FAQs (Part 1): I'm Starting Grad School!

I recently asked newly accepted SLP grad students what they want to know most about graduate school. All answers are based on my personal experiences. Below are some of the questions I received and my (hopefully helpful) answers.

Question: What, if anything, would you have done differently in grad school? How would you have prepared yourself better?

Answer:
What I would have done differently:
1. I would have established excellent study habits from the very beginning. There are some classes that will take up a lot of your time and, for those courses, it's almost impossible to start assignments a day before the due date. Time management and organization are SUPER important in grad school.   
2. During my practicums, I began saving resources in specific folders on my computer. I wish I had started doing this as soon as I began grad school.
3. Not stressed the small stuff. :)
 
How would I have prepared myself better?
In terms of academics, I think I was prepared because I was a psychology/linguistics double major. I had also taken several pre-reqs. In my experience (this is only me) I don't think it was necessary to review textbooks or study guides before beginning a program if you have some speech-path background. I think I would have mentally prepared myself for the fact that that things would not go perfectly from the beginning and that grad school is a learning experience in which you will make mistakes. In the end, it will be worth it and you will feel so much more confident as a clinician!

Question: Would you recommend purchasing all your textbooks?

Answer: This is a tough question because I knew the population I wanted to work with when I began grad school. As a result, I bought textbooks that I thought I would refer to in the future. I rented textbooks for other courses. Overall, I would recommend buying textbooks and reselling them if you feel that they won't be useful to you later on in your career. My biggest piece of advice related to textbooks is to NOT buy books at the campus bookstore. I have had a lot of success buying/renting from Amazon. There is also a good website called Big Words (www.bigwords.com) that compares textbook prices on different websites.

Question: How much did you read in graduate school?

Answer: There is a fair amount of reading. It was not overwhelming though. There was a lot of writing!

Question: What was the social atmosphere like outside of the classroom, both for yourself and others?

Answer: This really varies from program to program, I think. I commuted to my program so I am not sure about the social opportunities outside of the classroom. However, in the classroom, everyone tried really hard to collaborate and work together.

Question: How do undergraduate and graduate courses differ?

Answer: Depends on the course. In general, undergraduate classes focus more on theories and basic knowledge (and there's a lot of things we have to know!). Graduate classes are generally more practical, although there is a lot of "textbook" information taught as well. 

Question: Can you give examples of activities/games/etc. you used with particular clients and how they helped with your treatment goals?

Answer: 
There are too many to list! I have found the iPad to be a great tool. Please read my blog post about it (http://discoveringsl...ml#.U8bX4EB0EtA). The website, Teachers Pay Teachers, is also awesome. Some examples of free products: http://discoveringsl...s#.U8bYGUB0EtA.
 
A few ideas:
For young children:
-Great toy ideas from Playing with Words 365: http://www.playingwi...ge-development/ (scroll to "Tips on Using Specific Toys to Help Expand Your Child’s Speech & Language Skills")
-Super Duper Animal Buddies
For articulation clients, I made bingo boards with words that contained the sound they were working on. A frequently used resource for artic is Webber's Jumbo Articulation Drill Book. A variety of games can be utilized as reinforcers (Don't Spill the Beans, Pop up Pirate) during artic sessions. 
For my school-age clients, I created a lot of my own materials. Using children's literature in therapy is great because it's fun for the kids and you can target a variety of goals (wh-questions, inferencing, etc.). 
Older clients: This really depends on the population you work with. Materials for older clients should be tailored to their interests. There are some adult language apps available. Some possible games for adults: Jeopardy, Trivial Pursuit,  Family Feud.
These are just some general ideas. You should tailor activities to each individual client. Please don't purchase anything I have mentioned until you know you need it!

Question: Did you work at all during your program?

Answer: Many of my classmates worked during the program. However, all their jobs were part-time and had flexible hours. I think it's smart to wait a few weeks into the semester before starting a job. 

Question: As far as the computer you brought to classes, what did you use and what did you see others using? What would you recommend?  
Do a lot of grads get iPads to use for therapy? Did you?
 
Answer: We were allowed to sign out iPads for therapy sessions at the on-campus clinic. We were not provided with iPads to take home. I LOVE my iPad and think it's amazing. There are so many awesome apps out there to use during therapy sessions. I personally do not like taking notes on the iPad, but if that has worked for you in undergrad, it should be fine in grad school as well. Most people in my program used MacBooks in class. I used an old Windows laptop to take notes and did paperwork on the laptop/a desktop at home.

Question: I've been reading a lot online about what to actually bring to grad school. A lot of folks recommended a laminator, label maker, and tape recorder. Are there any other heavy duty, 'machine-type' things you'd recommend?

Answer: I think a laptop and a printer are important to bring. I only bought a laminator in my last semester of graduate school and use it occasionally. I don't think it's necessary to have, especially before you begin seeing clients. A tape recorder is useful. I never needed to use a label maker in grad school. An iPad is a great tool, but again, not necessary until you see clients.


Thank you to everyone for your questions! PART 2 COMING SOON!

Surviving Graduate School

Graduate school is difficult. It is time consuming. Sometimes you feel like it will never end. You may feel frustrated and totally unprepared. Your friends may vaguely remember you after you finish. Okay, joking about that last one :) But I, along with many of my fellow classmates, have gone through a lot of these emotions. If this is the “mode” you are in 24/7, you will be super overwhelmed. That is why it is important to take time to just RELAX. Even if you’re a workaholic, this is essential. There are things you can do for the classroom that will result in less stress overall. Here’s some general advice in order to decrease stress: 

-Do not procrastinate

I have heard this mantra in high school and college, but managed to get away with putting things off then. In grad school…not so much. The work will become overwhelming, you will be super stressed, and there will be a lot of sleepless nights. I recall a particular semester in which I had two big reports (one was HUGE) due and two finals in a four day time frame. It was practically impossible to do well on all those assignments and exams if waiting to start on them the weekend before the due dates. So, it’s better to develop good time management skills early in your graduate school career and plan ahead. People vary in how they prefer to split up their time. One method is writing down what you want to complete each day of the week (ex. Monday=read chapter 1 in Child Language Disorders, write outline for Voice disorders paper, etc.) in a planner (or your phone/device/etc.). If you don’t need to budget your time quite so specifically, another method is to make a checklist of everything you want to get done by the end of a particular week.  

-Use a calendar/white board

I use a regular calendar that hangs on my closet door. It’s great for writing in important assignments because you can visually see what is completed/what needs to get done each month. The calendar gives me a more “big picture”, long-term perspective than a planner, which I use for weekly reminders. 

-Get to know your classmates

Study buddies/friends/company for all-nighters are a necessity. 

-Look over the lecture slides after class

Simply flipping through the lecture slides after class and reading over topics that were unclear will be a big time-saver before exams. You won’t think “What was this again?” quite as often :) 

-Be organized

Binders and bins are great organization tools. I tried to have a binder for each course throughout grad school. You will also accumulate tons of great resources/materials, so keeping those in specific bins/binders will be very helpful for future clients.

-Use online resources: Pinterest, SLP blogs, SLP online resources, Teachers Pay Teachers

There are TONS of amazing resources and materials!   

-Take time to relax

Relaxation is ESSENTIAL!

RELAXATION IDEAS

 

-Spa Day                                             -Get away for the weekend

-Bubble Bath                                        -Read a good book

-Movie                                                 -Go shopping

-Drinks with friends                              -Catch up on your fav TV shows (w/cookies)

-Movie at home

-Non-speech related hobby

-Go out to eat 

REMEMBER: You're not alone, take it one day at a time, and you will get through it! 

Favorite Teachers Pay Teachers Freebies

I LOVE Teachers Pay Teachers! The products are so helpful in therapy sessions! 

Here are a few of my favorite free products:

Granny Says by Jenn Alcorn

Work on following directions and receptive language with this adorable Granny! I put the cards in a bucket and kids loved picking out their "Granny Direction".

        
Tissue Box Preschool Pronouns by Let's Talk Speech Pathology

LOVE this freebie! One of my all-time favorites. This activity is a great way to target pronouns. I used small mailboxes that I picked up at Target instead of the tissue boxes. My students have improved their use of pronouns after a few sessions with this material. The clip art is also really cute!


Butterfly Adjectives  by Miss. Speechie

I recently found this great adjective activity. It's perfect for spring!


Birthday Similarities and Differences by Let's Talk Speech Pathology

This a fun birthday-themed activity for preschoolers and kindergarteners. A simple way of introducing "similar and different" due to the large, colorful graphics.


Vocabulary Uno-Like Game by Miss. Speechie

My students love uno. Each of the uno cards in this packet feature two words that can be compared and contrasted.  I am always on the lookout for materials targeting this goal. The uno game has been particularly successful!


Context Clues Freebie by Teaching and Tapas

An excellent freebie for upper elementary school students! Students need to figure out the meaning of a nonsense word from the context of a short paragraph. I also have my students discuss the parts of the passage that provide support for the meaning of the word.


Fishy Following Directions by The Speech Bubble

Another great receptive language and following directions activity.  This game is particularly suitable for groups. Each student receives a "fish bowl mat" and needs to collect four different types of fish to win the game. Fish are collected by following directions! Creative and very cute!


Heart Train of Multiple Meaning Words by Kristine Lamb

This Valentine's Day-themed game was a great addition to my multiple meaning words materials!   


Making Inferences Task Cards  by Krista Mehrtens

Task cards can be boring, but students liked playing a "guessing game" with these short, colorful passages. I will continue utilizing these cards when addressing inferencing goals.   


Superhero Sentence Comprehension by Miss Speechie

Cute, simple, and useful wh-question activity for little ones. Wh-question cards usually require students to have prior "world" knowledge, so it's sometimes difficult to assess whether the child does not understand what the question is asking or just does not know the answer. In this product, each card features a sentence, followed by a wh-question about the sentence. No prior knowledge is required to answer the questions, only sentence comprehension and the ability to differentiate between different types of wh-question.


Stupendous Story Elements by A Year of Many Firsts

This is the ULTIMATE freebie to use for story elements. Comprehensive and just plain awesome!