• SDL is a component of lifelong learning, which is an expectation for all physiotherapists as practitioners within a regulated health profession
• Provides students with essential skills that are needed to work within changing practice contexts
• In the framework of the Physiotherapy Program at McMaster:
  • Students use SDL to determine their own learning goals and how to best achieve them (i.e. selecting appropriate learning resources, measuring own progress, setting timelines)
  • Faculty facilitate SDL by asking questions, stimulating critical thinking, challenging students’ points of view, providing feedback and evaluating student performance

• A conceptual framework that contends that knowledge is best remembered in the context in which it is learned, and that acquisition and integration of new knowledge requires activation of prior knowledge
• Requires the learner to encounter a problem first as the initial stimulus for learning, which actively involves the learner in the learning process, allowing:
  • the learner to shape learning to meet personal needs through independent study appropriate to individual learning styles
  • integration of information from many sources, including student peers into a conceptual framework for use in dealing with future problems

Integrated

• Knowledge and clinical skills are introduced and revisited in multiple courses in one unit (i.e. term) – which is known as horizontal integration – as well as over the course of the Physiotherapy Program – which is known as vertical integration. For example:
  • Students may discuss a clinical case in the problem based tutorial course, review relevant assessment and treatment techniques in the clinical laboratory course, and discuss underlying anatomical and pathophysiological changes anatomy and physiology sessions in one term
  • The same condition is then revisited but with more complexity (i.e. more secondary complications, workload demands) in a subsequent unit and students have the opportunity to apply what they already know and enhance this knowledge with new learning

Inter-professional

• An important component of the educational framework with rehabilitation and health sciences
• Within the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster, the Program for Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research (PIPER) provides opportunities for students to develop interprofessional competencies such as collaboration, communication and conflict resolution. Visit the PIPER website to learn more.
• Students in the MSc(PT) Program are required to participate in a minimum number of interprofessional events prior to completing the MSc(PT) Program.

• Many health care practitioners experience clinical scenarios that are complex, uncertain and unique. Reflective practice occurs when an individual uses reflection as a means of learning from experiences to not only advance one’s expertise, but also to navigate through complex problems that arise in professional practice (Schon 1987; Ziebart, 2019)
• Reflective practice is linked to life long and experiential learning, which are essential to maintaining competency in professional practice
• Examples of how reflective practice will be developed over the course of the MSc(PT) Program include:
  • Self-regulation activities – students set goals for their learning and attempt to monitor, regulate and control their motivation, cognition and behaviours
  • Reflective writing assignments
  • Large and small group discussions within courses

• An expected student outcome of the MSc(PT) Program is to develop graduates who are able to critically evaluate and effectively apply evidence as a basis for physiotherapy practice in order to determine the effectiveness of interventions and to contribute to a body of knowledge in physiotherapy. Thus, EBP is an important part of our educational framework
  • To achieve this outcome, students in the MSc(PT) Program learn how to:
    • Evaluate and use evidence to support their clinical decisions
    • Incorporate the needs and values of clients in clinical decision making
    • Develop effective clinical skills
• In the second year, students will advance their EBP and research skills by working in groups on research projects and presenting the results of this work to peers, faculty and the clinical community

• Many healthcare practitioners experience clinical scenarios that are complex, uncertain and unique. Reflective practice occurs when an individual uses reflection as a means of learning from experiences to not only advance one’s expertise, but also to navigate through complex problems that arise in professional practice (Schon 1987; Ziebart, 2019)
• Reflective practice is linked to lifelong and experiential learning, which are essential to maintaining competency in professional practice
• Examples of how reflective practice will be developed over the course of the MSc(PT) Program include:
  • Self-regulation activities – students set goals for their learning and attempt to monitor, regulate and control their motivation, cognition and behaviours
  • Reflective writing assignments
  • Large and small group discussions within courses

• Performance of the group as a whole, as well as individual group members (including the tutor) in tutorials is evaluated on a regular basis throughout each unit
• The final student grade in the tutorial is based on contribution to content, contribution to process, evidence-based practice skills and professional behaviours (i.e., self-assessment, peer-assessment, and tutor evaluation)

Content comprised of multiple choice questions (MCQs) and short answers are used to assess knowledge, and application of knowledge.

• Designed to assess aspects of clinical reasoning and problem-solving using a paper problem as a stimulus
• The MEQ presents the student with progressive amounts of information about a practice problem in a sequence predetermined by the examiner. At successive stages, the student responds to the information and is asked to make and explain his/her decisions

• Evaluate knowledge, critical appraisal skills, critical thinking, analysis and synthesis skills, and reflective thinking skills
• Test the understanding of principles or relationships
• Foster independent thinking and learning
• Develop and evaluate writing skills
• Essays are assessed on content, organization, style, and mechanics. A problem write-up which focuses on a particular case scenario/client problem is a variation of the traditional essay

• Used primarily to evaluate technical/behavioural skills
• This type of evaluation may be used in practical examinations to evaluate a student’s interviewing skills, assessment techniques, and/or use of therapeutic interventions

• This is an objective evaluation measure used to assess components of clinical competence
• It has potential for testing a wide range of knowledge and clinical skills, and can be utilized to evaluate a large number of students during one examination period
• It can be used as a formative or summative measure of student performance and also provides valuable feedback to faculty for the purpose of curriculum revision
• The OSCE is structured in such a way as to sample student performance in a variety of areas and to make maximum use of the time available. Students rotate around a series of timed stations. There may be up to 10 stations of five or 10 minutes duration. At each station, students are asked to perform a specific task such as taking a patient history, performing a physical examination or diagnostic procedure, teaching/counselling/advising a patient, writing a prescription or report, charting, performing a treatment technique or other clinical procedure, and interpreting findings such as lab reports, and x-rays
  • Examiner stations, where an observer is asked to score a student’s performance, usually entail interaction with a standardized patient or use of a mannequin
  • Marker stations, where a student is asked to answer written questions, record findings or interpret patient data, do not require an observer but entail subsequent marking
• Evaluation criteria are determined in advance on the basis of course objectives and student learning activities. A standardized rating form is used for evaluation by the examiners. Safety and professionalism are included within the evaluative criteria.

• Physiotherapists must be able to articulate and defend an opinion or position, and, to present information and ideas in an organized and clear manner
• Individual and group presentations are integrated across the curriculum

• Typically used to evaluate student performance during clinical placement experiences and for remedial work
• The use of a learning contract reinforces the student’s role as an active participant in the process of learning
• Comprised of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) goals and is developed by the student and approved by a faculty member and clinical instructor(s)
• Goals specify what the student will learn, how this will be accomplished, within what time frame, and what specific evaluation criteria will be used