JCPSLP Vol 23 No 3

pair relationships. There were logistics to consider such as student availability due to lecture schedules and the number of students to be accommodated on the placement each iteration (approximately 50 novice students

These included online quizzes and video-based tasks, manuals and resources to develop skills for telepractice sessions such as slide animations and Zoom features. 3. Clinical experiences Step 3 was the clinical experience phase of the implementation step. Novice student pairs ran live sessions with between 1 and 6 children in a synchronous 30-minute video conference session. During the live sessions, the students interacted with the children, asked questions, listened to their responses, and adjusted the activities based on the children’s responses. Depending on the activity, the clinicians moved objects or enabled animations within the slides based in response to the children. In addition, they video-recorded their activities after the session without the children. These videos were collated, edited, and produced by the advanced students and uploaded to The Playroom@USYD YouTube channel and made available as health care intervention for the public. Clients Carers were sent a link to their child’s enrolled session Zoom room. The children participated in the interactive activities. Younger or shy children were encouraged to respond to the program by their carers but most children participated independently. Approximately 80% of the children attended most weeks of the block. As the students monitored the attention, behaviours, and engagement of the children to their activities, they learnt to adapt and improve on their activities and developed skills to speak, interact and teach the children in their sessions. Students Students developed their clinical skills during this phase through interactive learning via the SuCEED model. Their performance developed through active engagement in reflective practice. Peer–peer and near-peer mentoring was embedded into the novice student curriculum through observations and feedback. Novice students were provided with guided scaffolds, direct feedback, and practice opportunities in tutorials consistent with Merriënboer and Sweller (2010) principles based on cognitive load theory in clinical education while advanced students were given independence to develop advanced professional skills for work readiness (e.g., mentoring and multimedia skills). Clinical educators The clinical educators used the SuCEED model to promote clinical skills development. Clinical learning spanned across the implementation of the program, starting in early placement activities as preparation, but primarily applied during the students’ direct clinical experiences. Students learn and practice intervention skills in authentic and immersive ways through the SuCEED model which encompassed client factors, students’ responses and clinical educators’ guidance. 4. Placement evaluation To ensure that services to the clients and the clinical education experience are effective, the final step of the Model of care innovation cycle was ensuring sustainability. Designing the placement included outcome measures to evaluate client analytics, student learning, and reflections of the clinical educator team. Clients The community reach of The Playroom@USYD was measured through registration and enrolment to the

and 12 advanced students). Clinical educator factors

During the pre-placement period, clinical educators needed to consider the logistical aspects of the placement (client sessions, student meetings, etc.), systems for providing student feedback (especially in the context of telesupervision), student pairing and any specific technical upskilling (e.g., Zoom, YouTube). At The Playroom@USYD, two clinical educators were allocated to the novice students for two days per week, and two clinical educators to the advanced students for four hours per week. The placement experiences and learning activities were designed according to the students’ stage of learning and clinical skills with practice and simulation for novice students, and independent learning of video editing skills for advanced students. 2. Early placement activities Clients Clients’ carers were advised of the free program via posts on social media sites and/or emails to preschool-aged clients at the university clinic and early childhood education centres. The program was a language enrichment program for all preschool-aged children, not just those with communication difficulties. Carers completed an online form to register their interest and enrol their child to the sessions. Students The implementation step of the model of care process is described as the most resource-intensive step, with several phases (ACI, 2013). In the case of The Playroom@USYD, implementation of the innovation cycle involved two distinct steps: two weeks of practice (Step 2) and six weeks of clinical experience (Step 3). The primary focus during step 2 was preparing the students for their placement. It included practice activities as well as orientation to the placement. The orientation session covered details of the (a) clinical sessions, both live and recorded, (b) student learning, including student peer pairing and near-peer-pairing, (c) expectations regarding professionalism, and (d) the timeline of tasks and events of the placement. During the early placement weeks, students also attended information-based and skills-based training sessions. Information-based included the telepractice platform (Zoom), policies relevant to professional practice and use of site-specific technology (privacy policy and procedures for managing electronic registration information), mentoring (for advanced students), preschool communication and pre-literacy development, and intervention planning and delivery. Information-based training was conducted via scheduled tutorials and self- directed online learning tasks. The skills-based training took the form of simulation, where students conducted a session activity using the Zoom platform with a simulated patient and received peer and clinical educator feedback. They also watched two videos of similar treatment conducted by the clinical educator or peers as demonstrations are an effective instructional approach for telepractice (Overby, 2018). Clinical educators The unit coordinator developed training material for the students to complete during the early part of their placement.

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JCPSLP Volume 23, Number 3 2021

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