Personal Summary

Dr. Collins is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She discovered the field of speech-language pathology after beginning her undergraduate career in Theatre (costuming) and ending it in German. Although she did not immediately realize her calling, she had a few interesting adventures along the way, including sewing costumes for the Mardi Gras Krewe of Apollo and working as an au pair for a year in Germany. After completing her post-baccalaureate leveling program in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) at Auburn University, she returned to Louisiana State University to earn a Master's degree in CSD. Dr. Collins worked for several years as a speech-language pathologist in a variety of settings, including hospitals, home health, nursing homes, Head Start Centers, Early Intervention Programs, and schools. Dr. Collins became motivated to pursue her doctorate in speech-language pathology because she wanted to be an agent of change in the delivery of school-based language-literacy interventions.

Education

2011: Ph.D. in Communication Sciences & Disorders, Louisiana State University

1997: M.A. in Communication Sciences & Disorders, Louisiana State University

1993: B.A. in German, Louisiana State University

Courses Taught

Summary of Teaching

Since the fall of 2009, I have prepared and taught 11 courses at UM.

• In the fall of 2013, I developed a freshman seminar for the Global Leadership Initiative (GLI). This course fulfilled the Group VII- Social Sciences general education requirement and provided students with an overview of language within the context of the global society.
• I reorganized two of the courses I teach in response to the need for programmatic changes within our department.
  • CSD 525: Diagnostic Process in Speech-Language Pathology, was changed to CSD 525: Professional Issues in Speech-Language Pathology to cover a broader range of clinical issues, including service delivery models, response-to-intervention, medical record keeping, international classification of functioning, infection control, and the code of ethics.
  • CSD 560: School-Age Language Disorders was altered to include a service learning designation. The course name was changed to CSD 560/SL: Language and Learning Disorders in School-Age Children/Service Learning, to better reflect the course content.
• I have also repeatedly taught two undergraduate independent studies courses- Pedagogical Methods in CSD and MARVEL Lab Research (formally Adolescent Language Sampling).

I currently teach the following courses and supervise the following clinical practica:

FALL

CSD 560/SL: Language and Learning Disorders in School-Aged Children/Service Learning

CSD 571: Prevention in the Schools (Clinical practicum for 1st semester graduate students supervised at the Rattlesnake Elementary School campus)

CSD 498: MARVEL Lab Research (mentored research experience for senior capstone students)

SPRING:

CSD 540: Fluency Disorders

CSD 576: Prevention in the Schools (Clinical practicum for 2nd semester graduate students supervised at the Rattlesnake Elementary School campus)

CSD 496: MARVEL Lab Research (mentored research experience for senior capstone students)

SUMMER:

CSD 596: CHRONICLE (Intensive clinical practicum for 1st and 2nd year graduate students)

A complete list of courses (excluding independent studies and thesis credits) is included in my curriculum vitae.

Teaching Experience

Since the fall of 2009, I have prepared and taught 10 courses at UM and have taught between 18 and 36 credits each year. I have also supervised various independent studies and supervised theses. In the fall of 2013, I developed a freshman seminar for the Global Leadership Initiative (GLI). This course fulfilled the Group VII- Social Sciences general education requirement and provided students with an overview of language within the context of the global society.  I restructured two of the courses I teach in response to the need for programmatic changes within our department. CSD 525: Diagnostic Process in Speech-Language Pathology, was changed to CSD 525: Professional Issues in Speech-Language Pathology  to cover a broader range of clinical issues, including service delivery models, response-to-intervention, medical record keeping, international classification of functioning, infection control, and the code of ethics. CSD 560: School-Age Language Disorders was altered to include a service learning designation. The course name was changed to CSD 560/SL: Language and Learning Disorders in School-Age Children/Service Learning, to better reflect the course content. In addition to teaching courses, I have served as the primary thesis mentor to graduate students undergraduate students. Many of these students submitted proposals to present their research projects at a national conference, and all submissions were accepted.

I continually strive to improve my pedagogy. I have done this through participation in the UM Pedagogy Project, attendance at local and national workshops and conferences focused on the scholarship of teaching and learning, and enrollment in a course devoted to online teaching strategies. I have secured internal and external reviews of my syllabi, which have been an invaluable source of feedback. I was enrolled in a one-year mentorship program through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and was matched with, Dr. Sarah Ginsberg, a leading expert in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in the field of speech-language pathology. Her mentorship in SoTL greatly influenced how I cultivated my teaching style. In fact, I have begun to incorporate aspects of SoTL into my research and have agreed to serve as a reviewer for a new journal, Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

There are three aspects of my teaching of which I am particularly proud. First, I redesigned the course, CSD 560: Language and Learning Disorders in School-Aged Children so that it included a service-learning component. I am passionate about addressing community needs while teaching students the connections between the course content and application of skills. Students have responded very positively to this course, indicating that the service learning component was very beneficial to their learning. Second, I redesigned a course that was offered on campus, CSD 480: Multicultural Issues in Speech, Language, and Hearing, so that it could be taught fully online. It was challenging to discover ways in which topics traditionally covered in a face-to-face teaching format (e.g., dialect differences, culturally influenced paralinguistic cues) could be effectively taught online. I feel that I met this challenge; in fact, the teaching evaluations for which I received the highest scores were for this course. Further, I was one of 20 applicants selected from an international pool of candidates to participate in a five-day course hosted by the Stuttering Foundation of America. The focus of this course was on effective course development for teaching CSD students about the nature and treatment of fluency disorders. I learned about numerous pedagogical strategies from several leading experts in the field of fluency disorders, which have application across content areas. Lastly, I participated in a week-long Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching offered through the Yale Center for Teaching and Learning in 2018 and was recognized as a Yale Scientific Teaching Fellow 2018-2019.

Research Interests

Language

Literacy

Reading

Writing

Language Impairment

Dyslexia

Interprofessional Practices

Interprofessional Education

Implemntation Science

Adolescent Language

At-Risk Populations

Clinical Education

Projects

I am currently involved in four projects:

Clinical Education Outcomes of Students Participating in an Intensive Literacy Intervention Program. I have collected data for three summers to assess the graduate student learning outcomes of an intensive summer graduate training program for pre-service speech-language pathologists to effectively conduct evidence-based language-literacy practices with adolescents with language and learning disabilities. The success of the program will be assessed through the use of pre- and post-surveys and assessment of clinical skills. The pre- and post- surveys have been collected and evaluation of the video-recorded data is in progress. These findings will help to inform planning and execution of intensive therapy programs in which student clinicians participate.

Teenagers' Knowledge of Miranda Rights Vocabulary. This project will begin in the fall of 2021. There are over 900 variations of the Miranda Warnings that police are required to read to a suspect if they intend to interrogate that person under custody. The vocabulary used in these warnings is notoriously complex due to the abtract nature of many of the words and because many of the words have multiple meanings. This project is designed to measure typically developing and language impaired teenagers' knowledge of the legal-specific meanings of Miranda vocabulary words that have multiple meanings. This project is significant in that persons with language impairments are overrepresented in the criminal justice system, and often the purpose of adverse police-initiated interactions are directly related to their difficulty with language comprehension. Findings from this project will help inform high school-based SLPs' development of Individualized Transition Plans to ensure that students with language impairments are prepared to communicate effectively should they experience adverse police-initiated interactions.

Preparing Secondary Students Who Stutter for Life After School through Individualized Transition Planning. This is a collaborative project with Naomi Rodgers (University of Nebraska- Licoln) in which we are examining current SLP practices when developing Individualized Transition Plans for students who stutter. We are curious to know what goals SLPs are developing for transition-aged students who stutter to prepare them for independent living, community involvement, employment, and postsecondary education and/or training. There is a significant gap in the existing literature on this topic, and results of this project will help us identify whether these students' needs are being met.

Morphological Awareness Strategies to Promote Academic Success at Tier I through Interprofessional Collaboration. I have developed and am continuing to hone a framework for a teacher-SLP interproffesional collaboration targeting increasing third-graders' morphological awareness through a long-term writing project. This project was piloted in the 2018-2019 academic year and was initiated in the 2019-2020 academic year. This project was suspended when schools switched to remore learning in the spring of 2020 due to COVID precautions. I am in the process of defining the framework and steps in this process for publication. I am hopeful that this project can be resumed in the near future.

Field of Study

Speech-Language Pathology

Publications

Collins, G. (in press). Motivating Adolescents to Participate in Literacy Intervention: A Case Example from Telepractice. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups. (invited)

Collins, G. & Glaspey, A. (2021). Dynamic Assessment of Students with Speech and Language Impairments. In J.P. Bakken & F.E. Obiakor (Eds.) Advances in Special Education, Vol. 36. West Yorkshire, UK: Emerald Publishing Limited. (invited)

Meaux, A. B., Wolter, J. A., & Collins, G. G. (2020). Morphological Awareness as a Key Factor in Language-Literacy Success for Academic Achievement. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 51(3), 509-513.

Collins, G., Wolter, J. A., Meaux, A. B., & Alonzo, C. N. (2020). Integrating morphological awareness in a multilinguistic structured literacy approach to improve literacy in adolescents with reading and/or language disorders. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 51(3), 531-543.

Meaux, A. B., Diehm, E., & Collins, G. (2020). Morphological knowledge: Opportunities for collaboration through multitiered system of supports. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 51(3), 515-530.

Collins, G. & Wolter, J.A. (2019). Speech-Language Pathologists’ Role in Promoting Student Participation in Interprofessional Transition Planning Teams. In J.P. Bakken & F.E. Obiakor (Eds.) Advances in Special Education, Vol. 35. West Yorkshire, UK: Emerald Publishing Limited. (invited)

Collins, G., & Wolter, J. A. (2019). Morphological Awareness Strategies to Promote Academic Success at Tier 1 Through Interprofessional Collaboration. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 1-9. (invited)

Collins, G. & Wolter, J. A. (2018). Facilitating postsecondary transition and promoting academic success through language/literacy-based self-determination strategies. Speech, Language, and Hearing Services in the Schools, 49(2), 176-188. (invited)

Collins, G., & Norris, J. (2017). Written Language Performance Following Embedded Grammar Instruction. Reading Horizons, 56 (3).

Collins, G., & Wolter, J. A. (2017). Using Multilinguistic Strategies to Improve Decoding in Older School-Age Students in a Contextualized and Motivational Approach. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 2(1), 105-112.

Wolter, J. A., & Collins, G. (2017). Morphological Awareness Intervention for Students Who Struggle with Language and Literacy. Perspectives on Language and Literacy, 43(2), 17.

Collins, G.G., Goforth, A., & Ambrose, L. (2016).  The effects of teacher professional development on rural students’ lexical inferencing skills. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 35, 3.

Ambrose, L., Goforth, A., & Collins, G., (2015). Using instructional read alouds to enhance vocabulary development. Practical Literacy: The Early And Primary Years, 20 (3), 50-52.

Collins, G. (2011). An Examination of Errors of Coherence in Adolescent Sentence Combining (Doctoral dissertation, Louisiana State University). Retrieved from: etd-11092011-164128.

Affiliations

American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA)

ASHA Special Interest Groups 1 (Language Learning and Education) and 4 (Fluency Disorders)

Montana Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (MSHA)

Professional Experience

2016-present- Associate Professor, University of Montana, Missoula, MT

2011- 2016- Assistant Professor, University of Montana, Missoula, MT

2009-2011- Assistant Adjunct Professor, University of Montana, Missoula, MT

2008-2009- Speech-Language Pathologist, Prescott Middle School, Baton Rouge, LA

2007-2008- Graduate Teaching/Research Assistant, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. I taught undergraduate courses, supervised graduate student clinicians, and assisted Dr. Jan Norris in child language research in various schools in southeast Louisiana

2005-2007- Clinical Research Supervisor, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. I supervised graduate student clinicians, provided clinical education, and assisted Dr. Jan Norris in clinical research projects

2004-2006- Contract Speech-Language Pathologist, Baton Rouge, LA. I provided speech, language and swallowing diagnostic and treatment services for Lane Memorial Hospital, Access to Better Communication, Sage Rehabilitation Institute, and Early Steps early intervention program

1998-2004- Speech-Language Pathologist - Department Head, Lane Memorial Hospital, Zachary, LA. I expanded the department from a single PRN SLP to two full time staff therapists, supervised several graduate students from two universities as well as clinical fellows, diagnosed and treated pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients with a variety of speech, language (including AAC), and swallowing disorders in the following settings: acute care, SNF, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, home health and in the Lane Nursing Home, performed modified barium swallow studies and newborn hearing screenings daily, served as the staff German interpreter for the hospital.

1998- Speech-Language Pathologist (PRN) River West Medical Center, Plaquemine, LA. I diagnosed and treated pediatric outpatients with language, articulation and phonological disorders

1998- Speech-Language Pathologist- Abbeville Hearing and Speech Associates,  Abbeville, LA. I diagnosed and treated pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients with a variety of speech,   language, and swallowing disorders, with a strong emphasis on dysphagia and language delay. Settings included nursing homes, home health, Head Start, schools, acute care hospital setting, and outpatient speech clinic.

Honors / Awards

Honor: Scientific Teaching Mentor 2021.  Summer Institutes on Scientific Teaching.  Yale Center for Teaching and Learning (stipend- $750).

Award: 2019 Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement for the state of Montana- awarded to one individual per state by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation for demonstrated contributions to the advancement of knowledge in clinical practice in audiology or speech-language pathology.

Award: 2019 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Faculty Development Institute.  AFDI is a 2.5-day workshop for faculty that focuses on evidence-based teaching in communication sciences and disorders. Participants are selected through a competitive application process.

Award: 2019 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Clinical Practice Research Institute Award. CPRI supports the planning and preparation of a U.S. federal research grant proposal that focuses on clinical practice research in CSD through a competitive application process.

Honor: Yale Scientific Teaching Fellow 2018-2019. Summer Institutes on Scientific Teaching. Yale Center for Teaching and Learning.

Honor: 2018- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association ACE Award

Grant: Collins, G.G. (Principal Investigator) (2018). WORD UP: Word study for improved Orthography, Reading Comprehension, and Decoding to Unlock Potential. United States Department of Education Improving Teacher Quality Grant, Title II, Part A (CDFA 84.367b). ($6000)

Award: 2018- Leadership Academy of the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Grant: Collins, G.G. (Principal Investigator) (2017-2018). An investigative language-literacy clinical program: a feasibility outcomes study. University of Montana University Small Grants Program. ($5,000).

Grant: Collins, G.G. (Investigator/Contributing Faculty) (2016 -2021). University of Montana Online University Training for Rural and Equitable Accessibility in Communication Habilitation (UM-OUTREACH) program - Wolter, J. A. & Blair, M. (Co-PIs). Number 84.325; K-3—ED-GRANTS-102214-004 Office of Special Education Programs: Personnel Preparation in Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services.  ($1,250,000)

Honor: 2016- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association ACE Award

Award: 2016- Stuttering Foundation Fellowship ($2000) Designing Coursework in the Nature and Treatment of Stuttering

Award: 2016- University of Montana Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award ($1500)

Honor: 2014- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association ACE Award

Grant: Collins, G. (Principal Investigator) (2013-2014) Incorporation of Counseling into Adolescent Language-Literacy Intervention: A National Survey of School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists. University of Montana University Small Grants Program. ($2,644.00)

Honor: 2013- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association ACE Award

Award: 2013 University of Montana International Committee funded travel to the Child Language Seminar in Manchester, England to support my presentation: An Examination of Errors of Coherence in Adolescent Sentence Combining. ($1500.00)

Grant: Collins, G. (Principal Investigator) & Goforth, A. (Investigator). (2012-2013) Improving Vocabulary across the Curriculum through Response to Intervention. United States Department of Education Improving Teacher Quality Grant, Title II, Part A (CDFA 84.367b). ($100,000)

Grant: Collins, G. (Principal Investigator) (2012-2013) Will explicit teaching of discourse structure and discourse markers result in improved composition skills in adolescents struggling with literacy? University of Montana University Small Grants Program. ($2,166.00)

Grant: Collins, G. (Principal Investigator) (2012) Project CHRONICLE: An after-school language-literacy enrichment program. The Missoula Flagship Program ($1500.00)

Grant: Paulson, L., Koester, L. & Collins, G. (Investigator) (2009-2010) Advancing Language and literacy Skills for Adolescent Students II. United States Department of Education Improving Teacher Quality Grant, Title II, Part A (CDFA 84.367b).  ($92,188.00)

Hobbies

Dr. Collins enjoys cooking and baking (macarons are a specialty), snowboarding, camping, reading, film noir, and spending quality time with her husband, two children, and rescue-Boxer.