School-Age Language Lab

About the Lab

The School-age Language Intervention Lab is headed by Dr. Teresa Ukrainetz. Over the years, Dr. Ukrainetz has investigated norm-referenced tests, dynamic assessment, phonemic awareness intervention, narrative development and intervention, expository intervention, and the role of the school SLP. Dr. Ukrainetz uses varied methods of investigation, including group experimental, single-case experimental, descriptive and qualitative designs – but almost always conducted within the busy life of schools. Her work is driven by the need for simple effective interventions that tap the distinctive expertise of SLPs and that can be implemented “in the wild” by school SLPs. Dr. Ukrainetz’s work has appeared in research journals, such as Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research and Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. She has authored two books on school-age language intervention for graduate students and SLPs.

Dr. Ukrainetz’s current research involves developing SLP interventions to improve expository language and learning for later elementary and secondary grade students. A small team of dedicated graduate and undergraduate students help carry out this work. Responsibilities might include: collecting data from study participants, administering and scoring assessments; conducting language sample transcription and coding; evaluating treatment fidelity and testing reliability, setting up online surveys, or entering data and managing records. Some students turn their work into theses and projects that they present at conferences or that form part of scholarly articles and research publications. No matter the task, everyone contributes to the advancement of knowledge and improvement of practice in speech-language pathology!

Recent Publications and Presentations

Publications

Ukrainetz, T.A. (Editor) (2024). School-age language intervention: Evidence-based practices (2^nd ed.). Pro-Ed. ISBN: TXTBK 9781416412304, EBOOK 9781416412311

Ukrainetz, T.A. (2024). Evidence-based expository intervention: A tutorial for speech-language pathologists. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 33, 654-675. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_AJSLP-23-00036

Peterson, A.K., & Ukrainetz, T.A. (2023). Sketch and Speak expository intervention for adolescents: A single-case experiment via telepractice. Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 54, 1208-1232. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_LSHSS-22-00192

Peterson*, A.K., Ukrainetz, T.A., & Risueno*, R.J. (2021). Speaking like a scientist: Sketch-and-Speak treatment to improve expository discourse. Autism and Developmental Language Impairments, 6, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/2396941521998604

Ukrainetz, T.A. (2019). Sketch and speak: An expository intervention using note-taking and oral practice for children with language-related learning disabilities. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 50, 53-70. https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_LSHSS-18-0047

Presentations

Ukrainetz, T.A. (2024, November). Expository strategy intervention. 2-hr presentation. Invited Speaker, Literacy Intervention Committee. ASHA Convention, San Diego, CA. [handout]

Ukrainetz, T.A. (2024, October). Expository strategy intervention: Strategic choices to empower student learning from informational texts. 2-hr presentation. SITS Kongress. Stockholm, Sweden.

Ukrainetz, T.A. (2023, October). Expository and narrative discourse intervention for students with language impairment. 9-hr virtual presentation. Hong Kong Speech Therapy Service Section, Hong Kong, PRC.