Incorporating Problem-Based Learning and Video Technology in Teaching Group Process in an Occupational Therapy Curriculum

Journal of Allied Health,  Summer 2005  by Schaber, Patricia L

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Discussion

The redesign of the group dynamics course was successful in providing students with an in-class learning experience that stimulated reflection on and development of group process skills. This ability to reflect on the group process as it was occurring and strategize a behavioral response concurs with the overall design of the curriculum based on Donald Schön's critical thinking model for the reflective practitioner.32 Reflection as a procedural element of practice was embedded in the researcher's conceptual framework. Reviewing the comments from the transcribed text demonstrated that the students reported a different emphasis on the learning experience from the completion of the course to one year later. What emerged was a learning continuum that supported assumptions of the course design: that knowledge of theory precedes application of content, that the students' mastery of personal traits and self-knowledge precedes group member effectiveness, and that learning deepens when applied in real practice.

In current occupational therapy education, the fieldwork component is an activity that bridges academic learning and applied learning.33 The results of this study support current practice in fieldwork education or clinical training where reflection is the means to deepen understanding of practice frameworks and models.34 Study results support the "applied" or "service" learning approach where the setting approximates or replicates future professional practice. While this redesign creates a simulated clinical setting and brings the student closer to clinical practice, there still remains a temporal and environmental gap between learning and practice ever present in professional career training.

Conclusions

This innovative design of a group dynamics course embodied higher education trends of teaching and learning.35 Learning was active, learning objectives were measured in behavioral terms, course design integrated technology, and the course design allowed for diversity of individual style in group interaction. Limitations of the study design include a small participant number for focus groups, a purposive sample that may bias the results favorably, and lack of control over group process skill development beyond participation in the course. Measuring course effectiveness in preparing students for professional practice is challenging for this reason. Future research in methods of teaching group skills for interprofessional teaming is needed, along with more sophisticated measurement of outcomes. This paper will hopefully stimulate more innovative attempts in teaching group dynamics in the preparation of future health care providers. Ideally, it will also expand the thinking around methods to evaluate course effectiveness over time for learning that continues beyond the confines of the classroom.

REFERENCES

1. Finocchio L], Johnson CD: A core curriculum in allied health education: current issues and future expectations. J Allied Health 1995; 24:203-219.