Occupational Therapy Education Research Agenda. Am J Occup Ther 2014;68(Supplement_2):S83–S86. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.685S06
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© 2021 American Occupational Therapy Association
Develop profession-specific theories for occupational therapy education and research.
Test the theories through research.
Rigorously define how education theories and approaches fit the context of the occupational therapy profession (e.g., IPE, PBL, TBL, community-based education, situated learning, adult learning).
What is the nature of knowledge in occupational therapy?
How is knowledge in occupational therapy organized?
What are the core beliefs about knowledge within occupation-centered practices?
How do occupational therapy practitioners in occupation-centered practices process knowledge? What is the core logic behind occupation-centered practices?
What are the mechanisms by which knowledge in occupational therapy is acquired?
How does the knowledge context of occupational therapy modify approaches adopted from the field of education?
Identify a signature pedagogy or pedagogies within occupational therapy.
Evaluate the implementation of and outcomes related to occupational therapy’s signature pedagogies.
Test the effectiveness of occupational therapy’s signature pedagogies.
Analyze the signature pedagogies for their match to educational theories and approaches such as IPE, PBL, TBL, community-based education, and situated learning.
Identify and develop an optimum progression of pedagogical practices across the levels of entry into the profession.
Is there a signature pedagogy for occupational therapy? If so, what is it, and is it effective in improving performance in practice?
How do interprofessional education, PBL, TBL, and other approaches support an occupational therapy signature pedagogy?
What constitutes effective pedagogies for occupational therapy education? What other pedagogies are linked to improved performance in practice?
Given a particular pedagogy, identify best practice instructional methods that maximize learning in occupational therapy.
Identify optimal, coherent systems within which instructional methods can achieve entry-level practice competency in occupational therapy students (including a framework for instruction, methods and strategies, learning environment, assessment methods, technology, learning and teaching styles, learners, content sequences, time, resources).
Given the profession’s developing signature pedagogy, what instructional methods and strategies are a strong fit?
Which instructional methods and strategies are effective?
What constitutes evidence-based practice in occupational therapy education?
What are the most effective instructional processes related to fieldwork education?
How do occupational therapy curricula most effectively use technology?
How can the learning outcomes of particular occupational therapy instructional methods and strategies be more effectively assessed?
Identify learner characteristics across diverse populations consistent with success in different levels of occupational therapy education.
Identify educational program characteristics and practices that effectively support student success across diverse populations (e.g., classroom, fieldwork, transition to practice).
Identify supports for and barriers to collaborations among national data sources that include learner data (e.g., National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Fieldwork Performance Evaluation).
Create performance-based tools for measurement of different levels of competency (Level I fieldwork, entry-level and advanced competency).
Identify the behavioral, social, and professional entry-level competencies expected of the occupational therapy practitioner.
What is the trajectory by which students adapt to graduate education?
What administrative practices are related to students’ successful academic performances?
What are the learner needs associated with successful performance in fieldwork?
What is the longitudinal process of competency attainment from student to entry-level to advanced practitioner?
Identify best educational practices for initial socialization to the occupational therapy profession.
Identify the factors that shape professional identity and the development of occupation-centered and evidence-based practice.
Identify the points of influence for the professional socialization of occupational therapy educators.
How do students assume the identity of occupational therapy practitioner?
What educational approaches facilitate students’ professional identity as an occupational therapy practitioner?
What education approaches facilitate students’ engagement with the larger issues of the occupational therapy profession?
Identify the optimal faculty resources and programs needed to meet the educational mission and the needs of students.
Establish effective methods to prepare occupational therapy faculty to implement best practices in occupational therapy education.
Describe and validate a continuum of educator competencies from clinician to master educator.
Identify trajectories and supports by which educators become researchers and choose to study education.
Identify processes that support ongoing scholarship in teaching and learning in occupational therapy education.
Pilot education research training programs to improve research productivity.
What is the longitudinal process of competency attainment from practitioner to educator (e.g., fieldwork educator, academic faculty, and academic fieldwork coordinator)?
What constitutes valuing and recognizing educational research?
What are the ultimate qualifications and resources needed by fieldwork educators to provide the optimal learning experience for students?
What processes are most effective for building capacity in educational research?
What constitutes best practice in faculty development?
What is the profile of educational researchers in the profession?
What are effective ways to socialize clinicians, fieldwork educators, and new doctoral and postdoctoral graduates to be educators?
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