Program Development
During my time in academia, I have had the unique opportunity to not once - but twice - serve as the inaugural director of an academic program. Additionally, in both of my full-time academic appointments, I have been incredibly fortunate to both learn from and work with folks who are committed to the science and practice of curriculum and program development.
My First Exposure to Program Building
While I wasn’t aware of it at the time, my first exposure to building an academic program with truly interwoven objectives leading to a larger goal occurred during my time as an acute care staff SLP at Michael Reese Hospital. I was committed to supervising students and creating a clinical placement program in our department. As I moved beyond simply developing a handbook, I started to develop a program of interconnected learning objectives to be met over the course of the students’ time with me. While I genuinely had no theoretical or scientific foundation undergirding my work, it prompted me to begin to read about teaching and learning. It was at this time that I first read Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks, and I was forever changed.
Speech Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) Program at College of DuPage (CoD)
Accepting my first full-time position in academia at CoD in 2000 was my official launch into program development. As the inaugural director of a brand new program, I inherited a list of courses and was tasked with creating a cohesive curricular and programmatic experience. I was incredibly fortunate to have stumbled into the Health Sciences Division, There I learned from program directors across the continuum of health professions education (HPE) and began to investigate the body of literature around teaching, learning, and curricular theory and science in HPE.
I fully revamped the program twice. The first full revision came after I developed my knowledge of curricular approaches and frameworks. This revision transformed the curriculum from a series of courses to a true program with integrated concepts and themes. The second full revision occurred when CoD transitioned from quarters to semesters.
Related to my growth and development in curricula and program development, I began to serve on and was eventually made chair of the Division Curriculum Committee. As chair, I ushered all of the division’s curricula through the transition from quarters to semesters.
Clinical Masters Program in SLP at Northwestern
After joining Northwestern as the director of the clinical master’s program, I began to work with a small team invested faculty on a program overhaul. We rebuilt the program informed by theory and evidence. The result was a completely new program informed by concept-based and spiral curricula, immersive learning, and team-based learning. Self-reflection was intentionally embedded within the program, as was emotionally intelligent leadership, cultural humility and responsivity, and wellness. As an added bonus, the new design reduced the program by one term, saving learners both time and tuition dollars.
A mindset of perpetual beta is essential for anyone involved in teaching, curriculum writing, and program development. As such, we continue to monitor the program, the field, and teaching and learning science for possible improvements and enhancements.
Clinical Doctorate (SLPD) Program at Northwestern
In 2014, I led a group of faculty in exploring the possibility of developing an SLPD program. As a testament to our Chair at the time, it was not a forgone conclusion that we would develop a program. Beginning with the question, “why an SLPD?”, we developed a strong vision for the SLPD in the landscape of the field and, subsequently, a strong mission and vision for our program.
Beginning with the end in mind, we developed a completely original curriculum that supports our learners development as leaders and disrupters in education and supervsion, clinical science, business, and process improvement.