A directed teaching experience with Dr. Jane Wegner in Fall 2020.
SPLH 838: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in the Schools is an eight week elective course open to master's level students in the Intercampus Program in Communication Disorders. This course was designed to provide students with information regarding AAC service deliver within the school setting. Course topics aimed at equipping future speech-language pathologists with skills that they can use to ensure all students have access to communication at school by describing roles, responsibilities, and contributions school SLPs make relative to AAC assessment and intervention.
The course also provided students with an overview of school structures and special education services and regulations.
The following learning objectives were created by Dr. Wegner and copied from the Fall 2020 syllabus.
The course is designed to meet the requirements of ASHA Knowledge Outcomes IV-C knowledge in the areas of Receptive/Expressive Language and AAC Modalities. This course will also address the Council on Academic Accreditation Standard 3.1B. At the end of this course it is anticipated that students will be able to meet the following learning objectives:
Explain basic concepts, terminology, and theory related to AAC (3.1.2B)
Explain the role of a speech-language pathologist in the school setting, especially in relation to AAC services (3.1.1B)
Describe school structures, functioning, and laws (e.g. IDEA; 3.1.1B)
Evaluate and summarize evidence related to AAC services (3.1.1B)
Analyze a student’s case history, skill set, and communication needs to complete a feature-matching assessment and determine an appropriate AAC system (3.1.4B)
Develop IEP goals for students with clear connections to common core or state standards (3.1.5B)
Apply collaborative practices to support student learning (3.1.1B)
Communicate information about AAC and its applications in the school setting to others (3.1.6B)
In future iterations of this course, the following addition and update to the current learning objectives. Proposed additions align with ASHA's Council on Academic Accreditation standards.
(Addition) Students will be able to reflect on their own cultural and clinical perspectives and backgrounds in order to identify biases they may bring to clinical processes or family partnerships in schools. (3.1.1B Cultural Competence and Collaborative Practice)
(Update to Learning Objective 7) Students will describe importance of teaming in the AAC clinical process, describe team members, and apply collaborative practices to support student learning (3.1.1B Collaborative Practices and Professional Duty)
Assigned readings included the following textbooks, as well as selected journal articles. Webinars and podcasts were also incorporated into the course schedule as applicable.
Causton, J. & Tracy-Bronson, C. (2014). The speech-language pathologists handbook for inclusive practices. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
Hyatt, K.J. & Filler, J.W. (2016). Developing IEPs: The complete guide to educationally meaningful individualized education programs for students with disabilities. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.
While completing my directed teaching in this course, I was responsible for leading nine lectures including lectures on family partnership, supporting advanced linguistic systems in the classroom, and a brief overview of AAC Assessments. On the days that I provided lecture, it was my responsibility to review the reading reflection forms submitted by students. With support from Dr. Wegner, I created both the article review assignment and the resource assignment. Grading for class assignments was split evenly between Dr. Wegner and myself.
This course was delivered in a synchronous virtual format with lectures taking place via zoom.