ORCID

0000-0001-6850-3948 (Michalek), 0000-0002-1569-037X (Richels)

College

Darden College of Education and Professional Studies

Program

Ph.D. Special Education

Publication Date

Spring 2020

DOI

10.25883/fyf5-8b11

Abstract

Background: Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are communication experts required to analyze and interpret a variety of language components (Schuele, 2010). Language sampling is a form of communication analysis and is used with adult and pediatric populations. SLPs collect and analyze language samples in an effort to make evidence-based diagnostic and intervention decisions. When analyzing a language sample, sentences must be deconstructed along a variety of parameters. At Old Dominion University (ODU), the undergraduate Communication Sciences and Disorders program requires students to identify broad and specific grammatical categories during language sample analysis in preparation for clinical experiences.

This research involves the design and implementaiton of a gaming application using spaced retrieval practice and principles of gaming theory to facilitate grammatical identification skills in undergraduate and graduate SLP students.

Purpose: The primary aim of this project is to generate pilot data determining the utility of a gaming application (designed by the course instructor) for teaching grammatical category identification. The gaming application has been developed with an ODU undergraduate student and Information Technology specialists, and it is in the prototyping phase. There are three planned phases of application design in the pursuit of creating a generalizable and individualized tool for instruction at the elementary level and for other SLP college programs.

Research Questions: 1) Do students who use the gaming application more accurately identify auxiliary verbs, main verbs, secondary verbs, subjective pronouns, objective pronouns, personal pronouns, and conjunctions more accurately than students who did not use the gaming application? 2) Over time, do students who use the gaming application perform better on accurately identifying auxiliary verbs, main verbs, secondary verbs, subjective pronouns, objective pronouns, personal pronouns, and conjunctions than students who do not use the gaming application?

Keywords

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), Language sampling, Gamification, Grammatical identification skills

Disciplines

Special Education and Teaching | Speech Pathology and Audiology

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Developing Speech-Language Pathology Students’ Grammatical Identification Skills Through Gamification


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