Educating speech-language pathologists for the 21st century: course design considerations for a distance education Master of Speech Pathology program.

Original Paper Folia Phoniatr Logop 2014;66:147–157 DOI: 10.1159/000367710

Published online: March 17, 2015

Educating Speech-Language Pathologists for the 21st Century: Course Design Considerations for a Distance Education Master of Speech Pathology Program Jane McCormack Catherine Easton Lenni Morkel-Kingsbury Charles Sturt University, Albury, N.S.W., Australia

Abstract The landscape of tertiary education is changing. Developments in information and communications technology have created new ways of engaging with subject material and supporting students on their learning journeys. Therefore, it is timely to reconsider and re-imagine the education of speech-language pathology (SLP) students within this new learning space. In this paper, we outline the design of a new Master of Speech Pathology course being offered by distance education at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Australia. We discuss the catalyst for the course and the commitments of the SLP team at CSU, then describe the curriculum design process, focusing on the pedagogical approach and the learning and teaching strategies utilised in the course delivery. We explain how the learning and teaching strategies have been selected to support students’ online learning experience and enable greater interaction between students and the subject material, with students and subject experts, and among student groups. Finally, we highlight some of the challenges in designing and delivering a distance education SLP program and identify future directions for educating students in an online world. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel

© 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel 1021–7762/15/0665–0147$39.50/0 E-Mail [email protected] www.karger.com/fpl

Introduction

In recent years, rapid developments in information and communications technology (ICT) have significantly influenced the way in which people live in and experience the world around them. There are over 5 billion devices connected to the Internet worldwide, and 500 million people log onto Facebook each day, demonstrating the changing ways in which people in the 21st century access information and services, engage in work tasks and interact with others [1]. Constant and readily available access to online information and services is now an expectation and made possible through advances in mobile technologies. This has implications for the delivery of health care; however, it also has implications for the education of health professionals, including speech-language pathologists. The use of online technologies allows teaching and learning to occur in a way that is flexible and accessible around other life and work commitments. Advances in ICT have afforded new possibilities in the way education is delivered: information is now easily accessible online, and student collaboration and connectivity can be supported through synchronous and asynchronous interaction technologies [2]. This has facilitated a shift in thinking about learning and teaching from cognitive and beJane McCormack School of Community Health, Charles Sturt University PO Box 789 Albury, NSW 2640 (Australia) E-Mail jmccormack @ csu.edu.au

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Key Words Course design · Distance education

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Folia Phoniatr Logop 2014;66:147–157 DOI: 10.1159/000367710

The University Context: CSU

CSU is the largest inland university in Australia, with nine campuses located primarily within regional areas of New South Wales (the most populated state in Australia). There are four faculties at CSU: Education, Business, Arts and Science. The Faculty of Science has more than 9,000 students and over 500 staff. It delivers flexible, innovative teaching programs designed to produce job-ready graduates for the professions. The School of Community Health sits within the Faculty of Science and is a well-established, multi-campus school that offers undergraduate professional courses including Health and Rehabilitation Science, SLP, Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Occupational Therapy. CSU is a leader in the delivery of distance education programs in Australia and has a strong commitment to the health and education of Australians living in rural and remote areas. Consequently, the university is committed to curriculum design which utilises physical and virtual environments to enhance face-to-face and online learning [12]. Thus, the university was well placed to develop and offer a Masters program in speech pathology that was responsive to the needs of prospective students and allowed for study via distance education and part-time enrolment. At present, CSU is implementing a new model of course design and delivery: Smart Learning [13]. The Smart Learning model emphasises the course design process. That is, it requires course designers to consider, and provide evidence of, the process by which course standards have been identified and met, assessment tasks have been developed and valued, learning outcomes have been aligned with assessment, and learning experiences have been selected to enable the achievement of outcomes. Moderation and feedback relating to course/subject quality is embedded into the design process. Feedback is required from all academic staff teaching in the program and is invited from other institutional staff including educational designers and other subject experts (e.g., in workplace learning, digital literacy, Indigenous studies) as well as an external advisory committee (e.g., members of the speech pathology community). The focus of the feedback differs for each stage of course design but is intended to ensure that the learning experiences and assessment tasks align with the intended outcomes. This differs from a traditional documentation approach to course development, which usually emphasises performance rather than process, assumes rather than requires McCormack/Easton/Morkel-Kingsbury


havioural approaches to more constructivist approaches (which are responsive to student experience and learning environments) and connectivist approaches (which emphasise the importance of student engagement with one another as well as the content in order for learning to occur) [3]. The delivery and evaluation of distance education is not new. However, much of the research on distance education has focused on comparing online delivery of learning with traditional on-campus models of education, exploring the effectiveness of a specific technology or assessing the outcomes achieved by students. There is a lack of research exploring the pedagogy underpinning the course development and implementation of distance education programs in the health professions [4, 5]. In particular, there is a lack of research in the speech-language pathology (SLP) profession regarding the development of effective online courses and learning opportunities and identifying the ‘critical elements’ of the instructional design process for effective distance education learning [6]. While a number of new SLP courses have commenced across Australia in the past decade, none are offered by distance education, despite the strong history of distance education for other professional courses including education, social work and nursing in Australia. Furthermore, no other SLP Masters programs in Australia can be studied part time, and, consequently, students have been unable to study while continuing to work in their current profession. There is a high demand for SLP education across Australia. Research indicates that current SLP workforce needs exceed supply [7], and national workforce shortages have been forecast for the profession in Australia [8]. Demand for SLP services is increasing as a result of a complex interaction of factors including an ageing population [9], an increased incidence of chronic disease [10], a growing awareness of the importance of early intervention [11] and a government commitment to introducing a new National Disability Insurance Scheme to support the cost of services for individuals with permanent and significant disability as well as their families and carers. This paper documents the development of a distance education graduate entry Master of Speech Pathology program at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Australia in response to the changing face of health care and health education in the 21st century. A key message of this paper is that distance education requires more than simply a change in the delivery of education: it rather should reflect a change in the design of that education.

Master of Speech Pathology Course Commitments

Prior to developing the course curriculum, the SLP team at CSU developed the objectives for the course to identify the content and attributes that were valued by the team and would be emphasised in the teaching and learning experiences. These included commitments to the following practices and attributes. Reflective Practice This course will explicitly and comprehensively encourage students not only to reflect on what they are doing, and how well they are doing it, but to constantly question the socio-political relevance, justice and fairness of their practice in relation to the communities they serve. Graduates will thus be able to appreciate clients within their particular social environment. Educating Speech-Language Pathologists for the 21st Century

Collaborative Practice This course will explicitly prepare students to engage in collaborative practice with their clients, with communities and with other professionals, with the primary aim of effecting comprehensive and sustainable improvement. Graduates will demonstrate respect for those with whom they work, recognising stories, theory and practice as co-constructed. Cultural Competence This course will prepare students to work in culturally and socially diverse contexts of urban, regional, rural and remote Australia. Graduates will engage in culturally competent practice with Indigenous, refugee and other communities. Contexts of Practice This course will explicitly and comprehensively prepare students to practice in community development, community-based and medical contexts of Australian speech pathology practice. Graduates will use knowledge and skills appropriate to these three contexts of practice. Holistic and Evidence-Based Practice This course will prepare students to explicitly, and judiciously, integrate the best available evidence from persons with whom they work, clinical practice and systematic research in order to ensure timely, appropriate and holistic care. Creativity, Mindfulness and Care This course will prepare students to practice with creativity, mindfulness and care within their workplace contexts. Professional Knowledge and Practice This course will help students to engage in learning across the domains of speech pathology knowledge and practice. Self as Professional This course will support students to integrate their own life experience with their learning of speech pathology practice. Graduates will develop a professional identity which acknowledges their personal qualities and life experiences as well as their role as a practicing speech pathologist.


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a rigorous process of design, and typically gathers feedback upon completion and implementation rather than throughout the process. Research indicates that the documentation approach does not exert an influence on quality [14, 15], and it is intended that the shift in focus to a design approach will create higher-quality learning experiences. There are five key stages in the Smart Learning model: (1) Course commitments – identifying what the course design team values and what will provide the course with a unique and distinctive identity (2) Standards mapping – developing terms of reference for the course design, aligned with the course commitments, that underpin all future stages of the design process (3) Product development and mapping – identifying graduate outcomes that map onto the standards and direct the development of authentic assessment tasks (4) Assessment task development and mapping – building criterion- and standards-based tasks that map onto products, determining assessable components of those tasks and developing marking rubrics (5) Subject development – developing learning outcomes and experiences that will enable students to complete tasks and assessments as well as making the link between learning and assessment clear and unambiguous The design of the Master of Speech Pathology program at CSU was based on this Smart Learning model. In the following sections, the application of the model to the curriculum design process for the Masters course is articulated in more detail.

Year 1 Language £ and £ £ learning

SLP£ knowledge£ and skills

Typical £ £ development, £ models£of£ practice, assessment

Workplace £ learning

N/A

Research

Fig. 1. Curriculum design. Core content

N/A

Year 2 Cultural £ safety

Year 3 Access £ and £ equity

Assessment £ and £ intervention

Complex £ cases

Complex £ cases

Community-based £ project

£ placement Block

Block placement

£ proposal Research

Research £ completion and dissemination

N/A

Year 4 Self-care £

Color version available online

Reflective £ practice

threads in the Master of Speech Pathology program.

The Competency-Based Occupational Standards for Speech Pathologists: Entry Level [16], which are the standards for entry-level competency in clinical practice set by Speech Pathology Australia, provided a basis for the course content in the Master of Speech Pathology program. These professional standards were then integrated with additional standards into the design of the curriculum in order to reflect and encompass the commitments of the course (e.g., the commitment to critical and reflective practice). The additional standards were Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health, Australian Quality Framework requirements for Masters by Coursework, and CSU graduate attributes. The mapping process utilises software that enables the course designers to compare sector, accreditation and university standards, looking for similarities and differences. The course designers identify matches (identical standards) and merges (standards that can be combined to expand on meanings), and the software builds a matrix of these connections. For instance, Speech Pathology Australia requires that graduates conduct holistic assessments, and the CSU graduate attributes require students to demonstrate, among other skills, cultural competence. Therefore, the integrated standard becomes one which recognises the need for students to conduct assessments in a culturally appropriate/safe way. The integrated set of standards for the Master of Speech Pathology program was constructed by the design team and ratified by the SLP discipline team in order to provide a consistent and coherent understanding of the purposes 150


and practices of effective speech-language pathologists. These standards, in association with the course commitments, established the philosophical and conceptual framework of the program, or the ‘architecture’ for building the program content. Based on the course standards and commitments, a folio of ‘products’ was identified. Within the Smart Learning process, ‘products’ refer to what students are required to learn to practice as speech-language pathologists. These products guided the development of assessment tasks to evaluate students’ achievement of those standards and commitments. There was a recognition of the need for the assessment tasks to be authentic in order to support and foster deep learning [17]. That is, the tasks needed to be contextualised and related to future practices. Consequently, assessment tasks were designed to assist students to develop problem-solving and clinical reasoning skills required for working as speech-language pathologists (e.g., analysing and reporting on assessment results, developing holistic and evidence-based intervention plans, conducting community needs analyses and planning health promotion activities). The assessable components of these tasks then informed the curriculum content (i.e., what needed to be taught to enable students to meet the assessment requirements and, in that, achieve the standards and commitments). The curriculum development process resulted in a 16-subject course, comprising 4 core threads: (1) reflective practice; (2) SLP frameworks, knowledge and skills; (3) workplace learning, and (4) research. The first 2 threads commence in the first year and continue for the duration of the program (fig. 1), while the other 2 threads build on these foundations and have a stronger focus in McCormack/Easton/Morkel-Kingsbury


Curriculum Development Process: Mapping Standards, Products and Assessments

Educating Speech-Language Pathologists for the 21st Century


Curriculum Development Process: Pedagogical Approach

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The online world is a medium unto itself: it is not just another learning environment [18]. Materials and methods that work well in traditional and face-to-face environments do not necessarily translate to, or work well in, the online environment without significant redesign, conversion or re-imagining the way students effectively interact with content, with other learners and with subject and professional experts [19]. This course was developed with a commitment to being critically reflective on our teaching practice and creative in considering the affordances of the learning environments being utilised. This has resulted in re-imagining the teaching and learning space as well as the roles of the ‘teachers’ and ‘learners’ in this space. The course utilises constructivist and connectivist learning theories to create an online learning and teaching environment that supports student learning through engagement with the materials, each other and the staff involved. In constructivist learning theory, student knowledge is expanded and refined through linking new information with existing information [20]. In this course, students be-

gin each topic by reflecting on their own knowledge or attitudes. They are encouraged, via an introductory ‘spark’ [21] such as a piece of information (e.g., audio, video, text, image) or challenge, to begin to construct knowledge and meaning from their experiences. New information is provided via the presentation of content from subject experts in a variety of formats to meet differences in learning styles and to enable deeper and richer learning to occur, and extensive examples are provided to contextualise the content. Students are given opportunities to further their learning by interacting and engaging with other learners in group activities as well as by synchronous and asynchronous interaction with subject and professional experts. Student participation in learning is enhanced as students take an active role in their learning and as they check their understandings with each other, create, compare and debate ideas together and provide feedback on each other’s learning in line with a connectivist framework [2]. Garrison et al. [22] emphasise that it is through sustained communication that participants construct meaning and come to a more complete understanding of concepts and content. In the Master of Speech Pathology at CSU, opportunities for group collaboration and learning through both synchronous (real-time) online tutorials and asynchronous (non-real-time) discussion forums, chat rooms, wikis and blogs have been created. Furthermore, group tasks have been included as assessment items to encourage collaboration and the development of communities of learning and practice. This connection and sense of community is also facilitated through the application of Salmon’s ‘e-tivity’ model [21]. That is, activities are designed to engage students in meaningful work that extends their knowledge and understanding, and to encourage intense interaction and reflective dialogue between groups of learners. The pedagogical basis for this course requires a reimagining of the role of the lecturer, who becomes a facilitator of learning rather than the ‘holder of the knowledge’ [23], as well as a re-imagining of learning spaces as the lines between formal and informal learning spaces begin to blur [24]. For example, learning occurs through active and collaborative participation in blogs, Internet forums and YouTube. Subject experts also become emoderators who, via their own strong online presence, guide and contextualise learning; respond to feedback; prompt responses and weave students’ learning and comments together to provide groups with a sense of accomplishment and direction; anticipate student learning needs, and build and adapt content, activities and materials to assist students to construct knowledge [25].

later years of the program. For instance, students complete research subjects in years 3 and 4 of the course (part time); however, research principles are introduced during the assessment and intervention subjects in years 1 and 2. Similarly, workplace learning occurs in years 2–4; however, students are introduced to frameworks guiding practice (such as evidence-based, family-centred and inter-professional practice) and requirements for practice (such as the Code of Ethics and the Competency-Based Occupational Standards) in year 1. The curriculum development was premised on addressing the standards and commitments discussed above as well as the needs of the student group. This student group comprises individuals who have unique knowledge, skills and expertise that they have developed through their undergraduate (and possibly other postgraduate) study in other fields as well as through their work and life activities. In designing the Master of Speech Pathology program, we have ensured students have opportunities to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills related to speech pathology practice but acknowledge and appreciate that we are building on pre-existing foundations. These considerations impacted on both the pedagogical approach and the teaching and learning activities themselves.

The subjects in this course consist of a series of teaching and learning experiences that support student engagement in a range of learning environments. Each of the learning experiences supports student learning around the authentic assessment tasks that map onto the course standards. Flexible learning is a feature of the subjects through the use of ICT alongside practice-based education, with an ongoing focus on critical and reflective learning and practice. Flexible Learning and ICT Nillsen [17] suggests: ‘The capacity of students to learn does not simply depend upon themselves, but upon the environment in which they learn and what is regarded as valid learning’ (p. 2). The CSU online learning environment enables flexible approaches to learning and supports interactive and real-time exchange of information between learners as well as between learners, lecturers and subject experts. Researchers suggest learning activities based on social interactions are effective, particularly when the learning environment is positive and participation is encouraged [26–28]. In this program, independent study (through reading of texts or viewing of video materials) is combined with group work (such as discussion and assessment activities). Students are required to attend a residential school each year to enable face-to-face discussions, observations and demonstrations of clinical skills. In addition, e-mail, asynchronous forum and discussion spaces, blogs, wikis and synchronous real-time chat rooms as well as online classrooms are used to facilitate learning. Such tools enable staff to support students but also enable students to connect with one another. Throughout the course, students are also encouraged and given opportunities to create an e-portfolio tool to provide evidence of their practice as well as build and collect examples of personal and professional learning, skills and knowledge. Practice-Based Education The opportunities that students get to work through problems with others prepare them for professional practice by providing them with opportunities to build knowledge and skills to solve problems they may encounter in the workforce [29]. Workplace learning experiences then enable students to observe and engage in real-world practice activities with the guidance and supervision of qualified practicing staff. In this course, students will attend skill development and demonstration clinics once per 152


year on campus and undertake community engagement activities within their own environments and placements within more traditional settings. The CSU speech pathology program has strong links with clinicians and community organisations, which ensures the academic content and workplace learning experiences within the course reflect the current work context for speech pathologists in Australia. Innovations to the clinical program at the university in recent years have resulted in a number of sustainable placement options that are geographically transferable. For instance, in the Client Tutor program, students (in later years of the course) meet for approximately 2–3 h each week with adults in the community who have communication difficulties as a result of an acquired neurological impairment. During the initial weeks, students develop deep understandings of the experience of living with a communication impairment, and in subsequent weeks, they negotiate with the client tutor what help they require with their language, speech and/or communication. Students then assess, plan and implement therapy activities on the basis of this needs analysis, with support and guidance from university staff [30]. Critical and Reflective Practice This course aims to engage students in deep and lifelong learning through providing opportunities for selfevaluation and critical thinking, based on tools such as Kolb’s experiential learning theory, whereby students undergo an experience (such as workplace learning), reflect on the experience and then plan for future experiences. Further, as demonstrated in the course commitments, students engage with critical reflection on cultural, social and socio-historical contexts of practice as well as on speech pathology knowledge and practice itself. In doing this, they engage with cultural safety, the creation of knowledge frameworks of speech pathology and also the ethics and justice of their practice as well as the frameworks of practice within which they work. To support this engagement, practical experiences include communitybased placements with a population focus (e.g., working with a local library, parent group and maternity and child health nurses to promote language development through shared book reading) as well as the more traditional speech pathology practice contexts (e.g., providing oneto-one intervention in a community health clinic). Finally, students are encouraged to seek information broadly, to integrate their own knowledge and experiences, to ask questions frequently and freely and to provide regular feedback about their understanding. McCormack/Easton/Morkel-Kingsbury


Subject Development: Learning and Teaching Activities



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The delivery of distance education is of increasing interest around the world due to the potential for greater student access and participation, opportunities for increased diversity and internationalisation as well as revenue generation for institutions offering programs in this mode [31]. While distance education has great potential for the delivery of training in the allied health professions, there is a need to ensure that the quality of education is not compromised by the mode of delivery. Chaney et al. [31] conducted a detailed database search to identify indicators of quality in previous research which could inform the future design and delivery of distance education programs. They identified 15 quality indicators (table 1), which can be divided into those relating to the specific program/ course being provided, those relating to the institution offering the program and those relating to the context/community that will be serviced by the program. In table 1, we have considered the application of these quality indicators in relation to the Master of Speech Pathology program. During the process of designing and delivering the Master of Speech Pathology program, a number of potential challenges needed to be addressed to ensure the program would provide a high-quality educational experience. Some of these corresponded to the institutional level. For instance, speech pathology staff members were working at capacity in the delivery of the undergraduate speech pathology program, and additional staff needed to be employed to develop and deliver the course (institutional support and resources). In addition, new and existing staff involved in the development and teaching needed to become familiar with the range of pedagogies and technologies available to support distance education and ensure students would be engaged and feel connected with the program and their cohort. Consequently, academic staff members were required to work more closely with educational and media designers as well as library and ICT staff to ensure that the learning experiences being developed were feasible and appropriate and could be supported by the resources and personnel at the university (faculty support services). This need for collaboration and coordination across all sectors of the university is essential for the implementation of distance education. Indeed, Townsend et al. [32] have suggested that ‘[s]uccessful distance education for health professionals requires coordinated resources to create not only a virtual classroom, but also a virtual university’ (p. 16). Other challenges we identified at a course/program level. For instance, we recognised the need to inform pro-

spective students about the necessary ICT requirements (e.g., Internet connection speeds) and ICT literacy to participate in online learning. This was ensured through interviews with all prospective students in which they were informed about the course content and delivery, as well as through the distribution of an online newsletter which outlined course/ICT requirements for applicants (in a similar way to traditional prescribed-reading lists; course structure guidelines). The ICT requirements of the course, and ICT literacy of the students, continue to be monitored and evaluated as the course progresses to ensure maximal accessibility of the course content and improve the learning experiences of the students. Another challenge was the significant cost and time commitment associated with the design and development of online learning materials (e.g., simulated cases) due to the collaborative, multidisciplinary approach that was applied. Henry and Meadows [19] emphasise that the expertise involved in developing excellent online courses is not optional but essential. It requires more than just making content available to students online and, as such, requires the skills of a range of people including academics, instructors, educational designers, editors and educational or media technologists (appropriate tools and media). Again, we have met this challenge through drawing on the expertise of all staff members as well as on the knowledge and skills of educational designers and other subject experts (e.g., in workplace learning, digital literacy, indigenous studies) to ensure the content was comprehensive and the learning experiences authentic, accessible and interactive. There is a need to review the way in which the program is delivered and the outcomes achieved by students. We are committed to ongoing and continuous evaluation of the course based on feedback from students, staff and the professional community as well as monitoring of student outcomes (program evaluation and assessment). This will enable the speech pathology team at CSU to continue developing and delivering a program that meets the needs of students and prospective employers and clients. Finally, we recognised challenges at a community/ context level. In designing the program, we needed to consider timely and effective marketing of the course to ensure enrolment numbers would be sustained into the future (clear analysis of the audience). We have designed the course to meet current market needs, but we will continue to monitor the demographics of our student cohort and the changing nature of tertiary education in Australia to ensure we can meet the health and education demands of the community we service.

Challenges and Future Directions

Quality indicator* Course/program level Student-teacher interaction

Description

Application to the Master of Speech Pathology program

Online courses should provide opportunities for, and encourage, interactions between learners and teachers so that learners can be guided in the application of theory to practice and receive appropriate and timely feedback on their own practices

In designing the Master of Speech Pathology program, staff members have ensured students have opportunities to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills related to speech pathology practice through interactions with staff during learning experiences (such as discussion forums), assessment tasks (such as case-based assignments) and residential schools. We have incorporated workplace learning experiences across paediatric and adult practice contexts, which provide opportunities for developing and consolidating clinical knowledge and skills through observation, practice, reflection and discussion with practicing clinicians and clients We recognise students as co-constructors of knowledge and value the learning that arises from interactions between learner and materials, learner and learner as well as learner and subject expert. As such, we have created opportunities for students to learn in a variety of ways, synchronous and asynchronous, online and face to face, in text-based and practice-based experiences CSU has policies relating to the time frame for responding to student correspondence and providing feedback on tasks. Students in the Master of Speech Pathology program are informed of these time frames through e-mails and forum postings in the first week of classes. Further, students are made aware of when staff will be providing feedback on learning experiences via the discussion forum Students within the Master of Speech Pathology program have had a range of personal and professional experiences prior to commencing the degree and as the degree progresses. Staff members recognise the individual nature of learning and the impact of experience on learning and practice. In designing the Master of Speech Pathology program, we have emphasised the skill of reflective practice to ensure students can identify and justify influences on their practice, and we have included learning opportunities to broaden the experiences and understandings of the cohort In designing the Master of Speech Pathology program, we have recognised learner needs for flexibility and, thus, utilised a broad range of publically available and library-based e-resources to support access and reduce costs for students. We have selected tools to support (a)synchronous interaction/communication so that students may remain engaged with work, family and other commitments Speech Pathology Australia has identified a core set of knowledge and skills required for practice by entry-level speech pathologists (Competency-Based Occupational Standards, 2011). In designing the Master of Speech Pathology program, we have used the Competency-Based Occupational Standard Units (and associated Elements) as a foundation for planning the curriculum design (including the assessment items, learning experiences and subject materials) We recognise the need for students to be aware of the commitment required to study the Master of Speech Pathology program. When developing this program, we also identified the need to clarify admission requirements (including pre-requisite knowledge) and the admission process (competitive selection) for prospective students. In addition, CSU has policies relating to the provision of subject and course-based information. Details of learning outcomes, assessment tasks and timelines are documented within subject outlines made available to students prior to the start of the subjects

Active learning techniques

Online courses should engage students in interactive learning experiences to increase their enthusiasm for learning

Prompt feedback

Online courses should explicitly define the time frame in which feedback will be provided and commit to carrying this out. Timely feedback is one way for teachers to show they are ‘present’

Respect diverse ways of learning

Online courses should incorporate a range of learning experiences and modalities for content delivery/ discussion to promote student flexibility in approaches to learning

Appropriate tools and media

Online courses should select and utilise the most appropriate tools and media for content delivery, based on consideration of the purpose of the learning experience (level of autonomy required), needs of the learner, access and cost

Implementation of guidelines for course development and review of instructional materials

Online courses should use professional guidelines relating to learning outcomes (rather than the availability of the technology) to determine the learning experiences and the technology used to deliver the course content. Course materials should be reviewed regularly to maintain educational quality

Course structure guidelines

Online courses should inform prospective students about the design and delivery of the course to determine their suitability for enrolment (capacity to commit and access to technology). Courses should provide students with learning objectives/outcomes, expectations regarding assessments/feedback and timelines as well as access to library resources

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McCormack/Easton/Morkel-Kingsbury


Table 1. Quality indicators of distance education and their application to the Master of Speech Pathology program

Table 1 (continued) Quality indicator*

Description

Application to the Master of Speech Pathology program

Program evaluation and assessment

Online courses should be rigorously evaluated to ensure they are achieving their objectives, and the results of these evaluations should guide future course design and implementation

In designing the Master of Speech Pathology program, we have invited individuals and organisations within the local and professional community to provide input and feedback on the course design through participation in an External Advisory Committee

Online students should have access to the same support services (administration, libraries, ICT support) as oncampus students to ensure equity between the cohorts

Students in the Master of Speech Pathology program have access to the same support services as on-campus students; however, their awareness of these services and capacity to access them may be impacted by their location or by technology In designing the Master of Speech Pathology program, we have received input from university staff with experience in online learning and curriculum design to ensure the learning experiences provided to Masters students reflect the requirements of the Australian Qualifications Framework for Masters-level study and best practice for the provision of distance education CSU is a regional tertiary institution with a focus on the delivery of education to rural and regional areas. The School of Community Health, within the Faculty of Science at CSU, has a strong focus on the training of practice-ready graduates in the allied health sciences, who have skills in working inter-professionally, holistically and in culturally safe ways. In designing the Master of Speech Pathology program, we have used the university’s graduate learning outcomes relating to indigenous understandings and frameworks for health practice in rural and remote areas as well as for working collaboratively with other professionals in planning the curriculum design (including the assessment items, learning experiences and subject materials) The ICT division at CSU has a documented plan which represents specific initiatives and improvements in the delivery and support of learning and teaching, research and infrastructure needs CSU is committed to the delivery of blended and flexible education and has recently updated the online learning management system to provide students with greater access to tools to support their learning. Students and staff have access to a 24-hour help desk for assistance when technology breaks down CSU funded additional academic and administrative staff to develop and deliver the Master of Speech Pathology program. We have also worked with an educational designer and media support services to develop materials for use in the delivery of the program

Institutional level Student support services

Faculty support services

Staff teaching online subjects/courses should receive technical support for content development and implementation, training to use the ICT tools and assistance in the transition from traditional to distance education

Strong rationale for distance education that correlates to the mission statement of the institution

Institutions offering online courses should ensure the delivery of such courses will align with the mission of the institution

Documented technology plan to ensure quality Reliability of technology

Institutions offering online courses should have benchmarks for the provision of ICT services that will ensure the integrity and validity of course delivery Institutions should ensure that the technology used to deliver online courses is reliable to provide the best learning experience and highest quality of education possible

Institutional support and resources

Institutions offering online courses should allocate sufficient financial and technical resources as well as personnel to the development and delivery of the courses to ensure their quality and success

Community/context level Clear analysis of Online courses should identify and respond to the audience needs of not only prospective students but also the staff and institution in the design implementation and evaluation phases. Consideration should be given to geography, available technologies, costs, market competition and the political environment

CSU values blended and flexible learning as a means of providing study opportunities to students who may otherwise have difficulty accessing and engaging in further education. In designing the Master of Speech Pathology program, we have considered the learning needs of students and the challenges and opportunities afforded by distance education to deliver content and provide learning and teaching support in a range of innovative ways (that are supported by the Divisions of ICT and Student Learning at CSU). We believe that utilising the growing range of ICT tools available in our learning and teaching will encourage confidence and competence in graduates to use similar tools in their future practice to ensure speech pathology services may be available to previously underserviced populations



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* Taken from Chaney et al. [31].

Conclusions

The increasing diversity of students enrolling in tertiary courses is an international trend [33], and one that adds to the richness of the learning/teaching experience. However, it is a trend of which we need to be increasingly aware if we are to facilitate the learning of all students and assist them to achieve their potential. Biggs [34] suggests that ‘[l]earners bring an accumulation of assumptions, motives, intentions, and previous knowledge that envelopes every teaching/learning situation’ (p. 348). The reflective, iterative and team-based approach to curriculum development has resulted in a course design that values the diversity of the student cohort and builds on the strengths of flexible online learning. It will be interesting to see whether the strong focus on educating students through the use of online tools leads students to be better prepared and more ready to utilise this range of tools in their future practice, thereby delivering more responsive and accessible health care to many Australians unable to attend face-to-face sessions.

Theodoros [35] stated: ‘The future for our profession is an exciting one. We are on the brink of a new era in SLP practice. Our knowledge base will increase exponentially with new discoveries, our approaches to client management will diversify, innovative technology will transform the way we practice, and future generations of SLPs will have the skills, tools, and the focus to move forward in an era of unprecedented change’ (p. 197). We look forward to the challenge.

Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the input of the speech pathology team at CSU as well as Alan Bain, Claire Brooks, Ruth Beecham and Alison Winkworth, who assisted with the initial planning and course design. The authors also thank the staff from the School of Community Health, Division of Student Learning, Educational Design and Media, and the Division of Student Learning, Strategic Learning and Teaching Innovation at CSU, who have provided valuable support in the development of course materials.

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