Teaching in the New Millennium: An Autoethnographic Approach to Exploring Occupational Adaptation of Occupational Therapy Professors

Abstract

This autoethnographic research examines the lived experience of occupational therapy faculty. Researchers penned their teaching narratives and identified themes related to teaching today's students. Upon completion, the researchers completed both first and second cycle coding of their own story and then the story of the co-investigator followed by the development of themes stemming from the collapsed data. Five themes emerged: faculty community, dancing as fast as I can, values, self-perception, and emotional rollercoaster. The findings provide insight into the lived experience of faculty members and the importance of these experiences to faculty identity, competence, and adaptation. The authors describe the implications of these findings to faculty growth and development and student learning.