SPTH1105 Child Development and Learning

This topic provides background knowledge and skills essential for a speech pathologist working with children and their families in contemporary Australian society. It also provides industry-based experience in this area. The topic aims to develop an understanding about the work and roles of other professionals and how the speech pathologist works with them. As such, this topic provides core foundation knowledge for the students' understanding of the human communication disorder topics and the professional practice topics in the third and fourth years of the course.

This topic aims to:

• Introduce students to the broad parameters of child development and working with families from the perspective of guest lecturers from a range of professions: occupational therapy, early education, physiotherapy, nutrition & dietetics and psychology
• Encourage and enable the students to triangulate various perspectives on childhood and the family in contemporary Australian society:
  • The social determinants that impact on healthy development
  • Social changes in family functioning over the last 30 years
  • Current social perspectives and pressures on childhood and parenting
  • Working with diversity
  • The personal perspectives and experiences of parents in raising children
  • Exploring students' own experiences of childhood

1. Demonstrate basic knowledge about the maturation of children across main developmental areas and be able to articulate the interconnections between these areas and how they may impact on their future professional role
2. Apply your knowledge of children's development in the context of the diversity and issues that impact on contemporary Australian society
3. Demonstrate basic skills in using the on-line Social Atlas of South Australia to access information about the social determinants on children's health and relate this to the impact on the families they are currently working with as part of their work-integrated learning experience
4. Demonstrate increased self-direction in their critical thinking skills, especially the integration of knowledge across a variety of disparate information sources
5. Practise the clear and precise presentation of information in both oral and written forms to their peers in small group settings
6. Successfully implement basic teamwork processes and have knowledge of strategies to problem-solve common forms of group conflict as demonstrated by peer-feedback on small group participation
7. Use positive collaboration strategies with peers and develop conscious analytical skills in judging your success in working effectively with others