Research Methods is a combined graduate and undergraduate course required for undergraduate Speech-Language-Hearing majors and for Speech-Language Pathology graduate students. Undergraduate students are primarily juniors or seniors, while graduate students in the course are fulfilling a pre-requisite for the Master's program.
This course is designed to provide students with:
An introduction to research methods in the field of Speech-Language-Hearing, and
The skill set necessary to become evidence-based practitioners.
The course begins by covering the scientific method and hypothesis formulation. Then, the course covers specific content areas including research design, statistical analyses, evaluating evidence and identifying evidence-based practice. Throughout the course, students work on a literature review and read Autism's False Prophets by Paul Offit. The course concludes with both a literature review and project proposal and with a project on identifying and evaluating research for evidence-based practices. The focus of the course was to enable students to think critically about research as it applies to their clinical careers.
My roles in this course included:
Maintaining the Blackboard class site (putting up quizzes, assignments, and readings).
Leading in-class discussions of Autism's False Prophets.
Developing and leading lectures and activities on Ethics, How to Read a Research Article, and Evaluating Research.
Developing and leading the lectures on Introductory Statistics.
The following teaching portfolio is a representation of what I would keep the same and what changes I would make when teaching this course on my own.