Course Syllabus

Video Overview of Syllabus: (Optional)

Reference Slides:

Syllabus

Foundations of Occupational Science for US-Based OTPs Syllabus

Course Purpose

The purpose of this project is to enhance field occupational therapy practitioner literacy and orientation to foundational and emerging occupational science as it relates to contemporary practice application in the United States.

Overall Course Goals:

• Students will have an introductory literacy and orientation to the foundations of occupational science to be able to confidently pursue further learning.
• Students will be open to and engage with new perspectives and possibilities related to occupation and occupation-based practice in the United States in traditional and emerging practice settings.
• Students will understand the significant role they play as field clinicians in the ongoing evolution of occupational therapy and occupational science in the United States as part of an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary scientific process.
• Students will have access to the support needed to start making goals and plans to engage with occupational science to enhance their daily life and practice as occupational therapy practitioners in the US.

Course Objectives:

• Engage with a diversity of perspectives on the interdisciplinary scientific study of occupation as it relates to contemporary occupational therapy practice in the United States.
• Critically reflect on and discuss common occupational therapy practice assumptions in the United States that are likely to be challenged by exposure to scientific developments in the contemporary understanding of occupation internationally in relation to their own evolving occupational identity as an occupational therapy practitioner.
• Understand the significant role you play as a field clinician in the ongoing evolution of occupational therapy and occupational science in the United States as part of an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary scientific process.
• Access to the support needed to start making goals and plans to engage with occupational science to enhance your daily life and practice as an occupational therapy practitioner in the US.
• Understand and apply foundational occupational science processes, concepts, and perspectives to enhance self, community, and practice understanding at the individual, micro-, meso-, and macro-levels in safe, simulated contexts.
• Identify resources and community supports for ongoing learning and participation with occupational Science efforts to support the evolution of occupation-based practice development in the US.
• Identify the significant role field clinicians play in developing and implementing occupational science in the context of occupation-based practice in the US.
• Build a plan for engaging with occupational science concepts, tools, communities, and scholarship to enhance and evolve current and future practice and roles as an OS-informed occupational therapy practitioner in the US.

Course Modules

Each module will be dripped and released to students as they are created and will start with a video overview and a list of learning objectives that review the goals, purpose, activities, and content at the beginning of each module. A list of all upcoming module objectives can be viewed: here

• Course Orientation and Onboarding 
• How to Access Materials and Publications Referenced as an Occupational Therapy Practitioner  
• Value of Occupational Science Literacy for Occupational Therapy Practitioners
• Occupation and Contemporary History  
• What is a Science? and Who is a Scientist?
• Occupation and International Philosophy, Theory, and Values  
• Common Scientific Inquiry Methods for Exploring Occupation  
• Occupation and Human Origins
• Occupation and Self Understanding  
• Occupation and Community Understanding  
• Critical Literature Review for OT Practice Application   
• Occupational Science and Policy Development for Occupational Health, Justice, and Wellbeing
• Occupational Science and United States Social Services
• Occupational Science and the United States Medical Model   
• Occupational Science and the Distinct Value of OT in the US
• How to Utilize Occupational Science in Traditional United States OT Practice Settings
• Coalition Building for Effective Self and Client Advocacy for Occupation-Based OT in the US
• Your Part in the Future of Occupational Science and Occupational therapy  
• Course Summary and Evaluation

Course Readings and Resources

There are no required textbooks or advanced reading required for this course. All included educational content, as well as recommended additional reading and course content references, will be included within each module to aid in the organization based on topic and syllabus concision. Any required content will be freely available to students within the module. Appealing to the learning theory of connectivism, this course will encourage students to explore publicly available online educational resources and supplemental materials outside of the course such as websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, and open-source journal publications to enhance their ongoing learning and orientation to Occupational Science. All materials included in this course are offered to students through creative commons, fair use, or explicit permission by the copyright holder for educational purposes.

Course Location and Duration:

To maximize accessibility to a diversity of occupational therapy practitioner field clinicians across the United States the curriculum has been designed to be completed remotely and asynchronously online. The full course can be accessed on this link with optional opportunities to connect virtually with the course facilitator and student community online through the course Upcoach hub. The modules are designed to be completed sequentially as they are released. While there is no hard deadline for course completion, students who complete the module content and activities will be rewarded and recognized for their achievements with completion certificates, bonus content, and entry for prizes. Students who complete all modules in the course will earn a cumulative certificate, entry for prizes, and priority access to future educational opportunities.

Capstone Course Duration:

October of 2022-November of 2022

(Module completion times will vary in length and are likely to vary between students. During this time frame, optional weekly office hours and monthly discussion groups will be available to all who enroll during the capstone course duration. Students who enroll during this window will have free lifetime access to any modules released and may complete materials and online learning activities and discussions in their own timeline. Office hours and monthly discussion groups may discontinue after November of 2022. Some students may complete all modules quickly; others may need more time. This course has been designed to be maximally accessible to the needs and time constraints of diverse OTPs in the US).

Monthly occupational Science Discussion Group (Optional): 

Third Sunday of Every Month 1:00pm to 2:30pm PST (Starting Sunday, Novemeber, 20th) 

Sign up in events in FOS course hub

Course Facilitator Introduction and Methods of Contact:

Josephine (Josie) Jarvis is an occupational Therapist in Washington State who will be facilitating this course as her doctoral capstone project affiliated with the University of Utah Post-Professional Clinical Doctorate in occupational therapy. Josie was inspired to become an occupational Therapist by growing up with a cousin who lived with a rare chromosomal disorder. Seeking a practical career that would allow for integration of science, psychology, advocacy, and the humanities with a focus on taking constructive action for human wellbeing across the lifespan and globe, Josie rediscovered occupational therapy prior to completing her bachelor's degree. Josie's passion for translating occupational science into United States practice settings is informed by her lifelong investment in governmental advocacy and undergraduate background in interdisciplinary studies through The Evergreen State College. In 2012 she graduated with a BA in Social Science with an emphasis on governmental advocacy and BS in Evolutionary Biology focused on human physiological adaptations around cyclical time. She graduated with her Master’s of occupational therapy from Eastern Washington University in 2015, with a research focus on Executive Functioning in Adolescent School-Role Performance. She has been active in state and federal occupational therapy advocacy efforts through the Washington Occupational Therapy Association and the American Occupational Therapy Association, including the 2014 Emerging Leader Development Program. Since obtaining her OTR/L license in 2016, Josie has practiced as a Clinical OT traveler and lifespan therapist in a variety of United States practice settings, including Post-Acute Care, Outpatient Pediatrics, School-Based Practice, Adult Transition Services, Mobile Outpatient Services, and currently Acute Care Orthopedics and Emerging Practice Development. She is passionate about empowering holistic occupation-based services across every practice setting in the United States with a strong foundation in scientific literacy in alignment with the AOTA 2025 Vision and the World Federation of Occupational Therapy's Commitment to Human Rights.

Where Josie Can be Contacted: (Please allow for up to 48hrs for a response)

• Email: JosieJarvisOT@gmail.com
• Course/Technical Support: Purple Chat Icon in the Bottom Right Corner of Member Vault
• Office Hours Booking:link
• FOS Course Hub
• Monthly occupational Science Discussion Group (Optional): Third Sunday of Every Month 1:00pm to 2:30pm Pacific Standard Time

Program Philosophy, Mission & Vision

This course design is heavily informed by the philosophy and values of:

• Humanism (ethical and secular commitment to human betterment)
• Pluralism (peaceful coexistence of diverse perspectives and lifestyles)
• Cosmopolitanism (all people are entitled to equal respect and consideration no matter their citizenship status)
• Practical Idealism (ethical imperative to implement ideals of virtue or good)
• Philosophical Base of Occupational Therapy
• Philosophy of Occupational Therapy Education
• AOTA's Vision 2025
• World Federation of occupational therapy's Commitment to Human Rights
• SSO:USA Position Statement on the Relationships between Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

Philosophy of Teaching and Learning

This curriculum will provide a remotely accessible transformative learning experience through the combined application of connectivism, transformational learning, narrative learning, social learning, vicarious learning, behaviorism, principles of occupation-centered education, game-based learning models, and established best practices for remote asynchronous online learning with compliance with AOTA’s approved provider guidelines (currently developing a program for future approval) and NBCOT professional development units for online learning communities.

Pre-requisites

This course is designed for occupational therapy field clinicians and occupational therapy students based in the United States. It is helpful if students can access resources available through membership to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) such as Occupational Therapy Practice Framework Domain and Process 4th Edition (OTPF4) and The American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT); however, membership is not required to complete and obtain completion certificates for this course. Students must agree to the engage.evolvedlivingnetwork.com terms of service, privacy policy, and community guidelines, along with consent for email communication and capstone project evaluation.

Technology Requirements

• High-Speed Internet or Phone-based Internet Connection
• Desktop, Tablet, or Mobile Device
• Email Address
• Keyboard
• Optional: Web Camera
• Optional: Microphone

Standards for Completion

• To obtain module completion certificates, students are expected to critically consume all required course materials and media content and participate in critical reflection, discussion, practice challenges, game-based learning activities, and the post-module assessment quizzes.

• Time values will be pre-assigned to all required and supplemental educational content and activities and tracked for active participation at the end of the module with a representative point value that will accrue toward earning a professional development certificate and transcript as defined by the NBCOT® Professional Development Units (PDU) Activities Chart for online learning communities.

• To obtain the course completion certificate, students must complete both the summative pre-and post-course student assessment and course evaluation.

• Post-module assessment quizzes will require 80% accuracy to obtain a passing grade to progress to the next module and receive a certificate of completion with up to 18 total reportable NBCOT® Professional Development Units (PDUs). Critical reflection, discussion, practice challenges, and game-based learning activities are graded based on participation.

• Critical reflection prompts submitted to the course are consolidated anonymously on the platform (they cannot be traced to any specific student, however, can be viewed by the course developer to aid in-course assessment and ongoing improvement of the course), if students prefer to complete these activities with additional privacy, they can use a journal and communicate that in the available fields on the platform to track towards their participation in course activities.

Benefits of Completion:

• Module Independent Learning PDU Certificates: Each completed module with a successful post-module assessment quiz will offer the student a Professional Development Unit certificate for that module that may count for NBCOT renewal and for state licensure depending on your State licensure requirements (This course is currently not yet certified with the AOTA approved CEU approved provider program).

• Bonus Content: The course platform is programmed to unlock surprise bonus content as students accrue participation points by completing educational activities.

• Bonus Leader Board Recognition and Prizes/Active Participation in the Social Platform: Surprise shout-outs and eligibility for prizes and resources will occur throughout the course by reference to engaged students in educational activities, course discussion, and social discussion platform. 

• Course Completion Certificate: Students that successfully complete all modules and the pre-and post-student assessment will receive a digital badge and a course completion certificate that enables priority and discounted access to future advanced educational resources and programming.

• Students that successfully complete all modules and the pre-and post-student assessment by 11/30/2022 will be entered in a drawing to win the prizes listed: here (prizes to be determined [TBD])

Student Evaluation

• Students will be evaluated formatively on participation in material consumption, critical reflection, discussion, and activity engagement.

• Anonymous critical reflection activities will aid in ongoing course refinement with formative qualitative data.

• Comprehension of core module content will be assessed with post-module quizzes that require 80% mastery with unlimited retakes to unlock progress into the next module.

• Transformational learning will be evaluated based on pre-and post- student assessments before and after full course completion with qualitative and qualitative data reporting and assessment for ongoing course improvement efforts.

Course Evaluation

• Formative: Students are encouraged to offer direct and or anonymous module feedback/ask questions in each module with responses that will be compiled and tracked to aid in improving the ongoing user experience and upgrading educational content over time.

• Summative: Students are encouraged to offer anonymous course feedback with responses that will be compiled and analyzed to aid in improving the ongoing user experience and upgrading educational content over time.

Netiquette Expectations

• Respect is shown to a diversity of identities and orientations toward OT practice.

• Respect the confidentiality of your OT clients and other students in the course (admission to the course is rolling; please use the anonymous comment option for the highest degree of long-term privacy protection. Anonymous comments will still be deleted if they violate community guidelines).

• The course facilitator reserves the right to remove any comments or students from the program that routinely violate community guidelines, terms of service, and privacy policy.

Guidelines for Constructive Dialog/Discussion: (From Professor Rachel Hershberg of the University of Washington Tacoma)

• Listen carefully and deeply
• Share time and space
• Be aware of INTENT and IMPACT
  • Take a minute when needed 
  • Refrain from using damaging language
• Work hard to understand different views
• Challenge ideas, not people
• Expect/accept discomfort and joy as part of the learning process 
• Engage from a place of compassion (open heart)
• Replace judgment with curiosity (open mind)

• Community Guidelines: https://engage.evolvedlivingnetwork.com/community-guidelines

Disability, Accessibility, and Mental Health Accommodation

If you have any kind of disability, whether apparent or non-apparent, learning, emotional, physical, sensory, or cognitive, and you need accommodations or alternatives to lectures, assignments, or exams, please feel free to contact me (via email josiejarvisOT@gmail.com or the purple chat icon in the bottom right corner) to discuss reasonable accommodations for your access needs.

Efforts have been made, when possible, to offer transcription of videos and audio, along with English subtitles, as well as automated adaptation of much of the website through the accessibility widget in the bottom left corner of the course. There are many areas of the course that may not be modified by the widget's functionality. Please contact customer support via the purple chat icon in the bottom right corner if you require an additional modification of a course resource or activity to enable your successful participation and learning in the course.

Legal Disclaimers & Acknowledgements

Conditions of Participation:

In exchange for free access to the Foundations of Occupational Science Course and Community, all students must agree to abide by the Terms of Service, Community Guidelines, and Privacy policy.  Students must consent to ongoing communication with Josephine Jarvis and assessment of course contributions and feedback to aid Josephine Jarvis's capstone project defense with the University of Utah.

User contributions may be utilized for publication of course assessment and analysis for Capstone Project Defense and promotion efforts of Occupational Science education and practice translation efforts in the future. 

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Community Guidelines: https://engage.evolvedlivingnetwork.com/community-guidelines

Privacy Policy: https://engage.evolvedlivingnetwork.com/privacy-policy

Notice of Copyright

Materials in this course—unless otherwise indicated—are protected by United States copyright law [Title 17, U.S. Code]. Materials are presented in an educational context for personal use and study and should not be shared, distributed, or sold in print—or digitally—outside the course without permission.

As a student, your ability to post or link to copyrighted material is also governed by United States copyright law. The law allows for students to post or link to copyrighted materials within the course environment when the materials are pertinent to course work. Instructors—or other staff of the institution—reserve the right to delete or disable your post or link if, in their judgment, it would involve a violation of copyright law.

Financial and Non-Financial Interests

The course facilitator and course platform are not currently receiving any financial compensation related to this course or any of the resources promoted within the course. Many of the specialists who have been interviewed in this course may be affiliated with publications that they receive compensation for outside of this course and platform. While efforts have been made to include a diverse representation of perspectives related to Occupational Science, the course facilitator (Josephine Jarvis) has been limited by bias toward publications in the English language. Many of the interviews included in this course were facilitated through personal and professional networking events and may not represent a wholly representative selection of perspectives of occupational science worldwide. As an introductory course, we encourage students to develop broader and deeper learning beyond this course for appreciation for a diversity of perspectives and orientation to perspectives on occupational science and occupational therapy throughout the globe.

Designed for United States Based OTPs

This course has been designed to offer educational insight to OTP clinicians who practice within the United States. However, there is a great variety in practice-based law and regulation that can occur at various levels of practice, including at the local, state, federal, and international levels. Please consult your local, regional regulatory guidelines (such as state practice board and practice facility leadership) prior to implementing anything discussed or explored in this educational program.

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We have done our best to ensure that the information provided on this Website and the resources available for download are accurate and provide valuable information. Regardless of anything to the contrary, nothing available on or through this Website should be understood as a recommendation that you should not consult with a professional to address your particular information. The Company expressly recommends that you seek advice from a professional.

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Acknowledgments

This course has been made possible by the support and investment of countless educators, mentors, colleagues, clients, family members, and friends throughout my life this project was supported in development by contributors of the University of Utah Capstone Project Committee:

• M. Pollie Price, PhD
• John White, PhD
• Yda Smith, PhD
• Susan Burwash, PhD (Honorary member)