Clinical Education in Audiology: The Challenge of Change

ABSTRACT

The doctor of audiology (Au.D.) degree was developed in response to the professional challenges faced in an ever-changing world of technology, health care, public policy, and patient demographics. Audiology educators responded to these external factors by developing doctoral curricula that vastly expanded the knowledge and skill sets required of audiology students. Most students in undergraduate and graduate programs in the United States were born after 1981 and have been labeled millenials or Generation Y. These students are truly reflective of the fast-changing world in which they have been raised. Their world has been influenced strongly by technology, the Internet, communications, videos, and the media. The unique characteristics of college students in the early 21st century oblige educators to explore different and innovative teaching methods that will resonate with this generation of students. These students will learn more effectively if their learning style preferences are accommodated. If this new educational model with its expanded academic and clinical demands is going to be successful, the profession must adopt new and creative instructional and supervisory strategies in the classroom and the clinic.

KEYWORDS

Generation Y students - Au.D. supervisory strategies - learning characteristics - learning style preferences

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