Expanding Horizons continued...
In relation to the need for learners to expand their mindsets about opportunities, the occupational therapy student began to think critically about the expansion of their opportunities for participation, and how this change in participation might shape their development positively. She constructed an intervention plan, which included the following:
Working with the class of learners, she planned to encourage them to think about the kinds of occupations that they might enjoy participating in. The student would provide learners with four different options based on the understanding she had developed of their predispositions and the suggestions that emerged from their reflective discussions. She interpreted theories of occupational choice (Galvaan, 2010) and in relation to the need for learners to expand their mindsets about opportunities, the occupational therapy student began to think critically about the expansion of their opportunities for participation, and how this change in participation might shape their development positively. She constructed an intervention plan, which included the following:
- Working with the class of learners, she planned to encourage them to think about the kinds of occupations that they might enjoy participating in. The student would provide learners with four different options based on the understanding she had developed of their predispositions and the suggestions that emerged from their reflective discussions. She interpreted theories of occupational choice (Galvaan, 2010) and occupational potential (Wicks, 2005) to guide her thinking and planning around the opportunities.
- Learners would be offered the opportunity to experience participating in one of a variety of occupations.
- Once learners’ choices for participation were confirmed they were provided with an opportunity to experience participating in the chosen occupation. Their participation in the occupation provided the stimulus for further growth through the programme.
- The student captured this participation using photographs and videos. In this way, the experiences and insights that they gained from the actual opportunity to participate could be used in further dialogues.
Learners were taken through a systematic process of reflecting critically on their participation in this occupation. They were challenged to think about how this occupation might have shifted their own thinking about their participation. The photographs and video material were used to generate discussion using key questions and a thinking environment (Kline, 1999). The creation of this thinking environment provided the platform for learners to reflect critically (Taylor, Marais & Kaplan, 1997) about their participation in the occupation.
In each of these steps the student prepared daily sessions with the group. She did some sessions with the whole class, some with groups who signed up for particular activities and even had groups with those who were more active in planning the participation. Through the activities involved in each of these sessions, the student was able to begin to facilitate the achievement of the campaign aims. However, the success of the campaign required that the student continuously generated more understanding into the group and their occupations in order to analyse the occupations and design the activities in ways that were most relevant and suitable to the group’s needs. This required careful planning and forethought as well as flexibility.
