Recently, the collaborative manuscript, “Practice-Based Coaching for Speech-Language Pathologists supporting Paraeducators and Speech-Language Pathology Assistants,” was accepted for publication in Language Speech and Hearing Services in the Schools (LSHHS), a flagship journal of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). This manuscript was led by Dr. Lindsay Dennis, associate professor in the School of Teacher Education and Dr. Kelly Farquharson, associate professor in the School of Communication Science and Disorders. Coauthors include Anne Reed and Rebecca Summy,  SCSD doctoral students; Kim Clark, College of Education doctoral student; and Jenn Westmoreland, FSU Alumna and clinical supervisor in the FSU Speech and Hearing Clinic. 

 Co-author and SCSD doctoral student Anne Reed provided some insight into the research, saying, “Our manuscript, presents the results of a year’s worth of work in which paraeducators and speech-language pathology assistants were taught to use shared book reading strategies with preschoolers using practice-based coaching [which] involves collaborative partnerships between the coach and coachee using shared goals, action planning, focused observation, and feedback to improve effective teaching practices.” 

 The work for this project took place within public preschool classrooms and involved collaboration between paraeducators, speech-pathology assistants, and speech-language pathologists. Reed noted that speech-language pathology assistants and paraeducators often spend the most time with students but receive the least training. She continued, saying, “Our work shows that interdisciplinary collaboration can successfully improve teaching practices and lead to improved student outcomes.” 

When asked about being published in LSHSS, Dr. Farquharson shared that it has the highest impact factor of all ASHA journals so being published is extremely exciting as their research will reach many practicing clinicians. Reed added about her experience with the project, “Working collaboratively with Dr. Dennis and Kim Clark in the School of Teacher Education as well as with my colleagues in the School of Communication Science and Disorders was my first research project as a doctoral student. It was a wonderful learning experience and has set the bar high for future collaborations!”