Beyond Lecture and Laboratory in the Physical Therapy Classroom

The purpose of this paper is to describe how two teaching models, the Inquiry Training Model and the Simulation Model, have been adapted for use in the physical therapy classroom. To help students synthesize the various physical therapy skills they were learning, variations of the Inquiry Training Model and the Simulation Model were used in addition to standard lectures and laboratories to teach the Evaluation Unit to junior level physical therapy students. The feedback obtained at the end of each class from both students and faculty members indicated that the learning experiences were considered both helpful and fun. This article summarizes the important components of the Inquiry Training Model and the Simulation Model. I recommend learning experiences based on these models to augment lecture and laboratory classes.