The Signed Linguistic Input of Hearing Mothers to Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

This study investigated the distribution of ten facilitative language techniques (FLTs) in the linguistic input of hearing, signing mothers to their children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Four hearing mothers and their DHH children under the age of three participated in six, ten-minute caregiver-child interaction sessions via Zoom. The recorded sessions were coded for mother FLTs and child utterances. Results indicated that the mothers tended to use more initiative than responsive types of FLTs, consistent with findings of previous studies that examined the input of mothers who were using spoken-only language with their children who are DHH. Additionally, the mothers tended to use combined signed and spoken input more frequently than signed language alone. These findings point to the need for focused intervention to increase hearing, signing caregivers’ use of responsive and linguistically stimulating FLTs. Findings also suggest that hearing caregivers may need more ongoing support to learn to use American Sign Language (ASL) effectively with their children

Qualitative Inquiry: The Case for the Importance of Considering Student Perspectives in SoTL Research

Quantitative methods are often viewed as superior to qualitative methods for clinical research in communication sciences and disorders; however, quantitative methods are unable to answer questions of why or how. Qualitative methodology can be used to address research questions that seek to understand human perspectives. In Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research, qualitative research can be used to understand student experiences and perspectives. The merit of the application of qualitative methodology in SoTL research is explored here

Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students’ Experiences with the Use of Case-Based Learning to Develop Skills for Evidence-Based Practice

The American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) states that practitioners should use the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP) for clinical decision making. However, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) often report a lack of understanding, time, and resources to implement EBP. Clinicians who were exposed to EBP training during their graduate program or clinical fellowship are more likely to use EBP in their clinical practice; therefore, graduate programs in SLP must provide explicit EBP training to upcoming clinicians. At present, no consensus exists on the best way to train students in the principles of EBP. The present study sought to investigate student experiences and perceptions of a case-based learning (CBL) approach to training EBP. Thirty-two graduate SLP students completed a semester-long CBL activity which required them to create a PICO question, complete a literature review and annotated bibliography, and write a plan of care for a hypothetical clinical case. At the end of the semester, students were asked to write reflections on their use and learning of EBP during the course of the project. Those reflections were analyzed to understand the students’ experiences with CBL as a method to learn the principles of EBP