Setting & Archival Data
Within the 21 syllabi archival data sources from 2015-2020, the university’s speech-language pathology program offered one undergraduate and four graduate level courses that focus theory related to adult neurogenic communication disorders. A supporting reason this small liberal arts speech-language pathology program was selected was its plethora of adult neurogenic communication courses. From fall 2015 to fall 2020, 21 adult neurogenic communication courses were eligible to be selected and their archival syllabi to be used as data sources for this study. The inclusion criteria included: courses were offered between fall 2015 and fall 2020 and courses with primary instruction in adult neurogenic communication disorders. For example, key words within the course title and/or objective(s) that included: motor speech, adult, neurogenic, aphasia, dysarthria, language, and cognition. The multiple sources of archival syllabi data also offer an opportunity to establish rigor in action research.
Participants
Instructors were selected given the following criteria: employed university professor; instructor was or currently teaching college course(s) in adult neurogenic communication disorders within the past five years; met qualifications set in the informed consent form to not threaten the credibility of the study. For example, knowledge of this study prior to receiving the informed consent form excluded them from the study. Due to the inclusion criteria and purposeful/convenience sampling, one participant met the inclusion criteria. The participant was a middle-aged, adult female employed as an associate professor at the small liberal-arts university. The instructor had experience teaching undergraduate and graduate adult neurogenic communication courses within the past five years. Their instructional abilities include teaching five different adult neurogenic communication courses during the past five years.