Assignments You Might Write in Communication Sciences & Disorders
Observational Paper: Child Language Video Analysis
For observational papers, you will be instructed to watch a specific scenario, focusing on the elements of language and speech. You will then compare what you have noticed in the scenario to concepts covered in class and will draw a conclusion about the scenario, proving why this specific scenario is an example of a communication disorder. In this paper, it is okay to use personal pronouns, since you are applying your personal interpretation of the scenario. Still, maintain a professional tone. These papers may tend to be on the longer side because you need to include in depth detail and explanation.
Clinical Observation Journal Entry
For an observation journal, the student will first complete an observation in the clinic located at Pomeroy Hall. These observations will vary between diagnostic and treatment, child and adult, male and female, and speech pathology and audiology. Within twenty-four hours after completing the observation, students will have to write a journal entry. These entries will explain what type of session the student observed (such as diagnostic), the type of disorder observed (such as hearing loss), a general summary of the session, aspects of patient/ family centered care observed, aspects of cultural/ linguistic competency observed, anything the student found interesting, anything the student found discomforting, and any questions the student had while observing. It is important that the student address each section. The use of personal pronouns is necessary, as the student will be describing their unique experience. The journal entries are typically for the student’s own use, so it is not necessary to write in a professional tone. Instead, the student should be encouraged to explore and reflect on different aspects of the session observed.
Click here for an example of a clinic observation journal entry (PDF).
Lab Report: Pratt Lab Report
For lab reports, the student will be using the Pratt software to record and analyze speech sounds. There are many different types of labs that will be assigned, but typically the assignment asks the student to record a sound, analyze the sound wave on the spectrogram, label the different components of the wave, and interpret how the wave demonstrates either normal or disordered speech. It is important that the lab reports are short and concise. These assignments are very specific and therefore it is important to only address what the lab asks you to address.
Interview Paper: Interview with an Individual with a Communication Disorder
In this assignment, the student will ask an individual a series of questions and then offer a reflection, comparing the responses of the individual to the research on the specific disorder. These assignments are meant to demonstrate that communication disorders can be interpreted differently be different individuals, that every case is unique. This pushes the student to think creatively about the field. There is little room for personal reflection in these assignments. The format of this assignment is an integration of interview questions and factual information. An interview paper should display the student acting as a professional when dealing with individuals with a communication disorder.
Interview Paper: CSD Professional Interview
For the professional interview, students will have the opportunity to ask either a practicing speech pathologist or audiologist questions regarding their individual educational experiences, past work experiences, and current work experience. Students are given a list of questions that target each of these sections and are encouraged to come up with questions of their own. When writing the paper, it is important to not just list the questions and answers, but rather to summarize the professional’s answers and to integrate these with classroom discussions and the student’s personal reflections within each major section (education, past work, current work). While it is not required, it may be helpful to indicate each section with an appropriate header, as this may make the paper more organized and easier to follow. This assignment is written in the first person, since there is a lot of personal reflection. This assignment allows students to learn more about a future in this field and also network and make connections with professionals.
Foreign Language Phonetics Project
For the foreign language projects, groups of three will be assigned a foreign language and will have to analyze the vowels, consonants and prosody of their language. The vowels, consonants, and prosody papers are all separate from each other. In each paper, the group needs to identify the distinguishing features of the language, how the language and English are both similar and different, and then provide an explanation as to why it may be difficult for an English speaker to learn the foreign language and vice versa. For example, if the group was working on the vowel portion of the project, they would have a paragraph explaining what vowels were present in their language and the distinguishing features of the vowels (such as tongue height and tongue advancement). Then, they would have a paragraph explaining how English vowels are different from the vowels in the foreign language, and also how they are similar. Lastly, they would compile the evidence provided in the previous paragraphs to explain why learning the vowels of the foreign language may be difficult for an English speaker, and vice versa. For this section, it is okay for students to make personal inferences, so long as they are thoroughly backed up with evidence. When writing each paper, it is important to stay on topic. For example, there should be no mention of prosody in the vowel paper. These assignments require students to reflect on the class discussions and textbook as well as additional sources, and properly cite them in APA. They should be written as concisely as possible, while still demonstrating an understanding of the topic.