This summer, two CCI faculty members– Dr. Shannon Hall-Mills and Dr. Kelly Farquharson–and four graduate students–Anne Reed, Kiana Hines, Shaylyn King St. Remy, and Jasmine Smith– had the opportunity to travel to Queensland, Australia to attend the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading’s (SSSR) annual conference. Dr. Shannon Hall-Mills, Dr. Kelly Farquharson, Kiana Hines, and Anne Reed were also able to present at the conference.
SSSR promotes the scientific study of reading and works to disseminate information about reading and other related topics. This summer’s conference in Australia was their 30th annual. Reed explained her experience at the event, saying, “SSSR is a more intimate conference than some others I attend so I appreciate the smaller setting that allows for more interaction with attendees. The conference is also very intentional to connect students and early career researchers, like me, with more seasoned professionals. Those connections are invaluable as I find my research footing.”
At the conference, Reed presented a poster titled “How does SLPs’ level of self-efficacy contribute to eligibility decision-making for children with reading and other language disorders?” which described findings that SLP job satisfaction predicts self-efficacy which in turn predicts the number of data sources used by SLPs to make eligibility decisions. Reed shared, “The poster I presented at SSSR represents the initial findings from the survey of school based SLPs. I’m looking forward to continued analysis of the data and disseminating future findings!”
Kiana Hines also presented her project “Calculating Morphological Complexity Meets Automation: Using Morpholex to Analyze the Morphological Complexity of Oral Narrative Samples of Spanish-English Learners” which she explained, “discusses the use of an automated tool to assess the production of different morphemes or parts of words in the language samples of Spanish English learners. This tool is groundbreaking within the field of reading and speech language pathology because analyzing language samples is usually perceived as a laborious task that is often avoided.”
Dr. Hall-Mills’ podium presentation, “Exploring the relationship of academic vocabulary use and writing quality across genres in adolescent writing” addressed important gaps in the current research for older students with and without written language difficulties.
Hall-Mills noted, “People might wonder why speech-language pathologists would be invested in reading research and literacy intervention. Many of our presentations to this conference have helped elevate the role of the SLP within interdisciplinary approaches to the scientific study of reading. This is because SLPs have unique knowledge of language development and skills in preventing, identifying, and treating language disorders, which often relate to children’s difficulties with literacy… Attendees and presenters shared a significant interest in advancing the science of reading and improving educational practices across languages, countries, and education systems. I am excited about new collaborations and appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the work underway around the globe!”
The attendees explained that they were also able to explore and enjoy the sights during their time in Australia. Reed and Hall-Mills both spent time snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef while Hines saw the Sydney Opera House and tried indigenous prepared food such as smoked kangaroo and emu!
Conference attendees included FSU faculty members Dr. Shannon Hall-Mills and Dr. Kelly Farquharson and doctoral students Anne Reed, Kiana Hines, Shaylyn King St. Remy, and Jasmine Smith.