Preparing occupational therapy students for practice placements: Initial evidence

Practice placements are a crucial part of occupational therapy education, yet they can be a stressful experience for students, practice placement educators and the university. This may contribute to a shortage of placements. The effectiveness of a 4-week preparation with second-level full-time students at Brunel University, prior to a practice placement was evaluated by a two-part analysis. First, the students’ perspective on the effectiveness of the preparation is presented. This is followed by a comparison of placement grades between the current cohort of students (academic year 2006-2007), who attended the preparation and the previous cohort of students (academic year 2005-2006), who did not have this opportunity

A scientific approach to microphone placement for cymbals in live sound

Current practice regarding overhead microphone placement on drum kits at live events is largely informed by personal experience and industry-standard practice, where there seems to be a lack of scientific evidence supporting these placements. This research addresses this by first recordings from points around different cymbals which are struck by three types of drumsticks. The measurements are processed in MATLAB to produce visual representations of the auditory data. The work puts forward evidence that cymbal radiation patterns are dependent on shape, size, profile and striking method while the attack and sustain are primarily dependent on cymbal weight. Ideal overhead microphone placement diagrams are generated based on these results to give live sound engineers a quick reference guide for best practice at live events

Using accreditation of prior experiential learning (apel) to replace a practice placement: A controversial option?

The Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) is established in higher education, but there are no studies on its use in occupational therapy. Brunel University wanted to investigate whether APEL could enable occupational therapy students meeting certain criteria to be exempt from the first-year practice placement, and so devised an APEL proposal. Practice placement educators and students were invited to give their opinion on the proposal through a questionnaire; additionally, the students attended a nominal group discussion. Three themes emerged from the six practice placement educators who agreed to participate: logistics, student experience and learning opportunities. The three students who participated valued APEL for confirming and recognising learning from previous experience. The low response impedes establishing any definite views on the topic, but could suggest that APEL is not a controversial option to practice placement educators and students. Further study is required on the adoption of APEL in occupational therapy education

Unsung heroes: who supports social work students on placement?

Since the introduction of the three year degree programme in 2003, social work education has undergone a number of significant changes. The time students spend on placement has been increased to two hundred days, and the range of placement opportunities and the way in which these placements have been configured has significantly diversified. A consistent feature over the years, however, has been the presence of a Practice Educator (PE) who has guided, assessed and taught the student whilst on placement. Unsurprisingly, the role of the PE and the pivotal relationship they have with the student has been explored in the past and features in social work literature. This paper, however, concentrates on a range of other relationships which are of significance in providing support to students on placement. In particular it draws on research to discuss the role of the university contact tutor, the place of the wider team in which the student is sited, and the support offered by family, friends and others. Placements and the work undertaken by PE’s will continue to be integral to the delivery of social work education. It is, however, essential to recognise and value the often over looked role of others in providing support to students on placement

Computing Graduate Employability: Sharing Practice

Computing is one of the largest subject areas in Higher Education, and is taught in almost every institution, graduating around 9,000 students each year. However Computing graduates are recorded as having the highest unemployment rates for all subjects (11% for Computing compared with an overall rate of 7% for graduates of all subjects). This new report, jointly published by the Council of Professors and Heads of Computing (CPHC) and Higher Education Academy (HEA) highlights the depth, complexity and richness of employability practices in the sector, and aims to share those practices more widely. The report places practice in a comparative context so that departments may learn what works from each other. It draws on research gathered from over fifty Higher Education institutions in a series of workshops, focus groups and interviews. Throughout, participants’ voices are given priority, with the report structured around the common employability challenges faced by academics. Within that structure, clusters of similar practice (those which appear in several institutions) are presented, together with a series of showcases providing rich detail of specific interventions. Challenges discussed within the report’s three themes of ‘Addressing Employability’, ‘Curriculum Issues’ and ‘Placements’ include ‘the employability agenda’, ‘student engagement’, ‘curriculum design’, ‘reaching “tipping point”’ and ‘finding alternatives to the “sandwich year”’ and are balanced throughout with a ‘View from Employers’. Clusters identify good practice from ‘hackathons’, competitions, mentoring, ‘compulsion’, an employer-led curriculum, industry-focused projects and placement preparation, application, monitoring, return, assessment and alternatives. Showcases highlight practice in ‘auditing employability’, ‘dedicated placement support’, ‘multiplicity of opportunities’, ‘short placement modules’, ‘think future’, ‘summer internships’ and ‘transition week’ from the universities of York, Kent, London South Bank, West of Scotland, Edinburgh Napier, Southampton and Brunel London, amongst other

A case study evaluating the experience of a tutor co-teaching with students on a teacher education placement

In the UK, teacher education often includes more formal sessions facilitated by a university-based tutor and placement-based learning supported by a school-based mentor. Recent English government policy seeks the expansion of school-led teacher education. This suggests a shift in emphasis from current practice. The relationship between centre and placement-based provision therefore comes into focus. Through the implementation of a ‘co-teaching model’ and an interpretive theoretical perspective, this study seeks to explore how the practice of co-teaching supports students to make links between university and placement-based learning and how it can support continuing professional development for university and placementbased colleagues. The study also considers what preparation needs to take place in order for co-teaching to be successful. A critical review of literature provided a framework for conceptualising ‘co-teaching’. Drawing on Parsloe and Leedham’s (2009) coaching model and Neubert and Bratton’s (1987) mentoring model, a cyclical model of ‘co-teaching’ was developed. The model was evaluated through my intervention as a member of a student team on a week’s school placement. Data was collected through a reflective diary, questionnaires and focus group discussion with school-based staff, the student team and questionnaires from the whole student group. Findings extrapolated from the research through analysis of experiences demonstrated that all involved in the process needed to have a shared understanding of co-teaching. Also, it was important for the tutor and students to have a shared experience where the relationship between the tutor and students was one of openness

A practice placement design facilitating occupational therapy students' learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe an addition to the practice placement design for occupational therapy students in Oslo, and to report on the learning experiences related to this modified practice placement design among the participants. Design/methodology/approach – Occupational therapy students and practice educators were interviewed in focus groups after having participated in an exploration of the utility of the Assessment of Communication and Interaction Skills during mental health placement. Thematic analysis was applied to the data material. Findings – Four themes emerged relating to the students’ learning experiences during practice placement. They were theory-practice integration; the role of supervision; self-awareness of communication; and socialization to the therapist role. Practical implications – The practice placement design addition presented in this paper was well received by students and practice educators. It contributed to students’ focussed experience and to their active participation within a community of practice. The program appears to be one way of organizing placement with a potential for making a substantial contribution to occupational therapy students’ learning. Originality/value – The study adds to the existing literature in providing an example of a successful addition to the practice placement design, and in the detailed account of the learning experiences among the participants

Placing Children with Relatives: The Case for a Clear Rationale for Separate Foster Care Licensing Standards, Background Check Procedures, and Improved Relative Placement Statutes in Alaska

Policymakers generally agree that if a child cannot live safely with her parents, then the child should be placed expeditiously with a relative. Alaska’s current system for evaluating relative caregivers is overly complicated, creating unnecessary barriers for relatives and increasing the risk of mistakenly denying placement with relatives. This Article argues that Alaska should adopt a three-step approach to achieve better outcomes based on the American Bar Association’s model licensing standards, which are narrowly tailored to evaluate whether a child should be placed with a relative. Additionally, this Article argues that Alaska should repeal its state statute that gives the child welfare agency the ability to establish prima facie evidence to deny a relative if a relative would not be eligible for a foster care license, for two reasons. First, a review of the history of the state’s statutes indicates that the legislature did not intend to provide the Department of Health and Human Services with the current definition of prima facie evidence. Second, Alaska’s current statute is not compliant with the 2016 federal regulations regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act. Lastly, this Article argues that Alaska should adopt a statute clearly delineating the court’s authority to order placement of a child facing foster care with a relative to expedite compliance with relative placement in frontline child welfare practice. Adopting these proposals would reduce barriers and the number of mistakes in frontline child welfare practice, which would increase both the timeliness and the number of children placed with relatives