After many years of practicing in the field of audiology, one of the primary motivations for my pursuit of a Ph.D. degree was the desire to participate in and influence the education of future audiologists.  During the last six years of my clinical practice, I facilitated a distance learning site for working audiologists who had a Master’s degree but wanted to obtain the Doctor of Audiology degree.  While leading onsite and online classes, I thought about the kinds of learning experiences that would be most helpful to me in my practice of audiology.  I received much positive feedback from the students, including those who were initially reluctant to commit to the degree.  Through this experience, I realized that I was able to have a positive impact on the students’ perception of themselves as professionals and on their practice of audiology, and I decided to make teaching a priority in my professional life.

I have witnessed profound changes in audiology practice over the last three decades.  Given these changes and a diverse patient population ranging from infants to centenarians, I have never had a reason to be bored with routine.  Now that I am actively engaged in research, I have even more reason to be excited about new developments that will ultimately result in better quality of life for individuals with hearing loss.  As a teacher in this field, I strive to bring this excitement to the classroom, where I hope to motivate students to provide the best service possible to their patients. 

Through teaching, I wish to accomplish the following goals:

1.     Provide learning experiences that enable students to make connections between hearing science and audiology practice.

2.     Assist students to develop critical thinking, so that they have a framework from which to evaluate new developments in the field.

3.     Instill in students a sense of professionalism and the responsibilities that come with the privilege of being referred to as “doctor.”

            These goals are accomplished by engaging in different teaching/learning strategies.  At the graduate level, I use in-class demonstrations to demonstrate the material that is presented in the lectures.   I encourage students to actively participate in the demonstrations, and they complete labs outside of class to reinforce these concepts.  The need to balance clinical training with academic training necessitates weekly classes of two and half hours in length.   To enhance retention of material from week to week, I regularly conduct reviews of previously taught material.  Online quizzes provide further opportunity to reinforce learning.  Recently published studies are reviewed and critiqued, either as papers, class presentations, or in small group activities during class.  I bring my years of clinical experience into the classroom to provide real-life examples, inject humor, and maintain students’ interest.

            In my undergraduate classes, I provide classroom opportunities for hands-on experience with technology and testing techniques, discussion of concepts, and cooperative work with other students on assignments.  These opportunities are created by providing some of the class materials and lectures in an online format, freeing up in-class time to facilitate interactive learning.  I use on-line quizzes to encourage careful reading of material and to provide a review for exams.  I use case histories during in-class assignments and exams to reinforce integration of course material.

I enjoy the teaching opportunities that arise from mentorship of undergraduate students, Au.D. students, and Ph.D. students.  I use a hands-on approach, spending much time in the lab to help my students develop an understanding of the scientific process, especially as it pertains to translational pursuits.  I often tell my students that making mistakes is part of the learning process to encourage them to test out new ideas or skills.

I wish to advance the fields of audiology and hearing science to improve the lives of individuals who are suffering from the consequences of decreased hearing and communication.  Teaching and mentoring activities allow me to influence the practice of clinicians and the scientific pursuits of future researchers.