For Immediate Release

Contact: John M. Martino
Phone Number:  (215) 895-1186
Date: 05/01/03

Occupational Therapy Students at USP Participate in Community Outreach Program

Dr. Roger Ideishi understands the value of contributing to surrounding communities and society. And now his students do as well. While Dr. Ideishi, assistant professor of occupational therapy at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, teaches three courses that have a strong emphasis in community outreach, his students are getting much more than a classroom learning experience. His students are making a difference by participating in community service activities, including designing and creating a community garden and children’s playground. Dr. Ideishi believes these objectives will help his students appreciate their roles as occupational therapists.

“I don’t believe I can ‘teach’ the students how to ‘do’ therapy,” says Dr. Idieshi, “it is a process of self-discovery over time. I believe an invested personal experience of accomplishment and limitations strikes a deeper chord with students than an exam score. Community service and outreach as an educational method is an effective way for me to provide these learning opportunities and outcomes.”

Throughout the year, Dr. Ideishi’s students have developed an affiliation with Ken-Crest’s Kensington Center, which provides pre-school, Head Start and early intervention programs. The students learned about human development, directly observed its application and influences and assisted the center’s director in proposing playground design and equipment for the center’s children. In the past few months, the students have designed, created, and implemented various projects with a garden/outdoor play theme to complement the children's typical classroom experience. The students are also assisting Jeanne Baker, the center’s director, in designing and constructing a children's garden area.

The OT courses have received tremendous support from development grants provided by Pennsylvania Campus Compact and the Center for Healthy Communities. Betsy Caesar, owner of PlayCare, a professional playground design company, and Skip Weiner, a landscape architect and founder of the Urban Tree Connection, have provided their expertise and time. Dr. Ideishi and his students were also thrilled from an unexpected donation. John Woods, owner of Woods Brothers Building Materials, donated $100 worth of lumber to help the students build garden boxes in the neighborhood of Kensington.

The students have been overwhelmingly positive about their learning experience. They collectively agreed that splitting time equally between classroom discussions and visits to the center was enlightening and fun.

“The experience at KenCrest was beneficial because the time we spent thinking of activities for the children helped us to understand how to plan activities for a particular population,” says Emily Sieranski, a third-year MOT student. “By only observing a community, you learn from them, but they don’t get back as much from you. We are actually involved in the culture of the community and making something for them and with them.”

The best part for Jeanne Baker, the center’s director, was seeing the wide smiles on the children’s faces. She says the children enjoyed the variety of props and materials, such as dress-up clothing, books, butterfly houses for the classrooms and various garden/playground games, which the OT students provided. She adds that the OT students’ efforts will have a positive impact on the center’s children for years to come.

“The wonderful props the students developed will allow our children to continue their garden experience long after the OT students have moved on to their other coursework,” says Baker. “We have seen the children’s gardening interests reflected in the stories they choose, in their artwork and in their make-believe play. We appreciate the work completed by the OT students and their instructor, and we hope they have benefited as much as we have from their involvement.”

University of the Sciences in Philadelphia is a private, coeducational institution founded in 1821 as Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, the first college of pharmacy in North America. USP specializes in educating students for rewarding careers through its undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs in the health and related sciences.

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