Teaching dialogic reading to undergraduate speech-language pathology students: A comparative study of teaching methods

Teaching evidence-based intervention method is essential for developing student clinicians’ knowledge, perceived clinical competence, and professional fulfilment. To optimise learning outcomes, accommodating the learning tendencies of Generation Z, who currently make up the undergraduate cohort, is considered of particular importance. This study evaluated the effectiveness of three instructional methods for teaching dialogic reading to undergraduate speech-language pathology students.
Sixty-four undergraduate speech-language pathology students participated in a role-play simulating a book reading session with a child, during which their use of dialogic reading strategy was video-recorded. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of three groups: (a) Lecture with self-reflection, (b) lecture with peer feedback, or (c) lecture with expert feedback. Dialogic reading strategy use was reassessed in a second recorded session.
Analyses revealed significant improvements in dialogic reading strategy use across all instructional methods. Both peer and expert feedback groups outperformed the self-reflection group. High inter-rater reliability and treatment fidelity supported these findings.
Instructional approaches combining real-world scenarios with practice-oriented feedback enhance the acquisition of evidence-based intervention strategies. Receiving feedback—whether from peers or experts—positively influences learning outcomes. Given the learning tendencies of Generation Z, feedback-based approaches may represent an effective instructional strategy in undergraduate speech-language pathology education.