Coventry University: E-Journals
Not a member yet
699 research outputs found
Sort by
Expectations and Understanding of Learning in Practice: Student Speech and Language Therapists’ and Practice Educators’ Perspectives of Learning
Get PDFResearch in speech and language therapy education has focussed on investigating models of clinical placements, rather than how learning is optimised in practical settings. A distinction has been made in practice-based learning in medical education between ‘capability’ and ‘competency’, urging educators to prioritise learning that enables problem solving and application of theory. We know little about student speech and language therapists’ (SLTs) and educators’ perception and expectations of clinical learning in placement and how this relates to capability. We investigated student SLTs’ and educators’ beliefs and experiences of successful learning in clinical settings and how they perceived their learner/educator roles using a qualitative study. Data was gathered from 28 students and educators using individual interviews and focus groups. The data was investigated using thematic analysis. Educators see their role as facilitators, developing core skills such as clinical reasoning, understanding professional identity and gaining independence. Some educators see this as a co-learning model, creating opportunities for their own learning. Students’ conceptions change during clinical placements, from focussing on their own development to seeking to understand the client’s perspective as well as identify needs, and respond with well-reasoned options for intervention. Aiming to equip SLT learners to be capable professionals, able to apply skills of clinical reasoning, is considered a core skill for SLT educators. Developing models for clinical placements informed by understanding how students learn to become capable could enhance the readiness of student SLTs to enter professional practice
Promoting Transition Resilience through Personal Development Planning: An Evaluation of the Perspectives of Preparation for Transition of Final-Year Undergraduate Nursing Students
Get PDFThe experience of transition is of concern to newly registered nurses entering the world of work, and to those seeking to prepare, recruit and retain such nurses. This paper evaluates a final-year preparation for role transition module from the perspectives of final-year student nurses. Focus groups and one-to-one interviews were carried out at three distinct points in time, after the module assessments and after each of the three clinical placements in the final year. Braun and Clarke’s inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data with four themes emerging: impact/relevance of the personal development plan; development of self; role of the mentor; and transition resilience/taking control. These four themes were then applied to Kirkpatrick’s model of evaluation, providing a deductive or theoretical framework for analysing and evaluating the outcomes of the module. Preparation for transition and the development of resilience have been identified as a potential solution associated with the negative experiences and challenges of transition. Resilience is an essential attribute that enables nurses to make sense of their experiences of transition and manage the stress of the workplace. Creating transition-focussed personal development plans to guide learning in the final year enabled the participants to take responsibility for their own learning, and, with the support from a good mentor, participants were able to understand that feeling nervous about transition was normal. This in turn enhanced their confidence, promoting ‘transition resilience’ as opposed to feelings and experiences associated with the more traditional concept of transition or reality shock
Evaluation of the Quality of Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Experiences
Get PDFPractice education, or fieldwork as it is referred to in occupational therapy, is a fundamental feature of occupational therapy education, priming students to become competent entry-level practitioners. Factors reported as contributing to poor quality fieldwork experiences include: students not receiving enough feedback; lack of opportunity to develop skills; and not being made to feel welcome in the environment. These are significant contributors to the overall development of competence so it is important to understand the current context of fieldwork experiences being offered in relation to the notion of quality in those learning environments. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of the fieldwork learning environment from the perspective of occupational therapists’ working in one region of Canada. A validated survey, the Quality of Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Experience (QOTFE) tool, was used to identify features of what might constitute quality fieldwork education, and to determine whether there was a difference in quality of fieldwork experience between practice settings or types of practice areas. However, there was minimal variability in scores based on practice setting and practice area variables. These findings indicate a consistent quality of fieldwork experience across practice settings and practice areas. This research presents a picture of the current quality of fieldwork experiences available to occupational therapy students. This may be a starting place for further investigation into the factors that contribute to the quality of practice education learning experience
An Investigation of Agreement between Clinical Educators and Peers in Rating Speech Pathology Students’ Interview Skills
Get PDFPeer assessment and feedback is being used more frequently in health science education as it has been shown to enhance self-directed learning. This study investigated the level of agreement between clinical educators and speech pathology student peers when rating students’ performance during standardised patient interviews. Participating in this study were 104 undergraduate speech pathology students and six clinical educators who were required to rate students’ foundation clinical skills on the Standardised Patient Interview Rating Scale (SPIRS). Students’ skills, including communication, interviewing and professional practice, were rated by a clinical educator and a peer. Data from two separate interviews in weeks 4 and 8 of a clinical placement were analysed to determine the agreement between clinical educators and peers in rating a student on individual items on the SPIRS. Results indicated that there were unacceptable agreement levels between clinical educators and peers in both opportunities of rating. Recommendations for improving agreement between peers and clinical educators were made including increasing explicit training with the rating tool, increased collaboration between clinical educators and student raters, and using peers with more clinical placement experience as raters. Further research is required to investigate the use of peer assessment for both formative and summative purposes in speech pathology student education
Physiotherapy Students’ Experiences of Role-Emerging Placements: A Qualitative Study
Get PDFRole-emerging placements (REPs) have been firmly embedded in undergraduate occupational therapy curricula for a number of years. REPs aim to facilitate the development of essential professional skills to prepare students for an increasingly diverse and evolving workplace. In the United Kingdom, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) has also emphasized the importance of adequately preparing graduates for new and emerging areas of practice. To date, however, there has been no published research exploring the use of REPs in physiotherapy. This study aimed to explore the experiences of undergraduate physiotherapy students who had each undertaken a REP. Six participants volunteered to take part in a focus group which used a research informed semi-structured topic guide. Group discussions were digitally recorded and professionally transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis of the data revealed five main themes: (1) Establishing a Physiotherapy Role Independently; (2) Finding a Voice and Influencing Change; (3) Developing Professional Identity; (4) Professional Development and (5) Support. The findings highlighted the variability of student experiences in REP settings, both positive and negative. However, all appeared to result in professional and personal benefits for the students, through promoting graduate attributes and skills that may be attractive to employers
How Tutors of Academic Writing Can Use the Theory of Transfer of Learning
Get PDFOne of the goals for tutors of academic writing is to help student writers tailor their writing processes to different writing projects so that students adapt what they know about one type of writing to another. This ability to write in different contexts can be explained by the theory of transfer of learning, which is generally defined as the ability to take something learned in one context and adapt, apply, or remix knowledge or skills in new contexts, including educational, civic, personal, or professional (Driscoll 2011). The mind, seeing similarities to what is already known, extends what is similar to another activity (Haskell 2001: 11). Tutors of writing need to know about transfer. Six categories of transfer – content, context, genres, writers’ prior knowledge, students’ ability to reflect, and dispositions – offer a lens to help researchers, trainers of tutors, or tutors (whether of L1 or L2 writers) to better identify where and how transfer could happen so that tutors are more prepared to look for opportunities to tutor for transfer. This paper offers insights into how these categories help tutors of academic writing who want to enhance students’ acquisition of academic skills
What Can Screen Capture Reveal About Students’ Use of Software Tools When Undertaking a Paraphrasing Task?
Get PDFPrevious classroom observations, and examination of students’ written drafts, had suggested that when summarising or paraphrasing source texts, some of our students were using software tools (for example the copy-paste function and synonym lookup) in possibly unhelpful ways. To test these impressions we used screen capture software to record 20 university students paraphrasing a short text using the word-processing package on a networked PC, and analysed how they utilised software to fulfil the task. Participants displayed variable proficiency in using word-processing tools, and very few accessed external sites. The most frequently enlisted tool was the synonym finder. Some of the better writers (assessed in terms of their paraphrase quality) availed themselves little of software aids. We discuss how teachers of academic writing could help students make more efficient and judicious use of commonly available tools, and suggest further uses of screen capture in teaching and researching academic writing
‘If You Don’t Write Yourself, On What Grounds Can You Offer Advice About Writing to Others?’ The Importance and Multiple Impacts of Publishing by Teachers of Academic Writing
Get PDFThis paper highlights a rather overlooked area of academic writing: that of publication by teachers of academic writing. The research focuses on exploring UK teachers’ views of the importance of publishing in terms of its impact on their practice, profession, and institution. Interviews were carried out with nine teachers of academic writing who worked within English for Academic Purposes at UK universities and were actively publishing. Data was collected in the form of their views and accounts of experiences of publishing, and the obstacles they had encountered. The study concludes that publishing by teachers of academic writing is considered a valuable parallel activity to their teaching, understanding and support of students with writing. It also seems that publishing could improve both the teachers’ individual reputation in their institutions and the status of their profession. However, it was also noticeable that many barriers to publishing exist, including lack of time, support and mentoring, as well as a more serious problem of hostility from line managers. Networks, collaborative initiatives and more informal writing opportunities may encourage teachers of academic writing to publish more themselves