Self-Directed Learning (SDL), as outlined by Knowles (1975), clearly assigns the major responsibility for learning to the student. Within the framework provided by the goals and objectives of the program, students should be able to determine their own learning goals, how best to achieve their objectives, how to select learning resources, and how to measure their own progress. Faculty facilitate learning by asking questions, stimulating critical thinking, challenging the students’ point of view, providing feedback, and evaluating student performance. Students are encouraged to think and discover during the process of gaining new knowledge, and not simply memorize facts. Self-directed learning is a component of life-long learning, which is now a clear expectation for all occupational therapists as practitioners within a regulated health profession. Self-directed learning provides students with the essential skills needed to work within changing practice contexts.

Problem-Based Learning (PBL), as a conceptual framework, contends that knowledge is best remembered in the context in which it is learned, and that acquisition and integration of new knowledge requires activation of prior knowledge. In contrast to the common approach of using a problem for application after learning has taken place, problem-based learning requires that the learner encounter a problem first as the initial stimulus for learning. The learner thus becomes actively involved in the learning process, can shape it to meet personal needs based on prior knowledge and experience, can engage in independent study appropriate to his/her unique learning style, and can integrate information from many sources, including student peers, into a conceptual framework for use in dealing with future problems.

Small group learning is a natural extension of problem-based learning. To maximize small group learning, we believe it is important to bring students from various educational and work experience backgrounds together so that the heterogeneity of the group itself becomes a valuable learning resource. The transfer of knowledge is enhanced through the use of problems that encourage students to not only learn content, but also to develop strategies to recognize the ‘analogy’ or ‘principle’ that can then be transferred to new problems and contexts.

Inter-Professional Education is an emerging approach to professional preparation of health professional students. IPE is defined as “occasions when two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and quality of care” (The Center for Advancement of Inter-professional Education (CAIPE), 1997). The occupational therapy program offers opportunities for students to achieve inter-professional competencies through the formal curriculum. Student occupational therapists are also encouraged to further their development of these competencies through offerings within the Faculty of Health Sciences. The Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University has developed PIPER (Program of Inter-professional Education and Research) to encourage students to develop strong collaborative and team skills for future practice. Our Occupational Therapy Program has firmly placed inter-professional education as a mandated activity for all students. The PIPER model provides students with four IPE competencies and three levels of activities from which they may choose to meet the mandatory requirements.

Experiential Learning is another important pillar of the McMaster Occupational Therapy Program. Students are engaged in numerous “hands on” learning experiences throughout their education. This includes classroom and community-based sessions that are part of university-based terms; in addition, clinical education offers rich experiential learning opportunities over 28 weeks of practical experience in four different settings. An important component of experiential learning is reflection; it is only through reflection on what was done, accomplished, observed or learned that a student can more readily generalize and build on the learning. Throughout university-based and practical courses, students are expected to engage in reflections which support them to consolidate and generalize their development as professionals.

The final pillar of the educational conceptual framework is Inquiry-Based Learning, which is a student-centred, active learning approach focusing on questioning, critical thinking and problem solving. Although it shares features with problem-based learning, the approach is most often used in the McMaster Occupational Therapy Program in large-group classes. Students are engaged in learning that may begin with lecture or presentation by faculty, but readily moves into group discussions, team-based learning, or student presentations to support competency development.