We endeavor to provide multiple opportunities for “hands on” application of classroom knowledge in many of our current course offerings. In Occupational Behavior I, offered the first semester, students participate in local community programs for children and teenagers, as an opportunity to learn about normal development and occupational behavior, while providing some level of service to the community. Students conduct a “Backpack Awareness Day” at a local elementary school in the fall as a way of putting into practice some of the concepts they learn in Health Promotion and Wellness.
Students are also able to provide service, under the supervision of an occupational therapy faculty member/practitioner, to children and adolescents with behavioral problems and developmental disabilities at three different community based facilities. This is a combined lab experience for three different courses offered during the third semester, allowing the student to integrate the material learned in the classroom in a very practical and meaningful way.
In the final semester class on Issues in Pediatrics, students evaluate the handwriting abilities of kindergarten children and provide the teachers and children with intervention to improve their occupational performance at school. Finally, the students and faculty provide occupation- based intervention for older adults at various senior citizen centers, as part of the Gerontology course offered during the last semester.
"The level of preparation for fieldwork activities that came from lectures, readings, and assignments was beyond what I imagined possible. I will never forget the support and encouragement you gave me as a student and as a person." - Stacey Messing, Class of 2000
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