ERIC Number: ED452784
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 2001-Apr
Pages: 24
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Problem-Based Learning in a Physical Therapy Program and Subsequent Clinical Practice: The Practitioners' Perspectives.
Wilson, Stanley H.; Gallagher, Jo D.; Elbaum, Leonard; Smith, Douglas H.
This study examined the perspectives of three graduates of a problem-based learning (PBL) physical therapy (PT) program about their clinical practice. Researchers used qualitative methods of observation, interview, and journaling to gather the data. Three sessions of audiotaped interviews and two observation sessions were conducted with the three graduates, and each participant also maintained a reflective journal. Content analysis showed that, from the participants' perspectives, they were practicing at typically expected levels as clinicians. The attributes that governed the perspectives of the participants about their physical therapy clinical practice included flexibility, reflection, analysis decision making, self-reliance, problem-solving, independent thinking, and critical thinking. Further, the findings indicated that the factors that influenced those attributes included the PBL process, parents' value system, self-reliant personality, innate personality traits, and deliberate choice. Finally, the findings indicated that the participants' perspectives, in general, appeared to support the espoused efficacy of the PBL educational approach. Among the many attributes they noted that governed these perspectives, problem solving, as postulated by Barrows (H. Barrows, 1983), was one of the most frequently mentioned benefits gained from their PBL PT training. (Contains 2 figures and 26 references.) (Author/SLD)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Seattle, WA, April 10-14, 2001).