Occupational therapy students' perceptions and experiences of learning through images: Role-emerging practice placement case studies

Wilson, Susie and Lackovic, Natasa (2026) Occupational therapy students' perceptions and experiences of learning through images: Role-emerging practice placement case studies. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

Introduction There is limited research exploring occupational therapy students’ learning experiences during role-emerging practice placements. In particular, there is a scarcity of studies researching pedagogic models or methods that can mediate students’ reflection and learning in this setting. In this context, students can struggle to link key disciplinary concepts to practice (Hunter & Volkert, 2016). This thesis explores the application of an innovative pedagogy, an Inquiry Graphics (IG) learning design, with six occupational therapy (OT) students on a role-emerging practice placement (REP). The IG learning design aims to facilitate the application of theory to practice, placement learning outcomes and related threshold concepts. This was achieved by students creating or selecting images to represent their placement experiences, writing reflective narratives about the images concerning key OT concepts, and discussing their creations with their OT educators. Methods A hermeneutic phenomenology approach was adopted to explore the experiences of 6 students through case studies. An IG learning design was implemented as part of the students’ weekly reflective logs. Data constituted analyses of reflective logs, images, interviews and conversations with OT educators. Findings Key findings suggest that the student-created artefacts and the IG design reinforced the personalisation of their reflections through creating a weekly IG. Incorporating photos or digital imagery and text to reflect and explore their individual placement experiences, concept understanding and feelings associated with learning resulted in a deeper, more personal reflection. In particular, an exploration of their feelings about placement learning and associated threshold concepts was essential for progression. The IG that students created reinforced an understanding of learning as socio-material, situated, affective and metaphorical. These findings contribute to our understanding of student learning on REP and introduce an innovative, creative multimodal learning design, along with its preliminary evaluation and characteristics. Conclusion & Implications for practice Using an IG learning design provided an effective, personalised, multimodal method for students to reflect on and explore learning on a REP. Further application and research are warranted within role-emerging and other occupational therapy placements.