The class gathers formally for 3 initial classroom meetings. During these meetings the process of completing an acceptable Special Project is discussed. The form and structure of the project, how it is to be presented, and limits regarding content are discussed. During these class meetings students select the content and scope of their project. The instructor facilitates sharing information from student clinical experiences and encourages student interaction as they develop their Special Project topic. The final order of business will be the assignment of the oral presentation order. Student names will be drawn by lot to determine oral presentation order. Following the oral presentation assignment dates, class will not formally meet for several mid-course sessions until oral presentations begin. Students use this time to prepare their projects. The course instructor will be available during the time class would normally meet to provide guidance regarding the Special Projects. Appointment times should be arranged formally with the instructor. The remainder of the class meetings are used for student oral presentation. One half-hour per student is allowed for the complete oral presentation.

 

Two copies of an eight-to-ten page (excluding references) paper regarding the Special Project must be handed-in by each student on the date oral presentations begin. The student’s name should appear only on the first cover page of the paper. A second cover page should be provided without the student’s name. The first page will later be removed so that papers may be distributed anonymously to faculty for reading.

 

The papers will be read and evaluated by two SLP Departmental faculty assigned randomly. A pass grade must be given by both faculty readers to obtain a pass for the paper. If one reader passes and the other reader fails the paper, it will be submitted to a third reader. The third reader’s pass/fail grade will be recorded as the paper grade.

 

Results of the oral presentation grading and the faculty evaluation of the written report dictate the final pass/fail grade. Both the oral presentation and the written report must be passed to achieve a passing grade in the course. Students will be notified of the outcome in writing by the instructor at the conclusion of the semester.

 

Students are expected to complete the Special Project independently. With the exception of the course instructor, who may provide more specific assistance with regard to form, students MAY NOT solicit help from the faculty concerning Special Project content issues. Careful topic selection should allow students adequate direction when researching content information. The faculty has agreed upon a code of professional conduct for CMD 605. Please see Appendix I for a copy of this code. You will be asked to sign this code indicating your agreement with it.

 

Special Project Information:

 

1.   The project must be a clinical case presentation;

 

2. A case should be chosen that has been worked with, or is in the process of being worked with. If the case chosen has limited information available, the student would be expected to expose critical gaps in the case data and indicate what steps should be taken to rectify the situation.

 

3. The project is considered an opportunity for the student to: synthesize and integrate academic and clinical information into a “real life” situation; reflect critically on clinical practice; share experiences with peers; and, accomplish a culminating activity which will allow the Department to thoroughly evaluate student readiness for the Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Fellowship.

 

4. The project must minimally contain the following six elements (please note: #4 is considered a very crucial part of the project). The paper and the oral presentation should address each of these areas specifically. In both the oral presentation and the written report, these areas should be highlighted or titled so that listeners and readers will know when they are being discussed:

 

1.                  Background information on the case, including: demographic information; the nature of the disorder; educational and/or medical history; and a summary of relevant assessment and intervention data;

 

                        2.         Discussion of the central issues, problems, and/or questions;

                         

                        3.         How problem, issues and questions identified are solved or plan to be solved. Be specific. Include procedures and strategies, various solutions tried and/or considered even if they were not successful or were discarded;

 

                        4.         Theoretical considerations and research bases for solutions. Be specific and use references.

 

                        5.         Description of results and current status including quantitative data when applicable;

 

            6.         What specific lessons were learned from preparing the case presentation?

 

The 30 minute oral should provide 25 minutes of information and 5 minutes for questions. Students are expected to engage their audience in a lively exchange of questions and answers for the final 5 minutes of the presentation. The presenter can pose questions to the audience and can answer audience questions. Students are requested not to read their oral presentations. Cue/note cards are acceptable but only for brief reference. The student should speak the presentation to the audience. Visual aids may be used and are encouraged. Use visual aids appropriately. They should not make up the bulk of the oral presentation. A brief outline of the project arranged as it will be orally presented should be prepared as a hand-out for the class.

 

A compendium of the written reports compiled from your second copy submissions may be available to students in the class for a copying fee. Please check with instructor.

 

Faculty have developed scoring sheets for both the oral and written presentations. Appendix J presents copies of the “Oral Scoring Form” and the “Written Scoring Form” which will be used to evaluate the Special Projects.