Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
2-2021
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Andrew Lumpe
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Scott Strawn
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Billie McConnell
Abstract
This mixed methods program evaluation sought to determine the current curriculum’s overall effectiveness in relation to student readiness for fieldwork. The use of teaching practices in this occupational therapy curriculum was evaluated to determine if they support a successful transition to professional practice. Qualitative data was collected through semistructured interviews to ascertain student satisfaction with the educational program, student readiness for fieldwork, and the student perception of the educational program’s mission. Semistructured interviews were also used to gain insight from fieldwork educators regarding student readiness for practice and the effect of the program mission on student performance. Quantitative data was collected to determine differences in self-efficacy levels of students at varying levels in the program. An analysis of variance was run on the mean scores of the student confidence questionnaire for each educational cohort. There was not a significant effect between educational levels on self-efficacy. The findings showed that overall, students are satisfied and feel prepared for fieldwork and that the fieldwork educators who supervise the students feel they are prepared. The findings also showed that students and fieldwork educators agree that the program’s mission does positively impact student behavior in practice. The quantitative findings showed the need to examine further the effect of teaching practices on student self-efficacy. This study concluded that there is a need to implement more robust and varied experiential learning practices into the current curriculum in an effort to positively effect student self-efficacy.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Williams, Kari M., "Program Evaluation Exploring Effectiveness of Experiential Learning Activities on Transition to Practice in an Occupational Therapy Educational Program" (2021). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 302.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/302
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Occupational Therapy Commons