OT5006 - Evidence Based Occupational Therapy

All learning on the BSc Occupational Therapy programme is designed to be transformative and experiential, and this module is delivered through a series of workshop sessions which include taught material, discussion, and in-class and self-directed activities.

Practical tasks will enable you to work closely with peers, reflecting together on activities in order to practice and refine a range of academic evidence-orientated skills.

Guided reading is provided to encourage you to read widely and be intellectually curious, and in class activities will encourage you to challenge ideas and concepts. The e-learning portal will signpost you to contemporary a range of sources of information to assist your learning. The site will support you to engage fully in the module content and build effective academic skills.

You will have the opportunity to gather examples of activities and evidence of your learning, self-appraisal and reflection to contribute to your student ePortfolio. This aims to enhance your learning by taking you beyond the limits of the individual module, and helping foster lifelong learning, as portfolios support inquiry, reflection and integration of learning. Items for your ePortfolio could include examples of a literature search strategy or development of AI prompts.

The identified module tutor, alongside the module teaching team, will structure learning opportunities to support your learning and skill development within the module and to assist you to work towards the module assessment.

The e-learning portal will provide a repository for all module information, including a module guide, electronic reading list, detailed assessment guidance, and week by week guidance on how to engage with the module content, in the form of a workbook.

You will receive ongoing tutor guidance to support your journey, including a formative assessment (with feedback) to facilitate your summative submission, a group assessment tutorial and tailored feedback and feed forward on your performance in your final assessment.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding (K&U):
1. Articulate your understanding of the relationship between research evidence and occupational therapy practice.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
2. Demonstrate key skills in accessing, selecting and analysing research evidence.
3. Apply research evidence critically to address an occupational need.
4. Use Generative AI responsibly to retrieve information and appraise the quality of the information it provides

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural Awareness, Ethics, Curiosity)
5. Consider the role of public involvement and community engagement in research

Formative assessment:
You will be given the opportunity to engage in formative learning activities during sessions which will aid your preparation for the final summative assessment

Summative assessment:
Applied review of evidence.

You will complete a 2000-word review of the evidence relating to an individual described in an extended case study.

To complete the assessment you will identify a suitable issue or need experienced by the individual, then search for, select and appraise the related evidence.

You will highlight the overarching messages from the research evidence you have selected, as well as critically exploring issues arising.

An element of the assessment criteria will incorporate ethical and responsible use of Generative AI when searching for and appraising sources of evidence.

Your summative assessment mark and feedback will be returned to you within the University standard of 20 working days, normally accessed through the module eLP site.

All level 4 modules

N/A

‘Evidence Based Occupational Therapy’ expands your understanding of occupational therapists as both researchers and consumers of research and the importance of research to occupational therapy practice. You will develop your knowledge and understanding of
qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and begin to apply research to real world occupational therapy practice issues.

Your learning will be linked with other modules to help you find and use evidence across all learning, and the use of real-world scenarios will help you to critically appraise the role of EBP through application to ‘real’ lives.

You will complete a 2000-word review of the evidence relating to real-world case studies. This will include searching for, selecting and appraising the evidence relating to an issue or need that they experience. You will highlight the overarching messages from research which could include gaps in knowledge, quality concerns, or inclusivity issues.