Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders - Vol 10 - Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Undergraduate CSD Students through a Case Study Project

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Margaret

Critical thinking skills are essential for speech-language pathologists to assess, diagnose, and treat communication disorders, yet the optimal timing for teaching these skills in future clinicians remains unclear. This pilot SoTL study examines undergraduate CSD students’ critical thinking demonstrated during a case study project and compares outcomes with students’ self-perceptions. Findings show relative weakness in inference, evaluation, explanation, and self-regulation alongside strong perceived performance, supporting targeted instruction and metacognitive development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Defining critical thinking and instructional approaches

Activity types supporting critical thinking development

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders | Volume 10 Issue 1 | Article 5 | | --- | --- | | 2026
Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Undergraduate CSD Students through a Case Study Project
Lydia R. Kruse
Purdue University, [lrkruse@purdue.edu](lrkruse@purdue.edu)
Windi Krok
Purdue University, [wkrok@purdue.edu](wkrok@purdue.edu)
DOI: 10. 61403/2689-6443 .1406
Follow this and additional works at: [https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/tlcsd](https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/tlcsd)
Digialrt of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons, and the Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons
Network | | Logo Recommended Citation Kruse, L. R., & Krok, W. (2026) . Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Undergraduate CSD Students through a Case Study Project. Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders, 10(1) . DOI: [https://doi.org/10.61403/2689-6443.1406](https://doi.org/10.61403/2689-6443.1406) This Pilot SoTL Studies is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ISU ReD: Research and eData. It has been accepted for inclusion in Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders by an authorized editor of ISU ReD: Research and eData. For more information, please contact [ISUReD@ilstu.edu](ISUReD@ilstu.edu). Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Undergraduate CSD Students through a Case Study Project Abstract Critical thinking skills are crucial for Speech-Language Pathologists to effectively assess, diagnose, and treat communication disorders. However, the optimal timing for teaching these skills to future clinicians remains an open question. Most of the current research is focused on developing critical thinking skills in graduate students, though there is some evidence to suggest that students should be working to develop critical thinking skills during their undergraduate education. This work describes the critical thinking skills demonstrated by undergraduate students in a Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD program) through a case study project, as well as their self-perceptions. Results indicate relative weakness related to the specific critical thinking skills of inference, evaluation, explanation, and self-regulation, while students perceive that they are demonstrating these skills to a significant degree. These findings suggest specific attention should be given to these skills to support their continued development. The incongruence between student scores and self-perception underscores the need for targeted instruction to enhance both skill development and metacognitive awareness in undergraduate CSD students. Keywords critical thinking, experiential learning, case study This pilot sotl studies is available in Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders: [https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/tlcsd/vol10/iss1/5](https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/tlcsd/vol10/iss1/5) Introduction Critical thinking is a cornerstone of effective and ethical practice in the field of speech-language pathology. Critical evaluation and critical thinking are essential prerequisite skills for evidencebased clinical decision making (Finn, 2011; Finn et al. , 2016; Hegde & Salvatore, 2019; Procaccini et al., 2016) . Problem-solving skills, understood as a component of critical thinking, are a salient trait of expertise in the field of speech-language pathology (Douglas et al., 2019). Critical thinking has been acknowledged by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) as essential for successful practice in the field of speech-language pathology (Crais et al., 2015.) The Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA), which establishes and monitors graduate programs’ maintenance of accreditation standards in communication sciences and disorders, also specifies critical thinking as a foundationa

FAQs

Why are critical thinking skills important in speech-language pathology?

Critical thinking supports effective and ethical practice by enabling critical evaluation and evidence-based clinical decision making.

What approach does the study use to develop and assess critical thinking in undergraduate CSD students?

Students demonstrate critical thinking through a case study project, and the study also collects their self-perceptions of their skills.

What mismatch did the results reveal, and what does it imply for instruction?

Results indicate weaker performance in skills like inference and self-regulation compared with students’ high self-perceived performance, suggesting targeted instruction to improve both skill development and metacognitive awareness.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Margaret