FOR RELEASE: Monday, September 24, 2007
Shadden Honored for Teaching and Service
This article is reprinted from the summer issue of Arkansas, the quarterly magazine of the Arkansas Alumni Association.
Barbara Shadden, professor/director, communication disorders program, College of Education and Health Professions. Also co-director, Office for Studies on Aging
My most memorable teaching moment was ... at a national convention several years ago. With four of my graduate students, I had submitted a presentation proposal addressing the impact of participation in a stroke support group on the learning experiences of these students. Remarkably, we were selected for one of the few formal presentation opportunities in the first time slot of the first day. As we got closer and closer to the event, I became more and more anxious. I kept trying to "help" but the students assured me that they would be able to share with the audience what they had learned about connections between classroom, clinic and the "real world."
When we stood before that audience, I was surprised at the size of the group in attendance. I gave a brief introduction, then settled back anxiously to monitor what my students had prepared. Within a few minutes, I was listening avidly, fascinated by the story each of these students shared about how their experiences had taken them out of the classroom, out of the clinic, into the everyday world of each unique stroke survivor and his or her spouse. Four poised, articulate, passionate young professionals-to-be stood before us. At the end, the applause was spirited, and many came up to talk with these young women. A practitioner I did not know took me aside and said, with tears in her eyes, "What a wonderful way to begin this convention. I have such a sense of hope for the future of this profession!"
Now that's a moment I won't forget.
If I weren't teaching, I'd be ... doing theatre, acting or writing plays. Thanks to the University of Arkansas, I discovered I could pursue drama as more than just a playgoer. What began as a whimsical audition for a play ended years later with a master's degree in drama, acting stints in more than 20 plays, directing of five plays and two playscripts that actually won state and regional prizes. Being involved in the theatre has actually enriched my teaching tremendously. Teaching requires authenticity, but it also requires a kind of high energy and sensitivity to the audience (in this case, students).
I come to work in the morning because ... I am fortunate to see the whole learning process play out almost every day. In one day, I may be teaching basic knowledge to undergraduate students using hands-on applications, engaging in spirited discussion in graduate classes, analyzing research data that may help us serve caregivers better and finally seeing the outcome of all these processes as the same students provide speech therapy to members of the community who cannot communicate as effectively as they want and/or need. I still believe the ability to communicate with others is our most precious gift. Every student who leaves our program and is able to help those with communication disorders is a reason to come to work in the morning.
The University of Arkansas is a good place to teach because ... it is large enough to provide the rich diversity that is needed for a creative and stimulating environment, yet small enough to support the student/faculty/staff connections that let each of us feel valued and unique. Couple that with living in Northwest Arkansas, and I truly wouldn't want to be anywhere else.