About Me
Alissa Baker, MS, OTRL
I have been an occupational therapist for over 8 years and have experience working in a variety of settings including outpatient adult brain injury, outpatient pediatrics, and inpatient adult rehabilitation. I am passionate about providing evidenced-based treatment that emphasizes the unique strengths of each client or patient. This passion has led me back to the classroom, both as a teacher and a learner, so that I can share my knowledge and passion with future occupational therapists. I love to support and witness the "light bulb moments" as students develop the skills to be great occupational therapists. I believe that my role as an educator includes teaching occupational therapy students to think critically and develop higher-order thinking skills. Specifically, I believe students must be able to analyze and evaluate their own thinking to guide their clinical reasoning, decision making, and problem solving. I also want to help students develop skills for lifelong learning and cultivate an inquisitive spirit so that they might become self-directed learners.
About This Blog
I started Teaching and Assessment Methods for Occupational Therapy as part of my Applied Leadership Experience while completing my post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) degree at Eastern Kentucky University. This blog documents my findings as I examine and compare evidence-based methods of instruction and assessment in higher education. Specifically, I am interested in identifying teaching methods to support improved critical thinking skills in OT students. Critical thinking is important because it is a foundational skill that students must use to develop clinical reasoning, application of evidence-based practices, and cultural competency.
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Take some time to explore the blog and find what sparks your interest. Feel free to reach out if you would like to collaborate on a project together. Read on and enjoy!
My Research Interests
Development, application, and assessment of critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills; bottlenecks to student learning; effective teaching methods; sensory integration; food selectivity; data-driven decision making