Personalized Learning in a Pediatric Speech Sound Disorders Seminar

This paper highlights the utility of personalized learning (PL) embedded into an on-campus graduate seminar focused on pediatric speech sound disorders (PSSD). The example showcases six key PL features described from an autoethnographic lens. These include: (a) context-specific positionality viewpoints (i.e., instructor, student, discipline, and university); (b) PL-adapted course learning outcomes; and (c) PL-style instructional resources, (i.e., diverse and efficient elicitation study questions, intentionally introspective in-class activities, and a menu of student- and discipline-centric topics conveyed in varied instructional formats). Evidence of students’ PSSD accomplishments are shared via personalized proof portfolios, and links to entry level national certification benchmarks. Closing thoughts identify multiple presumptive factors and forward-facing steps that characterize PL’s relevance for the PSSD seminar context.