Course Description
The purpose of this course is to assist students in developing the skills necessary to ensure success as Therapeutic Recreation professionals. Developing student awareness of therapeutic recreation, foundational concepts, personal learning styles, and the exercise of effective writing techniques will ensure students are equipped to communicate and implement the concepts and strategies of therapeutic recreation.
Course Content
The following global ideas guide the design and delivery of this course:
Philosophical Perspectives of Therapeutic Recreation
- Leisure
- Wellness
- Humanism
- Phenomenology
Teaching Strategies
- college services including library services, computer labs, counselling, financial support, study skills
- collaborative learning techniques
- teamwork skills
Learning Environments
- create, safe, positive learning environments
- embrace a learning culture of respect for others and individual uniqueness
- establish positive cooperative working relationships
- create a group vision
- reflect on own strengths, talents, challenges
- identify individual learning goals
- encourage an atmosphere of playfulness and joy for learning
Writing Process
- inventory tools, mindmaps, tree diagrams
- outlines and drafts for all documents
- audience analysis and focussed purpose statements
Learning Activities
- lecture/discussion
- group work
- review/analysis of models and practice of modeled types of writing
- workshopping writing exercises/assignments
Means of Assessment
This course will conform to Douglas College policy regarding the number and weighting of evaluations.
Evaluation is consistent with Douglas College Course Evaluation Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course.
This is a graded course.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- develop an awareness of Therapeutic Recreation foundational concepts
- develop an awareness of teaching strategies and personal learning styles
- collaborate with faculty to create learning environments conducive to the practice of therapeutic recreation
- understand strengths/weaknesses as writers (as would-be-professional T.R. communicators)
- use strategies for writing tasks-writing process including planning, drafting, editing, revising
- explain the differences between school-based/academic and work-based professional writing
- develop effective techniques for accumulating data/note-taking, basic research, workplace summarizing
- understand basic communication theory, methods and barriers
- prepare memos and short reports consistent with professional practice
- use basic workplace document design
- develop reader consideration through the use of standard business English including appropriate tone and register, concision, clarity
- accept, provide and learn from courteous, objective criticism
Textbook Materials
- Hacker, D. A Canadian Writer’s Reference
A list of recommended textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of each semester:
Resources include:
- Selected readings from a variety of therapeutic recreation/composition sources
- Selected audio-visual and computer resources
- Selected readings from books and journals
- Selected readings from business communication sources