Christine Urish

Title: Professor of Occupational Therapy
Rank: Professor
Phone: (515) 271-1818
Email: christine.urish@drake.edu

Education: BS Occupational Therapy, Western Michigan University; MS Occupational Therapy, Western Michigan University; PhD Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Iowa
Began at Drake: 2018

Current classes I teach:

OTD 227 - Psychosocial Development and Application to OT
OTD 170 - Doctoral Capstone Preparation
OTD 171 - Doctoral Capstone

Experience

Professional Affiliations

Professional Service

University & College Service

Honors & Awards

Teaching Philosophy

Respect. Dedication. Engagement. Kindness. These are of utmost importance within the learning environment and are key concepts related to the instructor’s teaching philosophy. Respect for one’s self, classmates, course instructor(s), community members is required. Individual differences within all aforementioned persons need to be acknowledged and respected. Dedication to one’s preparation for class and community activities in a professional manner is of significant importance. The course instructor is dedicated to providing challenging and engaging learning environment(s) and activities; however students must also be prepared to engage in and with the material presented. The course is lecture/lab structure with community involvement as well. Active engagement in course material is essential to student success. Students cannot rely solely upon the instructor’s lecture for their learning. Students need to accept personal responsibility for independent learning and mastery of course material. Questions posed within the class will not always be immediately answered by the course instructor, rather will be directed at times to the class as a whole to foster additional learning and collaboration. Within a clinical setting students will learn to rely on oneself, but also collaborate with others. Assignments are to be completed independently unless noted by course instructor. Asking classmates for feedback related to completed assignment is completely acceptable as a practitioner may engage in such behavior within a clinical setting. Information within the course will be built upon learning acquired within other courses, learning does not occur in isolation or in a silo. Lastly, kindness is a concept that I fear many have forgotten. The instructor encourages you to be mindful of the language and behavior you utilize as well as what you observe within your classmates. As Ian McLaren stated “be kind because everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Demonstrate compassion toward yourself, toward your classmates toward others you come into contact with on a daily basis. A smile, a kind word, a thoughtful gesture can have an impact you may never know. In the end…..just be kind.