Evaluating Clinical Educational Learning Outcomes for a Changing Field: Utilizing a 2:1 Collaborative Learning Model in an Acute Care Setting for First Semester Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students

Exploring clinical education models that may increase the number of clinical placements while improving learning outcomes is an important step in preparing competent entry-level speech-language pathologists. Placement shortages play an important role in the urgency of evaluating the efficacy of alternative clinical education models in SLP. The 2:1 collaborative learning model is a promising exemplar that has the potential to increase the number of clinical placements in practice settings twofold while simultaneously providing an excellent learning experience for students. A retrospective, qualitative, descriptive, embedded case study design methodology was used. Recruitment was directed at both the first year SLP graduate students who have completed their first semester clinical rotation in an adult acute care setting (n=40) and the adult acute care clinical instructors employed by the academic medical center who have supervised the aforementioned students in their clinical rotation as well as supervised first year, first semester SLP graduate students previously utilizing a 1:1 model (n=8). An open ended survey instrument, focus groups, and a follow-up member checking survey were used as data sources. The results of the study were overall positive, and the findings indicated that the 2:1 model is, at least, not inferior to the 1:1 model from the perspective of clinical instructors, that the 2:1 collaborative learning model has a positive influence on a student’s confidence, and that having a clinical partner has a positive influence on a student’s perception of their learning experiences and learning outcomes