Promoting reflection in practice education: pitfalls and practical tools

Summary of the Workshop: Reflection is an essential component of occupational therapy education both within the academic and practice contexts and also as students transition into professional practice (Adams, et al 2013).... [ view full abstract ]

Summary of the Workshop:
Reflection is an essential component of occupational therapy education both within the academic and practice contexts and also as students transition into professional practice (Adams, et al 2013). Accreditation agencies’ increasingly require professionals to provide evidence of reflection, therefore ensuring that reflective practice is developed and experienced is important to student education (Mann, et al 2009).At times students have difficulty reflecting on their experience in order to promote learning. As the work contexts of occupational therapists are constantly changing, occupational therapy students need to utilise reflection to enhance the quality of their professional practice and strengthen their professional identity (Warren, 2014).

This workshop will focus on the importance of reflection as identified from research related to traditional and non-traditional placements in Ireland and the UK. Workshop participants will be introduced to a range of tools to promote reflection in practice education settings. There will be an opportunity to critique a range of reflective tools for their use in traditional and non-traditional placements. This workshop intends to be interactive, shaped around research findings with exploration of a range of tools and resources to promote refection during occupational therapy placements.

The maximum number of participants for the workshop is 20. This workshop would be suitable for anyone with an interest in facilitating learning with occupational therapy students, including practitioners, academics and students.