Collaboration in Remediation: A Team Approach for Student Success
Purpose:
As educators, we have a responsibility to society to ensure that our graduates can practice physical therapy safely and in a competent manner. To meet this need, students must enter the work force with a foundation of knowledge, appropriate psychomotor skills, and the ability to problem solve in an ever-changing environment. For that reason, when students do not meet established objectives within the physical therapy curriculum, the development and completion of an individualized remediation intervention is essential to ongoing student success. While there are many contributing factors that make a remediation successful, the ability for students to receive and act on feedback is essential to the learning process. Therefore, the purpose of this educational session is to highlight the role of feedback using a team-based approach to student remediation in a physical therapy program using a case study format.
Methods and/or Description of Project:
Remediation is the responsibility to take action to remedy an occurrence that, if left unresolved, can have unfavorable outcomes; therefore, intervening can address the situation1. Remediation interventions should be developed and implemented to meet the diverse learning styles and needs of our students. However, students’ academic deficits rarely lie in one domain (i.e., gaps in knowledge, psychomotor skills, clinical reasoning, etc.)2, 3. Additionally, deficits in academic skills (i.e., time management, study habits, test taking skills, etc.) can exacerbate the situation or be the root cause altogether4. Therefore, when creating a remediation intervention, there is an inherent difficulty in identifying specific learner deficits; especially for learners with multiple and/or severe challenges5. The daunting task of remediation development can be mitigated by a team approach—those who are stakeholders in the process3.
Once developed, success of the remediation intervention is dependent on feedback. Feedback is providing an unbiased reflection of events in order to guide student’s learning and clinical performance6. Feedback is an ongoing process that is an essential part of learning7. Without feedback throughout the remediation process, students are left to rely on self-appraisal, which can be misleading and ineffective for professional growth8, 9. Feedback from multiple stakeholders throughout the remediation process can provide support and clarification to aid the student in developing an action plan for success3.
Using a case study format, this session will discuss the collaborative efforts of program administration, the Director of Clinical Education, academic faculty, the University’s learning specialist, and the clinical instructor in the development and the execution of a remediation intervention for a struggling student. The effort of the team and their respective roles and the feedback strategies used and developed from this case study will be shared to provide further guidance on the topic of effective remediation intervention development.
Results/Outcomes:
The student’s didactic and clinical skills were reviewed to determine the deficient domains. The program administration personnel insured that the institutional policies were followed throughout the remediation process. The University’s learning specialist intervened early, addressing a wide range of academic skills through academic coaching sessions and peer tutoring. The Director of Clinical Education adjusted the student’s clinical rotation to allow the student sufficient time to successfully complete the remediation intervention and created a unique feedback approach during the clinical rotation to provide further guidance and encouragement, while working closely with the clinical instructor. The academic faculty member developed the content of the intervention, creating assignments and activities incorporating multiple domains as a means to meet the specific needs of the student. The clinical instructor worked directly with the student throughout the clinical experience, communicating with the department on a weekly basis. The team approach and dedication and hard work of the student resulted in a successful remediation intervention and clinical experience.
At the conclusion of the educational session, attendees will have a greater understanding of the collaboration required in a remediation team to develop a successful remediation intervention for a struggling student. Attendees will learn strategies to promote student success in the clinical setting and the classroom.
Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme:
This educational session relates to the conference theme All Hands-On Deck: Generations X, Y, Z Working as a Team, with specific relevancy to the thematic area, Coordinates for Change—Remediation Strategies for Success. At the conclusion of this presentation, attendees will be educated on forming a student remediation intervention, with a focus on feedback, to address deficiencies in the classroom, clinic, or a combination of both. In order to better meet the needs of today’s students, strategies for implementation will focus on characteristics of Millennials.