Factors Impacting OT and OTA Student Feedback Use during Level II Fieldwork Experiences

Abstract

Feedback is used in experiential learning to help occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students develop the specific knowledge and skills needed to become entry-level practitioners. However, many students do not use the feedback given by fieldwork (FW) educators or perceive it as helpful in improving performance. Therefore, this study aimed to identify factors impacting the integration of feedback for OT/OTA students during Level II FW experiences. An invitation email was sent to 102 students from two OT and two OTA education programs in Ohio to participate in a survey regarding their Level II FW experiences. The survey consisted of three parts comprised of multiple-choice and 5-point Likert-scale questions. There was a 52.9% response rate. Results indicated that several factors were moderately or strongly associated with students’ application of feedback. Factors specific to the student included their overall perspective of their FW placement and educator, previous experiences, learning styles, and emotional responses to feedback. Additionally, it was found that the FW educators’ training experience and nonverbal communication, along with the type, quality, and quantity of feedback either moderately or strongly associated with feedback use. Results suggested that improvement in FW educator training opportunities and OT curriculum preparation are warranted to enhance student use of feedback. Implications for the study will better prepare students, FW educators, and academic programs to give and receive feedback so that current OT/OTA students can assimilate into competent and well-rounded entry-level practitioners more easily.

Keywords

• occupational therapy
• students
• feedback
• level ii fieldwork