Melinda Shane

Visiting Faculty, Counseling and Educational Psychology

Visiting Faculty

Dr. Melinda Shane is a Visiting Faculty member in the Counseling and Educational Psychology Department at New Mexico State University. With over 30 years of experience as a school psychologist, educational diagnostician, and special education consultant, she focuses on practical, ethical, and innovative applications of technology to improve psychological and educational practices. She actively integrates artificial intelligence (AI) into her teaching, assessment, communication, and course development, with a growing interest in research related to therapeutic interventions and professional sustainability in school psychology.

Current Use and Experimentation with AI

Assessment and Evaluation Support:

Developed goals, recommendations, and data collection tools for psychological evaluations.

Created structured classroom observation forms and documentation templates.

Instructional Design and Teaching:

Built course outlines, activities, handouts, and PowerPoint presentations aligned to subject matter.

Designed realistic case studies to allow students to practice setting up assessments and treatment plans.

Created ethical dilemma scenarios tied to national practice standards to deepen student understanding of ethical practice.

Developed an AI use policy for course syllabi, guiding students on appropriate and transparent AI integration in academic work.

Professional Development and Communication:

Used AI to refine and organize professional documents, including CVs, cover letters, and job application materials.

Drafted professional emails, letters, and correspondence more efficiently.

Assisted in the redesign and full organization of a graduate course needing a complete update for launch.

Creative Exploration:

Experimented with using AI to generate visual supports for learning, ethical training tools, and student practice exercises.

Integrated AI into preparing community presentation outlines and workshop materials.

Future Research Interests

Therapeutic Communication Supports:

Investigating the use of AI to create visual printouts that model conversational flow and reciprocity for students on the autism spectrum.

Professional Sustainability for School Psychologists:

Exploring AI applications to streamline workload demands, reduce administrative burdens, and help prevent burnout among school psychologists, ultimately improving retention and career longevity.

Ethical AI Use in Education and Mental Health Fields:

Continuing to develop models for responsible, transparent, and practical AI integration in both graduate training and field practice.