Examining Occupational Therapy Students’ Responses to Integrative Seminars

Abstract

The integrative seminar is an innovative teaching-learning approach that focuses on active learning and peer collaboration, characteristics that align with millennial learners’ preferences. The use of integrative seminars has been reported by various health professions with positive outcomes. Course feedback survey data from the first cohort of occupational therapy students who participated in a new four-course integrative seminar series were analyzed. Findings suggest that the format of the courses was engaging for the learners. The students particularly valued the small class; the opportunities for peer collaboration; and the variety of active learning opportunities, including simulations. The students also indicated that the seminars helped them to integrate and apply their learning across the curriculum. In another survey completed near the end of their Level II fieldwork rotations, the students indicated that the seminars contributed to their readiness for fieldwork as well as to the development of their critical thinking, interpersonal skills, and professional identity. The findings from this analysis support the potential value of integrative seminars in occupational therapy education.

Keywords

• occupational therapy education
• integrative seminars
• millennial learners