Teaching Collaborative Practices: A Scoping Review of Preservice Interprofessional Education With a Focus on Preservice Speech-Language Pathologists and Preservice Teachers of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

Abstract

Purpose: Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and teachers of students who are deaf and hard of hearing (TODs) often work with the same students in a school setting to support their linguistic and educational needs. Previous research has extensively documented the importance of interprofessional practice and how educator and professional preparation programs have modified the curriculum to become more focused on collaboration. What is currently missing from the literature, however, is a discussion of the evidence-based methods used to teach preservice SLPs and TODs how to effectively collaborate together in support of Deaf and hard of hearing students. Method: We reviewed the literature related to interprofessional education (IPE) for preservice SLPs and preservice TODs across eight databases with a focus on the methods used to teach and develop interprofessional collaboration skills. Results: We located six relevant articles focused on IPE for preservice SLPs and TODs. Due to the limited number of studies, we expanded our search criteria to also include relevant studies that focused on IPE strategies from related fields. Conclusions: This review integrates research about best practices for educating preservice professionals in effective collaboration strategies to make evidence-based recommendations on implementing effective collaboration-focused IPE for preservice SLPs and TODs. Recommendations include joint classroom experiences, explicit instruction in critical skills and competencies for successful collaboration, modeling collaboration through co-teaching, and explicit instruction and practice in conflict management and perspective-taking.