The impact of the sensory form on confidence and competence in occupational therapy students : a quasi-experimental study

The Sensory Form is a new assessment and intervention planning tool utilized with occupational therapy students to teach and guide their professional reasoning amidst limited evidence. This study aimed to determine the impact of the use of The Sensory Form on student competence and confidence in assessment and intervention planning for children with atypical sensory processing (ASP). A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 84 third-year undergraduate occupational therapy students from a large multi-campus university in New South Wales, Australia. Tutorial classes were allocated to The Sensory Form or usual teaching conditions. Participants completed pre-class and post-class self-reported confidence rating scales and case study activity to assess their competence as rated by an occupational therapy academic using a set rubric who was blinded to group allocation. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as univariate ANOVA (self-rated confidence) and independent samples ttests (case study activity) to determine statistical differences between groups. All participants significantly increased in confidence from pre-class to post-class (p < 0.001), however, The Sensory Form group did not increase significantly more than the standard teaching group. The Sensory Form group demonstrated significantly higher competence in sensory processing assessment (p < 0.001). No differences between groups were observed in intervention planning. The Sensory Form has the potential to develop students’ competence in conducting assessments for children with ASP. Future research is needed to determine how The Sensory Form can effectively support students’ overall confidence, and competence in intervention planning.