Using personal projects to enhance students' first-person understanding of occupations

Area of Science:

• Occupational Therapy Education
• Human Occupation Studies
• Behavioral Sciences

Background:

• Traditional occupational therapy curricula often lack practical, student-led application of core concepts.
• Integrating theoretical knowledge with lived experience is crucial for developing clinical reasoning.
• Students need to understand the client's perspective to provide effective, client-centered interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a semester-long assignment for occupational therapy students.
• To emphasize students' personal, real-life experiences in establishing, modifying, and sustaining occupations.
• To facilitate the integration of core concepts like occupation, habits, and client-centered intervention into students' own lives.

Main Methods:

• Students engaged in personal projects throughout a semester.
• The assignment required students to actively establish, modify, or cease occupations in their daily lives.
• This experiential learning approach placed students in the role of the client.

Main Results:

• The assignment provided students with a direct, personal understanding of occupational dynamics.
• Students gained insight into the complexities of habit formation, modification, and cessation.
• The experience illuminated the practical challenges and responsibilities inherent in therapeutic practice.

Conclusions:

• Experiencing occupational change firsthand significantly enhanced students' comprehension of therapeutic roles.
• The assignment successfully bridged the gap between academic learning and practical clinical application.
• This method fostered a deeper empathy and understanding of the client's journey in occupational therapy.