University of Pittsburgh Teaching Conference, June 11 - 13, 2015

Carolyn Smaka: The sixth biennial University of Pittsburgh Teaching Conference is coming up June 11- 13, 2015.  This year’s topic is amplification.  I know this conference is unique in many ways.  Tell me about how it got started.

Catherine Palmer:  Thank you, I would be happy to.  A little more than twenty years ago, the Independent Hearing Aid Fitting Forum (IHAFF), came out with fitting recommendations for the newer, advanced digital hearing aids that were out on the market.  The group included Mead Killion, Dave Fabry, David Hawkins, Robyn Cox and Ruth Bentler, Lu Beck, Gail Gudmundsen, Gus Mueller, Larry Revit, Michael Valente, Michael Marion, and Dennis VanVliet. Ten years ago, Robert Sweetow and I joined the group, and we all met to discuss what could we do to help move education forward in terms of amplification and patient care.  Two things came out of that meeting.  One was the edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology (JAAA) in 2005 that was a set of systematic reviews on current evidence-based practices in amplification.  The other was the idea of offering a venue where educators could come together and discuss evidence-based teaching in the classroom and clinic, and share information moving forward.

At the same time, at the University of Pittsburgh, Elaine Mormer and Kris English had been discussing the same teach-the-teachers philosophy.  In our national conventions, we always come away with lots of content that we can teach clinicians and students, but we don't necessarily take the time to think about ourselves as educators.

So Kris, Elaine, and I decided to make a conference at Pitt.  The first topic would be amplification because of the interest of the IHAFF group.  It was a very well-attended conference, and the majority of the faculty that came in were individuals from the IHAFF group. 

Carolyn: How is the conference structured, and how often do you hold them?

Catherine: The meeting is held every two years.  We bring in about five presenters with expert knowledge on the topic. Gus Mueller, Jerry Northern, and Celia Hooper have been moderators for the conference. We are thrilled to have Ruth Bentler moderating this years meeting. The meeting includes fairly long breakout sessions where specific topics are discussed, and then the groups report back to the entire meeting.  Lunches are interactive with posters or other types of information sharing. 

It has become a beloved meeting for a fairly large group of educators because it's a rare opportunity to come together and think about teaching as opposed to thinking about content.  We work with the presenters leading up to the conference, challenging them to teach about education, and it is definitely a labor of love.

Financial support from our generous industry partners over the years has allowed us to keep the cost of the conference as low as possible, and to assist educators to attend.  Our sponsors include:

• AudiologyOnline
• Etymotic Research
• GN ReSound
• Oticon
• Phonak
• Plural Publishing
• Sivantos (Siemens)
• Starkey
• Thieme
• Unitron
• Widex

As well as two new sponsors this year, HyperSound and ZPower.

Carolyn: What topics has the conference focused on?

Catherine: We have covered a wide range of topics over the years.  As I mentioned, the first year was amplification.  We also covered audiologic rehabilitation, and challenges in teaching pediatric audiology, both diagnostics and amplification.  Two years ago we covered clinical education.  That was an exciting meeting because it was opened up to speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists and athletic training since clinical education spans most health professions.   We also covered practice management.  At the time of our conference a few years ago, this was a brand new topic in AuD programs and people were being asked to teach it without necessarily having a background in it.  So our conference was well-timed and it was a great meeting.

Carolyn:  As an educator and an expert in amplification, what are some of the challenges in teaching amplification today?

Catherine:  Part of the challenge is stepping back to identify the critical concepts that these students need to glean from a curriculum in amplification.  No matter the teaching structure or location, we have to agree on a set of core competencies that will equip a student in terms of getting educated on amplification and as a lifelong learner.

To teach details about products or software doesn't make sense when those concepts are constantly changing.  If you teach to specific products and technology, it could likely change in a matter of months.  So, then what are the tools and skills we need to get these students to a place where they can keep evaluating these constructs and continue educating themselves?  That is the challenge. 

When you think about your syllabus, what's the logical order in which to build these concepts and skills?  Additionally, there's always the classroom-to-clinic challenge.  How do you make sure there are some clinical-type activities or a lab in between so you know that this evidence-based practice moves into clinical activity and doesn't just stay in the classroom?  These are a few of the issues that we weigh very carefully.

Carolyn: What is the agenda for the teaching conference this year?

Catherine:  We are grateful for all the years that Gus Mueller has moderated this conference, and we are excited to have Ruth Bentler in the moderator role this year. She brings a level of expert knowledge that's unparalleled in the area of amplification, and she is a dedicated teacher.  She will also do a talk focused on laboratory activities, which she has perfected.  She is well-versed in knowing how to empower students so they feel confident in measuring technology, and learning exactly what hearing aids do by figuring it out for themselves in the clinic.

We will have a thought-provoking keynote by David Hawkins.  Linda Thibodeau is presenting this year, and she is developing a new clinical activity at the Callier Center.  Hearing aids/amplification and assistive devices have generally been separate topics, and Linda brings this together for us.  What we are also seeing from the manufacturers is that these are not separate topics.  Rather, they are moving towards seamless connections.

Todd Ricketts will focus on how we are teaching signal processing. 

Susan Scollie will be speaking on two topics.  One will focus on verification across the lifespan.  We want to think about the big picture for students so that they can think clinically from pediatrics to geriatrics.  She's also going to talk about rethinking the format of your course.  She has re-invented how they're teaching amplification in Western Ontario.  That topic will end up being part of a panel discussion as well.

Elaine Mormer will speak on topics specific to the evidence base in teaching that applies regardless of what you teach. There are quite a few different methodologies she'll discuss regarding tools we have to make a more interesting, interactive classroom for students.

Additionally, two of our practicing clinicians will be giving talks.  Jenifer Fruit will discuss how we help students understand appropriate interactions with our industry partners.  Different educational programs feel differently about how students should or should not be interacting with industry, so this will be a good discussion.

Lori Zitelli, who teaches clinical procedures, will be talking about the hierarchy of the amplification skillset.  What do we expect students to be able to do, how do we measure those competencies, and how do they carry over to clinic?

I will also be speaking with the group about using our professional academy’s evidence-based guidelines to organize amplification courses.

I should also mention that one of the things people commit to when they become a speaker for us is to share their syllabi, exams, lab assignments, and homework assignments.  We gather all that together, and then anyone attending the conference can access those through a password on the Web.  People who cannot attend the conference can pay the fee for the conference and access a tape of the conference and the materials.  The materials you take away from the conference are amazing resources.

Carolyn:  That is an amazing line up of presenters and talks. When we say “amplification,” many times we are referring solely to hearing aids.  Is your conference covering teaching the spectrum of amplification technology?

Catherine:  Yes.  That will be part of the breakout discussion, too.  Where are we drawing the lines with these courses, and are we even naming them correctly?  There's a continuum of personal sound amplifiers (PSAPs), hearing aids, bone anchored and middle ear implantables, and cochlear implants.  How are we making these separations, and should they be separate? 

This meeting by no means intends to tell people what to do.  Rather, we have presenters explain what they are doing or may have learned in their programs, and then there is interaction, collaboration and discussion so that we all walk away more informed and with new considerations.

Carolyn: How long does the meeting last and are there options to explore Pittsburgh or social activities?

Catherine:  The meeting takes place over two days, and we have optional entertainment including a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game and a Moth-style story slam.

Two years ago Elaine Mormer decided we should do Moth stories from the trenches of teaching. Educators are great storytellers and the stories were wonderful, so we will do that again this year.

Carolyn: Is the meeting open to new faculty or PhD students who may be teaching their first class in the fall?

Catherine:  Yes! We already have a few Ph.D. students registered.  If someone with a PhD is near finishing their program and about to go into a teaching position, the meeting is well-timed for them.  We offer a special rate for PhD students, and they can contact us about that.

Carolyn: We wish you all the best with the conference!

Please click here for online registration. For questions about travel or registration, please contact Jackie Harden.  For questions about the program, please contact Jenifer Fruit.