![]() It was such a valuable experience and prepared me to become LFLA's occupational therapist. I immersed myself in program development, built relationships with LFLA staff and students, learned about the school system, and created a job for myself. “I am grateful that I had the opportunity to complete my second Level II Fieldwork and my capstone at LFLA. The partnership with the Program was so successful that LFLA hired Kara Wolters, OTD ’21, who completed her Level II Fieldwork and capstone project there, as a full-time school-wide occupational therapist. In addition, Milton has been able to support her mentored scholarship students, doctoral capstone students, and Level I Fieldwork students in ongoing projects and health initiatives at the school, expanding the visibility and value of OT services in supporting the needs of LFLA students. Since beginning the partnership with LFLA in May 2021, Milton and Bricker have supervised a total of 12 students in Level II placements with the school. Students developed their own program, “Friendship Circles,” for first- and second-graders that provided a mini lesson and activity each week related to social-emotional learning. It had a positive effect on classroom learning and behaviors. Susan Bazyk’s program “Refreshing Recess” to facilitate play, address conflicts and promote positive mental health. The Level II Fieldwork students conducted needs assessments with students and teachers to identify the environmental factors that impact the students’ abilities to learn and develop such as poverty, sleep habits, stress and trauma. “It was a win-win opportunity, as we were able to place our fieldwork and capstone students there to work in a classroom setting with their elementary students to address occupational needs, provide enrichment and improve educational outcomes,” Milton says. The school had a need, and Milton found the right partner to implement her model and build a deeper relationship with a community organization. The restrictions and safety protocols took the volunteers and their support away. Before the pandemic, the school had dozens of volunteers each week to tutor, read to students and assist with programming. Louis City that serves students in grades K-12. One of those organizations was Lift for Life Academy (LFLA), an independent charter school in St. As Jessie Bricker, OTD, OTR/L, Academic Fieldwork Coordinator, actively sought non-traditional fieldwork opportunities with community partners who had lost volunteer support due to the pandemic, Milton and Bricker quickly realized there was an opportunity to meet the Program’s experiential learning needs while also supporting the work of vital community organizations. “One of my former colleagues and I built a sustainable, centralized service-learning model to place students in one community setting where they could dig deep into the programming and services instead of going to multiple places for learning activities.”įast-forward to 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic led to complete cancelation of traditional Level I Fieldwork placements and significant loss of Level II placements. ![]() It was highly influential to me as an educator, collaborating with other faculty members to attach management learning activities to what students were already doing out in the community,” Milton explains. “She had published a partnership model for service-learning programs that connected teaching, scholarship and service. A presentation at a teaching and learning conference by Brooke Flinders, DNP, RN, APRN-CNM, FACNM, a professor of nursing at Miami University in Ohio, inspired Milton and set her on a mission to engage occupational therapy (OT) students in the community at a whole different level. ![]() Lauren Milton, OTD, OTR/L, was searching for a way to make management coursework more experiential. Kara Wolters, OTD ’21 and students play a personal space-themed board game. Community partnership: Lift for Life Academy Engaging OT students in the community at a whole different level
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