A Student-Instructor Partnership in Occupational Therapy

How do you learn best? Is it by sitting and listening to a lecture for 3 hours? If not, you are not alone! Research indicates the average attention span of intellectual learners is 10-15 minutes (Cox, Columbus, Higginbotham & Ahmed, 2023). Edgar Dale created the Cone of Experience in 1946, advising educators to create learning environments that were memorable and rich, where learners can use multiple senses to actively engage with the material (Dale's Cone of Experience). Educators who desire to see their students effectively transition from passive to active learners, which is demanded by clinical education, must provide an environment that is rich and safe for students to take ownership of their education. 

For Rachel, a second-year student in EMU’s occupational therapy program, starting to take a more active role in her learning and education began when she started to apply concepts from class to her loved ones. Seeing the impact her new skills and behaviors had on their lives motivated her to continue to take the initiative within and outside of the classroom. Practicing lab competency skills on her family and friends helped her feel like a ‘real OT’ early on in the program. Trying out new skills, albeit awkwardly, with fumbling, clumsy hands and a shaky voice, was what helped her find her footing in a safe, low-stress environment. 

Demonstration and coaching are beneficial in the process of being socialized into a clinical profession. When carried out in a warm, supportive environment, students feel empowered through their instructor’s scaffolding to apply what they are learning in class to their clinical education. Rachel reflects on her pediatric fieldwork rotation indicating she felt safe providing interventions to her clients, knowing that the clinical educator, Adrienna, had already reviewed the plans and coached her regarding small tweaks that would make it more effective. Rachel knew that if she felt stuck, Adrienna wasn’t far and could always help ‘in the moment’. Rachel felt encouraged by Adrienna to ‘fail forward’ during fieldwork in order to view mistakes as a normal part of learning, and to use them as an opportunity to fuel better decision-making next time.

Creating and maintaining a collaborative learning relationship is crucial to a successful student experience. Clinical educators remember what it feels like to be a student; with their professional experience, they now have the expertise to advise students through their fears and insecurities. A powerful way for clinical educators to help students overcome fear, encourage ownership of their professional development, and engage in hands-on work with clients is to leverage students’ voices in planning. Inspired by the Faculty Development Center’s “Try One Thing” initiative, the two of us (a clinical educator and student from the EMU’s OT program) have collaborated to create strategies that infuse themes discovered from the Student Instructor Partnership in Clinical Education learning community. Instructors can work alongside students to make the transition easier by identifying the student's perspective and trying one thing to help the students feel safer and more confident in their learning journey. 

The purpose of the table below is for clinical educators to assess how their individual students might be feeling and intentionally respond in a respectful manner.