Entry Course on Terminology in Occupational Therapy

Main idea

The Entry Course on Terminology in Occupational Therapy helps students prepare for the fact that much of the terminology within occupational therapy come from English speaking countries and to teach students about the history of the profession.

Outline

Occupational Therapy has its roots in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Thus, many of the textbooks and literature used by teachers and researchers are written in English. These English terms then had to be translated for Dutch speaking students, but oftentimes there’s no adequate translation available. There was a lot of feedback from staff and students about the need for more support regarding English terminology, which led to the Entry Course on Terminology in Occupational Therapy.

This course offers students an introduction to specific terminology and to the English language in the students’ study programme. To effectively do this, the course is bilingual. It’s organized by two lecturers: one of them speaks only English during the course, while the other speaks Dutch.

The day starts off with the organizers waiting for the students in their fishing and cycling gear or with a short sketch after which they play them some rock music (How Do You Do! by Roxette). These outfits and the lyrics of this song can be linked to Occupational Therapy, making it a wonderful icebreaker. This is followed by some content on (the history and context of) Occupational Therapy in practice and in research. In the afternoon, students operationalize this knowledge by going outside and talking to passer-by’s about what their meaningful occupations are. Afterwards, they give a presentation to their peers in which they must use at least five English terms from within the field or the translation thereof. The course ends with a song about understanding each other even if different words are being used.

Target group

The target group is first-year students who are about to start the study programme Occupational Therapy.

Timing

The entry course is a day long and takes place during the week before classes start.

Fee

It costs about €20 to enrol in this entry course.

Goals

• Helping students prepare for the fact that much of the terminology within occupational therapy come from English speaking countries
• Introducing terminology
• Teaching students about the history of the profession
• Helping students become more confident in speaking English
• Helping students start their study programme confidently

Students involvement

Students are active participants during the afternoon of the entry course. They present their findings to their peers during a presentation.

Inspiration and evidence

Students learn more by doing and talking than by just sitting and listening.

Success criteria

• It’s fun and sometimes a bit silly.
• The timing right before classes start makes sense.
• Students are active participants.

Points of attention

• In general, students need more preparation about basic skills (e.g., communication, organization, digital literacy).
• Maybe more students would be motivated to enrol in the entry course it if were free of if they could receive study points by participating.
• As with many initiatives, only the motivated students enrol. A point of attention is the question on how to reach and motivate those who aren’t.

Effectiveness

The effectiveness is not formally tracked, but the organizers of the course -who also teach the first module of the first semester- notice how students who took part in the entry course are better prepared for the course.

Would you recommend this to other institutions?

strongly agree

Evaluation

There are some general questionnaires which mention this entry course, but this initiative is not evaluated separately.

Results

Students found the entry course to be useful and report feeling more confident due to their participation.

Adaptations

There are small adaptations each year, for instance, the students had to do an interview last year, but they only had to do an observation this year due to a lack of time. These adaptations aren’t necessarily based on feedback.

Communication

• The entry course can be recommended to students during their study orientation talks.
• The entry course is mentioned on the website of Artevelde University of Applied Sciences (AUAS).

Timing

The entry course is a day long and takes place during the week before classes start.

Resources

• You need two staff members to run the entry course.
• You need motivated staff members.
• It takes some time to prepare.
• You need to know what the needs of students and staff are.

The idea behind the initiative is easily transferable, but the entry course itself is too connected to the study programme and students’ specific needs to be transferable.

Universal Design

The entry course was not based on the principles of Universal Design because it’s focus is relatively narrow. By making it fun and interactive it is more accessible, though.