Emily Wood
PhD, SLP(C) Reg. CASLPO
Emily Wood is an Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto. She obtained her clinical master’s degree from McGill University in 2014 and practiced as a speech-language pathologist for seven years full-time before returning to academia and earning her PhD at the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute in 2025.
Emily's research centers on assessment development and assessment practices. She investigates how clinicians make decisions, how assessment tools are constructed and implemented, and how contextual factors influence interpretation and outcomes. Her work spans literacy, language, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), with a focus on strengthening the validity, equity, and clinical utility of assessments. In parallel, she conducts scholarship of teaching and learning. She is currently focused on the value of experiential learning in academic clinical coursework.
Research & Scholarly Activities
Emily’s research examines clinical assessment practices and decision-making in speech-language pathology, with a focus on advancing equitable and contextually valid approaches across literacy, language, and AAC. Her program of research spans both clinical practice and health professions education, using quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches and engaging in close collaboration with interdisciplinary researchers and community clinicians. Current projects investigate how assessment practices and routines develop in real-world contexts; the design and validation of more equitable early literacy assessment tools for bi/multilingual learners; and clinical AAC practices across public, private, and policy settings through large-scale, community-based survey research.
Complementing this work, her scholarship of teaching and learning research examines how educational design shapes the development of clinical expertise. Ongoing projects include program evaluation of experiential learning integrated into SLP academic coursework to support assessment skill development. Across these areas, her research is closely integrated with her teaching, informing courses in AAC, literacy, and clinical practice while contributing to the development of more responsive, equity-oriented clinical training and assessment practices.
Research Foci:
- Clinical assessment practices and routines in diverse clinical context
- Validity, interpretation and real-world use of assessment tools
- Equity considerations in assessment for diverse populations
- Literacy and early reading assessment
- Scholarship of teaching and learning in health professions education with a focus on experiential learning
Teaching, Funding & Awards
Emily teaches several first and second-year graduate-level courses in the MHSc SLP program, including SLP1521H: Alternative and augmentative communication; SLP1535H: Advanced Principles of Clinical Practice and SLP1527H Clinical Analysis of Communication and Swallowing Disorders. As an educator preparing future practitioners, she emphasizes the development of adaptive expertise through the integration of theory with authentic, real-world experiences. Emily prioritizes principles of equity, inclusion, reflection, in her teaching and creates space for students to question assumptions and develop thoughtful, socially responsive clinical decision-making. In the 2026-2027 academic year, she looks forward to teaching the undergraduate course JLS475H: Literacy and Reading Disorders in the Department of Linguistics at the St. George Campus. Emily is currently seeking opportunities to co-supervise graduate students with faculty who have shared or overlapping research interests.
Active Research Funding:
N/A
Awards:
- 2026 | University of Toronto Excellence Award, Social Sciences and Humanities Research for undergraduate student research, Fiza Aamir