A Metalinguistic Approach for School-Based Speech and Language Interventions

Abstract

A challenge for many students on speech-language pathologists’ (SLP) caseloads is the development of metalinguistic awareness to support generalization of newly learned speech-language skills to classroom and home environments. This collaborative study’s aims were to 1) explore the capacity to which elementary-aged students could integrate a metalinguistic mindset into their speech-language sessions, and 2) describe the process of an SLP-Researcher collaborative project. We hypothesized that increasing a student’s meta-awareness of their goals, strategies, and progress would positively alter the student’s mindset, increase their active participation in therapy, and help them internalize what they learned. In recognition of the value of practice-based research, we recruited three school-based SLPs who then selected five third and fourth grade students from their caseloads. The SLPs incorporated a metalinguistic approach into their therapy sessions and recorded a series of interviews and Think Alouds where the students were prompted to reflect on goals and strategies that they could use both in and beyond the therapy room. The recordings were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using a mixed methods approach to determine the depth and frequency of metalinguistic thinking. Variability across the participants’ results will be discussed along with the SLPs’ reflections on implementation of the meta-linguistic approach.