The Effects of Experiential Learning on Perceived Clinical Reasoning and Self-efficacy of Doctor of Physical Therapy Students

Introduction and Review of the Literature.: Experiential learning (EL) is an instructional method that is increasingly being used to teach Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) pediatric content. However, there remains a paucity of research describing student outcomes resulting from EL courses compared with outcomes resulting from traditional instruction-based courses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the change in perceived clinical reasoning and self-efficacy experienced by DPT students from the same DPT program who completed either high (at least 15 hours) or low (3 hours or less) pediatric EL as a component of their required, semester-long pediatric course. Subjects and Methods.: The study was a pretest-posttest comparison group design. Second-year DPT students (n = 58; male: 19 and female: 39) enrolled in fall 2018 (high EL group) and students (n = 53; male: 18 and female: 35) enrolled in fall 2020 (low EL group) completed the Self-Assessment of Clinical Reflection and Reasoning (SACRR) and the Physical Therapy Self-Efficacy Scale (PTSE) during the first and last week of the pediatrics course. Results.: A significant interaction effect between EL dosage and time was found for the SACRR (F 1,106 = 51.03, P =.000, partial eta squared = 0.33), suggesting that the change in scores was influenced by the dosage of EL. There was no significant interaction effect between EL dosage and time for the PTSE (F 1,104 = 1.13, P =.29, partial eta squared =.01). There was a significant main effect for time (F 1,104 = 225.61, P =.000, partial eta squared =.68), with both groups showing an improvement in pediatric physical therapy self-efficacy. Discussion and Conclusion.: The results of this study suggest that the perceived self-efficacy abilities of students improved with all instructions, but the addition of high EL may enhance traditional instruction methods when used to aid DPT students in the development of self-perceived clinical reasoning and reflection skills.