A cooperative inquiry study to identify strategies for group supervision in occupational therapy fieldwork placements

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify effective strategies for supervising small groups of second-year students in an occupational

The Collaborative Model of Fieldwork Education: A Blueprint for Group Supervision of Students

“…When the collaborative model is used, a group learning process should be supported wherever possible (Mason, 1999). For instance, during the orientation phase, students might use a checklist of required clinical competencies to practice skills with one another and demonstrate competency in a lab format prior to interactions with clients (Hanson, 2011;Jensen & Daniels, 2010).…”

“…The FWEd might respond to certain entries, ask questions, or provide suggestions to student inquiries in either an individual or a group format. It is crucial that this occurs in a non-threatening way so that the student(s) can write feely and openly, using the experience to better understand his or her own learning (Mason, 1999). Examples of questions/prompts to guide student reflection are as follows: "What are the most valuable things learned today?," "What went well with .…”

“…Participation in learning contract development helps students take ownership for their learning process by identifying a specific learning goal, strategies to accomplish the goal, resources needed from the FWEd, and a timeline for completion. The learning contract should be referred to consistently throughout the fieldwork experience and updated as needed (Mason, 1999). See Table 2 for a sample format of the learning contract.…”

“…Larger projects involving peer learning require advance preparation and discussion so that students are clear on the expectations of the project, the collaborative learning process, and the manner in which the project will be evaluated (Mason, 1999).…”

Project placements for undergraduate occupational therapy students: design, implementation and evaluation

“…Various models of flexible fieldwork education have been described over the past 15 years. Examples of these include role-emerging placements (Bossers et al, 1997;Huddleston, 1999b), group supervision (Jung et al, 1994;Mason, 1998Mason, , 1999, two students to one supervisor (Tiberius and Gaiptman, 1985;Edwards, 1998, Huddleston, 1999b), four students to one supervisor (Zakrzewski and Salonga, 1997), split placements (Gaiptman and Forma, 1991) and long-arm supervision (Alsop and Ryan, 1996). Many Australian and international occupational therapy programmes are offering alternative fieldwork placements across different areas of occupational therapy practice.…”