1. Bridging the Gap PREPARING SPORTS THERAPY STUDENTS FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSION THROUGH REFLECTIVE PRACTICE BY DOMINIC GORE SENIOR E-LEARNING OFFICER UNIVERSITY COLLEGE BIRMINGHAM

2. 2 Project Background Innovative Solution Utilised PHASE 1 PHASE 2 Results Obtained Impact on Learning Future Developments Presentation Contents

3. 3 Project Background… Many professions in health care industry record and reflect CPD online Forms a legal requirement for professional body membership

4. 4... It was highlighted that Sports Therapy students should select appropriate material to act as evidence to meet the competencies of the ST profession Project commenced October 2008

5. 5... The e-portfolio was created to produce a flexible environment where students could document their clinical practice sessions with clients Student experiences and critical events outside of College was encouraged to be documented The record of clinical hours formed the assessment part for the module Professional Clinical Practice 2

6. Innovative Solution Utilised PHASE 1

7. 7 Phase 1 Roll out initially to final year sports therapy students as initial pilot Personal Learning Space tool provided by Learning Objects inc. (previously branded as ExpoLX)

8. 8... Developed using the Wiki tool within PLS Made available to students through a tab (community system) in the College’s VLE Blackboard Secondary Institution Role setup to allow only final year ST students access

9. 9... Students clicked on the links and edited the relevant wiki pages to add evidence 1gb of space per user allowed for upload of images, audio and text content Sports Therapy staff highlighted that initial uptake was slow from students

10. 10... In the academic year 2008/09 – 80 (100% of cohort) 3 rd year students participated along side 9 members of staff marking, assessing and grading Although workshop sessions were scheduled, access issues occurred Students were unaware that this formed their assessment

11. 11... Lecturers added as contacts and completion monitored throughout the year Once complete, feedback was obtained from 60% of students on design, interface, ease of use etc.

12. 12 Phase 1 – Sports Therapy e-portfolio initial design

13. Innovative Solution Utilised PHASE 2

14. 14 Phase 2 Updated from feedback obtained from students and staff in sports therapy 2009/10 academic year – 92 (100% of cohort) 3 rd year students participated with 9 members of staff

15. 15 … Students are directed to select their ‘experiences’ to fulfil the requirements for membership of Society of Sports Therapy Easier structure for student entries and for lecturers to grade their work

16. 16 … Personal Learning Space tool allows students to export the portfolio and can be used as CPD Links to appropriate websites are included that support CPD process and are themed around ST Examples, templates and instructions are added to the portfolio for support and guidance (as per feedback from students)

17. 17 From this.........

18. 18 To this.... Phase 2 – Sports Therapy e-portfolio re-design

19. Results Obtained

20. 20 Results Obtained Feedback was gained from student online questionnaire, but due to period of release only 40% of students took the time to complete. It is intended that triangulation will be used to gain more feedback in the future i.e. use of focus groups

21. 21 Positive feedback “more user friendly layout and navigation” “Enjoyed reflecting upon my experiences and being able to access online” “it was quite straightforward how to set it up and add images, new blogs and people to view it” “Everything is available to access, very good idea”

22. 22 … Completion of e-portfolio was made compulsory in order to pass the module All 92 students were required to create their own portfolio and prove they had met as many SST competencies as possible

23. 23 … Positive feedback obtained from initial pilot in 2008/2009 and again in 2009/10 academic years As a result…in September 2010 rolled out to 3 years of study with a total of 320 students participating

24. Impact on Learning

25. 25 Impact on learning 70% of students stated that they enjoyed reflecting upon their own experiences Availability of access to the portfolio (via Blackboard) was really useful and insightful

26. 26 … Having the ability to reflect upon and record their experiences forms the foundation for life-long learning and CPD for industry Launch of the e-portfolio has formed the basis for research for members of the sports therapy team

27. Future Developments

28. 28 Future Developments Dependent on capacity of VLE and IT support Bb9.1 and roll-out of new Campus Pack 4 New interface for students to access the portfolio via new designed Personal Learning Space

29. 29 … New academic (Sept 2010) year been rolled out to all 3 years Usage of portfolio across other modules i.e. sports massage, advanced sports therapy etc. Other subject areas looking to roll-out e-portfolio and reflective learning model e.g. Events Management

30. Thank You Dominic Gore University College Birmingham dgore@ucb.ac.uk