American Journal of Occupational Therapy

Beliefs about knowledge and knowing, also called epistemic and ontological cognition (EOC), are associated with many aspects of learning and achievement; no published studies have described the EOC of occupational therapy students. This study compares and contrasts occupational therapy students’ EOC at entry and on completion of didactic coursework. Twenty-one incoming and 33 postdidactic students completed the Epistemic Beliefs Inventory and the modified Four-Quadrant Scale and provided explanations for their self-ratings. Results indicate that the postdidactic students held more sophisticated stances toward occupational therapy–specific knowledge. The entering students demonstrated dogmatist and skeptic perspectives, with minimal evidence of a rationalist view of knowledge, whereas the postdidactic students showed evidence of primarily skeptic stances, with the emergence of rationalist views. Implications for occupational therapy theory, education, and research are discussed.

This article discusses a 1-yr evaluation study of a master of science in occupational therapy program to examine curriculum content and pedagogical practices as a way to gauge program preparedness to move to a clinical doctorate. Faculty members participated in a multitiered qualitative study that included curriculum mapping, semistructured individual interviewing, and iterative group analysis. Findings indicate that curriculum mapping and authentic dialogue helped the program formulate a more streamlined and integrated curriculum with increased faculty collaboration. Curriculum mapping and collaborative pedagogical reflection are valuable evaluation strategies for examining preparedness to offer a clinical doctorate, enhancing a self-study process, and providing information for ongoing formative curriculum review.

St. Catherine University and North Memorial Medical Center conducted an Interprofessional Clinical Scholar Program (ICSP) involving five teams of staff, students, and faculty. The aim of the case study was to determine how the interprofessional teams implemented evidence-based projects. We triangulated data from interviews, field notes, and surveys to produce themes: learning to value interprofessional teams, working as a team, and being evidence-based practitioners. We found significant differences pre- and post-ICSP on the Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Teamwork and Education scale, t(14) = −5.48, p < .005, and the Terminology subscale of the Evidence-Based Practice Profile, t(15) = −4.04, p = .001. We found no change in scores on the Evidence-Based Practice Belief Scale, t(14) = −1.49, p = .156. The study supported predicted patterns of benefits from ICSP. Not all participants benefited because of variability in attendance.

OBJECTIVE. A national study explored the use of simulated learning experiences in U.S. occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant entry-level academic programs.

METHOD. Program faculty at 245 of 310 occupational therapy assistant and occupational therapy entry-level programs completed a self-reported 23-question online survey on the use of simulation and its challenges and benefits. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, and thematic coding.

RESULTS. Of 245 programs, 175 (71%) reported using simulation, with the most common teaching methods incorporating human actors and students and video cases. Simulated scenarios were primarily presented in intervention courses (90%). Faculty provided feedback that benefits of the simulated experience were increased critical reasoning, problem solving and decision making, and communication among students. Challenges were time, cost, and scheduling.

CONCLUSION. Findings were similar to those in the literature in terms of simulated learning’s uses, benefits, and challenges. Further research on student learning outcomes and pedagogy in occupational therapy is recommended.

The Missouri Health Professions Consortium (MHPC) Occupational Therapy Assistant Program is an innovative educational model that was specifically designed to address needs unique to rural communities. The model takes into account not only the distinctiveness of rural practice environments but also the educational barriers unique to rural student populations. The MHPC Occupational Therapy Assistant Program addresses the needs of these communities by providing educational opportunities to rural, place‐bound students. The program has produced viable employment options, resulting in improved access to occupational therapy services as well as positive economic outcomes for graduates who reside in rural communities.

We compared the graduate outcomes of doctoral students in a traditional on-campus occupational therapy program with those in a hybrid program. Participants were 81 students from an on-campus program and 13 students from a hybrid program. Graduate outcomes were measured with student grade-point average (GPA) at the end of each academic year, cumulative GPA, Fieldwork Performance Exam, National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) practice exam scores, and final NBCOT pass rate. Consistent with previous research, our results revealed no significant differences on most outcome variables, suggesting that hybrid programs are an effective delivery model for postsecondary higher education. These findings may provide guidance to occupational therapy programs in curriculum design, content delivery, and program refinement and development. Replication of this study is needed with a larger sample and inclusion of qualitative data. Future studies should compare the affective domain of graduate outcomes in on-campus and online or hybrid programs.

Educators must determine whether occupational therapy students are adequately prepared for Level II fieldwork once they have successfully completed the didactic portion of their coursework. Although studies have shown that students regard the use of video cameras and simulated patient encounters as useful tools for assessing professional and clinical behaviors, little has been published in the occupational therapy literature regarding the practical application of simulated patients or reflective video analysis. We describe a model for a final Comprehensive Practical Exam that uses both simulated patients and reflective video analysis to assess student preparedness for Level II fieldwork, and we report on student perceptions of these instructional modalities. We provide recommendations for designing, implementing, and evaluating simulated patient experiences in light of existing educational theory.

An ongoing challenge to occupational therapy educators is how to provide resources and strategies that best assist students in learning, retaining, and replicating protocols in clinical manual assessment. This pilot survey study explored how 43 first-year master’s of occupational therapy students enrolled in a kinesiology course perceived the value of implementing instructor-produced YouTube^® videos of in-class assessment demonstrations. The videos, taken on a smartphone, were uploaded to a private YouTube URL created by the instructor and then linked to a pre-established Moodle learning platform. By the end of the 6-wk course, students had registered 2,573 views averaging 60 views per student. Postcourse mixed survey results revealed students perceived that the videos improved the quality of the course, increased their level of engagement and learning, and boosted confidence in their manual skills. Survey results also found that students correlated the instructor’s willingness to develop online videos with a commitment to student learning.

We describe an integrated master of science in occupational therapy curriculum and a coordinated sequence of evidence-based practice (EBP) courses that incorporate systematic, pragmatic teaching strategies to develop students’ EBP skills and habits of reasoning. The EBP courses focus sequentially on the occupational lives of clients and methods for gaining information about occupational performance and needs; appraising the internal, external, and statistical validity of intervention evidence; and generating evidence from one’s own practice to answer questions about individual or group client outcomes. All EBP courses use facilitated learning processes that encourage graduate students to take responsibility for their own learning, guided by a carefully structured series of assignments. The integrated curriculum scaffolds the translation and application of previously learned knowledge and skills, including EBP knowledge, into different contexts. Student survey data suggest that graduating students view EBP as an integral part of the clinical process and begin to internalize the habits necessary to be evidence-based practitioners.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to identify a baseline or benchmark for faculty engagement and productivity in occupational therapy education scholarship and research.

METHOD. A custom-designed survey was emailed to 2,225 faculty members. The survey included questions on basic demographic information and education scholarship (e.g., use of evidence to inform teaching, frequency and nature of involvement in education scholarship.

RESULTS. A total of 520 faculty members (23%) completed the survey. Of these, 450 (86.5%) identified themselves as full-time core faculty, and only their responses were analyzed. Although 90% of the faculty respondents engaged in scholarly teaching, only 34% identified education as an area of content expertise, and only 16% reported frequent involvement with education scholarship. Instructional methods were the primary area of study.

CONCLUSION. A need exists to build research capacity for education research and more diversification of education research topics, including professional socialization and competencies.