COURSE SYLLABUS Observation/Graduate School Preparation Course Number: COMD 5900 Text: None Instructor: Jill Andrus E-Mail: jill.andrus@usu.edu 435.797.8799 Welcome to a new semester and Utah State University. This course is designed as an observation and experience class that will prepare you for your future work in the area of Communicative Disorders. While there are no tests for this class, you are required to complete all the requirements on time. The dates for each assignment are listed on the calendar and with each assignment for each unit. If you miss the deadline it will be marked late and there will be 1 point reduced from the score. If you are a week late the assignment is marked missed and you cannot turn it in and you will get 0 points for that assignment. There are no exceptions for these stipulations and if you cannot meet the assigned deadlines please do not take this class. You can do the observations in any order (online or live observations) and remember to explicitly follow the directions for completing each observation on the observation form. You can contact me directly by e-mail. I hope you enjoy this class and find your experiences to be very informative for you. You should be enrolled for 2-credits for this class. The department will maintain a record of your hours. When you need to have verification of your hours, contact the Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education and a verified copy of your hours can be obtained. Learning Outcomes: These are related to IDEA objectives associated with USU s outcome measures 1. This objective relates to application of learning. It is expected that students in this course will learn specific observation skills that will allow them to understand the competencies necessary to function as a professional in communicative disorders. 2. This objective relates to expressiveness. It is expected that students will be able to clearly explain the learning outcomes they observe in therapy and the ways in which these outcomes are taught to clients. 3. The third objective also relates to application of learning. It is expected that students will gain a deeper, more personal sense of what it is like to have a specific kind of communicative disorder through simulated learning. Textbook/Subscription Required for COMD 5900: A subscription to masterclinician.org is required for this course. This website gives you access to professional videos that you can use for your video observations. Course Activities: The class consists primarily of independent work documented through a series of written reports and projects. The course is organized by week with each assignment listed and described in the Course Content link on the course homepage. Please follow the Calendar and Course Content closely. Carefully read the syllabus, this contains all the information you will need for the
2 course! Methods: 1. Experiences Up To This Point: You will submit a review of what led you to where you are now in your professional plans through a series of a one- page reports for each of the following: Report 1: How did you become interested in this profession and why does it still appeal to you? Report 2: What has been the most rewarding COMD class you have had to this point, either in this USU program or in another program? Why? Report 3: Interview a Speech-Language Pathologist in two settings or an audiologist in two settings and write a report. Report 4: Read a test manual used by a Speech-Language-Pathologist to assess articulation, language, or other aspects of function and write a report. 2. Preparing For Graduate School Admission: You will thoughtfully develop a list of 10 factors important in choosing the best graduate schools and then you will research at least 3 different graduate schools to determine which ones best match your list. Explain which of these programs would best meet your personal and professional needs. Report 5: Evaluate 3 graduate programs in the profession of Communicative Disorders and report you findings. 3. Improving your understanding of the profession. Experiential Lab Assignments: In the weekly assignments listed in the Course Content you will be given experiential lab assignments to complete. The labs are intended to be reality experiences, helping you better understand what it would be like to have a communication disorder. You will complete these assignments independently and submit a report on each experience using the Assignment Drop box. 4. Gaining Additional Hands-On Experiences: The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) requires that students complete at least 25 hours of supervised observation of various disorders of communication prior to the beginning of actual clinical intervention. You will locate a speech-language pathologist (SLP) or audiologist (Aud) and, with the appropriate permissions, observe a variety of communication interactions that will result in completion of these 12 hours of direct observation. The additional 13 hours of observations will be done by watching videos that are available on masterclinician.org. For the first hour of observation write a one-page report and after that for every three hours
3 of observation, you will write a report and submit it via Canvas to the instructor. You should seek an SLP or Aud that has current ASHA certification for your live observation hours. If that is absolutely NOT an option, you may observe a non-asha certified SLP and your observation reports will be reviewed under the direction of the course instructor, who is an ASHA- certified speech-language pathologist. After you have completed all your observations, complete two forms and submit them on Canvas: (1) the Observation and Report Writing Summary Sheet and (2) the Observation Hours Summary Card (both available in Canvas under Additional Resources). As you complete your observations, please be professionally dressed and act in a professional manner. If you need to leave an evaluation or treatment session before it is finished, please do so quietly and as indiscreetly as possible, not during the middle of a test. Remember that you are watching an actual professional interaction with a real patient. Act like you would like to have someone act if they were observing you at the doctor or dentist's office. While you are watching each evaluation take notes so you can write a report on what you see. Follow the directions and guidelines listed below very carefully: Directions for Completing Your Observations of Communicative Disorders Definitions: SLP/Aud = Speech-Language Pathologist or Audiologist. Client = individual who is receiving services from the SLP/Aud and is being discussed in this report. The client s actual name, birth date or other identifying information will not be used in this report. CD = Communicative Disorder the client s communicative challenge of concern being addressed in this report. Therapy diagnostic and/or treatment activities that relate to the communicative disorder. ASHA = American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Directions: Using the outline below, for the first hour write a report and then for every three hours you observe, write one report for each of the different therapy sessions you observe during those hours. For example, some sessions may be approximately15 minutes long so you would summarize the information from each session by placing the following headings under each section of the report below: Session 1: Session 2: Etc. You then submit one report using the Assignment Dropbox for every 3 hours of observation. If you are observing a group, focus on one client within the group for your report. The only exception to the 3-hour observation is the first report that is to be for 1-hour (since we have 9 observation reports, the first one is for 1-hour and the remainder are for 3-hours each for a total of 25 hours). Each report should be for at least the amount suggested, not less, or you are marked down. You can do more than 25 hours but not less.
4 Permission: It is critical that those individuals being observed or their guardians have given their written permission for other individuals (yourself included) to observe their therapy for educational purposes. It is your responsibility to work with the SLP/Aud to assure that this has been done prior to your direct observations. For each report you will to document the following: The SLP/AUD has given you written permission to use his/her name in this report and to observe him/her working with the client you will discuss in this report. If not, do not write a report about this SLP/AUD. For the online observations put N/A. The client or client s guardian has also given his/her written permission to be observed for educational purposes while receiving the services of the SLP/AUD. If not, do not write a report about this client. Consent form is at the end of this syllabus. You do not need to send the permission form to the professor, keep this for your records, you will affirm in each report that you have permission. If you observe in the schools you do not have to get client permission, since this is an educational institution. For the online observations put N/A. Follow the outline below in each report... Report #: Observation Report Form I document that SLP/Aud and client (or guardian) have given written permission for their therapy sessions to be observed for educational purposes: YES NO NA Observer (you): First name of the SLP/AUD: (for online observations put N/A) Is this SLP/AUD a member of ASHA? Yes No (for online observations put N/A) If so, what is the ASHA # of the SLP/AUD? (for online observations put N/A) Date of the Observation: Length of the Observation: Age of the Client: If you are not certain of this just indicate age range (child). The following information is based on your opinions from your training to this point and does not necessarily come from the written documentation from the SLP/Aud:
5 General Type of the Communicative Disorder Being Observed: General impact this communicative disorder has on the client s ability to communicate effectively: Briefly describe what you think are the daily goals of this session. Briefly describe the therapy activities of this session. Briefly describe the materials used in this session. Briefly describe any progress you saw in the client s accomplishment of his/her goals in this session. Briefly describe just one helpful idea you gained from observing this session. This could relate to the technique the clinician used to accomplish the goal, behavior modification, reinforcement, therapy activity, clinician interaction with significant other, etc. Also explain what you thought about this therapy (was it interesting, boring, would you do something differently, etc.). Do you document that, as the observer, you are the student enrolled in this COMD Capstone course? YES NO Do you document that the information above is based on your actual observation of the SLP/Aud and the client? YES NO Do you document that you actually completed this observation and wrote this report? YES NO Use the attached summary sheet (under Additional Resources in Canvas) to keep track of the reports that you submit. Keep track as you go so that it is easier to summarize at the end of the semester! Grading: Grading will be traditional (A F). There will be no mid-term or final examinations. You will be graded on your reports submitted on Canvas, which must be turned in by the deadlines listed in the calendar. If a paper is marked late there will be a 1 deduction to the grade, and it will reflect on your ability to meet deadlines. After one week you will not be able to submit a report, it will be marked missed and you will lose the points. There will be no exceptions. Clinic Observation Reports: Completion of all portions of the observation report form: 2 Specific wording that reflects attentive observation and thought: 5 Accurate spelling, punctuation, grammar and turned in on time: 3
6 Other Reports: Specific wording that reflects attentive observation and thought: 6 Accurate spelling, punctuation, grammar, and turned in on time: 4 Total Possible Points: 230 95-100% = A 90%-94% = A- 87%-89% = B+ 84%-86%= B 80%-83%= B- 77%-79% = C+ 74%-76% = C 70%-73% = C- 67%-69% = D+ 64%-66% = D 61%-63% = D- 0%-60% = F Academic Honesty: You are expected to do your own work. No copying or falsification of other individuals work will be accepted. If this occurs the student will fail the COMD 5900 course no exceptions. Procedures regarding violations of academic honesty as outlined by Utah State University WILL be enforced. You should review the standards and implications of violating those standards, located at: http://www.usu.edu/policies/pdf/acad-integrity.pdf.
7 Name Student A# Semester/Year Date Observation and Report Writing Summary Sheet Type of Observation (Articulation, Language, Voice, etc.) Minutes Spent Observing Date Report Submitted in Canvas
8 Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Utah State University OBSERVATION HOURS SUMMARY CARD Name Student A# Semester/Year Please report the hours accumulated either in full or half hours Observation Type Hours Hearing Evaluation Hearing Management Articulation Voice Language Stuttering Speech/Language Eval. Other TOTAL HOURS
9 DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIVE DISORDERS AND DEAF EDUCATION Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic 1000 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322-1000 V/TTY: (435) 797-1375 Fax: (435) 797-0221 Consent Form The mission of the Utah State University Speech-Language-Hearing Center with the Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education (COMDDE) is consistent with the purpose of all university-affiliated programs as stated in Public Law 101-496 (to provide) interdisciplinary training, the demonstration of exemplary service and technical assistance, and the dissemination of information which will increase and support the independence, productivity, and integration in the community for persons with developmental disabilities. In order to fulfill this purpose, students in training must observe clients with developmental disabilities being treated so that the student clinician may understand the therapeutic process and see how clients with various disabilities are aided. With your permission a student can be allowed to observe live and/or recorded sessions of you or your child in clinical sessions. If you do grant your permission, please complete the lower part of this form. I,, (please print name ) give my permission for students enrolled in the Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education to observe me (or my child) and release COMDDE from any claims associated with these observations. I understand that the material will be used for the development of students in training and that observed activities and methods will be used to add to the observer s skills and techniques. I waive any and all rights and claims against the student or COMDDE for their participation in this observation. I acknowledge having read and understood the forgoing and agree to be bound thereby. Signature Date Thank you for your support of the COMDDE staff and students in their efforts to serve persons with communicative disorders.
Please contact me if you need a Spanish consent form. 10