Article
Teaching Future Providers about Dementia: The Impact of Service Learning
Seminars in Speech and Language
(2013)
Abstract
In this article, we describe an innovative approach for providing speech-language pathology graduate students with exposure to long-term care settings and clinical training in service delivery for persons with dementia. Our pedagogical approach emphasizes leading learners through distinct stages of creating awareness and a foundation of knowledge, teaching clinical skills, hands-on practice via service learning, and ongoing self-reflection. Outcome data presented in this article are derived from learner evaluations and written reflections as well as social validation data provided by dementia patients in a long-term care setting. Our findings reveal that a combination of high-impact practices, community-based service learning, and ongoing reflection can result in transformative learning and attitude shifts for speech-language pathology graduate students toward serving persons with dementia. This is a key finding given that a majority of our learners had little exposure to long-term care environments or had any prior interaction with persons with dementia.
Keywords
- Dementia,
- long-term care,
- speech-language pathology,
- service learning
Disciplines
Publication Date
2013
DOI
10.1055/s-0033-1337390
Publisher Statement
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Citation Information
Nidhi Mahendra, Karen Fremont and Emily Dionne. "Teaching Future Providers about Dementia: The Impact of Service Learning" Seminars in Speech and Language Vol. 34 Iss. 1 (2013) p. 5 - 17 ISSN: 1098-9056 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/nidhi-mahendra/8/