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CSD Faculty and Staff


Lauren Bland, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Lauren Bland, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
- Associate Professor, Graduate Program Coordinator
Courses
  • SLP 503 - Diagnostic Procedures in Speech Pathology
  • SLP 506 - Fluency
  • SLP 512 - Speech Sound Disorders
  • SLP 519 - AAC
  • SLP 550 - Counseling and SLP
  • SLP 567 - School Based SLP
  • SLP 570 - Administration and Supervision in SLP
  • SLP 572 - Contemporary Issues
  • SLP 579 - Professional Issues
  • SLP 588 - Clinical Methods
  • SLP 589 - Special Topics
Biography

Ph.D. - Communication Disorders (Speech Pathology) - University of Cincinnati, 1995

M.S. - Speech Pathology - University of Louisville, 1982

B.S. - Communicative Disorders - Murray State University, 1979

 

While most of her professional clinical experience has been in the school setting (9 years with the Jefferson County Public Schools and 2 years with the Hamilton County Office of Education), she has also worked in early intervention and home-health.  At WKU she has served on Faculty Senate, Graduate Council, and many other university or college committees. She was an Interim Associate Dean for the College of Health and Human Services.  For the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, she has served as Interim Department Head and is now the Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Program Director.  In addition to presenting several times at American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, she has served on several convention program committees. She served on ASHA’s Scientific and Professional Education Board for three years and the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association Executive Council from 2000-2006 as a consultant. She became a site visitor for the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology in 2004 and served on the board from 2017-2020.

Research

Service Delivery Models | Interprofessional Education | Clinical Supervision | Professional Issues and Ethics | Higher Education Pedagogy

Teaching Philosophy

Students learn best in environments that are challenging, stimulating, interactive and encouraging. To develop such an environment that is valuable to students, my teaching needs to reflect those things that I value. Those things that taken together can represent my teaching philosophy:

  • Interaction - A student learns best when he or she is actively engaged in the classroom activities. I feel that the learning experience is more effective if there is active dialog between the speaker and the listener.
  • Critical thinking - In a clinical profession like speech-language pathology, it is impossible to teach every student about every clinical situation he or she might face. Consequently, my job is to teach the student how to think about a variety of situations, not necessarily how to respond to a particular situation. In class, students will frequently be asked to develop solutions, lists or ideas.
  • Collaboration - The practice of speech-language pathology is not a solo practice. While we may be the only professional in the therapy room, we are not the only person in the room.  Students need to learn how to work effectively as a team member. Learning how to learn from clients, families, related professionals, and other speech-language pathologists is an essential skill.
  • Diversity - There is more than one way to learn. There is more than one thing to learn and certainly more than one person from whom the learning can be derived. There are a lot of ways to do something right and do something well. Through a variety of learning activities that should match different learning styles, learners from all backgrounds and styles can be reached.
  • Research - A well prepared speech-language pathologist has a strong foundation in theory and research. There needs to be an evidence base for the clinical practice in which we engage. Understanding the source of the evidence needed for treatment decisions is an essential part of education.
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 Last Modified 6/6/23