An interdisciplinary introduction of multisensory environment lab through Team Based Learning

An interdisciplinary introduction of multisensory environment lab through Team Based Learning. The main objective was to use a state of the art multisensory environment lab (MSE) as a learning arena for interdisciplinary... [ view full abstract ]

An interdisciplinary introduction of multisensory environment lab through Team Based Learning.

The main objective was to use a state of the art multisensory environment lab (MSE) as a learning arena for interdisciplinary cooperation.
- Create mutual learning in an MSE lab using Team Based Learning (TBL).
- Reflect on professional identity in cooperation with other professions.
- Share and incorporate knowledge from cooperating profession.
Interdisciplinary learning has shown to develop boundary-crossing skills, such as interdisciplinary thinking (E.Spelt 2009). Interdisciplinary thinking is defined as the capacity to integrate knowledge of two or more disciplines to produce a cognitive advancement.
TBL is considered as an effective learning strategy, and encourages the participants in active learning (E.Parmelee, 2012). In Dunns model a person's ways of responding to sensory events in daily life can be characterized as reflecting both a particular threshold strategy and a responding (W.Dunn, 2001). Based on the combination of these parameters the model refers to four interaction points.
Method
Two students from occupational therapy, two from social education and two music students volunteered for a five-day program with focus on MSE and interdisciplinary cooperation. Teachers from the three educations developed learning objectives and selected literature for the study.
Each student visited the MSE-lab with no special setup and wrote a report, this to create a baseline. The TBL method was then introduced.
Student groups were assigned to design a therapeutically use of MSE for a person with a chosen dysfunction, followed by a practical set up.