Undergraduate KASA Requirements: Starting professional identity Session 0630 ASHA November 18, 2006 Miami, FL Fran Hagstom Marilyn McGehee Larry Aslin fhagstr@uark.edu mmcgehee@uark.edu laslin@uark.edu University of Arkansas-Fayetteville
What is KASA? Knowledge and skill standards established by ASHA for clinical competence ASHA standards in eight areas Clinical skills in prevention, assessment, intervention Interpersonal skills Can be obtained in the classroom as well as in the clinic Mandated documentation for graduate students
Why KASA? Increase consistency of initial workforce preparedness Raising the bar when educating professionals Promoting life-long learning
Keys to KASA Cover the basics in classroom and clinic Knowledge acquisition Prevention, assessment and intervention skills Documentation and tracking of standards Meet established benchmarks Measurable learning objectives PRAXIS (the capstone summative assessment) Transfer accountability for learning to students Formative assessment
Why Undergraduate KASA? Need to graduate creative, vital professionals who can and will engage in self-directed learning throughout SLP careers KASA document includes coursework taken at the undergraduate level Student responsibility for learning and documentation must begin early Professional identity begins with the major
Pivotal First Steps Toward Professional Identity Formative learning experiences and standards of success associated with these establish the culture of learning within academic programs A program s culture of learning is the pivotal first step toward professional identity
Assessments Integral to Learning Summative Formative
Summative Assessment Addresses the question of whether the student has learned the material presented in a segment of class, a course or a training program Holds student accountable for what s/he has learned Holds instructors and programs accountable for what they have taught Bloom, Hastings, & Madaus, 1971
Formative Assessment Integrated within instruction Aims to increase learning Addresses following questions What does the material that the student has learned mean to her/him? What can s/he do with it? Hunt & Pellegrino, 2002
Formative Learning Experiences Common to SLP Education Problem-based learning Clinical case reviews Hierarchical knowledge and skill building Tandem learning between classroom and clinic Portfolios
UA Course Specifics Formative summative test experiences Serial retakes Talk-retake-talk sequences Team retakes Portfolios 1 st experience: collect & organize 2 nd experience: collect, organize & journaling 3 rd experience: metacognitive reflection on collection choices & organization Case material Team and group work
KASA Procedures from Syllabi Anatomy & Physiology of Speech/Hearing Mech. Introduction to Clinical Practice You are required by the ASHA Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology to demonstrate knowledge acquisition for all content areas covered in this course. Any grade below a C will be considered lack of knowledge acquisition for the content area tested. You will be required to retake the test until you demonstrate 70+ percent proficiency in the content area. You will not be credited with the improved grade in this situation only the knowledge acquisition.
KASA Procedures from Syllabi Phonological Development Articulation Disorders KASA STANDARDS: In order to meet KASA standards you must reach 70% accuracy on each unit test and quiz. If you fall below this criterion, it will be your responsibility to meet with the instructor, develop an action plan to improve your knowledge/skills, and set a date to retake the examination. You must also reach a performance level of 70% on the project and related assignments. Again, if you fall below the criterion, it will be your responsibility to meet with the instructor and develop an action plan to improve your knowledge/skills. Your improved performance on the retaking of an exam or revising the project/assignments will not change your grade.
KASA Procedures from Syllabi Normal Language Development Language Disorders in Children KASA STANDARDS: In order to meet KASA standards you must reach 70% accuracy on each section of each unit test. If you fall below this on a section of any unit test it will be your responsibility to meet with the instructor, develop an action plan to improve your knowledge/skills, and set a date to retake the test section/s that fell below 70%. Your improved performance on the retaking of a section will not change your grade on that particular unit test. It may contribute to an improved score on the comprehensive final examination, thus impacting your course grade. In addition, you must pass the lab competency with a minimum of 70%. Individuals who do not meet this competency must meet with the professor and complete additional transcription work until 70% is reached. DOCUMENTATION: It is your responsibility to document your own mastery of course material and skills, steps you are taking to remediate any difficulties you encounter, and obtain instructor sign-off of knowledge and skills. A Taxonomy Table will be provided to assist you with this. In addition, make notes on tests as you are taking them so you can follow your problem-solving strategies and find ways to change your thinking, and chart your metacognitive growth. Every effort will be made to return and discuss graded tests during the next class meeting time as part of this process.
Undergraduate KASA Comments Collected Across junior level courses at end of year Different formulation of question by faculty to reflect course specifics Summary 38 student responses Response content varied by course Responses reflected factual information and metacognitive thinking about KASA
KASA Comments (Continued) Domain knowledge Cited specifics from courses in comments KASA knowledge Cited KASA requirements (70%) across courses Cited KASA procedures across courses Formative learning Ranged from 13% to 21% of responses Gave specifics using procedural knowledge
Student Comments I learned that you show understanding of material before you get credit for it. I ve learned that even though my grade doesn t change, after restudying the information that I missed and taking the competency, not only is the information 70% competent, but for myself I feel I have learned it at an even higher level and the information becomes very clear. You have to be organized and prepared for topics of discussion to be able to meet the standard.
Student Comments (Continued) It forced me to have to see my errors and understand why I missed them and then have to produce the correct skill after learning differently. It s great!! KASA required me to apply the material and be completely familiar with it, rather than just memorizing and forgetting it. Since we can retake, we can seek help with what we don t understand.
Student Comments (Continued) With KASA we are not expected to make 100% the first time, but we are allowed to retake it until we achieve the appropriate knowledge level. The only way that we are going to be successful clinicians is to understand the ideas we go over in class. KASA is like our Zone of Proximal Development!
Faculty Reflection on Undergraduate KASA Common criteria and procedures to meet KASA standards across courses facilitated student recognition of professionalism. Retakes required a major time investment for faculty, yet students across all courses listed that as a learning plus! Mutual commitment to the KASA process made the extra work meaningful and even at times exciting! Grade inflation? No learning inflation.
Brief Bibliography Anderson, L. W. (Ed), Krathwohl, D. R. (Ed.), Airasian, P. W., Cruikshank, K. A., Mayer, R.E., Pintrich, P, R., Raths, J., & Wittrock, M. C. (2001). A taxonomy of learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York: Longman. Bloom, B. S., Hastings, J. T. & Madaus, G. F. (1971). Handbook on formative and summative evaluation of student learning. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. Chyung, S. & Stepich, D. (2003). Applying the congruence principle of Bloom s taxonomy to designing online instruction. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 4(3), 317-330. Ecclestone, K. & Pryor, J. (2003). Learning Careers or Assessment Careers? The impact of assessment systems on learning. British Educational Research Journal, 29(4), 471-488. Hagstrom, F. (in press). Formative learning and assessment. Communication Disorders Quarterly. Hunt, E. & Pellegrino, J. W. (2002). Issues, example, and challenges in formative assessment. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 89, 73-86.