Exploring mentorship as a strategy to build capacity for knowledge translation research and practice: A scoping systematic review

Gagliardi, A. R., Webster, F., Perrier, L., Bell, M., & Straus, S. (2014). Exploring mentorship as a strategy to build capacity for knowledge translation research and practice: A scoping systematic review. Implementation Science, 9(1), 1-10.

Knowledge translation (KT) refers to the movement of research knowledge into practice. It improves healthcare outcomes by promoting the use of new findings in clinical settings, management settings, and decision-making regarding healthcare policies. Within KT there is knowledge transfer which is the movement of new knowledge from research to practice, and knowledge exchange which is the multidirectional movement of knowledge between researchers and knowledge users (i.e., clinicians, decision makers, policy makers). Engaging in KT is a complex process and for these approaches to be successful the appropriate knowledge of KT, infrastructure for KT, and incentive to engage in KT need to be in place. 

It has been identified that those involved in KT would benefit from receiving support to build their KT capacity. In the past, building KT capacity involved KT training for those involved in a KT project. The current authors were interested in the use of mentorship to increase KT capacity. Mentorship provides the chance for an interactive experience and a partnership between the mentor and mentee to promote learning and development of KT. 

In this study the authors completed a scoping review to examine the effectiveness of mentorships as a way to support the development of job-related knowledge. They were interested in understanding the components that support a successful mentorship (e.g., design of mentorship, goals of mentorship). The scoping review identified 13 articles that reported on the use of mentorships to increase job-related knowledge. Results revealed that in 12/13 studies those in the mentorship self-reported that they achieved their goals related to the mentorship. In most studies the mentorships were formally established, mentees were specifically matched with mentors, and most mentorships were hierarchical. Some barriers faced in mentorships included issues if specific goals were not laid out by mentorship program, and if the mentee felt that their mentor was untrustworthy. 

 

These results provide insight into the importance of preparing, educating and supporting those who are engaging in a new project. Mentorships are an interactive way to support the development of new knowledge and skill. This scoping review was the first step in understanding what components are necessary for a successful mentorship. As more researchers and knowledge users begin to engage in KT approaches, understanding how best to prepare and support those involved in the process will be important for project success.   

                          

Blogger: Meghan Vollebregt is a student in the combined SLP MClSc/PhD program working under the supervision of Dr. Lisa Archibald.

Language repetition and short-term memory: an integrative framework

Majerus, S. (2013). Language repetition and short-term memory: an integrative framework. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 357–357. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00357

Tasks such as repeating words and sentences likely rely on both language skills and verbal short-term memory (the ability to temporarily hold verbal information in mind). To capture the interaction between language knowledge and verbal short-term memory, this paper proposes a three-component framework consisting of:

1.   Item information: This is the knowledge associated with ‘knowing a word’ including phonological (speech sounds that form the word), semantic (meaning-based information), and syntactic information (grammar). All these different types of knowledge are said to be immediately activated upon encountering a (familiar) word. 

2.    Serial order information: Order information refers to keeping information in the exact order as it was presented. Think of learning a new word like kipser. Because you likely know nothing about the word, prior knowledge would not support learning. Instead, it is important to keep the order of the speech sounds in mind in order to retain it. Serial order is also important when trying to remember a phone number, for example.

3.   Attention: Attention is the ability to focus on what matters and keep that information active in mind until the end of a task. As the task becomes more difficult, more attention is needed to keep items in mind. Attention is also important in coordinating and maintaining both item and order information during language tasks.

Measuring brain activity during language tasks has been a helpful way to understand how these three domains interact with each other to support verbal short-term memory. Language pathways in the front (ventral) and back (dorsal) of the brain maintain phonological and semantic information, respectively. In addition to these language pathways, more difficult tasks like new word learning and recalling complex sentences also activate brain areas tied to serial order and attention processes. There is a network in the right front-parietal region of the brain that is important for maintaining serial order information. The left fronto-parietal network, on the other hand, is important for actively maintaining items in the focus of attention. 

This framework shows the importance of recognizing that some language tasks used in clinical assessments may be as much a measure of language skills as verbal short-term memory. Interpreting children’s performance should take into account task demands related to linguistic knowledge (or lack thereof), efficiency of serial order processing, and attention. 

Blogger: Theresa Pham is a student in the combined SLP MClSc/PhD program, supervised by Dr. Lisa Archibald.