Student and Facilitator Experiences With a Student-Led,Collaborative Occupational Therapy Classroom

PURPOSE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the effectiveness of a model of collaborative learning, student perceptions of their knowledge acquisition and personal gains in this format, and facilitator perceptions of the model. The research question was, What are perceived benefits and limitations of a collaborative learning model for students and for facilitators?

METHOD: We used a collaborative learning model to enhance learning about the nature of occupation. Sophomore students (n = 50) were recruited from an Occupations Perspectives class in a master of science in occupational therapy program. Students researched an occupation of their choice and found one scholarly article pertaining to this occupation. They analyzed and compared constructs of the article to constructs in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2014) and presented the article and occupation in a format of their choice to teach peers about the value of the occupation and its potential use as means and end in therapy.

Students were provided a general rubric that encouraged engagement of peers in dialogue and sharing of experiences to enhance understanding of occupational value and meaning. Students met with facilitators (research assistants [RAs] and instructor) to develop ideas, and they received immediate verbal feedback from peers and facilitators during their presentation and written feedback afterward. They used the feedback to summarize in a formal paper the knowledge they gained about occupation, group process, and themselves.

We used a pre–post Constructivist Learning Survey to gauge the overall collaborative nature of the educational experience before and after the trial. We conducted RA-led focus groups with 12 randomly selected students to share their experiences. Conversations were recoded, transcribed, and cleaned for errors. We coded data independently and then as a group in a constant comparative method until themes were agreed on. Facilitator themes were identified from facilitator field notes, group coding, and member checking by the instructor.

RESULTS: Results of the pre–post Constructivist Learning Survey showed a 5% increase in perceived benefits to schoolwide learning and understanding of the value of occupation. Student focus group themes were as follows:

• Tension that ultimately evoked self-control and independence: Students desired specific direction (e.g., “What does the instructor want?”) and then accepted that this was not the purpose of the assignment, learned to adapt to the uncertainty, and planned their presentations according to personal views.

• Development of bonds and professional identity: Through the common enemy of the unknown, students began to rely more on themselves and to process their understanding and experiences as a sense of self as therapist emerged.

• Enhanced self-expression across environments: Students increased their presentation skills (large audience) and self-advocacy and freedom of expression in and beyond the occupational therapy classroom.

• Impact on creativity: Once one group presented and received a good grade, others followed that format for fear of not scoring well, even though students were encouraged to be creative and embrace different formats.

Facilitator themes were as follows:

• Staying in the facilitator role: Facilitators struggled to address individual students’ needs and tolerance of the learning format and to refrain from imposing their own ideas.

• Satisfaction and relief: Facilitators experienced these feelings when students made connections without direct instruction and adapted to their roles as independent thinkers and communicators.

• Collegiality: Facilitators experienced a sense of collegiality when students presented deeper levels of understanding.

CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that benefits for students of collaborative learning included increased independence, enhanced communication, and richer understanding of the value of occupation. Collaborative learning also placed specific demands on faculty time and students’ emotional control. Results offer insight for fieldwork supervisors into professional behavior development and self–other awareness as students develop into practitioners.

References

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2014). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (3rd ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(Suppl. 1), S1–S48. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.682006

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2015). Philosophy of occupational therapy education. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(Suppl. 3), 6913410052. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2015.696S17

Cohn, E. S., Coster, W. J., & Kramer, J. M. (2014). Conference Proceedings—Facilitated learning model to teach habits of evidence-based reasoning across an integrated master of science in occupational therapy curriculum. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, S73–S82. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.685S05

Hooper, B. (2010). On arriving at the destination of the Centennial Vision: Navigational landmarks to guide occupational therapy education, Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 24, 97–106. https://doi.org/10.3109/07380570903329636

Jaffe, L., Gibson, R., & D’Amico, M. (2015). Process-oriented guided-inquiry learning: A natural fit for occupational therapy education. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 29, 115–125. https://doi.org/10.3109/07380577.2015.1010030