Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (Dr.OT)

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

First Advisor

Penelope Moyers

Date of original Performance / Presentation

January 2024

Publication Date / Copyright Date

1-1-2024

Abstract

Written expression is an essential lifelong occupation; however, student proficiency rates, educator confidence, and research gaps present challenges for assessment and instructional practices. I aimed to use a newly developed theoretical conceptual framework to incorporate the perspectives of interprofessional educators to innovate a Written Expression Assessment Component Tool (WE-ACT) that was desirable, feasible, and viable for upper elementary school educators. Twenty-five interprofessional upper elementary educators from Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in North Carolina participated in the innovative qualitative design of the WE-ACT. Educators participated in individual ethnographic interviews to learn about their steps, motivation, knowledge, needs, and desires for assessing students’ written expression. A similarity matrix, ranking, and thematic analysis of interviews produced an occupational performance job map with outcome statements to understand the job of educators assessing students. Participants completed brainstorming to design the criteria for the WE-ACT and three rounds of prototyping with feedback. The result of this project is a finalized tool that is desirable, feasible, and viable for pilot testing. Further studies should include alpha testing for computerized scoring and beta testing to assess the usability and feasibility of the tool in a real-world teaching environment with students.

Disciplines

Occupational Therapy

Keywords

assessment; elementary education; innovation; occupational therapy; written expression

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