Service Learning in Speech, Language and Hearing Curriculum: Three Models

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Service Learning in Speech, Language and Hearing
Curriculum Three Models

• Mary Kennedy, PhD, UMN
• Jane Pimentel, PhD, EWU
• Adele Proctor, ScD, UIUC

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Learner outcomes

• Describe the advantages of service learning (SL)
  over traditional classroom instruction.
• Describe three ways that SL can be used in
  speech, language, and hearing curriculum.
• Identify resources and recommendations for
  integrating SL into a course.

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Service Learning Pedagogy

• Experiential learning - we learn by doing
• SL research demonstrates learning that is deeper,
  applied
• Individuals retain less than 30 of what is
  learned when the instruction occurs outside of
  the context
• Traditional classroom instruction runs the risk
  of not generalizing to the context where the
  knowledge is needed most.

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Service Learning Pedagogy

• Embraces various learning styles
• 2008 college freshman have attention span of 3
  minutes
• Integrates classroom learning with applied
  experiences and observations
• Recording and reflecting

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Major Project A Service Learning Writing Course
for Seniors

• Mary Kennedy, Ph.D., CCC, BC-NCD
• University of Minnesota

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Public Engagement Service Learning Pedagogy
University responsibilities needs
Community needs
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SLHS 3402W Major Project

• Picture of playing hot potato
• Senior capstone writing project in which
  students
• Select a topic and create a question
• Review research
• Write a comprehensive, critical paper

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Something had to change

• I noticed that
• 40 were not going to graduate school immediately
  many were considering other professions, e.g.,
  nursing, teaching, OT
• 95 Caucasian females who 90 work
• Not real excited about writing on a topic of
  their choice
• Thought they could write well

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SLHS 3402W Major Project

• Service Learning component
• UMN Career Community Learning Center
• Established partnerships
• Faculty Fellowship

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Students select organization

• Encouraged to get a new experience
• Different racial/ethnic group, including ELL
• Different age group
• Different setting
• Encouraged to connect paper topic to population

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Writing Processes

• Reflective writing
• Answer questions by journaling on-line
• Six sets of questions
• You did that week
• Thought questions

• Technical writing
• Finding researching a narrowed topic
• Develop critical thinking
• Writing mechanics
• Taking notes outlining
• First, second final drafts

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Journals Weekly Questions

• What did you do this week?
• What were the effects of what you did? or, How do
  you feel about what you did?
• How does what you observed this week relate to
  SLHSD?

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Journals Thought Questions

• Changed to reflect experiences from beginning to
  end of semester
• Entry 2 - Write about your service learning from
  a different perspective. Choose one perspective
• People receiving service, administrator/supervisor
  and consider his/her point of view in relation
  to what you are do for the organization and its
  clients.
• What do you think this persons goals are in
  life? Include some personal reactions to the
  individual or individuals you are working with.

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Journals Thought Questions

• Entry 5 - Provide a detailed analysis of an
  incident that changed you or your perspective of
  your service learning experience.
• Step 1 Describe your role in the incident. What
  did you do? How did you and others react?
• Step 2 Analyze the incident. How well or how
  poorly did you understand the situation? Was
  your reaction well-informed or based on
  misinformation? What would you do differently
  next time?
• Step 3 What impact did the incident have on you?
  Why do you view it as critical? How has the
  incident influenced your feelings about working
  at your placement site? How has your perspective
  of others or yourself been changed and/or
  reinforced?

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• Experiences with this organization were valuable.
• It was helpful to hear about my classmates SL
  experiences.
• I learned about individuals with different life
  experiences than mine.
• I learned a few new things about myself through
  SL experiences.
• I recommend this organization to future students.
• 35 of students reported that they planned to
  continue beyond the semester

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End of the Semester Celebration!
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Beyond the ClassroomAcademic Service-Learning

• Jane Pimentel, PhD, BC-NCD
• Eastern Washington University

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Academic Service-Learning

• The student provides a meaningful service
• The service meets a need or goal
• Members of a community define the need
• Service flows from course objectives
• Service is integrated into the course by means of
  an assignment that requires reflection on the
  service
• Assignments rooted in the service must be
  assessed and evaluated accordingly (e.g., grade
  the learning not the service)
• Rhoads Howard, 1998

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COMD 322 Communication Neuroscience - Course
Objectives

• The student will demonstrate knowledge to link
  symptomatology with acquired neurogenic
  communication disorders of speech, language, and
  hearing.
• The student will be able to predict disordered
  communication abilities based on area of
  breakdown in the neuroanatomical system.

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COMD 451 Neurogenic Communication Disorders -
Course Objectives

• The student will
• Correlate the disturbed neuroanatomy with the
  probable communication disorder(s)
• Describe various communication impairments
  associated with neuropathology
• Plan a basic speech-language evaluation and
  generate initial treatment ideas

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Steps

• Students select from a list of participating area
  long term care agencies/Hospice
• Faculty invites speakers to class from the
  agencies
• Faculty informs the agencies of students and
  coordinates first meeting
• Students complete a Learning Agreement and
  track their service
• Faculty makes related assignments, provides
  feedback and facilitates discussion throughout
  quarter

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Student Responsibilities

• Service
• A minimum of 8 one-hour visits (1 time per week)
  during the quarter (10 weeks plus finals week)

• Assignments
• Journal
• 1x/week
• 2-part questions emotive cognitive
• One-page papers
• Specific to course objectives
• Article summary/Research paper
• Research article(s) related to residents
  presenting communication disorder

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Student Perceptions (COMD 322)

• Understanding course content
• Competence in major
• Importance in learning about community partners
• Acquiring professional skills for future career
• Preparation for service-learning experience
• Service learning and course grade
• Time commitment outside of class

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Examples

• During my first few visits I was quite nervous,
  even to the point of being sick to my stomach
  afterwardsWhen I first visited with C I was
  perplexed as to why he totally ignored anything I
  said or askedI was doubting my ability to do a
  good job on my visitsbut after I heard the talk
  in class on working with people who have hearing
  problemsI learned that I need to be directly in
  front of him and try stay aware of the pitch of
  my voiceit doesnt really help much but a least
  it diffused my personal frustration and doubts

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Examples

• having the hands on experience of working with
  residents who were experiencing the issues we
  learned about in class made the head knowledge
  become heart knowledge
• getting out into the community helped me
  realize that there truly is a need for what we as
  a profession do.this experience has also made me
  realize just how ready I am not.

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Does Academic S-L Make a Difference?

• Do service-learning students master course goals
  better than non-service-learning students?
• Does involvement in a service-learning project
  impact students perceptions of
  service-learnings value for academics?
• Anderson, G. (2008)

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METHOD Participants
Forty undergraduate students in communication
disorders (COMD 451)
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METHOD Procedures

• Comparison
• Outcome measures course requirements
• Service-learning journals
• Communication partner
• Guided reflection
• Final entry
• Pre/post survey
• Voluntary
• Anonymous

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Results Comparison

• No significant difference between groups on
• GPA
• Exam I or II
• Presentation
• Research paper
• Final course grade
• End GPA

• Significant difference between groups on
• Exam III (Group A no service learning did better)

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RESULTS Journals
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Implications

• Perceived value by students
• Need closer tie between course material and
  service-learning
• Provide opportunity to try assessment/treatment
  ideas and materials
• Vary exposure to different types of communication
  disorders
• Students in learning groups in class to share
  experiences more explicitly
• Students rotate among various residents with
  communication disorders at the same facility

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Pediatric TBI A Training Model in Service
Learning

• Adele Proctor, ScD
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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Service Learning in Graduate Education

• Project Title Preparation of Speech-Language
  Pathologists (SLPs) in Pediatric Traumatic Brain
  Injury (TBI) Service, Advocacy and Collaboration
• Designed to integrate academic preparation and
  service learning opportunities to enhance SLPs
  knowledge and skills about traumatic brain injury
  in children.
• This project was funded by the US Department of
  Education, Office of Special Education Programs
  (OSEP), Project Number H325A030060.

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Background

• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• a primary cause of disability among children from
  1-19 years old with an estimated rate of
  occurrence of 2,580 per 100,000 annually.
• a constellation of cognitive communication
  impairment, physical, emotional, and neurological
  deficits that require life long adjustments.

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Background

• Many TBI survivors were typically developing
  children whose circumstances changed
  dramatically.
• Following injury, communication impairments occur
  because of underlying cognitive deficits such as
• Memory difficulties
• Attention difficulties
• Executive function difficulties

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Post-Injury

• After injury, children must adjust to physical
  and emotional challenges and difficulties in
  establishing and maintaining social
  relationships.
• Critical to school reintegration, families and
  teachers also require additional education and
  counseling regarding how to deal with new and
  unexpected challenges that may continue across
  the childs life span.

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Service Requirements for SLPs

• In addition to speech and language, SLPs must
  assess and treat
• Cognitive communication impairments,
• Memory
• Executive Function
• Attention
• Provide service by
• mediating between medical/rehabilitation and
  educational settings,
• collaborating and consulting with other
  professionals,
• advocating for the child,
• counseling families and
• generally bridging the gap between hospital and
  school.

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Service Learning A Training Model

• Sample Competencies
• Foundation and Knowledge
• Effects of TBI across the different developmental
  stages
• Assessment, Diagnosis, and Evaluation
• Use a variety of assessment procedures
• Intervention
• Write specific goals, objectives, and activities
  to address impairments
• Consultation, Collaboration, and Advocacy
• Effective and ethical communication with
  children, parents, and other educators

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Overall Objectives

• 1.To address the preservice training needs of
  SLPs
• 2.To increase the number of SLPs trained in
  pediatric TBI
• 3.To address the gaps in services for children
  and youth with TBI

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Strategies to Achieve Objectives

• Developed two separate courses in Pediatric TBI
  for Fall and Spring
• Summer 1- Intensive Foreign Language Program 8
  week course in Spanish
• Summer 2 Participation in the Brain Injury
  Association of Illinois summer camps spend 1
  2 weeks with children and/or adults with TBI.

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Strategies to Achieve Objectives

• Fall (Semester 1) - Pediatric TBI course included
  lecture and observation offered at the same time
  as a neuro and a diagnostics class.
• Students observed different therapies and
  interacted with a variety of rehabilitation
  professionals including SLPs, physical
  therapists, occupational therapists, social
  workers, and nurses
• All day observation in medical and rehabilitation
  facilities

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Strategies to Achieve Objectives

• Semester 2 (Spring) First 8 weeks consisted of
  lecture and guest speakers for 2½ hours every
  Friday
• The second 8 weeks consisted of all day
  observations only in sites such as school special
  education departments, private practices, and
  hospitals to complete internships with
  administrators.
• At these internships, the students gain a wide
  variety of experiences in the areas of
  administration, advocacy and collaboration.
• For both fall and Spring, students submitted
  weekly journal entries.

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Strategies to Achieve Objectives

• Semester 2 (Spring) Pediatric TBI course
  included lecture and observation that was offered
  at the same time as aphasia and swallowing
  classes
• The fall TBI class focused on basic knowledge
  about TBI, roles and responsibilities of SLPs,
  and clinical assessments and interventions.
• First 8 weeks consisted of lecture and guest
  speakers for 2½ hours every Friday
• The second 8 weeks consisted of all day
  observations in acute, sub acute, and rehab
  facilities

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Strategies to Achieve Objectives

• Summer semester - students participated in the
  Brain Injury Association of Illinois summer
  camps
• Spent 1 2 weeks with children and/or adults
  with TBI.
• Students planned and delivered age appropriate
  activities for the campers

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Evaluation

• Students submitted journal entries on a weekly
  basis.
• Written feedback given to individual students on
  a weekly basis.

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Comments from Journaling

• I loved Springfield, every professional I
  interacted with was prepared to inform, answer
  questions and explain anything. The options for
  educating children with special needs are more
  far-reaching and individualized than I had
  known.
• I really liked this placement. I learnedabout
  insurance issues and admissions and discharge to
  hospitals.

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Comments from Journaling

• I gained valuable information on how to advocate
  for a client when a school system disagrees with
  treatment recommendations, how to market a
  private practice, and how to conduct community
  outreach.
• I learned how much planning goes into organizing
  a clinic with supervisors and multiple schedules.
  I learned about planning new programs and
  ordering supplies as well.

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Comments from Journaling

• It was so helpful to me to see a variety of
  types of classrooms that I never knew existed. I
  think the most useful experience was seeing how
  speech pathologists can be integrated into the
  classroom and how much collaboration occurs.

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Project Results

• A total of 58 masters students completed the
  specialty training program for SLPs in Pediatric
  TBI.
• All graduates are employed in full-time positions
  in schools, hospitals and rehabilitation
  facilities.
• With the level of training, many were employed in
  medical and rehab facilities during the CFY year

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Myths about Service Learning Pedagogy

• Students do not learn as much as they would in
  the classroom.
• Students do not have time to participate in SL.
• Once SL is set up, it can run on its own
• SL is easier than traditional instruction.
• It takes too much of the instructors time.

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Resources Recommendations

• Pick the best model of SL for your course.
• Plan early. Contact your SL center on campus
  (e.g., http//www.servicelearning.umn.edu/) for
  already established partnerships.
• Identify advantages, barriers common pitfalls
  (e.g., http//www.servicelearning.umn.edu/faculty/
  guidesl.html)

• Touch base with organizations regularly.
• Get student feedback throughout the semester.
• Discuss challenges or uncomfortable situations.
• Avoid allowing students to select their own
  organization with whom you are not familiar.
• Find explicit ways to thank organizations.