Current Courses
Fall 2023
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OC TH 6040-001
Creative Occupations -
OC TH 6050-001
The Body; Occupation -
OC TH 6050-002
The Body; Occupation -
OC TH 6980-005
Special Workshops -
OC TH 7310-001
Case Based Learning 1
Summer 2023
Spring 2023
Professional Organizations
- Team Based Learning Collaborative. 03/08/2018 - present. Position : Member.
- Utah Occupational Therapy Association. 01/20/1992 - present. Position : Member.
- American Occupational Therapy Association. 06/20/1988 - present. Position : Member.
Practice History
- Life Skills Clinic- treatment of adult clients with high level cognitive impairments. Caseload of 4-6 clients from a variety of referral sources. 01/01/2014 - present .
Teaching Philosophy
My teaching approach is based on the constructivist theory which includes content, activities, and assessments that encourage students to construct their understanding of material by incorporating personal experiences, preious knowledge on the topic and interests. My role is to act as a facilitator of the learning process. I do this by developing classroom and homework experiences that engage students, offer explicit links to pracitce, and increase enthusiasm through active engagement.
I believe that each class of students has characteristics and preferences that should drive the course. I aim to be organized and prepared yet flexible with my lesson plans to accommodate special interests or needs as they arise. I consider myself a participant in the process and emphasize to the students that we are all learners and educators and must respect the learning process of everyone involved. There is value in hearing questions and concerns from students and I believe it helps to hear how information might be viewed differently by people at various learning stages. Comments and questions can assist in expanding thinking and promote conversations that may not be elicited by a lecture or by hearing only my viewpoint. Although it may seem odd to say, I rarely directly answer questions in my class. Instead I use the questions as an avenue for the students to explore a topic, problem solve, and develop clinical reasoning. This method often indimidates the students at first but with experience they grow and realize the benefits of self-discovery.
My most effective skill in the classroom is storyteling; adding real clinical experiences to my lessons in an effort to make the information accessible, relevant, and motivating. There stories are meant to reflect clinical resoning but also passion for my profession and respect for the clients I have had the privilege of knowing.
My goal for the courses I teach is for the students to become competent in the skills and behaviors needed to be successful entry-level professionals in OT. I have high expectations of my students but approach their growth in a systematic way that involves scaffolding of assignments and grading. I provide specific feedback realted to progress in clinical reasoning and make this the focus rather than rigid correct answers. I believe feedback on assignments should prepare students for the expectations in clinical practice and there should be no surprises.
Courses I Teach
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OCTH 5030
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The Body as a Component of Occupation
Anatomy and kinesiology aspects of occupations. This course is co-taught and my main contribution is the two lab portions. -
OCTH 5060
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Conditions that Impact Occupations
A course that covers the medical conditions often seen by occupational therapists and how these conditions impact participation. -
OCTH 6040
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Creative Occupations and Analysis
A course that teaches task analysis and the process of grading occupations -
OCTH 6260
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Occupations & Practice- Evaluations II
This course teaches how to administer standardized and non-standardized assessments, develop observation skills, and formulate treatment goals in the process of assessing adult clients for occupational therapy services. -
OCTH 6530
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Cognition & Occupation
This course covers the main aspects of cognition, how deficits in cognition impact participation, and how to treat clients will cognitive deficits across the lifespan. -
OCTH 7132
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Academic and Clinical Teaching in OT
This course teaches practicing occupational therapists how to incorporate teaching concepts and theories into their clinical and/or academic work.
Teaching Projects
- Developing Study Skills for Success in Graduate School. Project Lead: Beth Cardell. Collaborators: Jessica Bodily, Trevor Thompson. None 10/16/2019 - present. Total Budget: $0.00.
- Developing clinical skills on the acute medical floor. Project Lead: Beth Cardell. Collaborators: Neil Scott. University Teaching Grant 01/26/2015 - 01/30/2017. Total Budget: $614.00.
- Increasing Clinical Reasoning Through the use of Technology. Project Lead: Beth Cardell. Collaborators: Eliza Young. Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program 01/2014 - 04/2014.
- Developing Clinical Reasoning and Observation Skills. Project Lead: Beth Cardell. University Teaching Committee Grant 10/30/2013 - 12/30/2014. Total Budget: $840.00.
- Undergraduate Student Experts on Teaching: Using Avatars for Clinical Skills Education. Project Lead: Beth Cardell. Collaborators: Eliza Young. Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence 08/2013 - 05/2013.
OC TH 5090-002, -003, -004
Spring 2013- Neuroanatmoy Lab Insturctor, six hours per week.