Progress Memo #2
Progress Memo #2 — March 31, 2008
What information have I learned so far as a result of the course and my writing?
Now that it is past mid-semester I can say I have learned a lot about phonology and phonological disorders. Since the last progress memo I have learned much more about the assessment of phonological disorders and have began to learn about the treatment of phonological disorders. In regards to assessment, I am now aware of the many issues that surround the assessment of phonological disorders. These issues consist of the purpose of assessment, the components that should be included in an assessment, the context/setting of the assessment, parental involvement, the use of standardized vs. non-standardized tests, time constraints, the propuse and use of stimulabiltity testing, etc. I have gained knowledge and understanding of all of these issues but have learned the most about the issue of stimulability testing. My position paper was based on this issue, therefore, I conducted extensive research related to the purpose of use of stimulability testing. I learned that the purpose of stimulability testing is to make a prediction about the prognosis, make a prediction about generalization, and to select treatment targets. The results from stimulability testing can be used to determine specific treatment targets and to determine the number of targets. I have read the first few articles about treatment but have not written those logs. However, from the readings I have began to lay a foundation about the treatment of phonological disorders. I learned about several issues that surround treatment; the incorporation of theory into a treatment plan, selection of treatment targets and number of targets, and the treatment approaches that are available for phonological disorders and the research that supports each approach.
What have I learned to do thus far?
I have continued to learn more effective and efficient ways to conduct research via the internet and the services offered at the Marshall libraries. I have also learned how to develop my own position based on research and expert opinion. After developing my position I learned how to write a position statement and how to write a technical report that supports and explains my position.
What does my learning mean so far?
I still believe that my learning means that I do actually benefit from conducting research and writing. I still do not like to write and I do not like conducting research. Writing and the process of research is such a long process that I do not like. However, after completing more writing pieces I still have found that I do actually learn. I feel like my learning from research and writing is less bias — I’m not just taught what the instructor believes. I also feel that my learning is more broad — my learning isn’t just from what’s discussed in class, I learn from books, articles, the internet, my peers, etc. I also like hearing about my classmates research and learn even more by hearing their perspectives.
What still isn’t making sense to me?
Treatment. I am still not confident about treatment. I have just began to lay a foundation. I am aware of the different approaches that exist related to treatment but do not understand the theories that each approach is based on and do not know the protocols of each approach. I look forward to learning more about the approaches.
Progress Memo #1 — February 19, 2008
Progress Memo #1 — February 19, 2008
What information have I learned so far as a result of the course and my writing?
The first topics discussed in the course was the Code of Ethics and evidence-based practice. I do not feel that I learned much from these discussions because the same topic has been covered in many previous courses such as; Research, Language I, Neurology, Motor Speech, etc. Most of the information regarding the Code of Ethics and evidence-based practice was a review, specifically the principles outlined in the Code of Ethics, the compenents of evidence-based practice and the types and levels of evidence. What I did learn concerned ownership of clinical documents. Until reading the articles about the Code of Ethics I just assumed that the author of the documents was the owner. I learned that my assumption was incorrect and that the owner of clinical documents is actually the owner of the business that provided the services. For example, the documents at the Marshall Speech and Hearing Center (MUSHC) are owned by the MUSHC. The most recent topic that has been discussed was social dialect. Alot of the information that was obtained from class discussions was not new information. However, from reading articles about social dialect and writing a Critically Appraised Topic paper about African American English and the development of literacy skills I have learned that many theories and claims exist about the relationship between the AAE dialect and the development of literacy. The concepts relavent to this relationship that I have learned about is the Black-White achievement gap, the mismatch hypothesis, and code switching from AAE to SAE during speaking, reading, and writing.
What have I learned to do thus far?
I have learned to post my writings on a weblog and how to use the weblog. I have learned to utilize Google Docs when writing and publishing [to my weblog] pieces. In regards to social dialect, I have learned to consider age, gender, race, and dialect when selecting diagnostic tools and treatment approaches/techniques for culturally diverse clients.
What does my learning mean so far?
My learning means that I do actually benefit from conducting research and writing. I do not particularly like to write and did not believe that I learn from my writing. However, after completing several writing pieces and a CAT, I have found that I do actually learn. I feel like my learning from research and writing is less bias — I’m not just taught what the instructor believes. I also feel that my learning is more broad — my learning isn’t just from what’s discussed in class, I learn from books, articles, the internet, my peers, etc.
What still isn’t making sense to me?
At this point, phonology still isn’t making sense to me. I understand how all of the topics we have discussed thus far is important and relevant to the class but I currently have a client with a phonological disorder and we have yet to talk about phonology (assessment and treatment). The approach that I am using with this client is the cycles approach. I feel like I know very little about the approach and look forward to talking about it and the other treatment approaches in the phonology class. Right now, I just need additional explantation about the cycles approach.
