacy, and educational achievement for individuals who require AAC; • Evidence-based services for high need children who require AAC; • Interdisciplinary collaborations to advance understanding and improve outcomes for children who require AAC; The program has exceeded my • Hands on lab experiences with state of the art AAC expectations in every way: the courses assistive are challenging, the doctoral seminars technologies. stimulating, and the professors are extremely knowledgeable. Coming to Penn State under the AAC Leadership Grant was one of the best decisions I have ever made!” –Beth Breakstone Training in Cognate Fields Academic coursework to build foundation skills in: • child language development • child language disabilities • policy and professional issues for SLPs, etc. ; • Independent studies in cognate fields • e. g. , universal design, cognitive science, motor performance, visual processing, literacy learning, strategy instruction, Curriculum Outcome Data transitions, personnel preparation, family systems, etc. • 100% of courses are research-based • Mean of 54 research-based readings per course • Include at least 1 assignment per course requiring comprehensive synthesis & critical review of the research • Student ratings indicate high quality of courses • Mean student rating of 6. 85 on a 7 -point scale for quality of course • Mean student rating of 6. 77 on a 7 -point scale for quality of “The program has allowed me to shift instructor my position from a person thinking about a dignified cultural experience for individuals who use AAC to someone who is developing research projects related to community-level Research Training change and AAC. ” – Christine Holyfield • Academic coursework in statistics & research methods • Training in the responsible conduct of research; • Mentored research experiences each year • Completion of a minimum of 3 research projects per Research Outcome Data scholar • 100% of doctoral students are involved in research to improve outcomes for individuals who require AAC • Mean of 43 peer-reviewed papers at state, national, or international conferences per year • Mean of 5+ papers per scholar • Total of 17 papers published, submitted to peer reviewed Training in journals, or College Teaching • Training in research-based in preparation methods • Mean of 2+ papers per scholar of college teaching; • Development of a teaching portfolio; • Mentored experiences in college teaching each year Teaching Outcome Data • A minimum of 3 different teaching • 100% of doctoral scholars are involved in undergraduate or experiences for each doctoral graduate student each year teaching • Mean of 68 preservice students taught per scholar • Mean student rating of 5. 67 on a 7 -point scale for quality of Leadership Training course • Mean student in workshops / seminars of instructor Participation rating of 5. 78 for quality to build leadership skills • Capstone leadership project to build greater capacity in AAC • e. g. , inservice training, web resources, model History of Successful Outcomes • 100% of graduates successfully obtained positions at Institutions of Higher Education upon graduation • 100% of these graduates successfully obtained tenure at their respective IHEs “With multiple teaching experiences and managing various research projects, I felt prepared to pursue a range of faculty positions. ” – Jennifer Thistle (AAC Leadership Project Graduate, 2014) Long-term Impact Each project graduate /university faculty is expected to: • Complete a minimum of 1 new AAC research project per year • Total of 10 -12 new AAC research projects per year • Teach / mentor at least 25 preservice students in EBPs per year • Total of more than 250 -300 future SLPs/ service providers with increased competence in EBPs in AAC Benefits for children who require AAC: • Increases in AAC research will result in improved EBPs • Improvements in AAC preservice training will result in increased numbers of SLPs with competencies in AAC • Increased research & training will result in improved services and results for children “The AAC Leadership Project provides who require AAC the perfect balance between freedom and support; freedom to pursue my individual interests in social interaction for children who use AAC and the support needed to plan and implement quality, meaningful research to effect change. ” - Michelle Therrien Acknowledgements The Penn State AAC Leadership Project grant is funded by the U. S. Department of Education grant #H 325 D 110008. Funding support for the AAC doctoral program at Penn State is also provided through the Hintz Family Endowed Chair in Children’s Communicative For further information, please contact Janice Competence. Light at JCL 4@psu. edu or visit our website at http: //aac. psu. edu www. buffalo. edu