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As faculty instructors , the experience in transitioning to emergency remote teaching required extensive planning and re-organization of content and teaching methods . Determining a balance between asynchronous and synchronous instruction was a concern , while preserving student engagement throughout the course . The authors noted the potential for virtual learning burnout and attempted to provide other learning opportunities that promoted student to student learning through breakout sessions and meaningful discussion board forums . Recorded lectures were divided into segments to allow for break periods and increase overall sustained attention . Virtual office hours were extended , and students were encouraged to meet with instructors individually using virtual means as needed . Other faculty sought out additional learning methods such as the supplemental use of YouTube videos to provide additional explanations and examples for psychomotor skill development such as splint making , including use of the student ’ s own natural environment to practice simulated patient interactions such as transfer training with family members while receiving instructor feedback .
Faculty Perspectives
The authors , as faculty from one occupational therapy program , would like to highlight the unanticipated benefits from online learning . While being affected by limited IT support to successfully transition to online learning platforms , there were some inherent gains experienced using the existing learning management system . We recognized that the need to create online instructional modules allowed for more expansive inclusion of various multi-media teaching tools that extended beyond the traditional in-person lecture format . YouTube videos , interactive website links and customized instructor written materials allowed us to reach students with different learning styles than would have otherwise not been met in more traditional classroom settings .
From an instructor perspective , creating recorded asynchronous lectures yielded more intentional and richer follow-up synchronous class discussions . One faculty member felt that they were able to narrow in more on the lecture topic during recorded session with less distraction and this generated more concentrated coverage of the material , while still having the benefit during synchronous class time to delve further through the didactic classroom exchange .
Lastly , the breakout sessions created intimate , yet structured discussions that were more focused and resulted in more students sharing their findings during the whole classroom session . It appeared as if students felt more prepared to share their results and the small group setting validated their thinking giving them more confidence to share their discussion findings . Instructor led coaching during breakout sessions were also particularly helpful as there was less distraction and created environments that were more closely knit , working well for case study meetings and other task specific projects .
Student Perspectives
While we have discussed some faculty perspectives , we wish to share student perspectives . We recently surveyed students across all of our cohorts to determine present perceptions and potential future directions . Of the nearly 150 students in our program , we received a response rate of ~ 30 % ( n = 56 ). Here we highlight some compelling findings giving us perspective about lessons learned and future directions listing frequency response rating with featured comments :
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15 Illinois Occupational Therapy Association | 2021 ISSUE 1