Bridging the GapPREPARING SPORTS THERAPY STUDENTS

FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSION THROUGH REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

BY DOMINIC GORESENIOR E-LEARNING OFFICER

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE BIRMINGHAM

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• Project Background• Innovative Solution Utilised

• PHASE 1• PHASE 2

• Results Obtained• Impact on Learning• Future Developments

Presentation Contents

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Project Background…

• Many professions in health care industry record and reflect CPD online

• Forms a legal requirement for professional body membership

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• It was highlighted that Sports Therapy students should select appropriate material to act as evidence to meet the competencies of the ST profession

• Project commenced October 2008

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...• The e-portfolio was created to produce a flexible

environment where students could document their clinical practice sessions with clients

• Student experiences and critical events outside of College was encouraged to be documented

• The record of clinical hours formed the assessment part for the module Professional Clinical Practice 2

Innovative Solution UtilisedPHASE 1

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Phase 1

• Roll out initially to final year sports therapy students as initial pilot

• Personal Learning Space tool provided by Learning Objects inc. (previously branded as ExpoLX)

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• Developed using the Wiki tool within PLS

• Made available to students through a tab (community system) in the College’s VLE Blackboard

• Secondary Institution Role setup to allow only final year ST students access

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• Students clicked on the links and edited the relevant wiki pages to add evidence

• 1gb of space per user allowed for upload of images, audio and text content

• Sports Therapy staff highlighted that initial uptake was slow from students

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• In the academic year 2008/09 – 80 (100% of cohort) 3rd year students participated along side 9 members of staff marking, assessing and grading

• Although workshop sessions were scheduled, access issues occurred

• Students were unaware that this formed their assessment

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• Lecturers added as contacts and completion monitored throughout the year

• Once complete, feedback was obtained from 60% of students on design, interface, ease of use etc.

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Phase 1 – Sports Therapy e-portfolio initial design

Innovative Solution UtilisedPHASE 2

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Phase 2

• Updated from feedback obtained from students and staff in sports therapy

• 2009/10 academic year – 92 (100% of cohort) 3rd year students participated with 9 members of staff

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• Students are directed to select their ‘experiences’ to fulfil the requirements for membership of Society of Sports Therapy

• Easier structure for student entries and for lecturers to grade their work

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• Personal Learning Space tool allows students to export the portfolio and can be used as CPD

• Links to appropriate websites are included that support CPD process and are themed around ST

• Examples, templates and instructions are added to the portfolio for support and guidance (as per feedback from students)

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From this.........

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To this....Phase 2 – Sports Therapy e-portfolio re-design

Results Obtained

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Results Obtained

• Feedback was gained from student online questionnaire, but due to period of release only 40% of students took the time to complete.

• It is intended that triangulation will be used to gain more feedback in the future i.e. use of focus groups

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Positive feedback • “more user friendly layout and navigation”

• “Enjoyed reflecting upon my experiences and being able to access online”

• “it was quite straightforward how to set it up and add images, new blogs and people to view it”

• “Everything is available to access, very good idea”

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• Completion of e-portfolio was made compulsory in order to pass the module

• All 92 students were required to create their own portfolio and prove they had met as many SST competencies as possible

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• Positive feedback obtained from initial pilot in 2008/2009 and again in 2009/10 academic years

• As a result…in September 2010 rolled out to 3 years of study with a total of 320 students participating

Impact on Learning

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Impact on learning

• 70% of students stated that they enjoyed reflecting upon their own experiences

• Availability of access to the portfolio (via Blackboard) was really useful and insightful

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• Having the ability to reflect upon and record their experiences forms the foundation for life-long learning and CPD for industry

• Launch of the e-portfolio has formed the basis for research for members of the sports therapy team

Future Developments

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Future Developments

• Dependent on capacity of VLE and IT support

• Bb9.1 and roll-out of new Campus Pack 4

• New interface for students to access the portfolio via new designed Personal Learning Space

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• New academic (Sept 2010) year been rolled out to all 3 years

• Usage of portfolio across other modules i.e. sports massage, advanced sports therapy etc.

• Other subject areas looking to roll-out e-portfolio and reflective learning model e.g. Events Management

Thank You

Dominic GoreUniversity College Birminghamdgore@ucb.ac.uk