A Flipped Classroom Approach: Transforming Library Instruction for Evidence-based Occupational Therapy

Background: 2020 proved to be a year of both struggles and opportunities. Many librarians across the United States switched gears and adapted services to better support the needs of their users in an online environment. This poster outlines a liaison librarian’s integration of library instruction in an online evidence-based occupational therapy course utilizing a flipped-classroom approach.

Description: Prior to 2020, library instruction sessions for evidence-based occupational therapy courses consisted of traditional librarian-led lectures with students begrudgingly participating in active learning activities. The pandemic afforded this librarian an opportunity to transform what was once didactic lectures into interactive learning modules applying a flipped-classroom approach to instruction. Modules were created using LibWizard and consisted of self-paced reading, instructional videos, guided learning, and reflective questioning. The content of the modules included breaking down clinical cases into a searchable clinical question, developing database searches utilizing a PICO table, searching for literature in relevant databases, and reporting search strategies on the course worksheets. Completion of the modules before the scheduled synchronous session was required by the course instructor. Additionally, following the completion of the modules, students were asked to pose questions for the librarian on the course’s online discussion board.

Conclusion: Utilizing a flipped-classroom approach allowed for students to engage with the lecture content before the synchronous session, allowing for a more interactive in-class session and deeper learning experience for the students. Synchronous sessions consisted of a brief recap from the librarian and then an otherwise open discussion from the students followed by an open workshop. The librarian-led content for the synchronous sessions was tailored to the unique needs of the students in the course based upon their module activities and discussion board posts. Through this project, the librarian gained invaluable insight into the information needs of the occupational therapy students and was able to form more meaningful connections with students than previous lecture-style sessions would have allowed.