Perspectives on Issues in Higher Education

Coordinator's Column

Friberg, J. C. — 2013-06-06T09:00:23-07:00

The Clinician-Directed Hierarchy: Effective Clinical Instruction Across University Settings

Duthie, J. K., Robbins, D. — 2013-06-06T09:00:23-07:00

In this study, we investigated the efficacy of a hierarchical approach to clinical instruction aimed at developing clinical techniques and promoting independent decision-making in student clinicians. Ten clinical instructors who supervised 36 student clinicians with pediatric clients participated in a pretest-posttest control group study at two university-based clinics. We randomly assigned student clinicians to a treatment group or to a control group. Students and supervisors in the treatment group received training and materials for the Clinician Directed Hierarchy (CDH; Duthie, 2010b; 2010c). Students rated each phonological or morphosyntactic goal by intervention level (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) at the end of each therapy session, and they used the CDH to analyze their use of clinical techniques and plan for treatment generalization. Clinical instructors who used the CDH approach with their student clinicians reported significantly greater improvement in clinical competencies than the instructors in the control group at both university clinics. We found that the CDH was an effective clinical training tool for beginning student clinicians. Further investigation is needed to determine its efficacy at other training sites (e.g., school-based fieldwork) and with other treatment goals.

Use of Social Networking Sites in the Communication Disorders Classroom

Plumb, A. M. — 2013-06-06T09:00:23-07:00

In this article, I describe a web-based national survey to investigate the social networking practices of university faculty in communication disorders and to determine their perspectives on the use of social networking sites as a potential tool to assist in the learning process. The researcher sent out a total of 1,974 e-mails and analyzed the information provided by 262 respondents. Although participants indicated that they had accounts with social networking sites for social purposes, they appeared reluctant to use these SNSs as educational tools. Faculty members expressed legitimate concerns over privacy and the potential to disclose personal information that could detract from the student's view of the faculty member as a professional. I discuss potential solutions to these impediments.

Oral Communication Skills in Senior Citizens: A Community Service Model

Kosky, C., Schlisselberg, G. — 2013-06-06T09:00:23-07:00

In this article, we describe a community service model developed by the Communication Disorders Program at Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, New York. The model provides an additional clinical community experience for students in the program and is specifically designed to promote senior citizens' oral discussion skills in group settings. Under this model, students plan and apply different techniques and strategies to promote successful interactions and facilitate discussion groups in community-based and private residential facilities. Students have an opportunity to interact with other health care professionals and develop collaborative skills. We discuss specific procedures in the implementation of the model, as well as its benefits.

Service Learning in Communication Sciences: Literacy Tutoring through a Multidisciplinary Lens

Allman, T. — 2013-06-06T09:00:23-07:00

In this article, I describe a literacy service learning tutoring project developed to support authentic learning for future speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who will serve as part of a Response to Instruction (RtI) team in schools across the nation. Undergraduate speech-language pathology students participated in weekly supervised literacy tutoring in a community afterschool program as part of a university literacy course. Results of a pre- and post- questionnaire show participants evaluated being active in the community more positively and rated it as less difficult. Respondents were overwhelmingly positive towards the tutoring experience, with 100% of the university students recommending that the service learning project continue to be offered as part of the literacy course.