Abstract
The Bachelor of Science in physiotherapy is a four-year program that has been offered at The University of Jordan since 1999. Just like all other educational programs across the world, teaching pedagogy in this program underwent a major overhaul due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this chapter, the changes implemented in this program due to the pandemic and a discussion of their different aspects are presented. First, an overview of traditional teaching model and all the changes it underwent during the first year of the pandemic are presented. After that, specific aspects of the changes are addressed in depth and discussed in light of evidence from the literature. These include changes made to clinical and practical education, modifications of assessment methods, and responses and adjustments of students and faculty members. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future implementation of online teaching in physiotherapy education.
TopSetting The Stage
Physiotherapy practice and its education are rooted in manual contact and physical proximity especially during applied courses (World Physiotherapy, 2019). For decades, physiotherapy educators were used to teach, supervise, and assess the practical skills of their students in face-to-face format. Among the wide-scale changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which include what appear to be long-lasting effects on every single aspect of human life, education, and that of physiotherapy in particular, are substantially impacted (Crawford et al., 2020). While at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, questions of whether the repercussions will be short-lived were raised, after one year since the start of the situation, all parties involved agree that they will not.
Large professional and accreditation bodies such as World Physiotherapy (WP), American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), and Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) emphasize the importance of delivering high quality online teaching that will preserve the fulfilment of intended learning outcomes (American Physical Therapy Association, 2021; Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, 2021; World Physiotherapy, 2020). However, clear guidelines regarding the design and delivery of practical courses were not available at the start of the pandemic. Educators had to be innovative in adopting new approaches to facilitate learning for practical skills (Suhail et al., 2020). Using online teaching in practical specialties is controversial; some skills cannot be taught and transferred to students without face-to-face learning. However, circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic provided opportunities to stretch the boundaries of online learning in physiotherapy education and prepare institutions for future similar situations (Crawford et al., 2020).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Andragogy: A learning approach that is student-centered and encourages self-regulation.
Clinical Training: The supervised direct provision of physiotherapy services to patients at clinical sites.
Defense Laws: National special laws activated in extreme circumstances such as wars, natural disasters, or health pandemics. These laws give the authority to designated personnel to undertake the necessary actions and measures to ensure the safety of citizens including the authority to suspend ordinary laws.
Practical Teaching/Practical Laboratory/Practical Session: The applied element of taught courses, that involves practicing skills and techniques through peer modeling and are usually held on campus.
Intended Learning Outcomes: A set of measurable objectives that are expected to be met by students by the end of specific courses or the whole program.
Faculty Member/Educator: An assistant or associate professor, holding a PhD in Physiotherapy who is responsible for the education of students at the university level.
Hybrid Mode: A teaching method that uses a combination of both online- and campus-based delivery and supervision.
Teaching Pedagogy: Approaches and methods used in teaching.