CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK
Mission of the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program
The mission of the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program is to provide a specialized associate degree program to prepare students to become contemporary occupational therapy assistants working in partnership with the occupational therapist. Through the combination of technical courses and an integrated liberal arts core, the program emphasizes the relevance of continuous learning to personal and professional growth. As an open admissions college, students of diverse backgrounds are afforded the opportunity to find a meaningful and rewarding career.
Program Goals
1. The OTA program will provide appropriate learning opportunities for students to acquire
the theoretical knowledge, applicable skills and attitude necessary to function as an entry-
level occupational therapy assistant.
2. The OTA program will prepare students to sit for the national certification examination.
3. The OTA program will endeavor to instill in the student a sense of commitment to the
occupational therapy profession’s core values and ethics.
Program Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:
1. Respect all people and cultures and render occupational therapy services to clients in various environments; for all populations, groups and individuals seeking services.
2. Function as an advocate and partner in the health care team including the development of professional relationships with recipients of service and professional and non-professional care givers.
3. Communicate through a variety of methods all material, information, services and documentation required as directed by practice guidelines and the law.
4. Act in an ethically, responsible way with regard to legal obligations applicable in all practice settings while adhering to the core values of occupational therapy practice.
5. Follow and select all activities pertinent to meeting the objectives of the treatment plan and recognize the need for adaptation, adjustments and restructuring of the plan within the recognized role delineation of the occupational therapy assistant.
6. Practice occupational therapy services using the most current evidence-based methods to ensure the highest quality of care.
Philosophy of Occupational Therapy Practice and Education
The Philosophical Base of Occupational Therapy (AJOT, 2011) documents the unique contribution which occupational therapy makes to society. Occupations, as the core of the profession, are valued as both a means and outcome of therapeutic interventions. If occupational therapy is going to flourish in the 21st century, today’s practitioner must be prepared to support individuals, organization, and populations toward a central goal of enablement in the participation of meaningful occupations in all contexts and environments.
The occupational therapy assistant program values the focus of occupations in the treatment of and outcome of occupational therapy interventions. Throughout the curriculum, occupations and meaningful, functional activities are reinforced in all course work. Thus occupations is one thread noted throughout the program. Beginning with the foundation courses and in all the technical courses to follow, students are consistently applying an occupations-based perspective throughout the OT process.
The Philosophy of Occupational Therapy Education (AJOT, 2007) is grounded in the belief that humans are in a constant interaction with their environments through engagement in occupations. The constant interaction with their environments allow humans to change, as well as adapt and grow intellectually, physically, and emotionally. Active problem solving, critical reasoning and reflective practice forms the basis for personal and professional development of knowledge, skills, attitude and confidence to engage in learning in the present and in the future.
The occupational therapy assistant program views critical reasoning (also referred to as professional reasoning) as one of the core threads in the program. As humans are believed to be active problem solvers and critical thinkers, so are the students of the occupational therapy assistant program. Students must learn to understand and recognize a problem, see alternatives for problem solving, plan intervention, teach their client how to overcome obstacles to engagement and evaluate the effectiveness of this decision making process. Critical reasoning is infused throughout the curriculum.
View of Humanity
Human beings are naturally motivated to participate in meaningful activities to promote independence, self-sufficiency and success in any life roles. What people do throughout their lives are influenced by many external and internal factors including, but not limited to, their beliefs, physical and social environments and experiences. This requires that the practice of OT be client-centered and is the last thread of the program.
The mind, body and spirit are viewed holistically, meaning humans are seen as complex beings who function in a dynamic world influenced intrinsically and extrinsically. Humans learn through mastery and adaptation that they can actively manage daily life challenges. Finding a balance in work, play and self-care is critical to living in the greatest state of health. Health is defined as the ability to participate in meaningful occupations within one’s context. Occupations provides the means to attain a state of health and well-being.
Program Philosophy
The NEIT OTA faculty is dedicated to the centrality of occupation as both a means and an end in the delivery of occupational therapy services. We believe that students, as occupational beings, are inherently motivated to become productive members of their society. Given the opportunity to engage in meaningful occupations (learning activities) students gain knowledge, skills and attitudes inherent in OT practice. To maintain focus on student learning, the faculty has constructed a program that is student-centered. Occupational therapy practice has a parallel view of intervention that is client-centered. To become client-centered, it is the belief of the faculty that students must engage in learning activities which are central to their learning needs and abilities, taking into consideration that students are individuals with unique characteristics. Creating learning opportunities which are student-centered means that students’ needs are recognized along with the overall goals of the program. The process leading the students to the overall goals must include a variety of experiences which affect change to thinking patterns and ways to approach tasks, both in the classroom and clinic to meet the occupational needs of individuals, populations and organizations.
We believe that our students, like all humans, are constantly experiencing new challenges, and continually evolving and changing over time. The environment both socially and physically, significantly influences student experiences and therefore are carefully aligned with the program’s philosophy. The program fosters the development of student knowledge, skills in the practice of occupational therapy and values core to the profession. This is accomplished by creating an environment that supports and nurtures inquisitive thought, challenges students to reach optimal potential while using all the technology and advanced, evidenced-based measures available to the faculty.
The three curricular threads which emerge throughout the curriculum are:
· Occupations-based Care
· Critical/Professional Reasoning
· Client-Centered Practice
Curriculum Design (see graphic representation, Page 15)
The curriculum design of the NEIT OTA program prepares students as generalists with a broad exposure to populations, settings, current and emerging needs of society in the area of health and wellness, activity participation and independence in all areas of occupation across the lifespan. Based on a quarterly system of the college, associate degree programs are organized around 6 quarters, resulting in 18 months of study for degree completion. All coursework, including liberal arts and fieldwork education are included in the 18 month, 6 quarter degree program offered.
Fundamental Beliefs How Students Learn
The curriculum is structured using best-practice in teaching and learning. Research into designing and creating the most effective methods of teaching lead the faculty to the research and work behind Ambrose, Bridges, et al, (2010) who combined evidence from cognitive theory with best practice in applying the science of learning to teaching. Seven principles of learning emerged from the research and is used to guide the program. We believe that learning is a developmental and holistic process and students who enter the program bring diverse social and emotional experiences, values, and knowledge.
The NEIT faculty based learning on the principles taken from, How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching (Ambrose et al, 2010). The process of learning is based on the students’ actions and thoughts. Instructors are facilitators of that learning, by creating activities which foster student active engagement, problem solving, reflection and reasoning. Faculty recognize these seven core concepts when planning, implementing and evaluating student learning.
1. Students’ prior knowledge can help or hinder learning. Learning is a process and leads to change in beliefs, behaviors and knowledge. Demonstrating to students how their prior experiences contribute to their new learning influences positive change in the beliefs of the student as a learner. Furthermore, offering a variety of learning experiences assists students in building new and positive learning outcomes.
2. How students organize knowledge influences how they learn and apply what they know. Initially the learning is more organized and structured by the course instructor. Gradually students grow to be more self-reliant on preparing themselves for and engaging in learning. By offering a variety of methods to facilitate learning, each learner is able to reach their highest level of achievement thus motivating the student by developing self efficacy.
3. Students’ motivation generates, directs and sustains what they do to learn. Motivation is core for engagement. The faculty create learning activities which give meaning to the task and help to actively engage the students in the learning process.
4. To develop mastery, students must acquire component skills, practice integrating them, and know when to apply what they have learned. The specific sequence of courses allows for practice in component skills needed for occupational therapy practice for specific populations. Each quarter, the students are engaging in similar, yet slightly more complex material as they prepare for their final stage of the program: level II fieldwork.
5. Goal-directed practice coupled with targeted feedback are critical to learning. Timely feedback is an ongoing process of learning whereby students receive information, both summative and formative to elicit change necessary for future success in course work and fieldwork.
6. Students’ current level of development interacts with the social, emotional and intellectual climate of the course to impact learning. The faculty provide a climate that welcomes all individuals with diverse backgrounds and learning needs. The classroom is an environment which fosters mutual respect for the dignity of all people. Applying a variety of learning activities helps to address the diversity of learners enrolled in the program.
7. To become self-directed learners, student must learn to access the demands of the task, evaluate their own knowledge and skills, plan their approach, monitor their progress, and adjust their strategies as needed. The faculty acknowledges that this is a developmental process which is fostered throughout the program. Much like occupational therapy practice, students learn to understand the problem, see the possibilities to overcome problem areas and plan for a successful outcome. Adapting their thought processes as they engage in new learning helps build the repertoire of independent learning strategies. Beginning with simple self-reflective activities, the students must learn this process to be successful in the profession and to meet their future learning goals. Ultimately, the goal is for students to continue in practice as life-long learners.
The curriculum design emphasizes active student engagement in learning activities geared to facilitate reflective practice and procurement of skills and knowledge. To provide a focus to course instruction and structure, Fink’s Significant Learning Taxonomy was used. Based on his educational philosophy of significant learning, the curriculum design must be one that aims to connect the student learning activities which engage their interest, help to personalize the experience and lead to improved retention and application of information learned.
The significant learning model includes 6 distinct domains which encompass 1) Learning How to Learn 2) Foundational Knowledge 3) Application 4) Integration 5) Human Dimension and 6) Caring. In concept, it is believed by Fink that if “learning is to occur, there has to be some kind of change in the learner. No change, no learning.” (p30, Fink, 2003) By including each of these domains, the curriculum is well grounded in a dynamic theory which easily adapts to the professional development of a health care profession.
The faculty approach the 6 domains of learning in Fink’s model in the following ways.
• Learning How to Learn: Faculty facilitate student learning by providing a variety of unique learning strategies which require critical thinking, reflection, debating and defending. The classroom experiences are geared to developmentally make each student a better learner. The overall goal is to see students gain enough ability to become active and engaged learners that they continue these skills into practice and life after graduation. This domain is facilitated throughout the program beginning with simply having students identify their learning style and begin to find methods to improve learning. Experiences in each class provide students an array of learning techniques which culminate in a broader knowledge of how to approach new tasks or skills to be learned.
Foundational Knowledge: Faculty design learning experiences and assessment tools that demonstrate student conceptual understanding associated with the practice of occupational therapy. Eventually, mastery of the subject is attained for entry-level practice. Students will gain knowledge about human performance, engagement in activities, therapeutic tools and techniques, language of the profession, documentation, standards of practice and use critical thinking and professional reasoning to function as an occupational therapy assistant. Foundational knowledge assessed in every course which is designed to focus on a particular population. Assessments include tests, case studies, role play, and written work and presentations.
•Application: To successfully apply information that is learned, faculty design learning activities that require critical reasoning, problem solving, practical thinking and creativity. This is attained in both classroom and laboratory experiences. Putting it all together and having students demonstrate skills is a large part of the program. The laboratory practicals are one example of how application of knowledge is measured. Other measurements are less summative and may include discussions-based or case-based learning in classes.
•Caring: Motivation toward learning builds a student’s interest in their work and commitment to the profession. By providing a variety of tools in the classroom and out of class, the faculty endeavor to excite student learning and participation using technology and other forms of active engagement in learning. The use of blackboard is a major method of instructional design of the courses. Students engage with one another and their instructor using material provided on-line as well as activities used in the classroom. When students are able to connect to real life situations that they can feel and experience, the learning improves.