Program Goals and Learning Assessment

Graduates of the undergraduate program in Communication Sciences and Disorders will be able to meet the following objectives.

Program Learning Objectives

Communication Skills

• Demonstrate effective written communication skills to explain and describe content and research knowledge, and critical thinking skills as they apply to topics in CSD
• Demonstrate effective spoken communication skills to explain and describe content and research knowledge, and critical thinking skills as they apply to topics in CSD

Content Knowledge

• Explain and apply knowledge of the developmental norms for speech/language acquisition
• Explain and apply knowledge of the theoretical and scientific foundations of CSD
• Explain and apply knowledge of speech, language and hearing disorders
• Explain how individual, cultural, and linguistic differences contribute to understanding of language and communication
• Discuss current technological advances and illustrate their use for clinical problem solving
• Demonstrate knowledge of the basic clinical process for the evaluation and remediation of communication disorders and differences

Critical Thinking Skills and Research Knowledge

• Apply critical thinking, problem solving and logical reasoning skills to topics in  CSD
• Develop and explain the scientific method and basic analytic skills for interpretation of research
• Identify and apply "evidence-informed decision making" as a lifelong learning perspective

How is this measured?

Penn State annually engages in a Program Learning Assessment process to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities of students and to use that information to inform decision-making, identify areas for improvement, and measure progress toward goals.

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders actively participates in this process, assessing at least one of the above program learning objectives each year. Assessment methods may include review of student work samples using a rubric, overall evaluation of student performance, surveys, or other data collection measures.