How Hawai’i Pacific University Department of Physical Therapy partners with Osmosis to save faculty time by providing students with high-quality, on-demand, flipped classroom resources.
The Program
The Hawai’i Pacific University (HPU) Doctor of Physical Therapy program offers an innovative 24-month hybrid curriculum, blending distance education, on-campus lab immersion sessions, and clinical education experiences, all set within a multicultural learning environment. This unique structure allows not only students from across the United States to attend HPU but also helps the university combat faculty shortages with the remote flexibility being offered to faculty.
The Challenge
Ensuring faculty and students have reliable resources that support HPU’s hybrid curriculum and enable a higher level of learning during class time.
HPU’s eight-week terms are typically split up between six weeks of online didactic learning and two-weeks of on-campus lab immersion. “Courses move at a very fast pace. We’re covering multiple body systems in any given week,” shares Dr. Kristen Johnson, Assistant Dean of Curriculum and Innovation at HPU. When preparing for their first cohort of students in 2021, HPU sought out reliable, on-demand digital resources to save faculty time as they built out course work. After picking the textbook, they discovered Osmosis; a ready-made supplemental resource that supported their curriculum.
The Solution
HPU collaborated with Osmosis to streamline course development, offering high-quality, digestible content to support asynchronous teaching and learning. Faculty integrate Osmosis resources into their curricula which saves faculty time and supports the reinforcement of key concepts through various learning modalities.
The Result
Osmosis continues to provide unique content on a platform that students can take anywhere in their busy, on-the-go lifestyles for continuous learning and success. Students gravitate towards Osmosis videos when they are looking to review a concept again or differently. The Osmosis whiteboard-style videos keep students engaged and provide a new way to reinforce learnings. “Students like the Osmosis animations. It’s very well done,” says Dr. Johnson.
“Students like the Osmosis animations. It’s very well done.”
Kristen Johnson PT, MSPT, EdD, Assistant Dean of Curriculum and Innovation, Professor of Physical Therapy and Doctor of Physical Therapy Director of Curriculum
The integration of Osmosis gives faculty flexible options to assign and monitor student asynchronous learning with customized playlists. By assigning students pre-work to prime learning, faculty can begin lectures at a higher level and have more time for application and small-group learning. Dr. Johnson utilizes Osmosis when teaching neuropathology, “Sometimes Osmosis is required viewing and sometimes it’s listed as optional viewing, depending on how it meshes with the textbook.”
Osmosis videos also help establish a baseline of knowledge for students, creating discussion points during student-faculty meetings. Dr. Johnson has found that students will bring up Osmosis videos during office hours after identifying their own learning gaps. “They’ll say, ‘can you tell me a little bit more about this,’ or, ‘this was really technical, could you unpack that a little bit as it relates to an Osmosis video?’” Productive interactions like this help guide students in the right direction before they become at-risk.
