by Sean Sweeney July 25, 2022 4 min read
In this penultimate entry in the 2022 Summer Study Series, we’ll explore how the use of tools such as Story Grammar Marker® can gibe with models of instruction and learning. Baron and Yarbel’s (2022, brand new!) An Implicit–Explicit Framework for Intervention Methods in Developmental Language Disorder is a tutorial describing theories of learning related to language disorder and associated modes of intervention.
This article explores a neurologically based understanding of how we might learn explicitly: consciously trying to memorize information, facts, or apply skills, vs. implicitly: picking something up naturalistically and without really trying. These ways of learning can inform how we use tools such as SGM® particularly with young children with language disorders.
As usual, some key points are provided below, though we encourage you to check out the whole article!
The authors appear to avoid characterizing one or the other modes as best practice, but are aware of variations within learners and situations where we, as clinicians, may exercise these judgments. They describe, however, that we may have a bias towards explicitness and having an awareness of these learning processes may help us make some beneficial shifts.
There are also some guidelines based on the type of language learning target: “Explicit learning can be ideal for some target behaviors such as simple associations and rules, while implicit learning is ideal for acquiring complex information such as that found in social contexts (e.g., pragmatic skills) and in the structure of spoken languages (e.g., syntactic regularities).” Applying this to SGM®, learning the associations between the icons and story elements might best involve some explicitness, while microstructure elements such as complex sentences can benefit more from the modeling and recasting type of instruction.
As always, as a tech tie-in, consider the use of an app such as the wonderful Toca Life: Farm (part of a series providing play contexts for many world schema), (Android / IOS) . Taking the field setting below, a clinician might engage in these interactions:
Sean Sweeney, MS, MEd, CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist and technology specialist working in private practice at the Ely Center in Needham, MA, and as a clinical supervisor at Boston University. He consults to local and national organizations on technology integration in speech and language interventions. His blog, SpeechTechie (www.speechtechie.com), looks at technology “through a language lens.” Contact him at sean@speechtechie.com.
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