Tapping into how we learn

  

   One of the greatest things about my Neurological Basis of Communication Disorders class this semester is the way my professor taps into all of our areas of learning. We all learn differently whether it’s auditory, visual, or Kinesthtic, my professor tries to reach us all. We watch videos where we can see images/diagrams of the brain in 3-D, form groups and learn topics from our classmates which is great because we all learn differently, and we do hands on activities using our own creativity. She also provides us with charts that are in color and labelled by numbers to give us multiple ways to remember the information. Sometimes she even asks us to do things with our non-dominant hand so that we activate a different area of our brain. For example, our one homework assignment was to brush our teeth with our left hand. You would be amazed at how much more alert you become when you try to brush your teeth with your left hand (if your right hand dominant). Something that is a normal and almost automatic thing for you suddenly becomes a challenge. This is by far one of my most challenging courses this semester in regards to the curriculum but, I am loving every moment of it!

 -Jessica

Spring Semester Classes

I have finally had all of my classes for the Spring Semester, thanks to Mother Nature giving us some snow days. This semester I am taking Neurological Bases of Communication Disorders, Diagnostic Methods, and Language Disorders in School-Aged Children. The semester is already starting off different than last. My classes are more hands-on and interactive which is great because we are now taking things we learned last semester and either expanding off of them or applying them to real life situations/cases.

What am I learning this semester?

 In my diagnostics class I get to learn all about how to administer, score, and understand standardized tests. For a group project we conducted a language sample that we get to transcribe and see all the way through which is really cool. In my language disorders class we are learning all about speech-pathologists roles in a school-system, children learning/having difficulties with speech and language in academics, and different prevention/ intervention methods. In my Neuro class we are learning ALL about the BRAIN!!! What is really great about this class is that we not only get to learn about the brain which I personally find fascinating, but we get to see how different disorders/diseases affect the brain in regards to how, where, and possibly even why. 

This semester is going to be a challenge, but I am looking forward to it =)

            -Jessica