The UNSW Exercise Physiology program is accredited with the national professional standards governing body - Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA). Recent (2018) program accreditation updates required the introduction of a new workplace assessment & rehabilitation course. Jessica Bellamy (& Dr John Booth) designed, developed, co-convened and delivered the new course HESC4502 Workplace Assessment & Rehabilitation for the first time in T1, 2019. This course continues to run each year (term 1).
In the design and development of HESC4502, Jessica (& John) drew on their own clinical experience within the occupational rehabilitation field, and established industry links with national occupation and rehabilitation service providers Kairros, Recovery Partners and IOH - Injury & Occupational Health, to ensure contemporary curriculum that is highly relevant to the industry. We have conferred x2 industry partners to UNSW adjunct status, and have devised a pathway for another x3 to join (with significant contribution to the course) over the next 3 years.
A large challenge when designing this course, was that the majority (90%) of students enrolled in this course would concurrently undertake offsite clinical placement, significantly reducing onsite availability for face-to-face content delivering. Using the assistance of the Medicine Education Development Unity (MEDU), Jessica (& John) utilised a blended learning delivery style to design and deliver a combination of:
- 30 interactive online learning modules
- 2 face-to-face team-based learning (TBL) workshops
- 1 online assessment
- 2 industry specific written assessments
They developed considerable course content during workplace visits including; videos of occupational work tasks and the physical assessments of workers; treatment plan templates for injured workers; workplace assessment and functional capacity reports; and Exercise Physiology led workplace injury prevention programs. - 'The content was very applicable to real-life situations' (MyExperience Feedback).
The short interactive online modules increased accessibility to key theoretical content for HESC4502 students concurrently enrolled in practicum placement. Course design was heavily based on student feedback from previous courses and pedagogical design principles highlighted through MEDU. - ‘Online learning activities were useful, engaging and not too content heavy, extra resources were also quite useful’. ‘Online learning makes it easier to access (during practicum placement)’. ‘The short but specific online learning material allowed me to effectively understand the courses theory and allowed me to work at my own pace.’ ‘I enjoyed the structure of the online learning and that it was broken up into parts and the format that was used meant you could go onto the next slide at your own pace etc.' (MyExperience Feedback).
TBL workshops required students to complete individualised pre-requisite online learning, before coming together face-to-face to engage with their peers, discuss management strategies for injured workers, and plan a functional capacity assessment and workplace rehabilitation program (key requirements for this course to allow graduates to obtain accreditation). Students were required to ‘apply advanced problem-solving skills and critical thinking within a scientific and clinical context’, and ‘display effective and appropriate communication skills and an ability to work as a member and leader of a team, with respect for diversity and a high standard of ethical practice’. Student feedback indicates that the TBLs were an effective learning activity with respect to facilitating industry engagement and peer interaction, ‘The TBLs were awesome! Loved getting the opportunity to hear professionals in the field share their opinions & stories, as well as have insightful discussions.’ ‘The collaborative nature of our learning (the TBLs) were also very helpful. Discussion with fellow members allowed us to learn from each other’ (MyExperience Feedback).
A combination of assessment modalities including online quizzes, peer evaluation, written assignments and final examination were used to assess student competencies throughout HESC4502. The diversity of assessment tasks catered for various learning styles and provided opportunities for authentic assessment and innovative ways of providing student feedback. Assessments tasks were heavily based on developing and demonstrating competence within industry context – e.g. students were required to collaboratively prepare a functional capacity assessment as well as a workplace injury prevention program. In addition to meeting the accreditation requirements in workplace rehabilitation and increasing job opportunities for new graduates, students appreciated that the assessments were contextualised to real-world professional activities they would do in their future careers, ‘Relevant assessment tasks.’ ‘The assignments made sense, were very practical and were really helpful in my learning.'
Jessica (& John) have been recognised for their design and development of this course as a recipient of the UNSW Medicine Team Award for Excellence in Educational Design and Development (2019).
They have also been recognised for their novel use of team-based learning (TBL) workshops through the receipt of the UNSW Foundations to Undergraduate Learning & Teaching - Good Practice Award (2020). A short case-study on 'Preparing for professional Exercise Physiology practice using team-based learning tutorials' can be found here - https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/preparing-professional-exercise-physiology-practice-using-team-based-tutorials. https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/preparing-professional-exercise-physiology-practice-using-team-based-tutorials
