Skills workshops for a problem-based learning curriculum in speech-language pathology

Abstract

Educators in health science programs are beconling increasingly concerned about the need to develop graduates with life-long learning skills. In order to continue successfully in a profession, graduates must be capable of rapidly integrating new knowledge with an existing framework of deep knowledge. An increasingly popular approach for developing such skills in health science students is problem-based learning (PEL). PEL makes use of realistic scenarios that act as a stimulus and a context for learning, and in which students are responsible for their learning. PEL tutorials and skills workshops are important components in many PEL programs. This study describes the use of skills workshops in a professional speech-language pathology PEL program. Various skills workshops are detailed and their interrelationships with PBL problenls are outlined. Different teaching methods were adopted for different skills workshops. Speech-language pathology students' perceptions of the workshops' contribution to their learning, as shown from a student survey, are reported and possible future improvements are presented.