Biography

Patrick Finn is a Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education. Prior to this, he was a faculty member in Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Arizona, Tucson and the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. His main research interests are critical thinking, evidence-based practice, and the scientific evaluation of treatment. Throughout most of his career, he focused on the communication disorder of stuttering; but in the last several years, he has shifted his focus to the concept of critical thinking and its application to evidence-based practice. His publications have included research on measurement issues related to stuttering treatment outcome; investigations of conceptual and methodological issues related to long-term recovery from stuttering; and, most recently, the development of critical thinking skills in students and clinicians. He has served as an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, Associate Editor for the Journal of Fluency Disorders, Editor for SIG 10 Issues in Higher Education, and as an inaugural Editor-in-Chief for the scholarly review journal, The Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups. He also served as a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Journals Board for four years. He was formerly the Chair of the Task Force on Critical Thinking affiliated with the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Areas of Expertise

  • critical thinking
  • evidence-based practice
  • stuttering
  • pseudoscience

Interests

  • critical thinking
  • stuttering
  • evidence-based practice

Concentrations

Education

  •  PhD in Speech and Hearing Sciences, 1991
    University of California at Santa Barbara
  •  MSc in Speech-Language Pathology, 1983
    McGill University
  •  BA Hons. in Psychology, 1980
    York University

Contact

 706-510-8473 (office)

Research Summary

Dr. Finn’s teaching and research program is focused on examining critical thinking as a knowledge and skill for future helping professionals. His research focuses on developing models for understanding, investigating, and teaching critical thinking, applications of critical thinking skills to evidence-based practice, developing tools for assessing students’ and professionals’ critical thinking skills, and exploring methods for helping faculty to develop their knowledge and skills for helping students to think critically.