Four students in UT Dallas’ Communication Disorders graduate program recently won a statewide competition testing their overall knowledge of speech-language pathology.

Dubbed the Praxis Bowl after the national exam that speech-language pathologists must pass to be certified and licensed to practice, the competition pits teams from the 13 Texas universities offering graduate communication disorders programs. The teams face off at the annual conference of the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

UT Dallas team members Mandy Goodfellow, Kate Lundborg, Jenni Steck and Nellie Evenson won the 2011 Praxis Bowl at the March convention in Houston.

Jan Lougeay

“I think what set our students apart was their self-confidence,” said Jan Lougeay,  BBS director of clinical education.

The format for this year’s academic competition was fashioned after the quiz show Jeopardy! and tested students on information they will encounter in the national exam. The categories included anatomy, physiology, assessment, disorders and intervention strategies.

The UT Dallas students took a bold stance that set them apart from the pack early on. Every time they selected a Daily Double question, they wagered all of their points.

“Our attitude was, let’s go for it – all of it,” said Evenson, who graduates in December. “As future clinicians, we had better be confident enough in our practice that we would be willing to wager everything – these are real people we are dealing with.”

The strategy paid off. They answered all of the Daily Double questions correctly and advanced to the final round, where they faced the team from Texas Woman’s University.

“We were confident going into the competition knowing we had been prepared well by our professors,” said Goodfellow, who served as the team’s representative along with Lundborg. “The competition was a fun way to test our knowledge and give us the extra confidence we need for our upcoming exams.”

Goodfellow, Lundborg and Steck all graduate in May. They will take their comprehensive exams and Praxis this week.

For Final Jeopardy! the UT Dallas team took the same approach that had worked so well during the first half of the competition – they wagered all of their points, again.

Praxis Bowl 2011

Mandy Goodfellow (left) and Kate Lundborg celebrate their team’s strong showing.

The video question was a case study that featured a brief history of a patient with a swallowing disorder. The students had to provide the correct diagnosis and treatment protocol.

The UT Dallas team answered the question correctly and garnered the win. Throughout the competition they missed only one question.

“I think what set our students apart was their self-confidence,” said Jan Lougeay, team adviser and director of clinical education in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. “The faculty and the curriculum at UT Dallas emphasize development of a broad skill set while enhancing students self-assurance in their foundation of knowledge. As a result, our students perform well under pressure.”

The UT Dallas master’s in communication disorders program is ranked among the top 5 percent of graduate programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report. The program is housed in the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communications Disorders, known internationally for its clinical service and research programs.

“We are very proud of our students and the additional evidence of the excellence of our nationally ranked Communication Disorders program,” said Dr. Bert Moore, dean of the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. “Great faculty attract great students, and our students routinely shine, both while they are here and as professionals after graduation.”