Learning to Apply Theory and Practice in Equitable Communications Disorders Care

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: Revealing Opportunities to Advance Equity in the Professions (Table 22)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how students in a graduate Communications Disorders (CD) class used case-based learning (CBL) and cognitive apprenticeship (Collins et al., 1991) to apply equitable care. Participants were second-year graduate students (n=32) and their instructor; the course incorporated CBL strategies. Primary data include 12 hours of audio recordings, transcribed verbatim and analyzed. Three primary interactional themes emerged: class structure, imagined roles, and clinical equity/inclusiveness. The results have implications for graduate CD instruction. Using CBL is one way for students to practice thinking like clients and parents and prepare CD students for future practice. Adopting these minor pedagogical shifts underscore the benefits in advancing student thinking without the need to overhaul curriculum.

Authors

• Diane L. Laverty, Stockton University

• Carol Cuthbertson Thompson, Rowan University