It is my belief that the students and I are on a collaborative educational journey. Students should be empowered to take an active part in their learning. Instructors should be competent guides for students on the educational journey. My style of teaching is not intended as a conduit to pour prescriptive information from books or lectures into students and have the lectures recited back to me. It is much more valuable to teach effective clinical reasoning skills and critical thinking than recipes for evaluation or treatment, as working with individual clients requires dynamic problem solving. My job is not to do the learning for the students but to help students understand what is necessary to work with future clients ethically, competently and eventually adopt a habit of life-long learning. I believe a multi-sensory approach in the classroom will yield more successful learning. Active learning has been a powerful and passionate interest and my preferred style of teaching. Learning by doing matches occupational therapy. I value that students learn to support their ideas with evidence and clear theoretical rationale. I also appreciate the art of occupational therapy which often comes from applying therapeutic use of self, creative problem-solving skills and compassion. Students are frequently engaged in written and dialogic reflection to gain a richer understanding of the experiences in my classes, and with assignments in the community for my courses. It is important for students to link present learning to prior and future learning. Additionally, learning should be fun and meaningful for students.

American Occupational Therapy