Rate My Professor Simone Howells

Dr Simone Howells serves as Senior Lecturer and Practice Education Coordinator in the Speech Pathology program at Griffith University, within the School of Allied Health, Sport and Social Work under Griffith Health. She completed her PhD at Griffith University from 2015 to 2020, investigating client perspectives on living with dysphagia in the community. Additional qualifications include a Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours), Graduate Certificate in Clinical Education, and Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP) status. Prior to her academic career, Howells worked as a speech pathologist in hospital settings managing patients with dysphagia.

Her academic interests center on dysphagia, especially community-based management, clinical education in speech pathology, simulation and telepractice applications, and augmentative and alternative communication. In 2018, as a PhD candidate, she secured the Griffith University 3 Minute Thesis championship with an engaging presentation highlighting the individual and family impacts of swallowing disorders. A prominent output is the cookbook 'Beyond the Blender: Dysphagia Made Easy,' developed in 2018 with Master of Speech Pathology students to offer practical, dysphagia-friendly recipes; a second edition followed. Howells has produced over 20 publications, garnering more than 300 citations, an h-index of 11, and i10-index of 12 per Google Scholar. Select peer-reviewed works encompass 'A simulated-based learning experience in augmentative and alternative communication using telepractice: Speech pathology students' confidence and perceptions' (2019), 'Dysphagia care for adults in the community setting: An online survey of clinicians’ practices' (2019), 'A framework to support the development of quality improvement data collection in speech pathology clinical education' (2020), and 'Same But Different: The Role and Perceptions of the Simulation Clinical Educator' (2023, co-authored with Bronwyn Davidson et al.). She teaches courses such as Speech Pathology Skills and Practice 4 and oversees clinical placements.

Howells contributes to interprofessional education teams that have earned university recognition. Her research and resources influence speech pathology education and dysphagia interventions, promoting accessible community care and enhanced student training through simulation and practical tools.